High Protein Twice Baked Potatoes

Gluten-free Option

• Replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos when making the high protein vegan bacon bits.

Additional Information:

• If you don’t have the time to make the sour cream recipe you could sub it out for a pre-made sour cream; this will change the calories and macros though

I remember twice baked potatoes being one of my absolute favorite things to eat as a kid (mine never had bacon bits because I was a vegetarian), but my family only made them a couple of times a year, because they take so long! Even as an adult, I will still only make these once or twice a year, because they definitely do take awhile, but they are worth it! I think Twice Baked Potatoes are the perfect thing for a special dinner with friends or family, or if you’re just feeling kind of fancy! I also have a twice baked potato casserole recipe if you want the flavors but want to shave off some time on the preparation!

This twice baked potato recipe is a little different because it’s high protein! The protein comes from the homemade vegan sour cream we will be using and the homemade “bacon” bits. The sour cream is mostly silken tofu which has a ton of protein and is pretty low calorie too! The bacon bits are made with TVP, Textured Vegetable Protein!

If you’re looking for some other high protein appetizers to serve at a party, you should check out my stuffed mushrooms and spinach and artichoke dip recipes too!

Ingredients

• High Protein Sour Cream – This is a homemade high protein sour cream made with blended silken tofu. You can use store-bought sour cream if you’re low on time, but it will change your calories/macros. You can find silken tofu at most grocery stores and also purchase it online.

• High Protein Bacon Bits – These are fairly easy to make. You basically mix all of your ingredients together, and wait around for about 20 minutes while you stir and wait for the TVP to cook. There are store bought vegan bacon bits, but I prefer these personally. When you’re making these, don’t cook them until they are super dry and crispy because we are putting these back in the oven.

• Russet Potatoes – I used 3 mediums, which came out to be about 600 grams of potato goodness (if you’re weighing). If you’re using smaller potatoes, you may want to use 4.
• Vegan Shredded Cheddar – I like Violife brand for my shredded cheddar but choose your favorite! If you’re trying to eat more Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB), you can omit these if you want.
• Dill – I try to use fresh dill because I like the flavor better, but dried dill will work too!

Directions

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 F (177 C).
• Clean/scrub potatoes; poke some holes in them with a fork. Bake in the oven for about an hour until fork tender. You want to make sure they are well cooked otherwise they will be a pain in the ass to mash in later steps.
• Make the High Protein Sour Cream – follow the instructions on the recipe linked here.
• Make the High Protein Bacon Bits – follow the instructions on the recipe linked here. Don’t overcook these because they will be going back in the oven with the potatoes.
• Once the potatoes are well cooked, cut in half (long). Scoop out all of the potato, leaving enough that the skin can structurally still stand. I think this part is the hardest, because I suck at it. You also might want to wait until the potatoes cool down enough that you can touch them without crying.
• Mash the potato in a big bowl – you can either do this by hand or with a hand/stand mixer.

• Once well mashed, add in your tofu sour cream and mix together really well. This should be nice and creamy.
• Add in the dill and 1 cup of the shredded vegan cheese, and all of the bacon bits (except for 1/4 cup) and mix together well.
• Split the potato filling evenly amongst your potato skins.

• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and add the remaining shredded cheese and bacon bits.
• Bake for another 5 – 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. You may need to broil for a bit to get the cheese to fully melt.
  • The vegan cheese tends to melt better with humidity, so you could cook these in a deep casserole dish covered with aluminum foil over it to trap the humidity.

Silly Little Haiku

This will take awhile

Potatoes are worth it though

And they’re high protein