Chili Baked Potato with Cheese

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This recipe may very well be peak comfort food. A beautifully baked Potato that’s fluffy on the inside with a light, crispy skin shell. Sliced open, then topped with tangy Cheddar Cheese that becomes deliciously melty and gooey from the piping hot Potato. Then, we drench the top of the Potato with the most amazing, rich homemade Chili. Finally, top the whole thing off with fresh Sour Cream and some Chives. You’ve got yourself this awesome Chili Baked Potato with Cheese dish. A perfect, affordable, and delicious meal for the family!

There’s so much to love about this dish, but I think what’s best is how much bang for your buck you get. Baked Potatoes and Chili are both extremely affordable dishes to make. You can whip up a big batch of Chili, use what you need then freeze the rest for later. Potatoes are so filling, so flavorful, and so affordable. Your cash stretches a long way with this recipe, making it a perfect go-to dish for the weekly meal plan

The best Potatoes for baking are high in starch, and low in moisture

To achieve the best result when baking a potato, a big factor is what type of Potato you use. You want to use a Potato that has high starch content, and low moisture, such as Idaho, Russet, or Yukon Gold Potatoes. The high starch content will yield that wonderful, fluffy texture that we all know and love from a perfectly baked Potato

All Potatoes will ultimately bake well, so if you cannot find these types of Potatoes you can still make this recipe. It will still turn out great too, we promise. The density and creaminess of the Chili will seep into the Potato, making for a wonderful flavor and texture regardless of the Potato type

How to make the perfect Chili recipe

Chili is one of those wonderful dishes because everyone can have their own version, and almost all of the time it will taste great. There’s also a lot of regional variety in Chili, so depending on what part of the country (or world) you’re from, you’re Chili recipe will very likely be a little different

For our Chili recipe we’re sticking with a relatively traditional approach, but with a few twists. The classic combination of Onions, Celery, Bell Pepper, Jalapeno, and Garlic are all cooked down to release their flavors and Aromas before the Ground Beef is added to the Pot

Once that Beef has browned, we add our spice mixture. The combination we use for this Chili Baked Potato with Cheese recipe is Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, and of course, Chili Powder!

Let those spices cook into the Beef for a few minutes then it’s time to add the liquids. A combination of Tomato Paste, Canned Tomatoes (Crushed is what we use, but any type will do), Homemade Beef Broth, and Ketchup!

Let these wonderful ingredients cook down for a few hours uncovered. This will help to reduce and thicken up the sauce into a wonderful Chili. You can eat it immediately or refrigerate it for later. Chili will keep for 4 – 5 days in the refrigerator no problem, even longer if frozen. It’s flavors will only intensify during this time so it can’t hurt to batch cook it up and eat it over several days or weeks!

Use a leaner cut of Ground Beef, the Chili will be rich enough without the need for higher fat content Beef

This amazing homemade Chili recipe is plenty rich, with those cooked down Tomatoes, Onions, as well as the Beef Broth and Ketchup all adding sweetness and richness to the dish. Therefore, you don’t need to use a particularly high fat content Beef to add richness to the dish

Sometimes the higher fat content Beef can tend to become a little greasy, especially when it’s used in big stew-type dishes such as this one. We recommend using a leaner Ground Beef, around 10% fat content will work great

It results in a slightly lighter Chili that isn’t as greasy, yet still packs in all those wonderful flavors. It’s also healthier for you too, so you can feel good about powering down a big bowl of Chili on your Baked Potatoes knowing it’s slightly better for you!

It’s not Chili without heat!

You can’t make Chili without adding some heat to the dish! For our Homemade Chili recipe, we’re bringing heat in two different forms, spice and vegetable

Like most common Chilis, we are using Chili Powder to bring that spice to the dish. The good thing about Chili Powder is you can adjust your quantities as you cook. Therefore, we recommend adding a little bit at the beginning of the cooking process when all the other spices are added. Let it all cook down then taste for spice after a little while. If it’s still too mild, you can add more. Chili Powder is the best way to effectively manage the heat levels in your Chili

The second Chili is through Vegetables, in this recipe we’re using Jalapenos. You can use any other kind of spicy Chilis you can get your hands on. Jalapenos are the most common, and taste great in this dish. If you’re a fiend for spice, keep the seeds in the Jalapeno for even more heat!

