I Tried Rachael Ray’s Crispy and Cheesy, Twice Cooked Potatoes — Here’s How They Turned Out

Potato skins are one of my absolute favorite foods to eat when I’m feeling celebratory — specifically the ooey-gooey, cheesy kind that you’ll find on bar menus. You know, the ones covered in dollops of sour cream and chives. (Add bacon and I’m really happy!)

So I was excited to see that Rachael Ray, through her collaboration with Free Food Studios, recently posted her Crispy & Cheesy, Twice Cooked Potatoes on Instagram. She notes that the recipe creates “super fast, baked but not fried potato skins.” And because my love for potato skins runs so deep, I decided to give them a shot. 

When I went searching for the actual recipe to follow, I came up short. Going by only her Instagram video, nothing was really set in stone (she used phrases like “screamingly hot” for oven temperature). “Winging it” was my phrase, and it worked just fine. 

Potato-purists, take note: These are twice cooked, not twice baked. (Translation: They’re boiled and then baked.) She starts with whole white thin-skinned potatoes, bringing them up to a boil from cold water for approximately 10 minutes until they’re halfway cooked. A one-minute cold water shower in the sink follows to get them cool enough to slice in half. I placed them cut-side up on a baking sheet covered in foil for easy cleanup.

After a quick spray of oil and dashes of salt and pepper, they were off to the oven’s middle rack. I guessed on the temp. Her tutorial mentioned to set the oven as “high as your oven goes,” but I felt that 600°F was a little aggressive. I instead opted for 475°as that seemed “screamingly hot” enough to me. I checked them after eight minutes (her suggested approximate time), and decided another two would do the trick, for a total of 10 minutes. 

The crispy naked potatoes were ready to be covered in shredded cheese (I used one-and-a-half bags), then I placed them back under the broiler for two minutes. I transferred them to a plate, then drizzled on the sour cream and scattered on freshly chopped chives.

The first thing I noticed is that these definitely are not as greasy as the full-on fried version. They were easy enough to make, and the ingredients were in my pantry and fridge anyway, which was truly another win. I will absolutely be making these twice cooked potatoes more than twice.

1. Make sure your potatoes are similar in size. To ensure uniform cooking, start with potatoes alike in shape and size.
2. Cold water will be your best friend. Begin the potatoes in cold water and bring up to a boil with the lid on, removing the lid once the boiling has started. According to Rachael, this prevents the potato starch from causing your water to boil over.
3. Don’t poke too much. While testing the potatoes to see they are parboiled, be gentle with your fork poking. I was a little too haphazard, so some of my potatoes had torn skin. Not pretty, but still tasty. 
4. Create flat potatoes. When halving the potatoes, cut them lengthwise or you’ll have rolling potatoes that won’t sit flat for the cheese.