Extra Loaded Baked Potatoes Three Ways

Barbecue Chicken and Jalapeno Filling by Dan Clapson

A beautiful (and affordable) blank culinary canvas like a baked potato is an all-season recipe, but have you ever thought of a baked potato as a full-on meal?

I love making “extra” loaded baked potatoes for dinner parties with friends and filling them with seasonal combinations. Since it’s summer, I am leaning into barbecue chicken, grilled veggies with a Greek-ish flare, and burgers, but the sky is the limit here.

Baked Potato Base

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes, cleaned and dried
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup salted butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Use a fork to poke holes in each russet potato (go crazy! Let out some stress!) and then rub the skins with oil and a generous pinch of salt.
3. Place on parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and bake in the oven until the skins are crisp and the centers are very tender, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, use a sharp knife to cut off the top quarter of each potato lengthwise.
5. Gently scoop out the insides of each potato with a spoon, leaving about a quarter-inch of potato flesh attached to the skin to create a sturdy, potato “shell”.
6. In a large bowl, combine potato flesh with cream, butter, sour cream, remaining salt and pepper and mash or puree until smooth. The texture should be relatively silky.
7. Spoon finished mixture of choice (my ideas below) back into the shells, mounding them 2” or so higher than the potato itself, remember we’re overstuffin’ here, and then top generously with topping of choice.
8. Place the loaded potatoes back on the baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for another 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the fillings are heated through.

Barbecue Chicken and Jalapeno Filling

Never met a Tex-Mex-inspired dish I didn’t like. Jarred queso makes all the difference here, so don’t skip it. We love a high-brow, low-brow moment!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken meat, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup good quality barbecue sauce
• ¼ cup jarred queso
• 1 Tbsp honey mustard
• 1 Tbsp finely diced pickled jalapenos
• ¼ cup crispy-fried onions
• 1 cup shredded tex-mex cheese (or similar grated cheese)

Directions

1. Combine chicken, barbecue sauce, queso, mustard, jalapenos and crispy-fried onions with potato base.
2. Once potatoes are stuffed, top with shredded cheese.

Mediterranean Vegetable Filling

A great way to use up leftover cooked vegetables (of any kind, really) or a fun way to grill vegetables then repurpose them in tin-foil-wrapped baked potatoes on the grill.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked zucchini, roughly chopped
• ½ cup cooked red bell peppers, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup cooked eggplant, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped kalamata olives
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh oregano, divided
• 1 cup finely crumbled or finely chopped good quality feta

Directions

1. Combine vegetables, olives, lemon juice and zest and 1 tsp of oregano with potato base.
2. Once potatoes are stuffed, top with feta and sprinkle remaining oregano overtop.

Cheeseburger Filling

Leftover hamburgers are a perplexing thing to deal with post-barbecue. I suggest breathing new life into them by way of a playful baked potato!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups leftover hamburgers, finely chopped (or cooked ground beef)
• ¼ cup finely chopped dill pickles,
• ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 Tbsp mayo
• 4 slices American cheddar (or 1 cup shredded cheddar if you don’t want to be too low brow, but why not?!)
• ½ cup shredded iceberg, for garnish

Directions

1. Combine hamburger, pickled, onion, ketchup, mustard and mayo with potato base. Once potatoes are stuffed, top with cheddar and bake/grill on barbecue in tin foil.
2. Finish with shredded lettuce before serving.