Baked Potato Bar Ideas
Baked Potato Bar is an easy budget-friendly way to feed a crowd, baked in the oven and smothered in your favorite toppings like chili, bacon, cheese, veggies, sour cream, and more!
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 494kcal
Equipment
- 1 oven (to bake the potatoes)
Ingredients
- 8 large russet potatoes washed, pierced with a fork
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Toppings (optional - choose your favorites!)
- 14 ounces canned black beans rinsed
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup butter salted or unsalted, softened
- 12 ounces salsa
- 2 large beefsteak tomatoes chopped
- 12 ounces sour cream
- 1 bunch chives chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 cup broccoli florets roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Rub potatoes with kosher salt and pierce with a fork. Bake directly on the center oven rack for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and a fork goes through easily. Add 10-20 minutes of cooking time if the potatoes are large.
- Arrange all of the topping options in their own dishes so guests can serve themselves.
Video
Notes
Click on the time in the instructions to start a timer!
**The nutrition is a really rough estimate, assuming each potato had a little of every topping on it. The sodium is also based on the black beans being rinsed well. It will probably be different depending on how much of each topping you use.
Storage
Refrigerate for 3-4 days in an airtight container. For food safety, the potatoes must be brought to room temperature and refrigerated in under 2 hours from the time they're finished cooking.
Freeze after cooling to room temperature, for about 3-4 months (for best quality).
Cooking Tips
- Sometimes I'll print out little cards with "recipe suggestions" for good topping combos to give guests ideas!
- You can bake the potatoes directly on a clean oven rack, but when I do this I usually line the rack just below it with aluminum foil to catch any drips that can happen. Then I just discard the aluminum foil once everything has cooled down.
- Be careful not to keep the potatoes in the temperature danger zone for too long. If you wrap them in foil, remove the foil right away to let them cool.
- Wash the potato skins really well to avoid having any dust or dirt being left behind.
- If you want crispy skin, bake the potatoes directly on the oven rack instead of wrapped in foil. This foil gives you more of a steaming process.
Nutrition
Calories: 494kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 974mg | Potassium: 1702mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1417IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 193mg | Iron: 4mg
