Loaded Potato Skins

You'll love these loaded potato skins with black bean salad, sunflower sour cream, and crispy coconut bacon. Great for parties!

Healthier (Vegan) Stuffed Potato Skins

I wanted to share this fun healthi(er) “game day” recipe before the Super Bowl even though, admittedly, we’re not big football fans. And by “we,” I mostly mean me. Jack will socially watch a game at a party, but my relationship with football didn’t exactly start off on the right… foot.

Beginning in 1st grade, every year in gym class, we started the year with a football written test. Way to get kids interested in sports, right? The teacher would hand out worksheets to bring home and study (which I never did) and every year I’d bring home a failing grade and a sheet that my mom would have to sign. I’d walk up to her feel really awful (although not awful enough to study the following year!), but every year my mom would make me feel better by saying how ridiculous it was that we had a football written test while she signed my failed worksheet.

While I still don’t know the rules of the game or who’s playing, I can get behind sporty food, made in healthier ways. So let’s talk about potatoes!

Healthier (Vegan) Stuffed Potato Skins Healthier (Vegan) Stuffed Potato Skins

For this recipe, Jack all but made me go outside of my sweet potato box to roast up russet potatoes and get that classic crispy potato skin. Don’t worry though – I stuffed them with very un-classic things. This recipe has a few components involved, most of which can be made in advance. 

I made a “sour cream” out of sunflower seeds. It’s creamy, tangy, and delicious – which we need on these potatoes because this also takes the place of any cheese. If you have extra, scoop it into tacos, onto burrito bowls, or use it as a dip for veggies. It’ll keep for a few days in the fridge, and it’s a delicious creamy condiment to have on hand.

What’s next? Coconut bacon! It’s super easy to make, but since your oven will be roasting the potatoes, it’s best to make this in advance. Luckily, it’s actually super easy. All you need is coconut flakes, tamari, smoked paprika, and maple syrup. You could add liquid smoke if you want – I don’t because it’s not something I keep on hand, and I get enough smoky flavor from the smoked paprika.

The filling here is made of black beans, (frozen) corn, red onion, chili powder, lime juice, and cilantro. I would eat this salad on its own any day, but today we’re stuffing it into these potatoes.

The final step? Assemble into crispy potatoes and serve!

Healthier (Vegan) Stuffed Potato Skins

For more appetizer ideas, check out this post with 50 easy appetizers.


4.6 from 7 reviews

Loaded Potato Skins

 
Author:
Serves: Makes 10 loaded potato skins.
Ingredients
  • 5 small to medium russet potatoes
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Coconut Bacon (makes extra)
  • 1½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1½ tablespoons tamari
  • Scant 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Sunflower Vegan Sour Cream (makes extra)
  • 1¼ cups hulled raw sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
Black Bean & Corn filling
  • 1 (14-ounce) can black beans (1½ cups), drained and rinsed
  • ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder, more as desired
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
Garnish
  • Chives, sliced
  • Jalapeño pepper, diced (optional)
  • Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
  1. Make the Coconut Bacon: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the coconut flakes, tamari, maple syrup, and paprika on the baking sheet and toss gently to coat. Spread in a thin layer and bake until dark golden brown and slightly crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. This can be made ahead and stored at room temperature for up to a week.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scrub the potatoes, poke holes with a fork, and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, or until fork-tender. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450°F. When cool to the touch, slice each potato in half and scoop out the flesh, leaving a ¼-inch lining of the potato in the shell. Drizzle the potato skins with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on the baking sheet, cut-side down. Roast for 10 minutes, turn, drizzle with more olive oil and a very generous sprinkle of salt, and roast for an additional 10 minutes, or until crispy. Save the scooped out potato flesh for another use.
  3. Make the Sun Cheese: In a blender, combine the sunflower seeds, water, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and blend until creamy, about 1 minute. Chill until ready to use.
  4. Make the Black Bean & Corn filling: In a medium bowl, mix together the black beans, corn (it thaws quickly, so I just mix it in frozen), red onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, cilantro, and salt.
  5. Scoop the Black Bean & Corn filling into the potato skins and season with more salt and squeezes of lime (the potatoes really benefit from generous amounts of seasoning). Top with the Sun Cheese and Coconut Bacon. Garnish with the chives, jalapeño, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

 

20 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Jen
    01.08.2024

    Hi! I tried the sunflower cheese as it’s the same recipe as in your cookbook. In that version you say to soak but now mine is very runny. Will it thicken in the fridge?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.09.2024

      Hi Jen, it should thicken in the fridge. Give it a stir before you’re ready to use it.

  2. imsen
    01.31.2022

    These potato skins looks so yummy!!

  3. Pat
    10.06.2021

    I can’t wait to try this recipe but I have to be honest. I don’t want to make a meal for hours on end. I will buy the vegan sour cream and take a stab at coconut bacon.

  4. Elise
    03.21.2018

    Could you perhaps use the potato inners for mashed potatoes do you think? 🤔

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.22.2018

      yep, you could 🙂

      • Elise
        03.22.2018

        Awesome, thank you 🤗

        Made last night and loved, the coconut bacon is probably my favourite part! 😅

        • Jeanine Donofrio
          03.24.2018

          so happy to hear!!

  5. kellie@foodtoglow
    02.01.2018

    Oops! Meant to write sour cream, not mayo!

  6. kellie@foodtoglow
    02.01.2018

    I’m with you on football, although I never had to take a test on it. That’s just weird. Your potatoes are not only adorable, they sound fab. I already do the coconut bacon thing (so good!) but I will try out your sunflower mayo. I often prefer the taste of sunflower seeds over the usual cashews in vegan dairy subs anyway.

  7. Laura
    02.01.2018

    These look beautiful! Do you have a suggestion for what to do with potato flesh?

  8. stephanie comstock
    01.31.2018

    OMGosh!! My meat loving family went crazy over this recipe, especially the coconut bacon!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.05.2018

      I’m so happy your family loved them – thanks for sharing!

  9. Gaby Dalkin
    01.29.2018

    This is totally a gameday essential!!

  10. Adriana
    01.29.2018

    Hi! I’m curious about the sunflower sour cream, you don’t need to soak the seeds?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.29.2018

      I usually don’t soak them – I just blend them until they get creamy, which usually takes 30 seconds or a minute, depending on the blender. If you have a weaker blender, you could soak them for 4 to 6 hours, rinse and drain them before continuing with the rest of the recipe. I would add 2 tablespoons less water to the recipe since soaking them makes them soak up water. Hope that helps!

  11. Edie
    01.29.2018

    These are calling my name! Pinning them. Happy Monday 🙂

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.