This Baked Potato Bar is perfect for any occasion, including parties, potlucks, and tailgating events! The topping ideas are endless, and each guest will love customizing their own potato. Plus you can make the baked potatoes 4 ways: grill, slow cooker, air fryer, or Instant Pot!
I’m a fan of self-serve food boards and bars for parties. You can switch up your theme depending on the event, and guests always love how customizable their food is! In the past I’ve made this DIY Bacon Bar and this Spicy Game Day Charcuterie Board. I’ve even made a Dessert Charcuterie Board that’s loaded with yummy chocolate treats!
Today, we’re doing a baked potato bar! This is the perfect idea for summer pool parties, game day gatherings, or even Fourth of July. It’s an easy, effortless idea that always impresses a crowd.
The best part of a baked potato bar is all the topping ideas! I’ve created lots of unique flavor combinations for you here, and I even included a printable that you can use to label everything (find the label and display ideas at the bottom of this post).
Ingredients you’ll need
This recipe starts with a grilled baked potato, which only requires russet or sweet potatoes, vegetable oil, and kosher salt. Besides the potatoes, you can choose any of the toppings that you would like. A full list is further down in this post.
How to set up a baked potato bar
- Make the potatoes: This recipe is for making the potatoes on the grill. But you can also make slow cooker baked potatoes, Instant Pot baked potatoes, or even air fryer baked potatoes if you like crispier skin. You could even switch things up and make an Instant Pot Potato Soup instead! Or, try these fun air fryer hasselback potatoes!
- Prepare your toppings: Depending on which topping ideas you choose, you can place them in small bowls and bottles. I like to use a variety of sizes to make the display interesting.
- Assemble the bar: You can assemble your bar on a large tray, a cookie sheet, or right on the counter. I suggest placing the potatoes in the middle first, then arranging the bowls of toppings around it. A little fresh greenery (parsley is great!) is a nice element to add too.
Baked potato bar toppings
- Cheese: You can use cheddar, pepper jack, goat cheese, or mozzarella.
- Meats: Try chili, ground beef or chicken seasoned with taco seasoning, pulled pork, bacon, or pepperoni.
- Vegetables: Try scallions, steamed broccoli, grilled corn, caramelized onions, crispy air fryer onions, roasted red peppers, jalapeños, avocado, or tomatoes.
- Sauces: This salsa would be great, or try sour cream, butter, BBQ sauce, white BBQ sauce, marinara sauce, meat sauce, brown gravy, or mojo sauce.
- Herbs and spices: Chopped fresh chives, basil, and cilantro would be great. You can also use seasoning salt, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, or ground cumin.
What’s the best way to make a baked potato?
You can make a perfectly soft, fluffy baked potato lots of different ways. This recipe is for making them on the grill, but you can also follow my instructions for making them in the slow cooker, Instant Pot, or air fryer.
How do I keep baked potatoes warm for a potluck?
Once your potatoes are hot and fluffy you want to keep them warm until you’re ready to serve. I suggest wrapping the potatoes individually in foil and then keeping in a warmer drawer on your stove, or in the oven heated to 200 degrees.
What do I serve with them?
You can serve this all on it’s own (potatoes are very filling, especially with toppings). You could also serve this alongside grilled chicken, like this Chicken with Peanut Sauce, or with these pork carnitas, or with this Buffalo Chicken Chili if it’s colder outside.
How can I label my toppings?
I created this simple printable for you to use to label all your topping and flavor ideas! You can right click to save it and print. Just cut these labels then display them with one of these ideas:
- Create a garland with the tags and flags in the colors of your favorite team.
- Put them on toothpicks and display them by sticking them into potatoes.
- Create station bars, with the toppings and recipe idea at each stop.
More potato recipes
- More → 35+ BEST Potato Recipes
More party recipes
PS – Be sure to check out the 65+ BEST Super Bowl recipes and Super Bowl Cocktails too!
Did you enjoy this post on baked potato bar ideas?
If you loved this baked potato bar recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
For more great Platings & Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Be sure to check out these 29+ Sauces for Potatoes too!
Full Recipe
50+ Baked Potato Bar Toppings
Ingredients
Cheese
- Pepperjack
- Cheddar
- Swiss
- Goat Cheese
- Mozzarella
Vegetables
- Steamed Broccoli
- Grilled Corn Kernels
- Sauteed Onions
- Pickled Onions
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Jalapenos
- Avocado
- Green Onions
- Tomatoes
Herbs & Seasonings
Instructions
- Scrub potatoes under cold running water. Dry with a towel, then use a fork to poke holes all over the potato.
- Using your hands, rub oil over each of the potatoes. Sprinkle with kosher salt and wrap each potato in two layers of foil.
- Place on grill and let cook for one hour, turning over at the 30 minute mark.
- Remove from grill and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2016. It was updated in 2021 to add new photographs. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply