Cheesy Loaded Baked Potatoes with Chicken and Bacon

Turn a baked potato into a meal with these Cheesy Loaded Baked Potatoes topped with Chicken, Bacon, and the most amazing cheddar cheese sauce!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Cheesy Chicken Bacon Stuffed Potatoes, Cheesy Loaded Baked Potatoes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 601kcal

Author Jenn Laughlin - Peas and Crayons

Ingredients

3 medium russet potatoes
olive oil for drizzling
kosher salt or sea salt for sprinkling
black pepper to taste
1-2 cups shredded/chopped rotisserie chicken
shredded/grated cheese (to taste) or try it with the cheese sauce below!
½ cup chopped tomatoes
3 TBSP cooked and chopped bacon (approx 2-3 slices)
3 TBSP sour cream for topping
2-3 TBSP sliced green onion or scallions or chives

CHEESE SAUCE

2 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP all purpose flour
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper plus extra for a kick!
⅛ tsp garlic powder plus extra to taste
⅛ tsp salt
5.5 ounces freshly grated medium cheddar cheese (not bagged)

Instructions

First Bake the Potatoes

Preheat oven to 425℉.
Wash and scrub potatoes and poke each in a few different spots with a fork. Brush all over with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt.
Bake on a sheet pan for 45-60 minutes (cook time varies based on spud size) until the interior is fork-tender and gives a little when pressed or gently squeezed.

Prep the Toppings

While the potatoes bake, chop chicken, tomatoes, and green onion. Cook bacon until crispy and chop into tiny pieces.
Now let's get cheesy! You can use shredded/grated cheese to save on time but if you have a few minutes, the homemade cheese sauce is AMAZING with these loaded potatoes!

DIY Cheese Sauce

Make your cheese sauce when there are about 5 minutes left on your oven timer for the potatoes. To make the sauce, first prep and measure out all your ingredients. It's much easier when they're all ready to go as this sauce comes together fast!
In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once butter has melted add flour and whisk non-stop with a metal whisk as the mixture bubbles and darkens slightly in color.
Next slowly add the milk while whisking.
Add spices (I heavy hand my cayenne - yum!) and continue to cook over medium until the sauce begins to thicken and simmer.
Reduce heat to lowest setting and slowly add cheese one handful at at time, whisking fully between each handful. Do this for each portion of cheese until your sauce is perfectly smooth and melty.

Stuff Those Spuds!

Once the potatoes are ready, allow them a few minutes to cool on the pan then slice lengthwise and fluff the insides with a fork. Season to taste with black pepper.
Next add your toppings and dig in while they're hot! Enjoy!

Notes

If you're adding plain shredded cheese, pre-shredded bagged cheese is totally fine. If you're making the melty cheese sauce, you will need to use cheese freshly grated off a block of cheddar in order to get a totally smooth and creamy cheese sauce.

Nutrition Facts below are estimated for each loaded baked potato with cheese sauce using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Make any adjustments needed and enjoy!

Nutrition