Everyone loves a crispy skinned baked potato – well we’ve got 10 amazing baked potato toppings that’ll make your baked potatoes oh so delicious! Total comfort food and perfect for a low-fuss, easy midweek dinner
How to make perfect baked potatoes
Autumn is most definitely the season to ‘bring on the baked potatoes’. Keep them interesting, make them into a totally delicious feast, load them up, pile them high and tuck in…. you know you want to!
First up you need a beautiful baked potato – slowly baked in the oven. The best baked potatoes are always done in the oven!
How to make the best baked potatoes….
- Scrub the potato skins really well.
- Dry the potatoes really well.
- Prick them plenty of times with a fork (so they don’t explode during cooking).
- Pop them in the microwave on high – 2 potatoes for 5 minutes turning them over half way. 4 potatoes for 8 minutes, turning them over half way.
- Brush the skins with olive oil – just ever so lightly.
- Pop them straight into a preheated oven and bake on 180C for around 45 minutes to an hour. They are done when they look golden brown and when you give them a squeeze they are soft and easy to squash in with your fingers.
- Remove them from the oven – split them open and load on your toppings
Baked Potato Topping Ideas
BLT Baked Potato
Crispy skinned baked potato topped with mayonnaise, crispy bacon, chopped vine tomato and a handful of baby salad leaves.
Classic Beans & Cheese Baked Potato
Load the baked potato with that 80s classic baked beans and grated cheese.
Spicy Vegetable Chilli Topped Baked Potato
Heap on spoonfuls of delicious vegetable chilli and add a dollop of sour cream on top and a scattering of chopped coriander.
Cheddar & Caramelised Onion Baked Potato Topping
Fry up a sliced red onion, add a large spoonful of chutney to the pan and stir through the onions. Load this lovely sticky onion mixture into the potato and top with grated mature cheddar.
Italian Style Baked Potato Topping with Tuna and Beans
Flake a tin of tuna into a dish, mix in cannellini beans, chopped red onion, squeeze of lemon, a pinch of chilli flakes and handful of chopped parsley. Load it into the potato and serve with a rocket salad.
Cheese Feast Baked Potato Topping
Top your potato with three different types of cheese. I love the Cheddar, Lancashire and Stilton combo.
Mediterranean Style Sweet Potato
Split a baked sweet potato and pack with crumbled feta cheese, chopped olives and sun dried tomatoes, top with chopped parsley. Delicious alongside grilled chicken.
Sloppy Joe Baked Potatoes
Load that potato with classic sloppy joe meat sauce. Minced beef cooked with onions, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. If you fancy, add some grated Monterey Jack for added yum!
Spicy Baked Potato Topping
Top the slowly baked sweet potato with thick creamy Greek yogurt with freshly chopped chillies and zesty lime sprinkles, add a handful of chopped coriander. Utterly delicious.
Dessert baked potato…. stay with me on this!
Split the baked sweet potato and top with cinnamon apples. Just sauté apple slices in butter with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup and teaspoon of cinnamon. A spoonful of clotted cream or good vanilla ice-cream works really well here.
Sweet Potatoes for dessert should totally be happening more often!
Having a party? Throw together a baked potato bar!
Baked potato bars are a super simple way to feed a crowd – they’re great for summer or autumn. They also work out a relatively cheap way of feeding everyone – just baked a whole lot of potatoes and let people help themselves to toppings from the baked potato bar.
What to put on a baked potato bar
You can try any of the baked potato toppings below…
- Sea salt flakes
- Butter
- Soured Cream
- Chives
- Jalapeños
- Grated cheese
- Crumbled cheese
- Natural yogurt
- Bacon bits
- Fried onions
- Chilli – vegetarian or meat
- Hotdogs in baked beans
- Chopped veggies – tomatoes, peppers, courgettes
- Coleslaw
- Tuna salad
- Bolognese sauce
- Pulled ham
- BBQ chicken
