Classic Jacket Potato Recipe (British Baked Potatoes)

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picture of jacket potatoes recipe

For weeknight dinners that involve very little hands-on time and dishes but are packed with flavour, this Jacket Potato recipe comes to the rescue! This British Baked Potatoes recipe is going to be iconically topped with cheese and baked beans!

Watch How to Make This Classic Jacket Potatoes Recipe Here:

Easy Jacket Potatoes Recipe

If you’re new here, you may not know that I’ve been called the king of potato recipes. What can I say, I grew up with potatoes ever since I was a little boy, and I’ve always loved them! Potatoes are definitely one of my favourite foods, and I love to try potatoes out in new ways all the time! From my favourite Indian Aloo and Matar Sabji to Diner-Style Hash Browns to Curly Fries, I’ll eat potatoes in all shapes and forms!

I’ve made baked potatoes a couple of times before, but it wasn’t a frequent dinner. However, when I wanted to explore a classic British recipe, I knew I had to go for a loaded jacket potato - specifically with cheese and baked beans! Now, I’ve never had cheese and baked beans, so I admit I was hesitant with the combination, but let me tell you it’s well worth it, and I truly believe you’ll love it to make the best baked potatoes you’ve ever had! This jacket potato recipe will show you how to make the perfectly crisp baked potatoes on the outside with a fluffy and flavourful inside - no sogginess will be present here!

I also absolutely am hooked on making jacket potatoes now, and I certainly want to make them more often! I was blown away by how easy and fast they are to make, and there aren’t many dishes involved either, which is always a massive bonus!

jacket potatoes with cheese and baked beans

If you know someone who loves potatoes as much as I do, then be sure to put your heart on a plate with this British Style Baked Potato recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! To get started on your cooking journey for free today, then sign up to my free email newsletter, plus all of my latest recipes will be sent straight to your inbox so you’ve always got new kitchen inspiration!

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bite of baked potato

Questions You May Have!

What Temperature Is the Oven For Jacket Potatoes?

390 F to 400 F works great for these jacket potatoes to get a fluffy soft interior and a crispy skin.

Should Baked Potatoes Be Wrapped in Foil?

You may commonly see that baked potatoes are wrapped in foil, and this is how “baking potatoes” are branded and sold at grocery stores. However, it’s really not needed at all! When you bake your potatoes wrapped in foil, this traps the moisture, resulting in steaming the potatoes instead of making them. As a result, you can expect a gummy inside with soggy skin. Whenever I bake without foil, I get a perfectly crisp outside with a fluffy and light inside. Trust me, if you’ve been complaining about soggy baked potatoes, try removing the foil and see what a difference it can make!

photo of jacket potato with cheese and beans

Can These Jacket Potatoes be Vegan?

Yes, this jacket potatoes recipe can most certainly can be vegan! If you want to top with baked beans, this should be fine since usually baked bean recipes are vegan. Just skip the cheese and instead of topping with butter, you can top with additional olive oil. Alternatively, you can use a vegan cheese if you want.

How Do I know the Potatoes are Finished Baking?

Once the potatoes are done baking, they should be soft and fluffy inside and the skin outside should be crispy.

jacket potatoes topped with cheese and beans

Tools needed to make British Baked Potatoes

Ingredients For Cheese and Beans Baked Potatoes

Scroll to the bottom of this post or press the “Jump to Recipe” button for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD, which contains all ingredients and their quantities, plus you can save the recipe for later. The recipe card also helps you scale the recipe based on how many potatoes you’re looking to make so that you have enough toppings to really load up these potatoes!

picture of ingredients for Jacket potatoes

For the baked potatoes

  • Potatoes: Russet potatoes are recommended here if you’re in North America. In the UK, the equivalent would be Maris Piper or King Edwards potatoes. Ideally, choose fairly large ones so that they are nice and satisfying! Keep in mind that the size of potatoes will impact the baking time.

  • Olive oil: A little bit to help crisp the potato skin.

  • Salt and pepper: Basic seasonings to add flavour to the potato skin.

