Baked potatoes with cheese may be the most popular way to serve this delicious little treat around the world. No wonder: they’re extremely easy to make, everyone loves cheese, and cheese goes really well with potatoes.
Although baked potatoes take quite a long time to make, they don’t require much work, because the potatoes bake by themselves in the oven for 2 hours—you only need to turn them once. So this is not a quick dish, but it is very simple, and when sprinkled with grated cheese at the end, it gives you far more flavor than the work you had to put into it.
What Kind of Cheese Should You Use?
Use a cheese that grates well and melts well—that’s the basis. As for flavor, first of all, choose something you and your guests enjoy. But I do recommend trying a stronger-flavored cheese too, even if you don’t eat cheeses like that every day.
When I made and tested this baked potatoes with cheese recipe, for example, I used partly aged Cheddar and partly Grana Padano, mixing the two together as well. Both melt well, and both have enough character to create an unforgettably delicious main dish together with the potatoes, from just these two ingredients.
Or three, because even though it isn’t in the name of the recipe—and of course it’s delicious without it too—a little butter, as with any potato dish, can work wonders here.
To Broil or Not to Broil
In the English-speaking countries where this dish is at home—the USA, where it is called a baked potato, and the UK, where it is called a jacket potato—the baked potato is a much simpler dish than many people elsewhere make it out to be. Most of the time, there’s no fuss: they make the potato, cut it open, add the topping—cheese in this case—and that’s it. The hot potato melts the cheese somewhat anyway, though it won’t become runny. Believe me, it’s very good like this too!
But if you’d like, this variation definitely benefits from a few minutes in the oven under the broiler. This way the cheese melts completely, may even brown a little, and the potato gets an extra bit of crispness too.
Enjoy!
Baked Potatoes with Cheese
Ingredients
For the baked potatoes
- 4 large baking potatoes
- 1 tbsp cooking fat
- salt
For the topping
- 6 tbsp butter 80 g, about 3/4 oz (20 g) per potato, or to taste
- 5⅔ cheese about 1 1/2 oz (40 g) grated melting cheese per potato
- salt
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Wash the potatoes well, then wipe them dry.
- Prick each potato with a fork in 5–6 places, on all sides.
- Rub the potatoes with oil or fat, and coat them with salt on all sides. This is what makes their skins delicious and crispy.
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 2 hours. Turn them roughly halfway through. 20 minutes before the end, raise the temperature to 425°F (220°C). Don’t forget, the potatoes should be baked whole, with their skins on.
- Before the potatoes are done, grate the cheese. A large-hole grater is perfect.
- Take the potatoes out of the oven. With a sharp knife, cut each one lengthwise, very deeply, then a little crosswise as well. Open the potato with a knife and fork, and lightly scrape the inside with the fork. Be careful, because at this point the potatoes are very hot. Touch the baking sheet only with oven mitts, and the potatoes only with utensils. But don’t let them cool down, because then they won’t be as good.
- Use the knife to curl thin pieces of cold butter into the hot potatoes, and salt them. Pile the cheese into the potatoes, and let the hot potato melt everything a little. Serve immediately.
Broiling
- If you’d like to melt the cheese separately into the baked potatoes, at this point place them under the broiler for 2–3 minutes. This step is optional; baked potatoes with cheese are a perfect dish both broiled and without broiling.