We also recommend finishing the Chili off with a generous squeeze of Lemon Juice. This will help to not only temper some of the spice (so if you’ve added too much, Lemon is a great way to mellow it out), but Lemon Juice also helps to balance and elevate all the flavors in the dish

You’ll notice the different before and after adding Lemon Juice, even just ½ a Lemons worth of Juice will completely transform the Chili for the better

Beans or no Beans?

Adding Beans to your Chili is up to personal preference. So, personally, we’re not the biggest fans of Kidney Beans so we didn’t add them to the dish. Beans add an additional starchy element to Chili, so it can be helpful when trying to round out a Chili and give it a bit more body

Because we’re making Chili by pouring all over a beautifully Baked Potato which is already heavily starchy, there is no need for the Beans to be added to the dish. If you’re mad for Beans then you can easily add them to the dish. Just add them when the liquids are added to the Chili, and they’ll come out great

Chili Baked Potato with Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 large Potatoes (Russet, Idaho, or Yukon Gold)
• 500g / 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, freshly grated
• 4 tbsp. Sour Cream
• 1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 3 Celery Stalks, finely diced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 1 Jalapeno, deseeded and diced
• 1 tsp. Chives, finely chopped
• ½ cup Scallions, finely diced
• 1 cup of Beef Broth (recipe here)
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 400g / 14 oz. Canned Tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. Ketchup
• 3 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 3 tsp. Cumin Powder
• 3 tsp. Chili Powder
• 2 tsp. Onion Powder
• 2 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Heat the Vegetable Oil in a large pot or Cast-Iron Skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the Onions and Celery along with 1 tsp. of Salt. Sauté for 5 minutes until tender, then add the Bell Pepper, Jalapeno, and Garlic
2. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then add the Ground Beef. Break the Beef up and cook until browned, then add the spice combination of Cumin Powder, Smoked Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Black Pepper, and 2 tsp. of Salt. Mix and cook for a further 2 minutes
3. Add the Tomato Paste, Tomato Puree, Ketchup, and Beef Broth. Bring the mixture to a Boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Leave to reduce and thicken for 2 hours, stir occasionally
   
   

After 1 hour of cooking, prepare your Potatoes

4. Wash the Potatoes well under cold water but leave their skins on. Place the Potatoes on a large sheet pan and season with 1 tbsp. of Olive Oil and 2 tsp. of Salt. Place the sheet pan in the Oven which has been pre-heated to 400F and bake for 1 hour
5. To Check that your Potatoes are done, poke them with a sharp knife. If there is little to no resistance then they are cooked, and the insides are tender. If there is resistance, bake for a further 10 minutes and test again
   
   

Assembling the Chili Baked Potato with Cheese

6. Use tongs to place the hot Potato on a serving plate. Cut an opening in the Potato (either a slit down the center or slice a sliver off the top). Pour over a generous handful of Cheese then spoon over the Chili
7. Finish the dish by adding 1 tbsp. of Sour Cream and sprinkle over the Chives. Add some Flaky Salt and serve immediately
   
   

Recipe Notes

• For a fancier presentation, try slicing a slicer off the top of the Potato. Scoop out some of the filling and stuff it with Chili
• We recommend using a leaner Ground Beef for this recipe, preferably 10% fat content. This will prevent the Chili becoming too greasy
• To monitor the spice levels, we recommend only adding half the Chili Powder with the other spices. Taste the dish as it cooks and, if necessary, add more Chili Powder
  
  

For an affordable and tasty meal for the family, this Chili Baked Potato with Cheese recipe ticks all the boxes. Give it a go and let us know in the comments what you think?

Here are a few more delicious and affordable dinner recipe we’d love you to try:

• Spicy Chicken Tacos
• Chicken and Chorizo Rice
• Greek Pasta Salad
• Honey Soy Chicken Fried Rice
  
  

Happy Cooking!