Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

It’s customary to leave flowers, pictures or other small remembrances as memorials at grave sites.  But potatoes?  Potatoes are commonly left at the grave of Frederick the Great.  In order to explain this odd tradition, we need to take a step back.  Picture yourself in Germany in the mid-1700’s.  (More accurately, Germany was known as Prussia in those days.)  Frederick the Great was the ruler of the Prussia, and he was responsible for a number of major military and cultural advancements.  His accomplishments are too lengthy to list here, so we’ll focus on how he became known as The Potato King (Der Kartoffelkönig).

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

The kingdom’s food supply was a major focus of Frederick’s reign, and he made significant progress in draining swampland and transforming it into viable farmland.  As part of this project, Frederick introduced potatoes to the country.  He loved potatoes, and he is said to have eaten potatoes quite frequently.  Potatoes are also inexpensive to grow, and the newly reclaimed farmlands became excellent places to grow said potatoes.  Potatoes thrived in this part of the world, and they became a major staple of Prussian (and later German) food.

Frederick the Great grave

As an homage to Frederick for introducing potatoes to the country, people leave potatoes at his grave at the palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam, Germany.  (If Potsdam sounds familiar, it’s also the location where Churchill, Stalin and Truman met to divide Germany after WWII.)

Another fun fact about Frederick’s grave?  He wasn’t close to his wife, so he actually requested to be buried next to his two greyhounds.  Frederick’s modest grave (and the graves of his dogs) are located on one of the terraces on the back side of Sanssouci.  I took this photo last summer when we visited Potsdam, and if you look closely you’ll see that someone even dressed one of the potatoes up to look like Frederick the Great.  Dressing potatoes up in clothes = awesome.

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes

Keeping with the potato theme, we recently made these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes for dinner.  We love potatoes around our house, and I could totally go all Bubba from Forrest Gump and start listing out our favorite potato recipes.  Uh, you can bake ’em, boil ’em, grill ’em.  Dey’s, uh, hasselback potatoes, garlic parm potato wedges, smashfries, truffle fries.  That’s, that’s about it.  Oh wait, there’s baked potato soup, too.

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

But today’s recipe is a bit different.  It’s essentially individual-sized scalloped potatoes, and it’s delicious!  These Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are truthfully fairly easy to make, too.  Unless you’re Edward Scissorhands, you will need a mandoline.  I don’t pull out the mandoline very often, but it’s pretty essential to making certain recipes.  (I personally like this mandoline – aff. link.  It’s easy to use, and more importantly easy to clean.)

For these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes, I kept it fairly simple with the toppings.  I layered some crumbled, cooked bacon along with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and fresh thyme in between the layers.  However, this would be a great recipe for playing with other flavors.  Add in some chopped chives.  Or perhaps a fun flavor of cheese.  (Cabot makes an excellent Hot Buffalo Wing Cheddar Cheese and a delicious Tuscan Cheddar Cheese.  Both would be fun mixed in or shredded on top of these baked potato stacks.)

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

As far as amounts, I found that a medium russet potato yielded ~4 baked potato stacks.  (I sliced the potatoes 1/16″ thin.)  For this recipe, I used 4 medium baked potatoes, and it yielded 18 baked potato stacks. 

These Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun side dish that go well with all sorts of recipes.  The first night, we served these with delicious grilled ribeye steaks, and then the next night we actually ate the leftovers just by themselves.  No matter how you serve ’em, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty dish.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, place in a 350°F oven or toaster oven for 8-10 minutes, or until heated through. (If necessary, place a piece of foil on top to keep potatoes from burning.) Leftovers can be heated in microwave, but they lose the crispiness that makes these potato cups so tasty!

Did you make these Muffin Pan Loaded Potato Muffins at home?  Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog).  I’d love to see your version and your toppings!

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes

Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!
5 from 14 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 438.98kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Spray (2) 12-cup muffin tins with non-stick baking spray; set aside.
  • Using a large skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet, pat dry with paper towels and crumble.
  • Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes to 1/16” thickness. Place sliced potatoes in a large bowl.
  • Using a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into bowl with sliced potatoes; toss until well combined.
  • Layer potatoes, bacon and cheese into muffin cups until stacks are even with top of the pan.
  • Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender and top layer is golden brown. Let pan stand for 5 minutes.
  • Slide a table knife around edges of each muffin cup to loosen. Using a fork, gently lift baked potato stacks out of muffin tin.
  • Place baked potato stacks onto plates and top each with butter, sour cream, additional shredded cheddar cheese and green onions. Serve hot.
Topped with your favorite baked potato toppings, these Muffin Tin Loaded Baked Potatoes are a fun and tasty side dish!

