These broccoli and cheddar twice baked potatoes definitely fit into my ideal food world of both tasty and healthy (or at least not too loaded with “bad ingredients”). Plus, everyone I know loves them just as much, so they’re great for serving your family or guests, too!

The process is easy—just bake potatoes until they’re tender, scoop them out of their shells and mash them with just enough butter and buttermilk to make them a little creamy. Then top with steamed and seasoned broccoli and a little cheddar before popping under the broiler. They’re seriously the most delicious and guilt-free twice baked potatoes you’ll eat!

Ingredients:

2 medium to large baking (russet) potatoes
2 small (or 1 large) broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch florets with stems no longer than 1 inch
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, softened
½ cup buttermilk
1 scallion, sliced then
1 ounce (¼ cup) cheddar, plus ½ ounce (2 tablespoons)
salt
black pepper

Directions:

Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes and stab them several times with a fork. Place them on the oven rack and bake until a fork inserted into the potato meets no resistance, 60-75 minutes.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and set them aside until they’re cool enough to handle. Heat the broiler. Meanwhile, bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Place the broccoli florets in a steamer basket and put the steamer basket in the saucepan, making sure that the water does not come into contact with the broccoli. Cover the pot and steam for 4 minutes, until the broccoli is just crisp-tender. (You want it more on the crisp side, since they’ll continue to cook as they cool, plus they’ll spend some time under the broiler.) Remove the steamer basket with the broccoli from the saucepan and discard the water in the pot. Dump the broccoli into the pot and season with a pinch of salt and the lemon juice.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the potatoes, leaving a thin coating on the potato skin. In a medium bowl, use a potato masher to mash the potato flesh with the butter. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, a pinch of ground black pepper, the broccoli, plus the remaining ingredients, except ½ ounce cheddar.

Spoon the filling into the potato shells and top with the remaining cheddar. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is spotty brown and the tops are crisp. Serve immediately

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Quick tip: To bake the potatoes faster poke them with a fork several times after washing them and cook them in the microwave on high. This should cut the baking time by at least half, but check every 3-5 minutes or so until done.

Photo attribution and recipe courtesy of: Crumbly Cookie.