25 Ways to Turn Baked Potatoes Into Dinner

updated Jan 31, 2024

Page URL

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

On their own, baked potatoes are one of the absolute best foods. They’re cheap, filling, and require practically zero effort to make. All you really need is salt, pepper, and a pat of butter. You could be satisfied — no, delighted — by this simplest of preparations. But let us indulge, if you will, in what a humble baked potato could become.

You don’t even need a recipe. With just a little bit of creativity, you can transform a baked potato into something extraordinary: a complete meal, to start. You can stuff baked potatoes with hearty chili or pulled pork. They’re also delicious stuffed with shredded bbq chicken or buffalo chicken. But we like to think of this starchy, tender, flakey tuber as a blank canvas. The potato is your oyster? Honestly, we’re not really sure what that means, but here are 25 ways to have baked potatoes for your next meal.

Baked Potato Recipes

1 / 25

Here’s how to make an absolutely perfect baked potato every time, from choosing the right type of potato to how long to bake it for.

2 / 25

Baked Sweet Potatoes

The easiest, simplest way to make the best baked sweet potatoes every time.

3 / 25

Twice-Baked Potatoes

A crispy potato shell filled with fluffy potatoes, gooey cheese, and your choice of fillings make the perfect weeknight meal.

4 / 25

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

These baked sweet potato boats prove that a little extra time in the oven can pay off.

5 / 25

French Onion Baked Potatoes

Jammy caramelized onions plus gooey Gruyère = a dreamy baked potato.

6 / 25

Crispy Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

The high fan speed and concentrated heat of the air fryer makes baked potatoes that are fluffy and tender on the inside and shatteringly crisp on the outside.

7 / 25

Bake a Potato in the Microwave

If you need dinner on the table with zero delays, then a microwaved baked potato is pretty much an ideal solution. Here's the best way to do it.

8 / 25

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Baked sweet potatoes are topped with hot sauce-poached chicken breast and ranch dressing in this easy, 5-ingredient Whole30 dinner.

9 / 25

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

Forget the oven! Instant Pot baked potatoes cook in a fraction of the time and have the same crave-worthy tender, ultra-creamy center.

10 / 25

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

When you cook sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot, they become irresistibly tender in about half as much time as baking them in the oven.

11 / 25

Twice-Baked Colcannon Potatoes

When it comes to St. Patrick's day classics, Ivy Manning's twice-baked colcannon potatoes even outshine corned beef.

12 / 25

Baked Potatoes on the Grill

In the same amount of time it takes to bake a potato in the oven, you can bake a potato on the grill for savory, smoky, impossibly fluffy spuds.

13 / 25

Grilled Slow-Cooked Sweet Potatoes

Whole slow roasted sweet potatoes from the grill are an easy, healthy side for summer cook outs and meal prep alike.

14 / 25

Vegetarian Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Weeknight-friendly sweet potatoes stuffed with chipotle black beans, avocado, cilantro, and chipotle yogurt.

15 / 25

Bake a Potato in the Slow Cooker

All you have to do is grab some potatoes and take your slow cooker down from the shelf.

16 / 25

Slow Cooker Taco-Stuffed Potatoes

These stuffed potatoes are inspired by classic ground beef taco and cooked in the slow cooker.

17 / 25

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple Crème Fraîche

These baked sweet potatoes are layered with flavor and texture thanks to a sweet and sour dressing, roasted peanuts, sliced scallions, and lots of chili flakes.

18 / 25

Summer Baked Potatoes with Ricotta, Blistered Tomatoes & Pesto

Baked potatoes get a summertime twist thanks to creamy ricotta, juicy tomatoes, and vibrant basil pesto.

19 / 25

English Jacket Potatoes

The secret to the best ever baked potatoes? Cook them like the British do.

20 / 25

Baked Potato Bar

Whether cobbled together from leftovers in the fridge for a weeknight dinner, or served as an over-the-top spread for a party, a baked potato bar is always a crowd pleaser.

21 / 25

Bacon-Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes

If you’re headed to a Super Bowl party, this bacon-cheddar version of twice-baked potatoes will be a guaranteed hit.

22 / 25

Southwestern Twice-Baked Potatoes

Cheesy twice-baked potatoes with ground beef, black beans, and corn.

23 / 25

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

The secret to this spectacular casserole are leftover baked potatoes. If you made more baked potatoes than you ended up needing, then you’re in luck.

24 / 25

Cider-Glazed Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

A tender baked sweet potato is loaded with roasted peppers, sour cream, and a pile of crispy chorizo enrobed in sticky-sweet cider sauce.

25 / 25

Leftover Chili Baked Potato Casserole

This comfort food mash-up combines leftover chili with a cheesy baked potato topping for an easy and delicious casserole.

Filed in:

Root Vegetables