A delicious jacket potato is a simple, cheap and easy meal. This recipe yields potatoes that are soft and fluffy inside, crisp and crunchy outside, without using any oil to afford the crunch.

Perfect Jacket Potatoes

Ingredients

1 large floury potato per person (large appetite-d men like my partner require 2) You can also do this with a small sweet potato
½ teaspoon of salt per potato

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
2. Rinse each potato with cold water before rolling in salt; the water helps the salt stick to the potato
3. Place potatoes in a baking dish – it needs to be large enough so that each potato has at least 4cm between them
4. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes till the outside is crisp and dry but the inside is fluffy. Split open, top with preferred fillings and serve

10 Easy and Delicious Filling Ideas:

These quantities for fillings are enough for 4 jacket potatoes or 4 serves. Increase or decrease quantities as necessary

Mexican style black beans and mozzarella

Ingredients
1 cup cooked black beans, 2 diced tomatoes, 200g grated mozzarella and a handful of chopped coriander

Hummus, grated carrot, cabbage, coriander and chilli

Ingredients
¾ cup home-made hummus, 2 grated carrots, 2 cups thinly shredded white or red cabbage, handful of chopped coriander, 1 large red chilli with seeds removed and thinly sliced

Feta, tomato, zucchini, kale and rocket

Ingredients
½ cup feta cheese, 2 cups shredded raw kale or sautéed kale, 3 diced tomatoes, 1 diced sautéed zucchini, handful of fresh rocket

Caramelised onion, red capsicum and chorizo

Ingredients
1 onion that has been sliced thin and cooked over low heat with oil and a little honey, a roasted red capsicum that is thinly sliced, 2 chorizo sausages diced and fried, a large handful of baby spinach leaves

Bacon, avocado and scrambled egg

Ingredients
5 thick rashers of bacon fried or baked and then cut into thin strips, 4 eggs that have been gently scrambled and 1 diced avocado

Baked beans, tasty cheese, spinach

Ingredients
1 humble can of good quality baked beans or 1 cup of home-made baked beans, a cup of grated tasty cheese, a large handful of baby spinach

Mushroom, Swiss cheese, kale, chives

Ingredients
12 medium sized button mushrooms that have been sliced and sautéed until tender, 1 cup grated Swiss cheese, 1 cup shredded raw kale, sprinkling of chopped chives or spring onion

Tuna, chilli, tomato, beans, red onion, yogurt

Ingredients
1 large can sustainably caught tuna in olive oil, 3 diced tomatoes, large handful green beans that have been blanched, ½ a red onion thinly sliced, 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt per potato

Leftover bolognaise or even leftover spaghetti Bolognese

Jacket potatoes are insanely delicious topped with leftover Bolognese sauce and a grating of parmesan cheese. For a crazy, over the top, but extremely filling meal, top with the Bolognese sauce AND the spaghetti

Vegetable curry

Have you ever tried a jacket potato topped with a delicious coconut and vegetable curry or a thick lentil dahl?  These hearty, spicy, vegan fillings elevate the humble potato to a cross-cultural meal that is comforting and warming.

Check out the MamaBake recipe bank for curry and dahl recipes that are not only delicious on their own, but also wonderful on a potato. Choose thicker sauces rather than thinner Thai style curries.