Crispy Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
These Crispy Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins are filled with crunchy bacon and tangy cheddar cheese, are so easy to make and are super delicious! They make the perfect appetizer or a game day snack!
Servings: 4 skins
Calories: 176kcal
Equipment
- Olive oil spray bottle optional
Ingredients
- 2 medium baked potatoes cooked
- 2 rashers bacon cooked
- 50 g ( ½ cup ) cheddar cheese grated - can be substituted for DF cheese
- 2 spring onions (green onions) sliced
- 2 tablespoon sour cream can be substituted for DF sour cream
- salt & pepper to season
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- You will need pre-baked cooled potatoes for this recipe. If you haven't already baked them, lightly rub or spray the potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle them with salt & pepper. Place the potatoes in the air fryer basket and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until they are fork-tender and the skins are crispy.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the air fryer and let them cool slightly until they are safe to handle.
- Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving about ¼ inch of potato attached to the skins. Keep the scooped-out potato for another use, such as mashed potatoes.
- Spray the skins with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the potato skins in the air fryer at 200˚C/400˚F, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the skins are golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the potato skins from the air fryer and let them cool slightly.
- Once the potato skins are cool enough to handle, sprinkle each one with shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled cooked bacon. (If you haven't cooked the bacon already, you can cook it whilst the potatoes are in the air fryer - Step 4)
- Return the loaded potato skins to the air fryer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove the potato skins from the air fryer and transfer them to a serving platter.
- Top each potato skin with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced spring onions.
- Serve the air fryer crispy loaded potato skins immediately as a delicious appetizer or snack.
Notes
See the recipe post for more detailed guidance and instructions.
Top Tips & Tricks
* Pre-bake and Cool the Potatoes: Pre-bake the potatoes until they're fork-tender, then allow them to cool before scooping out the flesh otherwise you may end up with burnt fingers!
* Use Block Cheese: If you can, buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself, as the pre-grated stuff is full of potato starch to stop the cheese clumping together in the bag, but this also stops it melting quite as well as block cheese.
* Crisp the Skins Twice: After scooping out the flesh, crisp the potato skins in the air fryer on their own before adding toppings. Then, air fry them again after adding toppings for extra crunch.
How Can I Make These Allergy Friendly?
This dish is pretty allergy-friendly as the only top 14 allergen it contains is dairy, however with a couple of tweaks it can be made dairy-free too.
Make It Dairy-Free: There was a time when it was really hard to find a dairy-free cheese that melted, but there are now a good few options on the market that melt just like real cheese.
A couple of our favourites are the Violife mature cheddar & the Applewood smokey vegan cheese. You will also need to buy a vegan sour cream (this is mostly found online) or you can make your own. Alternatively you can use a dairy-free ranch dressing instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 163mg | Potassium: 413mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 229IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 1mg
