Bee’s Cheddar Broccoli Twice Baked Potato

Prep Time: Varies
Cook Time: 1 hour 20-30 minutes

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Video tutorial coming soon.

With my Native American and Irish roots, I am a sucker for a good potato! I love potatoes in any form, including mashed, fried, baked, and boiled into a soup. I am a huge sucker for hash browns, but what I love even more than hashbrowns are twice baked potatoes. My favorite way to do twice baked potatoes isn’t the traditional way. I like to do it MY WAY, which is a cheddar broccoli version. The secret to this recipe is truly in the seasoning blend that accompanies the filling.

About the Filling

This isn’t just some slapped together filling. Each spice, especially the ground mustard and paprika, brings the flavor profile to exactly where it needs to be. While you can opt for packaged (prepared) cheese sauce, I HIGHLY nudge against it. This recipe isn’t for the Velveeta and craft eaters. I mean no disrespect nor slander when I say that those cheese sauces taste like plastic, in my opinion. This is most likely due to packaging and the amount of extra and unnecessary ingredients. Making your own cheese sauce is very easy and the process is quick. Making a cheese sauce is also different than simply melting cheese. The goal is to create a creamy, thick, and mixable/spreadable form of cheese.

Fresh or frozen broccoli will both do for this recipe. I usually use frozen, because fresh frozen veggies tend to be more affordable and freezing extends their shelf life. I do buy fresh veggies as often as I can. I also use ALL PARTS of the broccoli. This is important for flavor and texture. I cut the florets (bushy flower part) up very fine, allowing them to spread through the filling like a broccoli seasoning. I dice up the stem of the broccoli to around the size of a pinky nail or smaller. This gives a bit of texture to the filling while completing the flavor profile.

Alterations and Substitutions

While this recipe needs to be followed precisely for the most authentic outcome, there are still some ingredients you can replace without changing the taste. Not everyone carries exact ingredients in their home. Shopping can be a hassle some days. If you are allergic to certain ingredients, you can certainly leave them out and the potato will still taste amazing.

If you don’t have sour cream, or simply don’t like it, try replacing it with plain yogurt, plain Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese. If you don’t have white ground pepper, black pepper will be just fine. Most households carry black pepper. I use ground white pepper because it is finer and blends into the filling better, spreading a bit more flavor than black pepper.

I don’t recommend replacing the potato, as russet potatoes seem to be the best for baked and twice baked potatoes. If you must, perhaps try to go for white potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes. Any potato will truly do, especially if you know how to keep those thinner skins crispened.

Nutrition and Serving Sizes

First and foremost, if you are vegetarian, the extra fats from the dairy won’t hurt. We need a certain amount of healthy fats in our diet. Raw potatoes contain almost no fat, so the additional cheese and butter won’t do any harm. As long as you don’t have to watch your carb intake, potatoes are a healthy way to ingest your daily carbohydrate amount.

Potatoes are a healthy complex carbohydrate. When it comes to your daily carbohydrate amount, you should avoid empty carbs. Healthy complex carbs, like potatoes, are what your focus should be on. They are also abundant in potassium and fiber, which help with heart health and blood sugar regulation. Potatoes contain other vitamins and nutrients that support your immune system and prevent disease.

Find more information about potatoes on the FDA and USDA (.gov) websites. If you happen to be in college for a health care career, you may find this information in a future or existing book of yours. Check out all the chapters. Most of my knowledge comes from my studies.

Serving sizes vary for different reasons. People have specific diet needs. For the average person, I recommend one half of a filled potato halve. For children, they may need their serving size adjusted to a quarter or third of a halve. Remember, this isn’t just a potato with a light garnish. These potato halves are filled with mashed potato, cheese sauce, butter, sour cream, and broccoli. The dry seasonings contain zero calories, so you won’t need to worry about that. However, the homemade cheese sauce is also made with a classic roux. A classic roux consists of equal parts butter and flour, along with a cup or two of liquid (usually a cream or milk). This means added calories and fats.

These twice baked potatoes are delicious, but don’t overindulge; savor the flavor! you can refrigerate or freeze them for later consumption. Just reheat like you would with any frozen meal, via microwave or oven (oven is better).

Ingredients

• Cheddar cheese sauce
  CLICK HERE for ingredients and instructions to a creamy cheddar cheese sauce; it’s so quick and easy to make.
• 4 russet potatoes
  ^{You can use more or less and adjust ingredient sizing accordingly.}
• 1 heaping cup cooked broccoli
• 2 TBSP sour cream
• 3 TBSP softened butter
• 1 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
  ^{OR black pepper if you prefer or only have}
• 1 TBSP garlic powder
• 1 TBSP onion powder
• 1 TBSP ground mustard
  ^{I make my tablespoon of ground mustard a heaping one because I love what it adds to the entire flavor profile.}
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• Kosher salt to taste
  ^{I use around 2 teaspoons.}

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

It’s up to you, but I clean my potatoes first, then allow them to dry.

Using a fork or knife, poke holes into one or two sides of each potato. You only need to penetrate the potato around 1/4 inch deep; don’t go crazy with it.
^{I use a fork to make holes where I’ll be cutting it in half, on each side.}

Place your whole potatoes in the oven and bake for one hour. You can lay your whole potatoes straight onto the oven rack. I use a baking sheet with a baking and cooling rack over it.
^{You may need longer. If the centers are still undercooked when you cut them, place the cut potato back into the oven for 10-15 more minutes and check on it.}

Pull your potatoes out and allow them to cool enough for handling.

Bring the oven temperature down to 375 degrees.

Cut each potato lengthwise into equal halves and carve out the center, creating a boat-like shape.

Place the carved-out potato into a large mixing bowl.

Add the butter, sour cream, cheese sauce, and dry seasonings to the mixing bowl. Mix until everything is evenly blended.

If you haven’t already, cut the broccoli florets into small pieces, to create a “broccoli seasoning.” Cut the stems of the broccoli into small pieces (around the size of a pinky nail, or smaller).

Add the broccoli to the mixing bowl and mix until evenly blended.

OPTIONAL STEP: You can either leave the carved-out potato halves as they are, or butter and season them before filling. I melt down some butter and brush a light layer over the potato halves. Then, I sprinkle a layer of salt and black pepper (example below).

Using a spoon (a regular spoon is fine; no need for anything large and fancy) scoop your cheddar-broccoli-potato mixture into each carved out potato halve.

I fill until each potato halve is heaping full. Don’t worry; it’ll all stay contained throughout the recooking process.

With your oven now heated to 375 degrees, place your filled potato halves into the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden browned to your liking.

That’s it; allow them to rest and cool down, then serve!

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