Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

Make the PERFECT jacket potato the easy way! Follow my tips for the best baked potatoes with crispy skin and fluffy creamy middles, no oven needed.

Top with my easy sheet pan fajitas — these can be vegan or made with chicken or lean cuts of beef – for a truly delicious and satisfying family meal. It’s perfect for health-conscious families!

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This recipe is part of the #JacketPotatoHacks campaign sponsored by AHDB and BritMums. Visit the Love Potatoes site for more recipes and ideas for all kinds of potato dishes.

There’s not many foods we can all agree on in my family – looking at you my lovely fussy kids– but, thankfully, we are all jacket potato lovers.

This is a blessing because there’s nothing quite so satisfying as a baked potato with super crispy skin and soft, yummy, fluffy middle! 

And a double blessing since potatoes are not just delicious but also versatile, affordable and healthy too! Need some convincing? The humble spuds are

• naturally low in saturated fat, salt and sugars
• a great source of fibre, especially if you eat the skins – which also eliminates food waste
• enderssly versatile – you can roast them (try my Greek Lemon Potatoes), mash, fry, steam, boil, bake, make into waffles….
• jacket potatoes are a fabulous fuss-free family meal – great topped with a variety of fillings or even just eaten plain drizzled with oil or a little butter.

How to make the PERFECT jacket potato

I have loved baked potatoes (or “jacket potatoes” as they are adorably known in the UK)  my entire life but I didn’t make them very often until fairly recently. Why? Because baking potatoes in the oven takes such a long time – upwards of a an hour. 

But I have now perfected two ways of making simply the BEST baked potatoes with the perfectly fluffy middle and crispy skin. One method is super fast and the other slow (but entirely hands off).  Ready to learn my baked potato secrets?

Pick the Right Potato!

Not all potatoes are suitable for jacket potatoes (just as not all are suitable for mash). Generally “old” floury potatoes that are suitable for mashing are also ideal for baking,

Choose Maris Piper, King Edward or Rooster Potatoes (with red skin) if you are in the UK, Yukon Gold and Russet if you are in the US.

SLOW COOKER BAKED POTATOES

You can make wonderful jacket potatoes in your slow cooker with minimal prep. Yes, they do take a long time to cook but you can set them to cook in the morning and have them ready for dinner time without need of an oven.

Rinse the potatoes, dry them and prick the skin a few times. Brush with olive oil and season with salt.

Wrap in foil and bake for 5-6 hours on the LOW setting, flipping them over halfway through. Cook them until you can easily pierce them all the way through with a knife.

SUPER SPEEDY BAKED POTATOES

This is my favourite way of making jacket potatoes if I am in a hurry –  it takes less than 20 minutes!

Rinse the potatoes, prick the skin a few times and wrap them in a paper towel. Place the potatoes on a microwave safe bowl and cover with a moistened paper towel. 

Microwave for 6-8 minutes, flipping them over midway. The cooking time will depend on how large your potatoes are and the wattage of your appliance. Cook them until you can easily pierce them all the way through with a knife.

Discard the paper towels and place the potatoes in a preheated airfryer. Cook for a further 5-8 minutes, until the skin gets perfectly crispy and golden.

JACKET POTATO FAJITAS

There’s no end to jacket potato toppings. Literally pretty much anything goes, including a variety of leftovers. Lately though I have been serving my fluffy baked spuds with delicious vegetable fajitas – they are also delicious with 500g of chicken or lean beef – and I haven’t looked back!

They are so easy to make and a fabulous way for kids to eat a variety of vegetables with the minimum of fuss. Truly miraculous if you ask me!

Here’s what you will need

• Red onions
• Bell peppers – I like to use one each of green, yellow and red to keep things colourful!
• large portobello mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms
• a tin of mixed beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• olive oil, lime juice and liquid smoke (optional!)
• salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, cumin, brown sugar, onion and garlic granules

Simply slice all the vegetables into strips and add to a bowl together with the beans. Add the seasonings, liquid smoke, olive oil and toss together.

Spread onto a sheet pan and cook for 20 minutes in a 200C (395F) preheated oven, giving them a stir halfway through. Increase the heat to 220C (428F) and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are slightly caramelised.

Slice your baked potatoes and drizzle with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper then add the fajitas, sliced avocado, mayo and cheese. (Again, you can use vegan mayo and cheese or choose your other favourite variety.) Dig in!

HAVE YOU MADE MY JACKET POTATO RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!