Why not turn your plain jacket potatoes into pizza stuffed twice baked potatoes. Makes a perfect meal for the whole family!

Do you know anyone who doesn’t love pizza?  I mean it’s just a giant open sandwich with extra drippy melted cheese.  And like a sandwich you can chuck whatever you want on it, no matter what your weird combinations might be.  And while I love me some homemade pizza sometimes I fancy something that gives me all the flavours of pizza but with a bit less stodge.  Enter the humble baked potato.  Given a makeover and whipped up to become pizza stuffed twice baked potatoes.

Twice baked potatoes are great.  You can even pop the jacket potatoes into the oven while you’re cooking something else, then scoop out and fill later with whatever your favourite pizza toppings are!

Here I’ve gone for basic pizza flavours – tomato, garlic, basil and cheese.  With a little bit of mustard for a tangy kick.

Baked potatoes in the oven:

There are a gajillion different ways you can bake a jacket potato.  And, like making a cup of tea, everyone has their own foolproof method.  But for this recipe, microwaved jackets just don’t work.  You want a crispy skin that stands up to having its innards scooped out then put back in.  And that crisp skin is so full of texture and flavour (and downright goodness) you really don’t want to miss out.

I prick the jacket potatoes all over with a pointed knife (you can also use a fork), rub with oil then sprinkle a little salt.  Bake in a hot oven for one to one and a half hours dependent on the size of your potato.

Poke with a pointed knife to make sure the potato is cooked in the centre and the skin crispy then allow to cool a little.

Finishing your loaded baked potatoes:

Cut the potatoes in half then carefully scoop out as much of the flesh into a bowl as you can.  Take care when scooping not to tear any holes in the potato skin.

Lay the potatoes back on the baking tray.

To the scooped out potato flesh add all your pizza ‘toppings’.  I’ve used tomato puree, garlic powder, fresh basil (you can sub with dried basil or another dried herb like oregano or thyme), salt, pepper and of course cheese.  The mustard is optional but it gives a lovely tangy  kick.  And again the cheese is up to you, I went with Applewood smoked vegan cheese.  Mostly because it melts really well and adds a really nice smokey flavour to the baked potatoes.

Pile the filling back into the potato skins.  At this point you can leave the potatoes as they are ready to be baked later or pop in the oven for around 30 minutes until hot and crispy.

Stuffed potatoes variations:

• Vegan pepperoni
• Dried chilli or red pepper flakes
• Artichoke hearts
• Vegan pest
• Cooked mushrooms and onions

Looking for even more easy vegan meal ideas?  Try these:

Roast cauliflower vegan pesto pasta

Garlic sesame noodles

Easy tomato risotto

Butternut squash and gnocchi bake

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