Toppings

  • Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter. If you’re using unsalted butter, then you may want to add additional salt inside the potato when serving.

  • Cheese: I’ve got a blend of white cheddar and pepper Jack cheese.

  • Baked beans: As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!, being realistic with what you can and can’t achieve given your circumstances is key to setting realistic goals in the kitchen. While I would love for you to make some Homemade Heinz Baked Beans to top over these jacket potatoes, if you don’t have the time to do that, then don’t worry! The canned Heinz British Style Baked Beans were my childhood favourite - they are so delicious, and they’ll be wonderful here. I admit that I used canned beans when making this too! However, if you’ve already made baked beans and have leftovers, then this is a wonderful opportunity for you to use your baked beans!

  • Chives: Freshly chopped.

How to Make Perfect Jacket Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400 F and wash & dry the potatoes thoroughly. Prick all over with a fork to prevent bursting.

Rub with oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt and pepper.

Bake directly on the oven rack (no foil!) for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until skins are crisp and the inside is soft.

Check doneness by squeezing the sides — they should give easily. You can also insert a knife to see if it glides in.

Slice open in a cross, gently push the ends to fluff up the interior.

Add a knob of butter first to melt in the hot flesh.

Season the inside with salt, pepper, mix in the butter as you mash and fluff up the flesh.

Pile on your toppings and serve hot.

TIPS to make Hearty British Baked Potatoes

  • For the best fluffy interior stick to floury/starchy potatoes like Russet, King Edward, or Maris Piper.

  • For proper crispy skin on the potatoes, don’t foil wrap the potatoes. Instead bake them directly on the oven rack or on a baking sheet. Flip them once halfway through baking so both sides crisp up evenly.

  • Rest for 5 minutes after baking before cutting open — this helps the interior fully steam and fluff.

  • You can double bake the potatoes if you scoop out the flesh, mix with cheese and butter, and return to the skins. Bake again until golden and bubbling.

  • Add butter while the potato is piping hot so it melts into the fluffy flesh. This is the base for any great topping.

jacket potato with beans

Topping Variations for Jacket Potatoes

jacket potato on a plate with beans

How to Serve Jacket Potatoes

Depending on what toppings you’re adding to your British Baked Potatoes, they can be quite hefty on their own! However, if you want a side dish, you can’t go wrong with salad, where my Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Almonds would be perfect. Gurkensalat, or a German cucumber salad, would also be delicious here! You can also serve with vegetables of your choice, such as Garlic-Butter Broccoli or Coconut Green Beans.

More Easy Potato Recipes!

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

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British
Yield: 2
Author: Anadi
Classic Jacket Potato Recipe (British Baked Potatoes)

Classic Jacket Potato Recipe (British Baked Potatoes)

For weeknight dinners that involve very little hands-on time and dishes but are packed with flavour, Jacket Potatoes come to the rescue! This British Baked Potatoes recipe is going to be iconically topped with cheese and baked beans!

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

For the baked potatoes
  • 2 large Russet potatoes (about 400 g - 500 g, 3/4 lb - 1 1/4 lbs)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Classic Toppings (choose one or mix):

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 390 F and wash & dry the potatoes thoroughly. Prick all over with a fork to prevent bursting.
  2. Rub with oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt and pepper.
  3. Check doneness by squeezing the sides — they should give easily. You can also insert a knife to see if it glides in.
  4. Slice open in a cross, gently push the ends to fluff up the interior.
  5. Add a knob of butter first to melt in the hot flesh.
  6. Season the inside with salt, pepper, mix in the butter as you mash and fluff up the flesh.
  7. Pile on your toppings and serve hot.
  8. Fix the instructions and give tips to master this jacket potato recipe

Nutrition Facts

Calories

311

Fat (grams)

3 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0 g

Carbs (grams)

67 g

Fiber (grams)

5 g

Net carbs

62 g

Sugar (grams)

2 g

Protein (grams)

8 g

Sodium (milligrams)

115 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg
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