Baked Potato Bar Ideas – Entertaining On A Budget!
Baked potato bar is an easy low cost way to feed a crowd! Top with chili, bacon, cheese, veggies, sour cream, and more!
Baked Potato Bar is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my entertaining life. That is, it’s one of my favorite things to serve when I’m entertaining a crowd. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love a good baked potato, and everyone loves the idea of getting creative with the fresh toppings. It’s a bit of fun, plus a hot filling dinner. We all love our comfort food and there’s nothing better than a warm baked potato covered with your favorite toppings!
Baked Potato Bar is the perfect thing to serve with No Bean Chili, Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, or Slow Cooker Black Bean Chili! Or try making a sheet pan of my Baked Potato Slices!
Table of contents
Video Instructions for Baked Potato Bar
Baked Potato Bar Topping Ideas
When choosing the baked potato bar toppings, get creative! Of course we want the basics like sour cream and butter, but I like to add salsa for those who like a little spice in their spud. Black beans, onions, chives, broccoli, and don’t forget the cheese! I like to use a cheddar blend, but any cheese will work; mozzarella, gouda, swiss, or any of your favorites.
Brown some ground beef with taco seasoning, or cook up some chili and you’ve got more potato bar ideas. Yum! I love a warm baked potato topped with spicy chili, personally. With a good selection of baked potato bar toppings you can layer on your favorites. I like salsa, black beans, and cheddar cheese.
Here are all of my baked potato bar ideas:
- Diced onions or green onions
- Chives
- Cheese
- Salsa
- Broccoli
- Crumbled Bacon
- Black Beans
- Chili
- Sour cream
- Butter
Frequently Asked Questions
Russet and Sweet potatoes are the best choice for your Potato Bar as they are starchy and tend to make the fluffiest potato. Yukon Gold can also be baked as it’s one of the more versatile spuds. Personally, I always choose russet potatoes, because they come in a much larger size and you can usually pick up a big bag of them for a party.
Potatoes can be baked at 400F. Preheat your oven and make sure it reaches optimum heat, then pierce the potato skin with a fork or knife. Just a small cut will prevent the skin from splitting when baking and release the steam.
Place potatoes on the middle rack and bake. It takes between 45 minutes to an hour to cook potatoes depending on the size. The bigger the spud, the more time it takes to cook it through to tender.
If you’re putting the potatoes directly on the rack, I recommend putting a baking sheet on the rack below the potatoes, to catch any liquid (especially if you use sweet potatoes). If you wrap them in tinfoil, remove the tinfoil immediately after they’re done.
How to Make Baked Potatoes on the Grill
Baking Potatoes on the grill is easy. Depending on the size of the spud, it will take between 45 minutes to an hour. Scrub them up, sprinkle with salt and wrap tightly in foil. Place on the hottest part of the grill and close the lid. Remove the tinfoil immediately when they’re done cooking.
The potato is baked to perfection when it can be easily pierced with a fork. For another method, you can also try my Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.
How to Bake Potatoes in the Slow Cooker
The crock pot is a great way to bake potatoes, I would do 4 to 6 potatoes in one slow cooker. First scrub the potato with water to remove any dust and pierce the skin with a knife. Then rub with a little bit of olive oil, just enough to put a thin coat on the potato. You can sprinkle the potato with sea salt at this point if you wish, this helps to keep the moisture in the potato.
Wrap them up in aluminum foil and place in your crock pot. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours. This is a great way to get them ready so you can concentrate on preparing your toppings for later.
Once done, remove them from the tinfoil immediately, so they don’t sit in the danger zone temperature for too long!
What Goes Well With A Potato Bar
What doesn’t go well with a baked potato? Steaks on the grill, BBQ ribs, burgers, and chicken all work really well with a Baked Potato Bar. It also makes a great appetizer bar for those special occasions. There are really no limits to what you can add to your baked potato bar.
Recipe Ideas to Serve With A Baked Potato Bar!
- Smoked BBQ Ribs – Done on a regular gas grill!
- Instant Pot Pot Roast – I like having some meat on the side, if you’re not making chili.
- Baked BBQ Chicken Drumsticks – This is another great choice if you’re on a budget, because BBQ always does well at a party!
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Baked Potato Bar Ideas
Ingredients
- 8 large russet potatoes, washed
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, chopped
- 12 oz salsa
- 1 bunch chives, chopped
- 14 oz black beans
- 1 bunch broccoli, chopped
- 12 oz sour cream
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Rub potatoes with coarse salt and pierce with a fork. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and a fork goes through easily.
- Arrange all other ingredients in their own dish so guests can serve themselves.
- Cut potatoes down the middle, leaving the sides and bottom intact.
- Serve potatoes and toppings in one spot, allow guests to dress their own potatoes as they’d like.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Do you wrap them in foil if you are baking in the oven?
I usually don’t, but I might put some foil on the oven rack below them to catch anything that might drip (this is a bigger problem with sweet potatoes than russet though). I think wrapping them in foil keeps the potatoes skin softer, if you’d prefer that texture, but you also need to be careful about how long they’re left in the foil after you remove them from the oven for food safety reasons.
This is brilliant! I’m super Irish and just like the Devine Goddess, Mrs. Dolly Parton, a potato is why I could never keep to a diet. Now I just found an entire new way to love them! I mean I’m always down for a baked tater…. but all the toppings I can legit have each bite taste different. #obsessed
helped
Maybe a stupid question, but should the broccoli be cooked or raw?
Making this tonight for a small gathering. Thank you for the complete list of supplies and instructions!
I would steam the broccoli, so it’s cooked but still has some texture. If you have an instant pot, this recipe is really quick and easy (and you can do a lot at one time). I would cut them into smaller pieces, so they’re easy to fit in the potato.
We’re doing a baked potato bar for my daughter’s baby shower; is there a certain cheese sauce you’d recommend that will stay smooth and creamy for a couple hours in a crockpot? Thanks in advance!
Here’s a cheese sauce that my friend makes, just make sure you use a block of cheese that you shred yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has other ingredients in it that will make a cheese sauce lumpy!
https://dinnerthendessert.com/nacho-cheese-sauce/#wprm-recipe-container-62972