Turn a Simple Baked Potato Into a Memorable Dinner

For the majority of my life, I was a staunch advocate of the simplest baked potato being the best baked potato. I felt that any additional toppings outside of plenty of butter and salt, a few cracks of black pepper, and perhaps a dollop of sour cream only muddled up the flavor of the potato, distracting me from its buttery, earthy, satisfying fluff. But things are different now; I know better.

I certainly still enjoy a plain-Jane baked potato every once in a while, but thanks in part to kumpir, a popular fast food here in Germany, I’ve learned to see a baked potato as a vessel for all sorts of delicious toppings. It’s actually become one of my favorite things to prepare ahead and store in the fridge for the coming week. With the potatoes prepped, each day for lunch (or dinner), I can give myself the opportunity to play around with toppings sourced from the fridge and pantry.

It was through one of these fridge-raid lunches that this particular recipe, inspired by the beloved New York sandwich the chopped cheese, was born. It’s simple to make, filling, and a cheap and easy way to create something satisfying to eat. It uses two of the most budget-friendly ingredients around as its base: russet potatoes and ground beef), with just a handful of others that are optional but really make it sing.

How to Meal Prep This Recipe

Baked potatoes are fantastic to prep ahead, as you can bake them, wrap them in foil, then let them cool before storing them in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can be served cold, reheated as-is, mashed into pancakes, or you can slice them up and pan-fry if you’re looking for some added texture. Let’s just say, it’s never a bad thing to have a cooked potato or two in the fridge.

With the baked potato prepped, all you have to do to make this recipe is brown up the beef, melt the cheese on top, and chop up some tomato and lettuce. That takes all of 15 minutes, which is more than doable for a quick lunch or dinner.

The Best Seasoning to Use

Sazón is a popular Puerto Rican spice mix made of ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, ground annatto, and salt. It’s very common for sazón to be the main seasoning of a chopped cheese, so I’ve used it here, but if you don’t have it already, try making your own or swap it for your favorite store-bought or homemade taco seasoning.

You can also season your meat with salt and pepper, plus a dash of Worcestershire sauce as we do in this chopped cheese recipe.

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