These cheesy, salty, crispy baked potato skins are stuffed with creamy kimchi mashed potatoes and topped with sweet and spicy Gochujang sauce, pickled red bell peppers and garlic, and fresh scallions.
They are a delicious marriage of American bar food and Asian flavors.
Loaded Potato Skins Stuffed with Asian Flavors
The recipe is inspired by two ingredients that I am currently obsessed with: Kimchi Mayo and Gochujang.
You're probably already familiar with Gochujang, that spicy-sweet red chili pepper paste that's popping up everywhere these days because it's freaking delicious.
The thing I love the most about Gochujang is how versatile it is. Want to add a touch of heat and umami flavor to pretty much anything? Add some Gochujang.
In this recipe, I mixed some Gochujang with sour cream, smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt to make a creamy sauce you'll want to eat straight from the bowl.
While Gochujang is all the rage these days, Kimchi Mayo might be new to you like it was to me. It's a creamy, tangy, spicy sauce made from vegan mayonnaise and kimchi hot sauce.
Since discovering it, I've used it to make a sauce for noodle bowls, added it to salad dressing, spread it on sandwiches, used it as a dip for veggies, added it to egg salad and chicken salad, and drizzled it over tacos and chicken lettuce wraps.
It made all of those things better.
For these crispy potato skins, I scooped out the soft baked potato flesh and mixed it with a healthy dose of kimchi mayo, and spread back into the crispy skins. The result is a delicious combination of crispy and creamy with a tangy kimchi kick.
How to Make Crispy Baked Potato Skins
Step #1: Pickle some peppers and garlic.
Chop some red bell peppers and minced garlic and dump them into a bowl. Heat about ½ cup of unseasoned rice vinegar with a bit of salt and sugar just until the vinegar begins to boil. Pour it over the peppers and garlic and let it sit while you get on with everything else.
Step #2: Bake the Potatoes
Scrub 8 small-ish russet potatoes until super clean. Pat them dry then coat them with olive oil and salt, wrap them in foil (or parchment paper) and let them bake until the inside of the potatoes is soft and tender.
To test whether the potatoes are done, unwrap one of them and poke it with a fork. The fork should slide into the potato with very little resistance.
Step #3: Crisp the skins.
Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the soft flesh, leaving a very thin layer attached to the skins.
Brush the inside and outside of the skins with a mixture of olive oil (or vegetable oil) and sesame oil. Then, sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper, and roast until nice and crispy.
Step #4: Make some kimchi mashed potatoes.
Mix 1 cup of the soft, baked potato with kimchi mayo. (Save the rest of the potato flesh for another use - like Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.)
Spread the creamy kimchi mashed potatoes on the inside of the crispy potato skins.
Step #5: Cheese it up!
Top the potato skins with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and bake until the cheese is melted.
Step #6: Make the Gochujang Sauce
Dump some Gochujang, sour cream, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt into a bowl and stir.
Step #7: Load them up!
Top the potato skins with a big dollop of Gochujang sauce, then sprinkle them with the pickled red peppers and garlic and a handful of chopped scallions.
Serve immediately, while the potato skins are hot and the cheese is all melty and delicious.
Where can you find Kimchi Mayo and Gochujang?
You'll find Kimchi Mayo and Gochujang in most major supermarkets, or order them on Amazon.
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Baked Potato Skins with Kimchi Mayo and Gochujang Sauce
These cheesy, salty, crispy baked potato skins with Kimchi Mayo and Gochujang are delicious marriage of American bar food and Asian flavor.
Ingredients
For the Potato Skins:
- 1 cup (150g) diced red bell pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup (118ml) unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon (12g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 small to medium russet potatoes (about ½ lb each, 4 lbs total)
- 4 tablespoon (59ml) vegetable or extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) toasted sesame oil (*See note)
- ½ cup (127g) Kimchi Mayo
- 7 oz (about 1 ¾ cups) grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
For the Gochujang Sauce:
- ½ cup (4oz/ 113g) sour cream
- 2 tablespoon (30g) Gochujang
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
To Serve:
- ½ cup (32g) diced scallions, white and light green parts only
Instructions
- Put the diced red pepper and minced garlic in a small bowl.
- Add the rice vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt to a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Cook just until the mixture comes to a boil, then pour the vinegar over the red peppers and garlic. Let stand at room temperature while you prepare the potato skins.
- Preheat oven to 400° F (204° C). Thoroughly scrub the potatoes until clean; pat dry. Poke the potatos on all sides with a sharp knife; about 8-10 punctures per potato.
- Cut 8 pieces of aluminum foil (or parchment paper) into 12-inch squares.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a small bowl. Working with one potato at a time, set the potato in the center of one of the squares of foil. Rub the potato on all sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap the potato in the foil, sealing it tightly so it's completly enclosed in it's own little packet. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.
- Place the potatos on a baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes. Bake until a fork goes into one of the potatoes easily, with very little resistance.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and unwrap them. Let the potatoes sit at room temperature until they are cool enough to handle.
- Turn the oven up to 500° F (260° C).
- Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving a thin layer (about ⅛-inch) of potato attached to the skins. Reserve 1 cup of the flesh in a small bowl. (Save the rest of the potato flesh for another use - like Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.)
- Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable/ olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil together in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to coat both the skin and the inside of the potatoes with the oil mixture. Sprinkle the inside of the skins with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Set the potatoes cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake until skins are crisp, about 10 minutes. Turn the potato skins over and bake with the cut-side up until edges are browned, another 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- While the potato skins cook: add all the Gochujang sauce ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Stir the kimchi mayo into the 1 cup of reserved potato flesh until blended.
- Divide the kimchi mashed potato mixture between all the potato skins and spread it out to coat the entire inside of the skins. (*See photos above for reference.)
- Divide the grated cheese evenly among all the potato skins and return them to the oven for 3-4 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
- Drain the red peppers and garlic. Immediatly after removing the potato skins from the oven, top them with the red peppers and garlic, a dollop of Gochujang sauce, and diced scallions. Serve hot.
Notes
If you can't find toasted sesame oil, it's perfectly fine to use regular sesame oil.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
2 potato skinsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 451Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 1061mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 13g
Sara LaFountain says
These baked potato skins were amazing! I made them for an appetizer tonight and my family inhaled them. Delicious flavor combo.
RebeccaBlackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that Sara! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! I truly appreciate it! xo
Allyssa says
Thank you so much for this amazing and really tasty baked potato skin recipe! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!