Delicious jacket potatoes with herbed cream cheese
It’s a classic; jacket potatoes with herbed cream cheese. Super easy to make, and you can make them in the oven or on the grill. Below are tips for both in this delicious jacket potato recipe.
Jacket potatoes with herb cream cheese
To make these jacket potatoes, you need floury potatoes, preferably large ones. Russet potatoes will probably be a good choice. Smaller ones will do, of course, but it’s a hassle to stuff them, so use big ones to create the perfect baked potato.
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The very first time I ate a jacket potato must have been during a photo shoot for a company that wanted to market jacket potatoes. No idea if they still exist, but never mind. Growing up my parents did make jacket potatoes on the barbecue but in general those weren’t stuffen, but just eaten plain. Or maybe with a little bit of butter.
What do you need to make jacket potatoes?
In addition to the potatoes, this recipe requires cream cheese, mascarpone, and lots of fresh herbs. In the recipe, I have indicated that this is one bunch per type of herb, but mainly use your own preference here. Depending on how you like it, a little less will do just as well. Chop all the herbs finely and mix the herbs with the cream cheese and mascarpone. I like adding mascarpone to the mix to make it even creamier but you can definitely only go for the cream cheese. If oyu want things a little lighter, try and make these with sour cream instead. A drizzle of olive oil will make it complete.
Roast the potatoes
The next step is to bake the potatoes. Give the potatoes a good scrub first under running water. Dry them. You can wrap the potatoes in aluminium foil and place them either on a baking sheet or directly on the oven rack. In general you will not have crispy skin with making these and I also don’t eat the potato skins. You can but I just don’t like them in this particular recipe. You scoop out the contents and that’s it. For large potatoes, leave them in the hot oven for about 45 minutes. You will know they are done when you can easily pierce them with a paring knife into the center of the largest potato. Note that the cooking time may vary depending on the size of the potatoes. So check after about 30 minutes. Then you may be able to estimate how long it will take.
Make the herbed cream cheese
To make the herb cream cheese, mix together the mascarpone, the cream cheese spread, and all the chopped herbs. It’s ok if the mixture is not all that smooth. At the end of the day it will melt once you add it to the hot potatoes. Season the cream cheese with some kosher salt and black pepper.
The garlic is optional, but very tasty with it. Grate the lemon over the top after stuffing.
Filling the potatoes
Once the potatoes are cooked you score them across the top of each potato. Carefully press the sides of the potato so they will open up and you can see the potato flesh. You can then add the filling into the potatoes. And serve them with some grated lemon over the top. Of course the filling can be jazzed up any way you like. You could just use some melted butter instead of the cream cheese (but why would you?) and I love adding some crispy bacon over the top. Spring onions are also a good addition and together with the fluffy interior of the potatoes this is super delicious.
Of course you can use your favourite fillings with this. This happens to be my favourite topping. Well maybe with the addition of the bacon bits.
Variations or additions
The fun part about making these jacket potatoes is that you can vary them in any which way you like. I love adding some cheddar cheese and have that melt over the top. If you don’t like regular potatoes you could definitely make this with sweet potatoes as well. Keep in mind that the baking time for sweet potatoes is a lot shorter in general so make sure to check how much time they need. Also depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.
Preparing on the barbecue
You can also prepare the jacket potatoes on the barbecue. The method is basically the same. Wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and place them directly on the hot coals of the grill. That is, under the grill, not on top of it. In terms of time, it will probably be a little faster because the grill is usually hotter than the oven. But again, it’s handy to check in between.
I’ve not made this in an air fryer but will be interested to try that out for a next time.
Love potatoes?
Try these delicious recipes as well:
Jacked potatoes with herbed cream cheese
Ingredients
- 4 large floury potatoes
- 4 tbsp cream cheese
- 4 tbsp mascarpone
- 1 bunch parsley finely chopped
- 1 bunch chives finely chopped
- 1 bunch basil finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 lemon zest
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to prepare jacket potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400˚F) Wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil. Place the potatoes on the rack and roast for 45 minutes, or until the tip of a sharp knife slides easily through the thickest part of the potato. Larger potatoes may take longer.
- Mix the cream cheese with the mascarpone, herbs, garlic and lemon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the potatoes on a platter and slice the tops of the potatoes with a sharp knife. Gently press the sides of the potatoes with your fingers to break the skin.
- Spoon a generous amount of the herb cream cheese over the top and sprinkle with more chives and lemon zest.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
