Jackie Kennedy's Baked Potatoes

Time :8 10

Yield :6 servings

Creamy loaded baked potato topped with guacamole, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream on a blue plate. Perfect for a savory appetizer or comfort food meal.

The Scoop

When the baked potato looked at a plain russet and said, “Give me a topping bar and a slow cooker.”

Jackie Kennedy's Baked Potatoes are soft, fluffy, garlicky, and basically a blank canvas for whatever your fridge is willing to contribute.

Slow cooking makes the potatoes wonderfully tender while the butter and garlic sneak into every bite. Then comes the fun part: sour cream, bacon, cheddar, chives, guacamole, or whatever combination makes you feel like you’ve been handed the keys to a very delicious potato buffet.

Hack it:

Russets give you that classic fluffy baked-potato center, but Yukon Golds make the inside naturally buttery and creamy.

Mix the softened butter with smoked paprika, Italian herbs, ranch seasoning, or a little grated Parmesan before rubbing it over the potatoes.

Top with scrambled or fried eggs, cheddar, crispy bacon, and chives. Suddenly nobody is asking what time dinner is.

Swap the classic toppings for seasoned ground beef or beans, shredded cheese, salsa, avocado, and cilantro.

Finish with Greek yogurt, crumbled feta, chopped cucumber, olives, and fresh dill. The potato did not see this coming.

Leftovers:

Loaded Potato Cakes: Scoop out the potato, mix with cheese and chopped bacon or vegetables, form into patties, and pan-fry until crisp.

Breakfast Hash: Chop leftover potato and cook in a skillet with onions, peppers, and bacon. Top with a fried egg.

Crispy Potato Skins: Scoop out most of the center, fill the skins with cheese and leftover toppings, then broil until bubbling and crisp.

Creamy Loaded Potato Soup: Chop the potatoes and simmer them with broth, milk or cream, cheese, and leftover bacon. Finish with chives and sour cream.

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

6 medium russet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Optional toppings:

sour cream, to taste
butter, to taste
bacon, to taste, cooked and crumbled
chives, to taste, minced
guacamole, to taste, store-bought or homemade
cheddar cheese, to taste, shredded
fresh cilantro, to taste, chopped

Directions

Scrub the potatoes and pierce each several times with a fork.
In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of the softened butter and the garlic.
Rub the potatoes with the butter mixture and wrap each tightly with a piece of foil.
Pour the water into a 6-quart slow cooker.
Add the wrapped potatoes to the water.
Cover and cook on low until the potatoes are tender, about 8-10 hours.
Season the potatoes with the salt and the pepper.
Serve with your favorite toppings.