Let’s Bake Potatoes
First thing’s first: this is the best baked potato recipe from Gimme Some Oven — perfectly crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. I didn’t use to eat the potato skins – but now I do! Although to be completely honest, I usually just use my hands to rub olive oil on them before putting them in the oven because I’m lazy and I don’t have to deal with piping hot potatoes mid way through baking. Anyways, it took me years to realize a baked potatoes full potential. So quit only topping your potatoes with butter or sour cream and turn them into an easy, healthy and delicious meal.
Here are our go to baked potato recipes. Scroll down for Megan’s much prettier potatoes. Such an overachiever.
Taco Baked Potatoes AKA “Potacos”
Potacos are loaded with seasoned ground chicken or beef, cheese, guacamole, greek yogurt, salsa and any other favorite taco toppings all over a baked potato. So delicious and a great recipe for kids! Give each one a baked potato and put all the toppings at the dinner table so they can fill them with whatever they like. It’s so much easier for them to eat than tacos that break apart. Hot tip: I sneak veggies into my ground taco meat and no one knows – and it really turns this into a full meal. I find that broccoli slaw, chopped up a little bit more works really well – or cauliflower rice!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken or beef
- taco seasoning
- 4 hot baked potatoes
- shredded cheddar cheese
- Chopped avocado or guacamole
- Greek yogurt
- Salsa
- Optional: broccoli slaw, chopped
- Optional: chopped green onion and tomatoes for garnish
Directions
- Cook 4 baked potatoes according to Gimme Some Oven Recipe
- Cook ground meat and season with taco seasoning. If adding broccoli slaw, add in when meat is partially cooked and them season with taco seasoning.
- When potatoes are ready, cut each down the middle and mix and fluff the insides with a dollop of greek yogurt.
- Top potatoes with ground meat, cheese, avocado, greek yogurt, salsa and more!
Buffalo Chicken Baked Potatoes
A fun Game Day recipe that my husband can’t get enough of. And buffalo sauce makes everything better, right? Especially Primal Kitchen Buffalo Hot Sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breast
- Primal Kitchen Buffalo Hot Sauce 16.5 oz
- 1 small container plain greek yogurt
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Green onion, chopped for garnish
Directions
- Put chicken in crock pot buffalo sauce and half container of greek yogurt. Mix and cook on high for 4 hours. Shred in the crock pot when done.
- Follow Gimme Some Oven baked potato recipe above.
- Mix the rest of the greek yogurt container with about 2 tbls blue cheese crumbles, or however little or much you like.
- Mix yogurt and blue cheese combination into baked potatoes.
- Top with shredded buffalo chicken, a few more blue cheese crumbles and green onion.
Sloppy Joe Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2/3 c. ketchup
- 1/3 c. barbecue sauce
- 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 tbsp. Sliced green onions, for garnish
- Follow Gimme Some Oven baked potato recipe above.
- Make sloppy joe mixture: In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil and cook onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain fat.
- Stir in ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, brown sugar, chili powder and garlic powder and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.
- When potatoes are ready, cut a slit in the center of each potato. Stuff with sloppy joe mixture and top with cheese. Return to oven to bake until cheese is melty, 8 to 10 minutes. Garnish with green onions and serve. This recipe is also great with sweet potatoes!
Recipe Credit: Delish
Shepherds Pie Baked Potatoes
A mash of two classics, baked potatoes and shepherd’s pie. Perfect comfort food for the Fall and football season.
Ingredients
- 4 large russet baking potatoes
- 3 tbls butter
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1 tbls olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 tbls minced garlic
- 4 tbls Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbls tomato paste
- 3 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
Directions
- Follow Gimme Some Oven Baking Directions above. Let cool. Cut a 1/4-inch-thick slice off the top of each potato. Carefully scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl and mash with the milk, sour cream, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chives.
- Heat oil in a skillet and sautee carrot, onion and garlic until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire, tomato paste, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 cup water and bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and cook until the beef and carrots are coated in sauce with a little extra sitting on the bottom of the pan, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the peas until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Spoon the beef mixture into the potato’s. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the beef mixture and bake until heated through and the potatoes brown on top, about 20 minutes. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into 4 slices and top each potato with one.
Recipe credit: Dianne Morrisey
Let us know if you try any of these tasty potatoes! Also the key to making them pretty is to cut a 1/4-inch-thick slice off the top of each potato after they have cooled slightly. I don’t usually worry about making mine pretty for my immediate family but I will step up my game if and when I make these for a larger gathering.
