10 Ways to Top a Baked Potato

Do you love baked potatoes? They’re customizable, load-up-able, portable, and totally good for you -- well, depending on what you pile on top!

How about pulled pork? Or maybe lentil stew? Chorizo and eggs is always a winner! The following recipes all serve double duty. They're great meals on their own, but they also make great toppers for baked potatoes! So whether you want a light meal or something more decadent, each ones of these recipes will boost your humble potato into the upper stratosphere of dinner satisfaction.

Need a baked potato crash course? We have that, too! Now, get set to imagine the recipes below on top of a steaming hot baked potato.

Microwave Baked Potato

Smoky Vegan Lentil Stew

Erin Alderson

Meatless Monday can last all week long with this tasty, satisfying stew. Not a vegan? No matter. You can top this with cheese, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt. To keep it vegan, try chopped cilantro or cashew cream.

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Slow Cooker Cider Pulled Pork

Summer Miller

Seize the concept behind a pulled pork sandwich and turn the bun into a spud! We have pulled pork options for you: slow cooker with cider or slow cooker with Dr. Pepper. For cooking pork on the range, look here. A vinegar-based slaw cuts through the pork nicely; try this one.

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English Muffin Tuna Melts

Nick Evans

For a fab pantry meal with a gooey topper, move your favorite tuna melt off the bread. Top the split potato with tuna salad, crown it with your favorite shredded cheese, and bake until bubbly. A white bean and tuna salad makes the tuna go further, plus adds good-for-you fiber. Avocado tuna salad gives a splash of creamy color. And then there’s the straight-up classic tuna salad.

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Chorizo and Eggs

Elise Bauer

Potatoes and chorizo have such an affinity; somehow the potatoes temper the spicy punch of the greasy chorizo. This combo packs the appeal of a giant breakfast burrito, but with a fraction of the calories. Cook up some chorizo crumbles and scrambled eggs, or fry eggs to your liking. Then add a sprinkling of white cheddar and scallions on top. The flavors all go together so well.

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Continue to 5 of 11 below.
Curry Chickpea-Loaded Baked Potatoes

Erin Alderson

Potatoes are a popular ingredient in Indian cooking, and this recipe adapts that for an easy, chickpea-based curry that’s rich with coconut milk. You can use canned chickpeas or cook your own.

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Best Ever Sloppy Joes

Elise Bauer

If you’re eschewing gluten but the rest of the family isn’t, you can make a pan of sloppy joes and everyone will be happy. Plus, leftovers freeze great! We have old-fashioned ground beef sloppy joes, a turkey version, and a lentil-based vegan version. Ah, it’s all so inclusive. Everything is right in Lunchlady Land.

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How to Caramelize Onions

Elise Bauer

Fancy pants time! Who doesn’t adore a mass of caramelized onion? That’s the base. Now add gruyere cheese (or blue cheese), bacon crumbles, and, finally, thyme. This is a stand-alone potato that you can upgrade with a filet mignon if you are so inclined.

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Kale with Sausage and White Beans

Elise Bauer

This sauté is almost like a soup without the broth. Put it on a potato and you have a meal that sticks to your ribs in style. Top it with grated parmesan if you’d like some cheesiness.

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Continue to 9 of 11 below.
Easy Sautéed Spinach

Elise Bauer

This potato gets a Mediterranean flair, and it works with most any green veg you have on hand: broccoli, kale, or even quickly wilted arugula. Start with a garlicky base of speedily sautéed spinach (or sliced zucchini—you could omit the dill, if you like), and build on it with feta crumbles and sliced kalamata olives. Diced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes would be another nice touch.

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Black Bean Turkey Chili

Elise Bauer

That one worldwide fast-food chain (it begins with a W and ends with a Y) became known for chili-topped baked potatoes for a reason. Chili makes potatoes more fun. We have black bean turkey chili, no-bean chili, vegetarian chili, even Cincinnati chili. Don’t tell the chili purists!

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Bonus: Got leftover mashed potatoes? Make home fries!

Elise Bauer

Simple and easy home fries two ways! One recipe starting with raw potatoes, another starting with cooked. Both skillet fried.

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