Russet potatoes are the gold standard for oven-baked potatoes, due to their high starch and low moisture content, tempting texture, and delicious taste.
Yukon Gold potatoes are another choice, but that variety yields a creamier—rather than a fluffy middle and thinner skin.
Perfect vegan baked potatoes do best baked in a preheated gas or electric oven, at a temperature of 425 degrees Fahrenheit or 218 Celsius. Cook time will vary depending on the size of the potato and at what altitude your home/ oven is located. Cook for approximately 45 minutes to an hour or hour and a half.
Hint: The key to making a good
baked potato is getting really crispy skin, therefore the high cook temperature. If you wrap the potatoes in foil,
the potato skins will shrivel and soften in the oven. Also, aluminum can be
absorbed into the potato and that isn’t healthy. For best results, leave the potatoes
unwrapped. If you oil the skin before baking, it makes the skin soften and
that’s not what we're aiming for.
Tip: For best results and to ensure your potatoes cook evenly, choose ones similar in size. This will help them bake uniformly and achieve that perfect consistency.
4 Organic Russet Potatoes about ½ pound each
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Optional toppings (choose one or more): extra virgin olive oil, steamed broccoli, sautéed broccolini, asparagus, sautéed zucchini, spinach, Tex-Mex combo (beans, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, salsa, and guacamole and seasoning), red pepper, carrots, butternut squash, marinara sauce, roasted mashed garlic, Vegan Pesto, Vegan Pizza Style toppings, or Asian style topping including grated ginger and garlic, tamari sauce, and chopped bok choy, etc.
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| One variety I made was sautéed zucchini, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and chopped carrot on pieces of oven baked potatoes |
What to do:
1. Buy organic
Russet potatoes that feel firm, and seem heavy for their size. Look for those
with a smooth surface and even complexion. Potatoes with eyes, dark spots, or a
greenish hue should not be used.
2.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F or 218 degrees C.
3.
Wash potatoes with cold water, then use a vegetable scrub
brush to get off the rest of the dirt and
debris
4. Use a clean dish towel to pat dry each potato and place on a piece of unbleached parchment paper covered sheet pan. If you don’t have parchment paper place directly on sheet pan (using parchment paper cuts down on clean up).
5. Prick
each potato with a sharp knife 2 or 3 times near the center top part of each
potato. This will allow steam to escape while cooking and prevent potato from
exploding. It also helps potato cook more evenly.
6. Cook potatoes until crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Test each one at 45 minutes by taking it out of the oven and piercing the center with a fork. If the fork easily goes through, it's done. Just remember, the bake time will be longer for larger potatoes and shorter for small ones.
7. When potatoes are cooked, make a slit in the top, going across the length from end to end (keep sides attached on the bottom). Then make a smaller slit crosswise in the center top. Scoop out about 1/2 of the flesh. Sprinkle seasoning inside of baked potatoes (use salt and pepper). Mash the potato you scooped out with a fork, and put it back into the potatoes. Then, it's as simple as adding a drop of olive oil as a topping or using a topping from those outlined above.
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| I also made vegan baked potato with salt and pepper, sautéed chopped broccolini, onion, garlic, and a drop of olive oil |
This recipe serves four people. Place potatoes on a serving dish or on individual plates to eat at lunch or dinner. A perfect baked potato goes great with a bowl of soup, salad, sandwich, or combo of all. 🥔
Tip: For a scrumptious way to embellish my oven-baked potato recipe, add an easy to make cheese sauce for it.
The idea and recipe comes from fellow blogger and cookbook author, Connie Edwards McGaughy @ thecarrotunderground.com. Here's her whole food plant-based recipe for Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce. This sauce is great on baked potatoes, and as a flavorful choice for mac and cheese, tacos, and nachos.
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| Oven-baked potato with easy vegan cheese sauce |
Why not feed oven-baked potatoes to a big group of people? Feature baked potatoes on a "Potato Bar" with "Homemade Vegan Chili." Guests can help themselves to what they like. Offer fixings such as tofu or tempeh chunks, guacamole, salsa, black beans, garbanzo beans, corn chips, cannellini beans, corn kernels, olives, or any combo of colorful veggies you enjoy.
Please take a moment to comment below. How do you make a perfect baked potato? Please share about it in the comments section below.
What's your favorite baked potato topping? Do you have an easy recipe for making it? Please explain.
Did you know baked potatoes provide many vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium? They are a good source of folate, niacin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese. Get the most out of your potato by eating the skin as well as the flesh, as some micronutrients are more concentrated in the skin.
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