Name: Microwave Baked Potato
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 13 min
Ingredients: 1 large russet potato; 1 tablespoon butter; 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese (, shredded); 1 tablespoon sour cream; 1 tablespoon bacon crumbles

Microwave Baked Potato is a quick, foolproof way to make a rich, cheesy, delicious potato plus 5 easy topping ideas to turn your potato into a meal!

There are few comfort foods that can do what a Baked Potato does: fill you up with cheesy goodness to a point where you happily fall asleep. This is a foolproof recipe to try out for those new to microwave cooking scene.

MICROWAVE BAKED POTATO

Baked Potatoes go with pretty much anything, they’re thick and rich and, most importantly of all, they’re smothered in cheese. If that’s not enough for you, they’re also coated in butter and topped with sour cream.

But wait there’s more… if you are looking to turn your spud into the star of the show aka you are starving and need a full meal on a budget, we’ve included 5 easy, cheap topping ideas below.

Potatoes make a great base for all kinds of toppings so feel free to be inspired by our ideas below and let your creativity soar.

While this recipe uses a regular white potato, get adventurous and swap in a sweet potato. Despite the many myths (we are part time debunkers here), white and sweet potatoes have pretty much the same nutritional value so it really comes down to your taste on which is better.

Although, if you ask us, white potatoes don’t taste nearly as good with brown sugar as sweet potatoes do.

5 EASY TOPPING IDEAS FOR BAKED POTATOES

Chili Cheese: Top your Baked Potato with our Chili Cheese Dip and garnish with some crunched up Fritos for spicy, crunchy, cheesy spud.
Pizza: Spoon some marinara into your potato, add mozzarella cheese, and load up with toppings like pepperoni, cooked sausage, mushrooms, steamed veggies. Top with more cheese. Microwave until cheese is melted and topping hot.
Chicken Bacon Ranch: Okay, the name gives it away but mix some grilled chicken pieces, bacon crumbles (or bits), and tablespoon of ranch dressing in a bowl. Place in your stuffed potato, top with cheddar cheese, and cook until cheese is all melted. Add hot sauce to give it a kick.
BBQ Pulled Pork: The deli or meat section should sell pre-cooked pulled pork. Not only is this great for the top of your potato, but amazing to have on hand for salads or just snacking on straight from the tub. After warming the pork and potato, add cool coleslaw to finish it off.
Mediterranean: For an easy but fancy Greek-ish potato, spread some pesto over the inside of your warm potato and stuff with feta chunks and chopped kalmata olives (or what ever you can afford). A tip on olives: Most stores have an olive bar now so just grab a few. 5 olives should cost you less than a dollar and that’s plenty for making this dish.

Bonus Sweet Potato Idea:

We are all about overdelivering, so here is a bonus potato topping idea if you decide to use a sweet potato. Make a Thanksgiving Sweet Potato stuffed with butter, brown sugar and mini marshmallows. Cook until the marshmallows are a bubbly. Top with some chopped pecans if you have them. Eat whenever you need to ward off homesickness.

SAVE SOME FOR LATER

You really just need to wrap up the potato in something that’ll keep moisture and air out, so like plastic wrap or a sealable bag. The potato will stay good in the fridge for up to 4 days before it gets fuzzy.

COST FACTOR

$: You can get a bag of potatoes for fairly cheap, but if you know that you are in no way going to get through the whole thing before they sprout and gain sentience, you may want to just buy one. The rest of the ingredients are fairly inexpensive and easy to find.

MICROWAVE TABLE

1,000 watts or higher: Higher wattage, lower cook time. Our microwave is about 1,250 watts, but if you have one with about 1,000 watts you will want to cook the potato for about 6:00, and then again for 6:00.
700 watts: Microwaves under about 900 don’t heat things evenly or consistently, so don’t go anywhere while you’re cooking. Cook the potato for about 8:34, then again for another 8:34.

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