Air Fryer Potato Skins
I read that this could work and I was excited that my group of test-tasters agreed. These russet taters filled with cheddar cheese and bacon totally fit the bill. They are so less calorie-laden than their counterparts that are usually ordered at a pub. Those from the pub are deep-fried in oil, which we all know makes them high in saturated fat and adds many calories. According to the source at Kitchen Snitches, potatoes that are cooked in a traditional deep fryer may contain more than twice the calories
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Ingredients
- 3 Russet Potatoes Large
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Bacon Bits Packed or Prepared at home
- 1 Tablespoon Green Onion Chopped -Dried Chopped Chives Optional
- 1 Tsp Olive oil
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
Instructions
- Wash and scrub the potatoes
- Poke with a fork
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or more until tender
- Use your mits to handle the hot potatoes
- Scoop some of the potato out of its shell, reserving enough to get a good taste of potato with the skin
- At this point, you can freeze the skins on a sheet pan in the freezer for later or continue to work with them
- Set the air fryer to 395F to preheat
- Brush the skins with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle salt
- Place them face down in the air fryer and cook for five minutes until the skins are crisp
- Add the cheese and bacon bits and cook three-four minutes until the cheese is melted
- Sprinkle with dried chives and or chopped green onion and serve with sour cream
Video
Notes
They are so less calorie-laden than their counterparts that are usually ordered at a pub. The calories and carbs listed in this recipe are less than what has been calculated since your are not using the full potato only the skins and some of the meat. Yay!Â
We baked our potatoes at 350F for one hour then checked for doneness. We cooked our potatoes for another 10 minutes more since the potatoes were on the large side. While the potatoes are baking, you can fry some bacon for the homemade bits. These are completely optional since the real packaged ones are also just fine on these skins. We were also able to use this time to prepare some of the other appetizer foods we planned to serve.
Using our oven-mits, we used a tablespoon and carefully scooped out the middle of the potato. We made sure to leave a good layer of yummy potato goodness intact. It is at this point if you wanted to make these later that you can place them on a cookie sheet in your freezer. When they have frozen separately, you can place them all in a freezer bag. This can a big time saver if you are planning a party, Note that the cooking times will vary if using frozen skins versus room temperature skins.
We have saved the scooped-middle portion of the potatoes and plan to test some of the theories that tell us that this potato can be used for mashed, or homemade tater tots. We will give it a try with our leftovers and add a link to another blog post if we find it useful.
Before air frying our potatoes, we brushed them with a bit of olive oil. this helps them to crisp and not to stick to the basket, We air-fried them at 495 F for 6 minutes. Once slightly crisp on the edges we filled each one with cheddar cheese and bacon bits and popped them back in the air fryer until the cheese melted. About 3 - 4 minutes longer.
We used the Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Convection Oven The brushes that we prefer are the silicon brushes, these clean up easily in the dishwasher.
Once the cheese was melted we used our tongs to remove them from the fryer and onto a plate where everyone was given the option to add sour cream. I waited in anticipation to find out if, in fact, these were going to be a hit or not, When I checked the serving plate not a single potato skin had been left uneaten. I was thrilled to find out that these budget-friendly appetizers could be a regular edition to my party foods list, or even be a lower carb option for a side dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 261kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 13gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 575mgPotassium: 490mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 200IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 168mgIron: 1mg
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