Turn a Simple Baked Potato Into a Memorable Dinner

It’s an affordable, satisfying meal that’s meal-prep friendly.

By
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud

Devan Grimsrud is a Berlin-based writer, editor, and recipe developer originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After working in television production with James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern, she relocated to Berlin and became the managing editor at Kitchen Stories, an international digital cooking platform with millions of active users. 

Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Published November 20, 2025
Devan Grimsrud
A baked potato topped with ground meat cheese tomatoes and lettuce on a plate with a fork nearby

Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu
  • A New York-inspired chopped cheese filling adds bold flavor and heartiness to classic baked potatoes.
  • You can meal prep the potatoes ahead, cutting lunch or dinner down to just 15 minutes.
  • Simple, budget-friendly ingredients keep this recipe accessible and easy to make.

For the majority of my life, I was a staunch advocate of the simplest baked potato being the best baked potato. I felt that any additional toppings outside of plenty of butter and salt, a few cracks of black pepper, and perhaps a dollop of sour cream only muddled up the flavor of the potato, distracting me from its buttery, earthy, satisfying fluff. But things are different now; I know better.

I certainly still enjoy a plain-Jane baked potato every once in a while, but thanks in part to kumpir, a popular fast food here in Germany, I’ve learned to see a baked potato as a vessel for all sorts of delicious toppings. It’s actually become one of my favorite things to prepare ahead and store in the fridge for the coming week. With the potatoes prepped, each day for lunch (or dinner), I can give myself the opportunity to play around with toppings sourced from the fridge and pantry.

It was through one of these fridge-raid lunches that this particular recipe, inspired by the beloved New York sandwich the chopped cheese, was born. It’s simple to make, filling, and a cheap and easy way to create something satisfying to eat. It uses two of the most budget-friendly ingredients around as its base: russet potatoes and ground beef), with just a handful of others that are optional but really make it sing.

Four baked potatoes stuffed with ground beef diced tomatoes shredded lettuce and melted cheese arranged on a white plate

Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu

How to Meal Prep This Recipe

Baked potatoes are fantastic to prep ahead, as you can bake them, wrap them in foil, then let them cool before storing them in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can be served cold, reheated as-is, mashed into pancakes, or you can slice them up and pan-fry if you’re looking for some added texture. Let’s just say, it’s never a bad thing to have a cooked potato or two in the fridge.

With the baked potato prepped, all you have to do to make this recipe is brown up the beef, melt the cheese on top, and chop up some tomato and lettuce. That takes all of 15 minutes, which is more than doable for a quick lunch or dinner.

The Best Seasoning to Use

Sazón is a popular Puerto Rican spice mix made of ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, ground annatto, and salt. It’s very common for sazón to be the main seasoning of a chopped cheese, so I’ve used it here, but if you don’t have it already, try making your own or swap it for your favorite store-bought or homemade taco seasoning.

You can also season your meat with salt and pepper, plus a dash of Worcestershire sauce as we do in this chopped cheese recipe.

Baked potatoes topped with ground meat cheese and diced vegetables on a white plate

Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu

More Potato Mains to Love

Chopped Cheese Baked Potatoes

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 60 mins
Total Time 70 mins
Servings 4 servings
Yield 4 baked potatoes

Want to speed this recipe up? Skip the oven roast and microwave the potatoes instead; here’s how. This will take the cook time down from 45 minutes to about 25 minutes, depending on your microwave.

Keep Screen Awake

Ingredients

For the baked potatoes

  • 4 large Russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each)

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the chopped cheese filling

  • 1 pound 80% lean ground beef

  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced

  • 1 tablespoon sazón seasoning mix, optional

  • 4 to 6 slices american cheese

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To serve (optional)

  • 1/4 cup sour cream

  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

  • 2 roma tomatoes, chopped

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Bake the potatoes:

    Wash the potatoes and pat them dry. Use a fork to poke holes on all sides, pricking each one 10 to 12 times all over. Rub each potato all over with the oil and sprinkle with the salt.

    Set the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake, turning once or twice during cooking, until their skins are wrinkled and they’re easily pierced with a fork through the middle, about 45 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, cook the beef:

    While the potatoes are baking, set a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Use your hands to form the ground beef into four equal-sized patties and place them in the preheated pan. Let cook, undisturbed, until the bottoms of the patties are crisp and browned, about 8 minutes. Use a spatula to flip each patty, then break them up slightly and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

    Simple Tip!

    Forming the meat into patties before breaking it up later helps it to brown more deeply. The patties allow for more empty space in the pan, ensuring the beef doesn't steam so it can achieve a deep brown crust.

    Four cooked hamburger patties in a black skillet with a spatula under one patty for Loaded Chopped Cheese Baked Potatoes

    Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu
  4. Add the seasonings:

    Add the onions and sazón, if using, and use the spatula to break up the patties into small crumbles. Cook until the onions are translucent and there the ground beef is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Turn off the heat until the potatoes are done; I like to use this time to prep the tomatoes and lettuce.

    Cooked ground meat and onions in a skillet with a spatula for Loaded Chopped Cheese Baked Potatoes

    Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu
  5. Finish the potatoes and filling:

    Once the potatoes are cooked through, remove them from the oven and use a sharp knife to slice them open lengthwise. Carefully fluff up the interior to make room for the filling.

    Place the slices of American cheese over the ground beef mixture in the skillet and transfer the pan to the still-hot oven to melt the cheese, about 2 minutes. Once the cheese is melted, take the pan out and use a spatula to “chop” the cheese into the filling; you can also skip this step if you desire a blanket of cheese over your ground beef instead.

    Four baked potato halves with the insides gently fluffed placed side by side on a wooden surface accompanied by a fork for Loaded Chopped Cheese Baked Potatoes

    Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu
    A skillet containing ground beef or a similar cooked mixture topped with slices of cheese with a spatula resting on top for Loaded Chopped Cheese Baked Potatoes

    Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu
  6. Assemble and serve:

    Use the spatula to add about a quarter of the chopped cheese filling into each potato, tucking it in as much as possible. Top as desired with sour cream, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomatoes before serving immediately.

    Wrap leftover baked potatoes in foil and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Leftovers of the filling and toppings can be stored separately in airtight containers for up to 5 days.

    To serve, unwrap and reheat the potato in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes, in a 375°F airfryer for 5  to 8 minutes, or in the microwave until hot all the way through. Reheat the chopped cheese filling in a nonstick skillet or in the microwave, then top and serve.

    Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

    Four halved potatoes loaded with a filling of ground meat onions and cheese arranged neatly on a white plate

    Simply Recipe / Frank Tiu
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
544 Calories
22g Fat
53g Carbs
33g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 544
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 28%
Saturated Fat 9g 43%
Cholesterol 91mg 30%
Sodium 900mg 39%
Total Carbohydrate 53g 19%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 33g
Vitamin C 20mg 100%
Calcium 342mg 26%
Iron 5mg 28%
Potassium 1666mg 35%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.