Description
This French Onion Twice Baked Potatoes recipe combines the rich, sweet flavor of caramelized onions with creamy mashed potatoes and melted Gruyère cheese for a comforting and elegant side dish. Perfect for holiday meals or a special dinner, these twice baked potatoes offer a beautiful balance of savory, cheesy, and fresh herb notes. Easy to prepare ahead and customizable to vegetarian needs by substituting beef broth with vegetable broth.
Ingredients
Scale
Potatoes
- 4 large russet potatoes
For the Onion Filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup beef broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian)
For the Potato Mixture
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Reserved caramelized onions for topping
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Potatoes: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Scrub the russet potatoes thoroughly and pierce them several times with a fork. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake for 1 hour or until tender when pierced with a knife.
- Caramelize Onions: While potatoes bake, heat olive oil and unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook slowly, stirring often, for 25 to 30 minutes until the onions become golden and caramelized, developing a deep sweet flavor.
- Season Onions: Stir in fresh thyme leaves, salt, black pepper, and beef broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version). Cook for an additional 2 minutes to meld the flavors, then remove from heat.
- Scoop Potato Flesh: Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice each potato lengthwise and carefully scoop out the flesh into a large bowl, leaving a thin shell intact to hold the filling.
- Prepare Potato Mixture: Mash the scooped potato flesh with sour cream, milk, half of the shredded Gruyère cheese, and grated Parmesan until smooth and creamy. Gently fold in the caramelized onions, reserving some onions for topping the potatoes later.
- Fill Potato Shells: Spoon the creamy potato and onion mixture back into the potato shells, mounding slightly to fill them generously.
- Bake Again: Place the filled potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the remaining shredded Gruyère cheese on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the tops are golden brown.
- Garnish and Serve: Remove from the oven and garnish with reserved caramelized onions and chopped fresh parsley. Serve warm as a delicious, hearty side dish.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, replace beef broth with vegetable broth.
- You can prepare the potatoes a day ahead and refrigerate them; bake just before serving to save time.
- Gruyère cheese can be substituted with Swiss or mozzarella cheese depending on your preference.
- Ensure onions caramelize slowly to develop deeper sweetness and flavor.
- Using russet potatoes is ideal as they have a starchy texture perfect for mashing.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 potato half
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 330 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
