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Jacket potatoes with beans is a quirky British food, and one of my husband’s favorite meals. 

Remember college? Remember those special meals that you ate in college that you get nostalgic for as an adult? For me it is Panera’s cheddar cheese and broccoli soup. For Charles, who is British and went to school in England, it’s jacket potatoes with beans and cheddar cheese.

Recently we discovered the British show, starring Andy Samberg, called Cuckoo on Netflix. It’s full of awkward British humor, and in one scene Samberg’s character points to a baked potato and asks what it is. The reply is that it is a “jacket potato”. Yes, in England a baked potato is called a jacket potato.

You could argue that a jacket potato needs to have a crispy skin. A jacket potato doesn’t necessarily have beans and cheese on it, but it is what Charles is referring to when he says “jacket potato”. Beans and cheese on a baked potato is a very classic British meal – especially for broke college students.

We need to talk about the beans. You can’t use any old beans. You MUST use Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce. Specifically, the type in this photo, that are imported from England and available at some stores in America. Any Brit will explain to you that these beans are superior to the Heinz baked beans made in America. The difference is that the British-style beans are vegetarian and they have a thinner, less sweet, sauce.

Anyway, we have been watching Cuckoo – which is hilarious – and jacket potatoes come up a bunch. That coupled with the fact that the posh grocery store in my neighborhood sells Heinz baked beans imported from England means that we have been eating jacket potatoes with baked beans on a regular basis. 

To be completely honest, it feels like a total win to have found a very easy dinner that Charles loves so much. I feel like I am being a lazy wife making a simple dinner, and Charles gets to relive his college days. It is also one of the cheapest meals out there. And since I usually have beans, cheese, butter, and potatoes at home, I can make this on days when I don’t have much food at home and don’t feel like going to the grocery store.

The steps involved in making jacket potatoes with beans are easy. First you rinse and dry your potatoes. Then you coat the potatoes with butter and sprinkle with salt. Bake the potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour, until the skin is crispy and the inside of the potato is soft.

Once your potatoes are ready you heat up the beans. Slice the potatoes in half, add some butter, pour the beans over, and top with shredded cheddar. 

Charles is a purest and insists on eating his jacket potatoes with only butter, cheese, and Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce. I am not opposed to adding extra ingredients. Bacon, chives, or shredded chicken would be nice.

More British Recipes to Try:

Sunday Roast
Eton Mess
Yorkshire Pudding
Tea Sandwiches

How to Make Jacket Potatoes with Beans:

5 from 1 vote

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Jacket potatoes with beans

Jacket potatoes with beans is a quirky British food, and one of my husband's favorite meals. A baked potato with a perfectly crisp skin and tender fluffy flesh is topped with butter, baked beans, and cheddar cheese. It's an easy meal to make on a cold winter night.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Keyword baked potatoes, jacket potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2 Russet Potatoes
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• Salt
• 1 can of Heinz Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce
• about 1/3 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse the potatoes, dry them, and remove any eyes. I like to stab the potatoes with a knife a couple times just to eliminate the unlikely possibility that they explode while the cook.
3. Next, take 1 tablespoon of butter and slather it all over the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a baking pan, and sprinkle generously with salt.
   
4. Bake the potatoes for 45-60 minutes. You want the potatoes to be crisp on the outside but very soft on the inside.
   
5. Heat up your baked beans in a skillet until they a bubbling hot.
   
6. Place the potatoes on plates, then slice them in half. I like to mash up the inside of the potato a little with a fork. Then add a slab of butter. Top generously with beans and cheese.
   

Recipe Notes

We need to talk about the beans. You can't use any old beans. You MUST use Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce. Specifically, the type in this photo, that are imported from England and available at some stores in America. Any Brit will explain to you that these beans are superior to the Heinz baked beans made in America. The difference is that the British-style beans are vegetarian and they have a thinner, less sweet, sauce.

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