Looking for other fun potato recipes?  Check out these other favorites, too:

These Loaded Hasselback Baked Potatoes are a fun twist on a baked potato.  Crispy edges, soft inside...and they're topped with bacon and cheese!

Loaded Hasselback Baked Potatoes

Looking for a unique (and trendy!) side dish?  These Parmesan Truffle Fries are tossed with truffle oil and topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Parmesan Truffle Fries

Grab that cast iron skillet!  These Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes are a fun twist on a classic recipe!

Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Spiced® is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Programs and other affiliate services. This means that spicedblog.com receives a small commission by linking to Amazon.com and other sites at no cost to the readers.

38 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    That’s so interesting, David!! Who would have thought?? Also, muffin tin potatoes? Brilliant! I just love the presentation of these (perfect for entertaining), but they’re also so fun…not to mention delicious! These look like they need to go on the menu real soon 🙂 Pinned!

    1. And here you thought potatoes were boring! 🙂 I agree that these stacked potatoes are fun for entertaining. And honestly you can make a bunch of these quite easily once you get the mandolin out and going. Plus, a good loaded baked potato is hard to beat, right?? Mmmm…bacon and cheese…

  2. Oh my goodness. The potato story is hysterical. If I didn’t know you were a historian, I’d think you’d made it all up! I love these potatoes, and they’re so pretty the way you’ve presented them.

    1. Haha! That story about leaving potatoes at Frederick’s grave is almost unbelievable. But it’s true – that’s why I included the photo as evidence! Also, these muffin tin baked potatoes are a really fun entertaining idea. Perfect individual-sized portions!

  3. 5 stars
    These are so great, and ideal for entertaining!! I love them – and I love that the toppings are so flexible and you can really make them to your own taste. Delicious!

    1. You really can adjust the flavors in these baked potatoes to whatever you prefer. And they’re perfect for entertaining since they’re already individually portioned! Thanks so much, Alex!

  4. Thanks to a brief excursus in Prussian history, and that story about Frederick the Great and his love for potatoes (and particularly his grave) is so cool (They don’t always add really cool facts in history books!) Also, I must admit this method of cooking loaded potatoes is so cool (And certainly new to me), too. And the combo. I mean, bacon, potatoes, cheese, thyme, and butter – no words needed!

    1. Hey you never know what you might come across when you stop by the blog, Ben! Today is a brief stop by Prussian history. 🙂 But, you’re right, facts like that don’t always make it into the history books. History class might’ve been more interesting if they had! As far as the recipe itself, I highly recommend this style. It’s a fun presentation, and of course you can’t go wrong with cheese + bacon!

    1. Who would’ve thought it’d be considered an honor to leave a potato at a grave!? That really is a fun story. And this recipe? It’s fun, too! The flavors are delicious, but you could easily adapt the flavors based on your own preferences. Thanks so much, Michelle!

    1. Thanks so much, Dawn! I love how these potatoes are a fun twist on a classic recipe – plus, they’re perfect for entertaining, too!

  5. 5 stars
    Great German potato history lesson and a story that closely matches the history of the spud here in Sweden.
    What a fantastic way to enjoy Mr spud.

    1. Ah, Mr. Spud truly is a versatile guy, right? I mean I love a good baked potato in all forms, but this version is still quite notable. The individual-sized portions are just a fun way to serve up a classic recipe! Thanks, Ron!

  6. You’re ridiculous! But also awesome. I feel we could start a movement to crown you the new Potato King! It might not come with Prussia but perhaps just an unlimited quantity of potatoes would suffice? These baked potatoes are adorable and somehow combine everything I love about hasselback potatoes, scalloped potatoes and mini things all in one!!!

    1. Me? The Potato King? I hardly deserve such an honor, although I do appreciate the thoughts! I could never be mentioned in the same sentence as Frederick the Great! However, if you want to bestow upon me an unlimited quantity of potatoes, then I will gladly accept…and then I’ll proceed to make a lot of French fries. 🙂

  7. 5 stars
    I was recently watching a series on Catherine the Great and Frederick is featured in the story along with his dogs – no potatoes though! I love these crispy potatoes and all the layers! We might have to call you David the Great now!

    1. Interesting! Yes, apparently Frederick and his dogs were quite close, and in fact a lot of paintings of Frederick show his dogs in there, too. Kinda interesting! However, I agree that the paintings don’t often include potatoes – haha. This is certainly a fun way to cook potatoes, although I don’t deserve the David the Great title. (I’ll humbly accept it, though…haha!) Thanks, Kathy!

