Prep
10 min
10 min
Cook
1 hr 15 min
1 hr 15 min
Total
1 hr 25 min
1 hr 25 min
Yield
4 servings
4 servings
Category
Dinner
Dinner
Cuisine
British
British
Loaded jacket potatoes are one of the easiest ways to turn a handful of everyday ingredients into a substantial meal. Crisp potato skins and fluffy centres are topped with smoky bacon and melted mature Cheddar.
They work well for lunch or dinner and are particularly useful when you have a few rashers of bacon and some cheese to use up. Soured cream and chives add freshness, but the potatoes are still delicious without them.
For a self-catering ski holiday, bake the potatoes while everyone gets changed after skiing, then let people add their own toppings. The recipe is easy to scale up for a larger group.
Ingredients
- 4 large baking potatoes scrubbed clean
- 8 rashers smoked bacon chopped
- 160g mature Cheddar cheese grated
- 25g butter
- 4 tbsp soured cream
- 2 spring onions finely sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Fine salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Chopped chives, to serve (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 220°C, 200°C fan, Gas 7. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, rub them with the olive oil and a little salt, then place them on a baking tray.
- Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, depending on size, until the skins are crisp and the centres are completely tender.
- About 15 minutes before the potatoes are ready, cook the chopped bacon in a frying pan over a medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Cut a cross in the top of each cooked potato and gently squeeze the sides to open it up.
- Add a little butter to each potato and fluff the inside with a fork.
- Divide most of the bacon and Cheddar between the potatoes. Return them to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Top each potato with a spoonful of soured cream, the remaining bacon, spring onions and chives, if using.
- Finish with plenty of black pepper and serve immediately.