These bison, blue cheese, and veggie stuffed twice baked potatoes bring bold flavors and healthy eating together in an all-in-one meal. If you've not eaten bison before, this is a great recipe to start with.
I created this recipe for Litehouse Foods, however this post is not sponsored by them.
When I create new Make Healthy Easy recipes I always have the same mission:
Delicious flavor + health promoting ingredients - unneeded excess
I'm always trying to lower excess calories or unsaturated fat all while maximizing nutrient-rich ingredients like fruits and vegetables. And yeah, it has to taste good too.
Since we are a football family, anytime I can apply this mission to typical football foods or flavors and create something that works, it's a HUGE win! Potatoes, are a truly nutritious food, but sometimes that nutrition gets lost in translation as they are fried and/or smothered in excessive ingredients.
Last year I worked with Litehouse dressings and was challenged to create a healthier recipe using their blue cheese dressing. Since blue cheese and football food seem to come in packages, I thought I would try to make them coexist within my mission.
Watch the TV segment where I demo this recipe HERE
From all these factors, my Buffalo Blue Twice Baked Potatoes were born.
I know it's time consuming, but it's worth it...
I can tell you that I put blood (rather a burn), sweat and tears into this recipe because I baked a lot of potatoes and accidentally burned my arm on the oven in the process. It was all worth it though because the end result is a family friendly recipe, perfect for gameday or a weeknight meal, that is big on flavor, big on veggies, but reasonable in calories. In fact, this recipe is:
To make this recipe less time consuming, bake the potatoes ahead of time. For instance, I am making these this week and I baked the potatoes on Sunday afternoon and will finish the steps another night. That way my prep time is cut way down.
The "Buffalo" part of this recipe comes from actually using ground bison. This is becoming easier to find in grocery stores and I happen to really love the flavor. It's a lean meat with big flavor and brings a truly unique touch to this twice baked potato. However, you can sub in ground beef, turkey or chicken or leave it out all together.
While I use peppers, onions, and broccoli in this recipe, you can really use whatever veggies you like. The key is to chop them very small though so that you get all the flavors in each in each bite, and not just a big mouthful of one veggie.
Freeze for a quick meal later
When I make these twice baked potatoes now, I always make a double batch for a later meal. Instead of baking them a second time, I put them in the freezer on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes until firm. Then, wrap them securely in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for a later meal. Simply add about 20 minutes to the second bake time and bake them from frozen. BOOM! You just created your own freezer meal. This helps make that extra effort and time totally worth it!
Here's how you make it:
PrintRecipe
Buffalo Blue Twice Baked Potatoes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These bison, blue cheese and veggie stuffed twice baked potatoes bring bold flavors and healthy eating together in an all-in-one meal. If you've not eaten bison before, this is a great recipe to start with.
Ingredients
- 6 large and wide Russet potatoes (washed and scrubbed)
- 12 oz ground buffalo meat
- ¾ cup diced yellow onion (about 1 medium sized onion)
- 1 cup diced green pepper (about 1 large or 2 small peppers)
- 1 cup small, chopped fresh broccoli florets
- ¾ cup Litehouse Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a fork, poke a few small holes in each potato, then place them directly on oven racks, leaving air space in between each one. Bake for 60-90 minutes or until very soft.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium size skillet over medium heat. Add the buffalo meat and cook until no longer raw. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Use a paper towel to carefully wipe out most of the buffalo grease. Add the chopped onions, peppers and broccoli and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl combine cooked buffalo and cooked veggies. Set aside.
- Once potatoes are cooked through, remove from oven and allow them to cool until you can safely handle them. Use a sharp pairing knife and slice off about the top 20% of each one. Discard tops.
- Use a pointed spoon, melon baller or grapefruit spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh of each potato, leaving a layer inside like a potato skin. Avoid puncturing the potato skin. Save the cooked potato flesh in another mixing bowl. Mash potato flesh with a potato masher until soft and free of large lumps.
- Measure 2 ½ cups of the mashed potato flesh and discard the rest (or save for another use). Pour in the blue cheese dressing to the mashed potatoes and stir to combine. Next add the buffalo and veggie mixture, salt and pepper. Combine thoroughly.
- Fill each potato boat to the top with the mixture. Use all of the mixture. Place filled potatoes on a parchment or foil lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Serve each potato with a drizzle of blue cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: American
Whether you are planning a party for the big game or just planning dinner, add these Buffalo Blue Twice Baked Potatoes to your menu. I know you'll love them!
Long live football food,
