Give Boring Baked Potatoes A New Spin And Make Them The Bloomin' Way

If baked potatoes are in your regular dinner rotation, you might be looking for a way to make this delicious side dish a little more interesting. May we introduce: the bloomin' baked potato. We've already covered how to make a restaurant-worthy blooming onion at home — but a blooming baked potato requires less effort, no deep-frying, and no messy batter.

Also called a potato blossom, there are myriad methods for making one, and a deep well of recipes available online. The simplest way we found was to use a 12-slice apple slicer, slicing downward on the potato until there is about 1 inch left on the bottom. To stabilize the potato for the baking sheet, it can be trimmed flat on the bottom.

From there, you can choose to slather it in softened butter or coat it with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Once baked until fork tender, you can top your blooming potato as you normally would a regular old baked spud — sour cream, shredded cheddar, chives, and bacon bits are all classic. 

If you are confident in your knife skills, you can use them to cut the potato more intricately to create even more delicious crispy bits. Some recipes call for cutting circular shapes, then criss-crossing — like a spider's web. Some call for simply cutting lengthwise, then crosswise several times, always leaving some space on the bottom to keep the potato intact.

Instead of serving the blooming potato as a side dish, some recipes suggest it as an appetizer, just like a bloomin' onion. The crispy pieces can be plucked and dipped into a creamy, sour cream-based dipping sauce. If you want a thicker crust on the potato, make a breadcrumb coating using your favorite seasonings, along with some Parmesan cheese. Garlic salt, onion powder, paprika, or dried oregano are all great choices.

Other recipes show the blooming potatoes smothered in a creamy sauce, baked in the oven in a casserole dish, then topped with shredded cheese and chives. Topping a baked potato with baked beans is popular in the UK, or you could get beefy like this jacket potato with beef and gravy. A Mexican-inspired blooming potato would be delicious with spicy queso sauce, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Any of these toppings would definitely turn a baked potato into a hearty, filling meal.