These potato skin tacos are the marriage of two of my favorite things: tacos and twice baked potatoes. Welcome to your new favorite stuffed potato supper!
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Why we love this recipe
These potato skin tacos are the marriage of two of my favorite things: tacos (obviously) and twice baked potatoes.
If you’ve never had a twice baked potato, it basically involves baking a potato, scooping out the inside and mashing it with some butter and milk, stuffing it back into the potato and baking it a little more until the outside is crispy.
But what if instead of stuffing the potato skin with mashed potatoes, you stuffed it with taco filling? And topped it with guacamole? What if?
I think you know the answer. I think we ALL know the answer.
I did add one extra step that I think made these even more wonderful, which was this: after I baked the potatoes and scooped out the inside (which of course you should save and mash another day!), I brushed the inside of the potato skins with some olive oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper and ran them under the broiler just until they got a little crispy.
Then and only then did I load them up with taco filling and top them with guacamole.
You could of course also top them with cheese, sour cream, salsa, chopped onions…you know what to do when it comes to taco garnishment.
And when it comes time to eat, you can pick that potato right up and eat it, and because it is, well, a potato, there will be absolutely no taco shell breakage when you get to taking that first bite.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork and microwave until tender, about 8 minutes. Cool until you can handle them.
Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the insides, getting as close to the skin as you can without breaking it. Save the scooped out potato for another use.
Brush the insides of the potato skins with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil until they start to get brown and crispy, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Set aside.
Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet and cook over medium high heat until brown. Stir in spices, and then stir in tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and add more chili powder if you want a little more heat.
Divide the taco meat among the 4 potato halves. Top with your choice of toppings and serve at once.
Recipe FAQs
You need a potato with a thick enough skin to be able to stand up and hold together after you scoop out the insides. Idaho and Russet potatoes are the best choice. Or even a sweet potato! Butter and Yukon Gold potatoes don’t have a thick enough skin.
100 percent yes! Pierce them a few times, pop them on a baking sheet and bake them in a 400 degree oven for an hour, or until a knife slides in easily.
So many things! You can of course make mashed potatoes by mashing the potato with milk and butter and serving it alongside these tacos. You can stir it into soup to thicken it up. You can even stir some of it into the meat mixture for the taco meat and have an even more plentiful Potato Skin Taco.
You can cook and scoop bake the potatoes ahead of time, and you can make the meat mixture ahead, but assemble them at the last minute so they hold together well.
Pop your question in the Comments section below the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
- Mixing Bowls: We love the side handle on these bowls…it makes for steadier mixing.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
- Large Skillet: We have a few of these in our cupboard but this is one of our faves.
What to serve with this recipe
We do love using the potato insides for mashed potatoes on the side, and if you want a green vegetable instead, green beans with cherry tomatoes are the best! Since it’s taco night we love a margarita, and let’s have some banana chocolate chip cake for dessert!
Other stuffed potato recipes we love!
We want to know what you think! 🤔
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe.
Potato Skin Tacos
These potato skin tacos are the marriage of two of my favorite things: tacos and twice baked potatoes. Welcome to your new favorite stuffed potato supper!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Microwave and Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 Idaho potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 14 ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained
- Olive oil for basting the potatoes
- Your choice of toppings: guacamole, chopped scallions, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc!
Instructions
- Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork and microwave until tender, about 8 minutes. Cool until you can handle them.
- Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the insides, getting as close to the skin as you can without breaking it. Save the scooped out potato for another use.
- Brush the insides of the potato skins with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil until they start to get brown and crispy, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Set aside.
- Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet and cook over medium high heat until brown. Stir in spices, and then stir in tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and add more chili powder if you want a little more heat.
- Divide the taco meat among the 4 potato halves. Top with your choice of toppings and serve at once.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
I love this idea! We make taco potatoes (like nachos) but I love that you put them in the skins. Genius!
And now I have to try taco potato nachos!!
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
Tacos + potatoes?? Um I’m pretty sure you just combined my 2 favorite things and called it dinner. YUS!
I can’t believe it took me so long to figure this out!
Joan Curran says
This looks like healthy heaven to me! Thanks.
They are pretty wonderful – no more taco shells for me! xo
grace says
i can only hope that my own marriage is this happy! excellent combo in every way!
I’m sure your combo is just as wonderful and delicious as these tacos! :) :)
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
These are my kind of potato skins! Love all that guacamole on top!
Guacamole could be its own food group, I love it SO much. :)
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
What a great way to jazz up a potato. Looks so flavorful and comforting!
Thanks Gayle! I’ll pretty much do anything that allows me to eat taco filling. :)
Mir says
Whaat? This is such a good idea. Whenever I make tacos, my son eats the crispy shell and ignores everything else. This way, he’d be able to focus on the whole dish!
I was pretty thrilled with the whole potato skin part – plus it means I MUST make mashed potatoes later in the week so none of the potato goes to waste. win-win!
Gail Goetz says
Ingenious! I could eat these every day. Thanks for dreaming them up!
Well my pleasure! We had them again tonight for supper! :)