Boss your loaded potato game! These plant-based fillings turn basic spuds into crave-worthy meals with no dairy, no meat, & all the flavour.
Your baked potato is one step away from becoming your favourite meal!
You may think a baked potato is boring, but the real magic happens when you treat your baked spud like a blank canvas and load it with tasty fillings.
Cold fillings give contrast, and hot fillings deliver comfort and richness.
Scroll down for ideas for 13 cold fillings and 17 hot fillings using both shop-bought and homemade jacket potato fillers.
A great choice for the whole family. Hey ho, let’s go!
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⭐ Why the Baked Potato is a Medal-Winning Lunch or Dinner
Baked potatoes don’t get nearly enough credit for how hard they work in your kitchen. They are cheap, filling, and naturally gluten-free.
One medium potato costs very little and is low in calories and contains lots of good stuff. Here is why they are so good:
- Budget-friendly: They are a cheap and filling base for a meal.
- Endless fillings: You can go savoury, spicy, creamy, or fresh, depending on what is in your fridge.
- Meal prep gold: Bake a batch on Sunday and reheat them throughout the week for fast lunches or dinners.
- Naturally filling: The fibre and starch keep you full longer than most quick carbs.
- Foolproof for beginners: If you can turn on an oven, you can master this.
The baked potato isn’t just a side dish. It is a full meal disguised as a vegetable.
Once you have lots of filling ideas, you’ll wonder why you ever ordered takeaway or a delivery during the week.
♨️ How to bake the perfect potato
The filling only works if the potato itself is done right.
A great baked tattie (as we say in Scotland) has crispy skin and fluffy insides.
The oven is the best way to achieve that contrast between a crispy outside and a light, fluffy inside, but you can bake in a combination microwave or air fryer.
Oven
For best results slow cook your baked spud in the oven.
- Scrub and dry your potatoes thoroughly – Any moisture left on the skin will prevent it from crisping up. Pat them completely dry with a clean tea towel.
- Poke holes with a fork – Or with a sharp knife. This lets steam escape during baking, so the potato doesn’t burst.
- Rub the skin with oil and salt (sea salt is a good option) – A light coating of olive oil or avocado oil helps the skin crisp. Coarse salt adds flavour and extra crunch. Don’t skip this step.
- Bake at 200c / 180c fan / 400f / gas mark 6 for 50 to 60 minutes – Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack for even heat circulation. A baking sheet (baking tray) placed underneath catches any drips. Test with a fork to make sure the potato is cooked and soft. A larger potato may take longer,
- Let the potato rest for a few minutes before cutting it open – This keeps the inside fluffy.
Microwave
You can use a microwave to bake a potato, but you will only get a crispy skin if you have a combination microwave.
- Clean, prick, rub with oil and season – As before.
- Place the potato on a plate in the microwave – Use the baked potato setting if you have one, if not, just cook for 15 – 20 minutes. It could take longer depending on the wattage (power) of your microwave and how big the potato is.
- Leave to rest – As above
Air fryer
You can also use an air fryer to bake your potatoes. Either bake them from raw in the air fryer or microwave them first to speed up the cook time.
Follow the first 3 steps as above.
- Wrap the potatoes in foil – Then slow cook on the lowest heat setting.
- Cook the potato on high – The time will depend if you microwave the potato first; if so, it will take about 20 minutes to crisp up, but from scratch (uncooked) it will take about 40-45 minutes, depending on the size of the potato.
🥔 The Right Potato Makes All the Difference
Not all potatoes bake the same.
You want a floury potato, not a waxy potato. Waxy varieties like baby potatoes are great for salad, but not good for baking as you won’t get that fluffy interior!
You want a floury potato like:
- King Edward Potato
- Maris Piper Potato
- Desiree Potato
- Russet Potato
- Idaho Potato
In many supermarkets and grocery stores, they have a section of potatoes just called baking potatoes, so you can’t go wrong.
🥔 An honourary mention for frozen baked potatoes and sweet potatoes
Frozen Baked Potatoes
I’ve recently discovered frozen jacket potatoes that only take 3 minutes to cook in the microwave.
You don’t get a very crispy skin, but they do get a little crispy and they are so quick and convenient. I keep my freezer stocked up with them for quick, last minute weeknight dinners and actually they are pretty good!
Sweet potatoes
Don’t forget about sweet potatoes, as they bake well too, are totally delicious and very nutritious.
I like them with cold creamy fillings or a stuffed sweet potato with chickpeas.
Bake them in the oven, microwave or air fryer.
Here’s my guide to cooking a sweet potato in an air fryer.
👩🏻🍳 30 Plant-Based Baked Potato Fillings – Hot & Cold
Let’s get down to the 30 hearty baked potato recipes and ideas using shop-bought or homemade fillings.
🍴 Cold baked potato fillings
We’ll start with cold potato toppings and then move on to hot vegan fillings.
They are all delicious in a baked spud and perfect for a dairy-free, vegetarian or plant-based diet.
Some are naturally gluten-free too.
Vegan cheese
Let’s start with a good old-fashioned baked potato with grated vegan cheddar.
If you want cheese ooze, then mix the cheese with a little mayo.
Cheddar and coleslaw
You can buy plant-based slaw in most supermarkets now, but if you want to make your own, try this gorgeous Carrot and Dill Slaw, Coleslaw with Thousand Island Dressing, or if you don’t like a creamy slaw, try this Beetroot and Carrot Slaw.
Whipped feta and chives
If you’ve not tried whipped feta, you really must; it’s a game-changer,
Cool, creamy and light with that salty flavour.
Yum!
Cheese Savoury
This is a popular one in Scotland, offered in sandwiches in cafes and baker’s who sell lunch options.