  8. Hahaha – I got a good chuckle over the fact that someone dressed one of the potatoes up to look like Frederick the Great on that gravesite! Such a fun story intro to this delicious recipe!
    I love potatoes too, it might be a totally mental thing for me, but I swear a big potato dish calms me down like a thunder shirt does my dog! So of course I cannot wait to try this out- especially seeing it has bacon in there too!

    1. I know! Can you imagine someone taking the time to dress a potato up like Frederick the Great? On one hand, I say that’s ridiculous. On the other hand, I say that’s awesome! 🙂

      And I’m with ya on potatoes, Shashi – they’re such a classic comfort food. I highly recommend baking ’em in your muffin tin next time!

  9. 5 stars
    Ha! What a fun post, David. I can’t imagine my husband choosing to be buried next to the dogs instead of me, lol. They must have had a very feisty relationship.

    Absolutely love these wonderful little potato stacks! Fun for any meal really and would make great party fare!

    1. Yeah, I think Frederick and his wife didn’t really see eye-to-eye. I guess it was widely rumored that Frederick didn’t enjoy company of the female variety – who knows. All I know is that he wanted to be buried next to his dogs instead of his wife!

      In other news, I also know that these potato stacks are a really fun way to serve up baked potatoes. Thanks so much, my friend!

  10. 5 stars
    Such a great history lesson! Who knew?! (Well you, apparently — and good thing, so you could tell all of us.)
    And such a fun and super delicious recipe! I love the individual portions using the muffin pans. 🙂 ~Valentina

    1. Haha! I love random factoids like this, Valentina. It’s probably why I enjoy trivia…well, at least the categories that I know something about. (Pop culture? Forget it!) And, yes, using a muffin tin to bake potatoes is a fun way to serve ’em. I highly recommend it!

  11. 5 stars
    I always love learning the history behind a food or a recipe, so this was absolutely fascinating about Frederick the Great, David! And these muffin tin loaded baked potatoes look and sound absolutely DELICIOUS! I completely agree, such a fan of potatoes cooked, baked, prepared literally any way, and what a fun and unique way to enjoy potatoes you’ve got here. Definitely trying these! 😋

    1. I’m with ya, Shannon! Food (and recipes) often have such interesting stories, and that’s part of the fun for me. Who knew that people leave potatoes at Frederick’s grave? Kinda cool factoid, right? And cooking potatoes in a muffin tin like this is definitely cool! We really enjoy this one…and you can mix up the toppings however you like, too!

  12. 5 stars
    I love both the history trivia and the individual side potato dish – which is SUCH a good idea! Individually-portioned anything is firstly cute and therefore awesome and interesting in our kids’ books, and so I am basically slowly transforming our whole diet into a tiny version of itself #truefact. Thanks for sharing this recipe, David, this would also be fabulour for a dinner party!

    1. I’m with ya on the individual portions, Katerina. They just make recipes more fun, right? And being able to use a muffin tin makes baked potatoes more fun for sure! I highly recommend trying out the muffin tin idea for potatoes. And you can totally mix up the toppings based on your mood, too!

  13. 5 stars
    I don’t pull out the mandoline very often either David but these muffin tin loaded baked potatoes give me a very good reason to do so! Yum! I’m always greatful to come here for a good history lesson too. I would have never known about Frederick the Great’s love for potatoes!

    1. Exactly! These muffin tin potatoes are too fun…they’re a great reason to pull out the mandolin! Also, now you know about leaving potatoes at Frederick the Great’s grave. How fun is that little factoid?? 🙂

  14. this sounds fantastically delicious david. i love potatoes in just about any form and these look fab. i didn’t know that about frederick. clever king!

    1. I’m with you, Sherry! I love potatoes in pretty much every form possible. I’ve gotta say baking them in a muffin tin is different, but it’s a really fun way to serve ’em!

  15. 5 stars
    David,
    You are such a history bringer. I didn’t know about the Potato King and I’m not surprised reigning with this kind of title he wasn’t not close to his wife.

    I loved the idea of tin loading these starchy beauties. I would also like to try your other potato recipes, my family is a potato fan in any form. Thanks

    1. Haha! I’ve always loved history and trivia, so the chance to combine these two interests is fun. 🙂 And now you know about Frederick the Great and his love for potatoes. Speaking of potatoes, I highly recommend baking them like this! It’s a fun twist on the classic. Thanks so much, Hasin!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating