Chicken Bacon Ranch Twice-Baked Potatoes

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 large russet potatoes (washed)

6 oz bacon

olive oil

1 lb chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)

kosher salt (to taste)

black pepper (to taste)

½ cup full-fat plain greek yogurt

½ cup ranch dressing (I used Primal Kitchen)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (divided)

¼ cup chopped green onion

½ tsp garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Use a fork to poke holes all around the potatoes, and then place them onto a baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and cook for 60-70 minutes, or until fork tender. After removing the potatoes from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350F.

Optional but encouraged: Heavily season the cubed chicken with kosher salt and let it sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. This acts as a "dry brine" to season it from the inside out and prevent it from drying out. It really makes a big difference!

When the potatoes have 15-20 minutes left, add bacon strips to a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Transfer bacon to the oven on the second rack and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy. Blot off excess grease before crumbling or chopping it up into small pieces.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan to medium-high heat. Once hot, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Then, add your chicken and spread it out in the pan so that it's not overlapping. Season with black pepper.

Let the chicken cook for about 2-3 minutes, undisturbed, then flip and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the potatoes are done baking and have cooled for a few minutes, carefully cut them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out most of the flesh, leaving a rim around the edge to ensure sturdiness.

Place the scooped-out potato flesh into a large bowl and use a masher, fork or hand mixer to mash it until only small chunks remain.

Then, add in the yogurt, ranch, garlic powder and kosher salt to taste. Stir with a spatula until combined and smooth.

Next, stir in HALF of the cheddar (½ cup), crumbled bacon, cooked chicken and chopped green onion.

Spoon the filling mixture back into the potato skins and top with remaining cheese.

Transfer baking sheet to the oven to cook at 350F for 15 minutes. At the end, I like to switch the oven to broil for a few more minutes to get a golden finish on the potatoes.

Serve with an extra drizzle of ranch and a sprinkle of green onion and/or bacon. Enjoy!

Nutrition

• Calories: 364 kcal
• Total Fat: 21 g
• Saturated Fat: 6 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
• Trans Fat: 0.04 g
• Cholesterol: 65 mg
• Sodium: 309 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 22 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 22 g