Cheese savoury is quick and easy to make and is very tasty in a baked spud.
Salsa and dairy-free feta cheese
Combine cold creamy feta with its salty notes with a fresh zingy salsa, like this classic salsa in a hot baked potato.
It’s a simple but flavour-packed combo.
Vegetable Cream Cheese
I make this creamy filling to slather on toasted bagels, but it’s rather fabulous on a baked potato, too.
You should try it
Cheddar and chutney
Vegan cheddar and chutney or pickle is a classic sandwich filling, but good on a baked spud too.
You can buy a jar of pickle (Branston pickle is where it’s at in the UK) or chutney or make your own.
This apple and onion chutney is a good basic one to start with it you want to make it yourself.
Plant-based egg mayo
I have the perfect recipe for vegan egg mayo, and it even smells eggy.
It’s so comforting in a sandwich or heaped on a jacket potato.
I like to finish it with lots of black pepper.
Mustard, cheddar and pickled cabbage
For a deli-type filling, dollop on some mustard (Dijon mustard, English mustard or yellow American mustard), top with grated vegan cheddar and top with pickled red cabbage.
Here is a recipe for quick pickled cabbage; alternatively, just buy a jar when you are grocery shopping.
Curried slaw, cheddar and mango chutney
Make a batch of coronation coleslaw and whap it on a tattie with grated cheddar and finish it with a dollop of mango chutney.
No one can complain about this for dinner!
Hummus, falafel and sweet chilli sauce
Not much more to say apart from it’s very tasty and filling.
I fill the potato with hummus, then crumble over the falafel and drizzle over some sweet chilli sauce.
Cheddar and marinated cherry tomatoes
Those marinated cherry tomatoes are amazing!
They are wee flavour b*mbs.
So, so good! They perk up anything you add them to.
Make a batch and see.
Sour cream and chives
Let’s end the cold potato filling ideas with the classic sour cream and chives.
If you can’t find vegan sour cream and you are in the UK, Oatly does a good creme fraiche that is a good substitute.
This filling is good on a baked sweet potato too!
🍴 17 Hot baked potato fillings
Let’s move on to some hearty jacket potato recipes with hot fillings.
Most of these hot fillings are recipes to make at home, but some can be bought ready-made in supermarkets and grocery stores.
Quite a few of them can be batch-cooked and frozen for when you need them.
Red pepper hummus, sausages and broccoli
Fill your cooked potato with red pepper hummus, well-cooked sausages (I like to chop them into pieces) and serve with broccoli on the side.
Here’s an easy recipe for homemade red pepper hummus.
Chilli, sour cream and cheddar
A real classic combo and popular for a reason.
If you don’t have your own favourite recipe for chilli, try my family chilli recipe.
Savoury mince served with broccoli and peas
Make a batch of this old-fashioned savoury mince (plant-based of course) in your slow cooker.
Fill your baked spud with the mince and serve broccoli and peas on the side.
Sweet potato & chickpea bake with cheddar
I make this sweet potato, chickpea and spinach bake especially to serve on a baked potato.
It’s so good topped with cheddar or a dollop of sour cream.
Tasty stuff!
Spaghetti hoops and cheddar
A childhood favourite for most of us, and they are fab on a tattie with grated cheese.
I have a recipe for homemade spaghetti hoops, if you are interested.
Braised lentils
Oh, these are sumptuous!
Make a batch and keep it a batch in the fridge in an airtight container to heat, then load on your baked potato and freeze the rest.
Roast Mediterranean veg and vegan feta
Roast a tray of Mediterranean veg, pile it on your jacket potato and then crumble over some salty feta.
Yum!
Baked beans and cheese
A classic to be sure, well in the UK anyway and always popular in my house.
I keep the frozen baked potatoes for this very filling when I need a quick dinner.
Don’t knock it until you have tried it. Oh, and coleslaw and salad should go nowhere near baked beans.
I mean it! I’m watching you!
Dahl and mango chutney
There are many good quality dahls available to buy now.
I usually stick to my spinach and coconut dahl as there’s no chopping and it’s ready in 20 minutes.
Hummus and sausages
Either chop the well-cooked sausages (I like Linda McCartney sausages) and top the hummus-filled potato or serve them on the side.
I quite like this combo with caramelised onion hummus. It works really well. I mean sausages and onions, right!
Ratatouille and cheddar
If you don’t have your own recipe for ratatouille, try mine.
My ratatouille is made in the slow cooker and I suggest adding corn, but that is optional.
Mushroom stew
I usually serve this mushroom stew over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes, but it’s also good poured over a fully baked potato.
It’s one for mushroom lovers!
Gorgeous!
Greek beans and feta
Traditional Greek beans, although I use cannellini beans instead of gigantes beans (giant beans), butter beans would work too.
Top them with crumbled dairy-free feta cheese.
M’wah!
Sausage birra
A slow cooker sausage stew made with beer.
Such a tasty recipe and hearty served on a baked potato.
Jackfruit and slaw
A flavour-packed spiced jackfruit piled high on a baked potato and topped with coleslaw.
Oh yeah, baby!
Marinara, vegan meatballs and cheese
Marinara is basically a rich tomato sauce.
If you are in the US, it will be easy to pick up a jar, but if you are here in the uk, a tomato pasta sauce would work or you could try my easy recipe for marinara sauce.
The vegan meatballs are available everywhere or you could try these aubergine meatballs.
Slow cooker chilli and sour cream
This is my son’s favourite chilli.
It’s based on a veggie chilli from Las Iguanas Mexican restaurants and is made with sweet potato and beans.
Serve it on your baked potato with sour cream.