This Twice Baked Salsa Potatoes with Fajita Veggies recipe tops cheesy twice baked potatoes with sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and corn.
Recipe Routine
Do you ever go to a restaurant and order the same dish every time?
For better or worse, I'm a person who likes routine. Usually when I find something I like at a restaurant, I stick with it. My husband always ribs me for ordering the same thing time and time again, but it works for me, so why not, right? But there was one Mexican restaurant that we used to go to and both of us would order the same thing every time we went there—Veggie Fajitas. And then we'd both get a side of spicy, cheesy mashed potatoes. Even my husband couldn't branch out and try something different because the fajitas were just so flippin' good.
But then! One hot August afternoon, we went to get our usual fajitas-and-potatoes combo and what the server brought out to us shook me to the core. Oh yes, I was shook! Instead of the usual zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and corn, there on our fajita plate was a sad, soggy mix of onions, peas, and carrots. Frozen veggies! Frozen veggies that do not even belong in fajitas! Who puts frozen peas in fajitas? Who?! And even more importantly, why?
About the Recipe
As much as I like routine, I'm also pretty resourceful. Since our favorite dish had been reformulated for the worse, I just had to make it at home. And then there were those cheesy potatoes too—those were integral to the whole veggie fajita experience. And thus my Twice Baked Salsa Potatoes with Fajita Veggies was born. You get cheesy potato goodness combined with yummy sauteed fajita veggies. In fact, we love these potatoes so much, we don't even miss the Veggie Fajitas at that unnamed Mexican restaurant anymore.
Ingredients
- 2 large Russet potatoes pierced with fork
- olive oil cooking spray or mister
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup salsa
- ¼ cup reduced fat sour cream
- ½ cup Monterrey Jack or Mexican Blend cheese
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 2 tsp fajita seasoning I like using this recipe, minus the cornstarch
- 1 medium zucchini halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 2 extra large button mushrooms or 1 small portabella mushroom thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh or frozen corn Trader Joe's Roasted Corn works great in this!
- cilantro for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet and cook for about 1 hour, or until tender and easily pierced with fork. Cool slightly. Don't turn off oven!
- Cut potatoes in half; scoop out insides and transfer them to medium bowl. Mash insides with salsa, sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper (to taste). Put filling back into potato skins and return to oven. Bake for 10 minutes more at 350°F.
- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in fajita seasoning and cook 30 seconds. Add zucchini and mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring frequently, 3–4 minutes or until softened. Add corn and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
- Top each potato with ¼ of the vegetable mixture and cilantro (if using).
Ugh! I hate it when restaurants change your favorite dish. It's so upsetting!! And really that's super sad they tried to pass off carrots and peas in a fajita. Frozen vegetables are unacceptable but at least get the Mexican veggie blend at the store!
It was SO GROSS. Even the onions were frozen--c'mon, like a Mexican restaurant doesn't even have FRESH ONIONS to put in fajitas?! I actually feel a little bit sick remembering it. It's sad that they went from so epically good to practically inedible.
I used to order the same thing over and over again. But now, I'd try to change as much as possible. give the restaurant a chance to wow me. Btw, smart of you to bake these out! I have never had fajitas before but sounds interesting!
I guess it's because we don't go to restaurants that often, so when we do go, I don't want to get something new and then miss out on my favorites. I am so lame, ha!
Love twice baked potatoes. Never thought of a Mexican twist and this recipe really sounds good.
When I first started WW, I put salsa on my baked potatoes all the time so I could add less cheese and sour cream and still have something flavorful. But it's even better in twice-baked potato form!
Ooooo I'm making this! Looks delish!
Thank you! They are so good, and pretty easy too!
YUM! And what great timing - I have some baking potatoes that are sprouting - I need to cook them!
Well, if you don't get around to cooking them, you could always plant them, right? 🙂
I am so going to have to try this!
They are really good--it's hard to go wrong with twice-baked potatoes!
My waist tells me to stop looking at your blog..
But my mind tells me other things... dangerous things...
Ha! But this recipe is actually much lighter than most twice-baked potatoes. 🙂 By adding salsa, there's more flavor which means you can use less cheese and sour cream (or regular cream--I've seen that in twice-baked potatoes too). And the veggies on top add more nutritional value too.
I was looking for a good Cinco de Mayo vegetable recipe yesterday and ended up giving up. This would have been perfect, I wish I'd thought of checking your website yesterday!
You know, it didn't even occur to me that this was timed perfectly for Cinco de Mayo until the day I published it!
I just discovered this on Healthy Aperture and I love everything about this recipe! Love your blog too!! In general, I tend to mix things up a bit with my cooking, but there are certain restaurants where I often order the same thing over and over too. Happy to have discovered your blog 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! It's funny that you say that, because when it comes to cooking, I'm the same way--I rarely make the same recipe more than a few times a year and I love trying new things. But restaurants? Completely different story!
A restaurant serving frozen veggies? Yuck! I'll take your version any day. I love a stuffed potato.
Well, it was a chain restaurant, so I'm thinking that might account for the switch. It was a vegetarian menu item, so it was probably easier for them to just use a frozen mix on the rare occasion that people ordered it. But at least they could use a frozen mix that didn't have peas in it!
We don't go out much, but usually get similar dishses. Sorry they switched on you!
We don't eat at restaurants much either, which I think is the reason I always order the same thing--if we don't go there much, I want to get what I love!
It's always a risk when you order something new from a menu without even knowing what it will look like....but that's even worse when a reliable favourite goes wrong!
I don't think I've ever tried twice-baked potatoes, but this version is so unique and interesting - what a creative way to change up fajitas!
Yeah, I'm always afraid if I order something different, I'll regret it and wish I had gotten what I usually get. But you don't count on the things you usually get being changed so dramatically!
That is such a bummer about your Mexican place! I'm like you and always order the same thing (it usually ends up being Vegetarian "C" if you know what I mean). But I've never had cheesy potatoes like this at a Mexican place - love the sauteed topping!
The two Mexican restaurants we always went to in Madison both had a cheesy potato side. Maybe it was a Wisconsin thing? 🙂 Completely inauthentic, I'm sure.
this looks wonderful deliciously done
Adding salsa always adds amazing flavour! I love it on omelettes, for stir-fry steak marinade and now for potatoes!! Great mixture of veggies too, mushrooms always make my mouth water 🙂
-Shannon
Yes, not only does salsa add a lot of flavor, but it does it without a lot of calories too--it's perfect!
Looks like I can eat this one every night then!! Mmm!!
Ah, now I've finally gotten to the stuffed potatoes you mentioned, and they look amazing!! I wonder how they might work with sweet potatoes too!
I think it would work! I actually have a sweet potato recipe that I clipped from a magazine that has Mexican flavors like this one--you cook black beans in salsa and use them to top the potatoes. I forgot what else is in the recipe, but it's so good!
This was SO GOOD!! I subbed fresh bell peppers in for the corn, because it's what I had in my kitchen already, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. My husband usually isn't all that enthusiastic about potato-based dishes, but he gave me the go-ahead to make this one again. Thank you!
I'm glad it was a hit! I think this is the first time I've heard of someone not being enthusiastic about potatoes. 😉