Potato Skins Pizza

Potato Skins Pizza is my newest recipe remix and I’m so pleased with the results! Smashed, roasted baby potatoes masquerade as pizza crust in this seriously addictive rendition of loaded potato skins. In addition to the potato/potato skin base, you’ll find all of the signature ingredients you associate with classic potato skins – cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and chive infused sour cream. I’m not kidding when I say that Potato Skins Pizza takes “delicious” to a whole new level.

If you’re a fan of potato skins (and who isn’t) you will definitely want to try making Potato Skins Pizza.  It’s much less time consuming to make than regular potato skins, where you need to scoop out the flesh and individually fill several potatoes.

Place cooked potatoes in springform ring.

Smash them down to form the pizza crust.

Remove ring, season and bake.

The cooked pizza crust will be golden brown with crispy potato skins.

Add cheese and bacon and bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Don’t be deterred by the length of the printable recipe below; I always write too much because I want to be thorough!  Potato Skins Pizza is simple to make as shown in the picture summary above.  (Note that I’m using a 14 inch pizza pan in these photos so that I could serve the Potato Skins Pizza on it, but any baking sheet will do.)  This recipe, and the basic technique used, can easily be adapted by varying the meats, cheeses, and herbs.  In the future I plan to try making potato skins pizza with ground beef, blue cheese, and rosemary, and one with chicken, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes.  Stay tuned for that!

Before I tested this recipe I wondered whether the potato crust/base would stay intact when cut so that neat, pizza like slices could be served. I needn’t have worried. It seems that smashing and compacting the potatoes together inside the springform ring, and covering the top with lots of melted cheese, holds everything together just fine.  If you don’t own a springform pan you could probably make this dish in a pie plate or tart pan but I don’t think the potato skins would come out as crispy.  I’m sure it would still taste delicious though.

While you’d probably never serve potato skins as an elegant first course, you can see from the picture above that this dish would be perfectly suitable for more formal dining.  If you’re looking for another gluten-free pizza option check out Thin and Crispy Quinoa Crust Pizza.

Potato Skins Pizza

 

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Author: QUEEN OF MY KITCHEN

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ pound bacon
• 1½ pounds baby potatoes
• 7 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, about 1¾ cups
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
• CHIVE SOUR CREAM
• 1 cup/8 ounces sour cream
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped, or freeze dried chives

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay bacon slices on a half sheet pan and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 15-17 minutes until bacon is crispy. Drain bacon slices on paper towels and set aside. Scape any burned bits off the pan but leave the bacon drippings on the pan. Once the bacon slices are cool enough to handle, chop/crumble them.
2. Cook potatoes in simmering water until tender but not overcooked (10-15 minutes for small potatoes that are 1 ounce or less – longer for larger ones). Drain the potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes.
3. Place the ring of a 10 inch springform pan with removable bottom in the center of the sheet pan with the bacon drippings. (i.e. remove the bottom of the springform pan and use the ring only as a mold for the potatoes.) Dump the cooked potatoes into the ring, and using a glass, or something else with a flat bottom, smash the potatoes down into the ring until the surface is even and flat, and the potatoes fill the ring with no large empty spaces. Using a pastry brush, collect some of the bacon drippings from the sides of pan and brush them on top of the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully remove the ring/mold and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 25 minutes.
4. While the potatoes are baking make the Chive Sour Cream by combining the sour cream, salt, and chives in a small bowl.
5. When potatoes are done remove from the oven and evenly distribute the grated shredded cheddar cheese and bacon crumbles on top. Return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Let the pizza cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into slices using a pizza wheel. Sprinkle with chives and serve with Chive Sour Cream.

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