How to Make Potato Skin Shells

4.20 from 5 votes

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Learn how to make simple potato skin shells at home, and then fill with your favorite ingredients!

One of my favorite appetizers or snacks is potato skins!  Learn How to Make Potato Skin Shells for your party, home-gating party, or game day!

Less than 30 minutes to make your own potato skin shells! Fill with anything you like as a perfect appetizer or snack, including holidays and game day! A classic football food with endless filling options. Shells are vegan (vegetarian). How to Make Potato Skin Shells | Three Olives Branch | www.threeolivesbranch,.com
Bacon and Bourbon Blue Cheese Potato Skins

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Getting the perfect potato skin shell can be tricky, but I came up with this method and recipe to give you the perfect potato skin shell for any filling that you would like!  

Now that I make these, they are a regular request at any type of event, party, or gathering, regardless of the toppings.

You can also make them in the air fryer if preferred with our Air Fryer Potato Skins recipe.

No matter how you make them, you have so many options of flavors to fill them with! Find a collection of our potato skin flavors and variations below the full recipe.

Ingredients

This is what you need to make homemade potato skins:

Russet Potatoes

Vegetable Oil

Salt

Black Pepper

Grab all the equipment you need: melon baller, silicone basting brush, silicone baking mats.

Instruction Overview

Wash and cut the potatoes in half lengthwise.

Use a melon baller to scoop out the middles, leaving a thin edge all the way around.

Put them on a baking sheet.

Mix the oil, salt, and pepper.

Baste both sides of each potato skin with the oil.

Bake until they are fork tender before filling!

Less than 30 minutes to make your own potato skin shells! Fill with anything you like as a perfect appetizer or snack, including holidays and game day! A classic football food with endless filling options. Shells are vegan (vegetarian). How to Make Potato Skin Shells | Three Olives Branch | www.threeolivesbranch,.com

I am pretty obsessed with potato anything, so finding this perfect way to make a potato skin is a little dangerous!  

I love to make new ideas of filling flavors, especially when we are watching football or another sport.  They are a classic food to have for game day.  

You can find some of our favorite fillings below, but fill these skins up with anything you love!  Once you know How to Make Potato Skin Shells, the fillings are endless.

Modifications and Substitutions

If you do not have a melon baller, anything similar with a sharper edge will work. Spoons tend to be too dull and difficult to use. Think grapefruit spoons or anything with sharper edges.

Vegetable oil lets the skins crisp up much better than olive oil. Olive oil tend to make the skins softer.

Kim’s Tips

The trick to a perfect potato skin shell is not having a shell that is too soft and making sure that it is seasoned perfectly.  

I commonly see people bake the potato first, then scoop out the middle.  I found that this method takes much longer, the shell is too soft, and it is difficult to get the perfect shell shape.  So I prefer this method for the perfect potato skin!

Less than 30 minutes to make your own potato skin shells! Fill with anything you like as a perfect appetizer or snack, including holidays and game day! A classic football food with endless filling options. Shells are vegan (vegetarian). How to Make Potato Skin Shells | Three Olives Branch | www.threeolivesbranch,.com

Find all of our potato skin recipes here, including Bacon and Bourbon Blue Cheese Potato Skins, Green Chili Potato Skins, and more!

Less than 30 minutes to make your own potato skin shells! Fill with anything you like as a perfect appetizer or snack, including holidays and game day! A classic football food with endless filling options. Shells are vegan (vegetarian). How to Make Potato Skin Shells | Three Olives Branch | www.threeolivesbranch,.com
Pin of a pile of How to Make Potato Skin Shells with title

How to Make Potato Skin Shells

Learn how to make simple potato skin shells at home, and then fill with your favorite ingredients!
4.20 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Game Day, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 12 skins
Calories: 136kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  • Scrub and wash the potatoes. Slice them in half lengthwise. Prepare a large bowl or pot full of water. This will be used to keep the potatoes from browning while they are being prepared.
    6 russet potatoes
  • Using a melon baller, scoop out the middle of the potato, leaving a border approximately 1/4″ thick. When completed, place the potato in the water. You can also keep the pieces you scooped out and make some mashed potatoes!
  • Repeat until all of the potatoes have been scooped out.
  • In a small bowl, combine the oil, salt, and pepper.
    1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Remove the potatoes from the water and shake off. Place them skin side down on a sil pad or tin foil on a large baking sheet.
  • Brush the oil mixture on the inside of each potato skin shell and let any excess oil drip off. Flip each shell upside down so the skin side is now up.
  • Brush each shell with the oil mixture on the skin side as well. Leave them skin side up for baking.
  • Bake the potato skin shells until they are just fork tender, approximately 12-15 minutes. The time will vary based on how thick you leave the shell and how large the potatoes are. You want them to be soft enough to eat but not too soft so they do not fall apart.
  • Remove them from the oven and let cool slightly before adding any fillings. See our other recipes for filling ideas and instructions.

Notes

Find more potato skin recipes here!
Grab all the equipment you need from these affiliate links: melon baller, silicone basting brush, silicone baking mats.
The potatoes can be any size you wish however it is best to keep them similar in size so that they cook evenly.  The size of the potato will also change how long you need to cook them.
It is best to not use olive oil because it has a lower smoking point, which means it can essentially burn faster at higher temperatures.  It also tends to make the potatoes softer instead of crispy.  But if olive oil is all you have, or what you prefer, it will still work.

Nutrition

Serving: 1skin (empty) | Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 444mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

More Potato Skins Recipes

Potato Skin Recipes

By on December 27th, 2016

About Kim

Kim has grown up with a passion for cooking good food! You can find her in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, making dog treats, and eating Italian food!

More posts by this author.

13 thoughts on “How to Make Potato Skin Shells”

    • Hi Becky,
      I would say 3-5 days in the refrigerator should be safe to use. I tend to make them a day, maybe two, before when I have time. I just pile them up in a tupperware, but you could also put them in a resealable bag. Then just lay them out on your baking sheet cold and fill them with whatever you would like when you are ready to finish them off. You could also stick them in the freezer for 8-12 months!

      Reply
  1. Hi there, what was the date you published this recipe? I am using it for a project but am trouble citing it because I cannot find the date.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Three Olives Branch