Last Updated on July 26, 2024
A go-to lunch for me has always been a cheesy jacket potato. Before the air fryer revolution, I used to make mine by putting a potato in the microwave for 3 – 4 minutes (depending on size) and then finishing off in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Topped with a handful of grated cheese it is a quick and comforting meal. But for a bit of added luxury, why not try this, my ultimate cheesy jacket potato recipe? You’ll need a potato per person and about 100g of cheese each too. An egg between two, a splash of milk, a little mustard and salt and pepper to taste. The end result is a wonderfully crisp potato skin filled with cheesy mash and topped with a fluffy rarebit.
Of course, this is a recipe you can mix up a bit. Start with the basic ingredients – and make sure they are all good quality. A mature cheddar or another well-flavoured hard cheese, a fresh farmhouse egg, your own favourite mustard and a medium or large potato – King Edwards work very well.
If you have a microwave, I suggest starting by pre-cooking the potato for 3-4 minutes at 800w or a little longer at a lower power. If you don’t then your jacket potato should be cooked in the oven or on the bake setting of your air fryer for half an hour or so.
Meanwhile, warm up your air fryer or oven and once the potato has softened, in the microwave, rub it with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. I used the air fryer setting on my Russell Hobbs Satisfry with the temperature set at 215C. Put the potato into the air fryer and leave it for 15 minutes while you make the cheese mixture up.
Grate about 250g of cheese pop it into a bowl and mix it well with the dry ingredients. Then add the mustard and the egg and mix through with a fork. Add a splash of milk so that you end up with a thick lumpy mixture that is a heavy-dropping consistency rather than runny. This is plenty of mixture for two jacket potatoes or even three, but you can also keep it in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container. If you happen to have spare mix, it can be used to make a Welsh rarebit toast or a tuna melt.
After 15 minutes take your jacket potato out of the air fryer and cut it in half. Scoop out all the middle and mash it with a fork, then add a teaspoon or two of the cheese mix and blend it all together. Pile it back into the potato skins and top with more of the cheesy mix before returning it to the air fryer or oven for a further 5-8 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbling.
You can vary the recipe by adding bits of bacon or ham to the cheese mixture for example.
Here’s a step-by-step printable recipe if you’d like to try for yourself.
Cheesy Jacket Potatoes
Equipment
- 1 grater
- 1 air fryer Optional
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Potato
- 250 grams Cheddar Cheese use around half the mix in this recipe
- 1 Medium Egg
- 1 teaspoon Mustard
- 10 millilitres Milk or Beer
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Oil to rub the potato
Instructions
- Wash and dry the potato
- Put the potato in a microwave and cook on 800w for 3-4 minutes. For a lower wattage adjust the time so that you have a potato that is just soft when pressed firmly. If you are cooking more than one potato it will take longer in the microwave. Around 6 minutes for two potatoes and around 8 minutes for four.
- Once the potato has been softened, put it into the air fryer. My setting is for a Russell Hobbs Actifry and is airfry at 215C. If you are using a fan oven I suggest a setting of 180C or 200C for a normal oven.
- Meanwhile make up the cheese mix by first grating the cheese
- Season with salt and pepper and mustard
- Stir through the egg and mix well with a fork
- Add enough milk to make a thick mixture
- After 15 minutes remove the potato from the air fryer.
- Cut it in half and scoop out the flesh
- Mash the flesh well with a fork then add a teaspoon of the cheese mixture
- heap the mix back into the potato skins and press down firmly
- Top with enough cheese mixture to cover the potato
- Put back into the air fryer for a further 5 to 8 minutes, till the topping is golden and bubbling
- Serve immediately
Nutrition
Delish
These look so good, Fiona. Perfect for a hot lunch dish.
Thank you Janice:)