Turn A Baked Potato Into A Comfort Meal With This Canned Ingredient

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While a baked potato may not be the most ostentatious spud recipe, the dish's comforting appeal is unparalleled. So might as well lean into the homey allure, and top the starchy vegetable with canned chicken pot pie. At first, the concept might seem inharmonious — a standalone soup isn't a common potato topping, after all. Yet dig into the details, and the pairing's creamy magic becomes clear.

For starters, like the butter and cheese in an ultimate loaded baked potato recipe, you're covering the tater in rich dairy — ideal for invoking decadent moisture into the build. This isn't just a sauce we're talking about, though: A can of the chicken pot pie contains a satisfying dose of meat and vegetables, too.

Buy a serving of Campbell's Pub-Style Chicken Pot Pie Soup, for example, and you're getting celery, carrots, and peas, plus a generous dose of chicken and dumplings. The components enhance the potato with new mouth-watering textures, all while turning the dish into a filling entree. For assembly, you'll just need to employ one of the best ways to cook a baked potato and heat up the can on the stove — talk about homey nourishment without much fuss.

Before cooking, carefully inspect the contents of the canned soup to craft the tastiest rendition. In addition to varying vegetable medleys, keep in mind that some brands already contain potatoes in the mix. Furthermore, chicken pot pie soup comes in variable states of chunkiness — opt for a thicker rendition to avoid a runny topping. Alternatively, you could also buy a can of Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup and throw in varying ratios of canned chicken and vegetables for a shortcut chicken pot pie, tailored to your desired consistency.

Now, to really enhance flavors and customize the pairing, consider cooking up the soup from scratch. Undoubtedly, a homemade chicken pot pie recipe intensely increases the preparation time, but it does enable some unique twists on the classic. You can make the preparation even more vegetable-heavy, adding mushrooms, green beans, pearl onions, or asparagus – all components not often found in a can. The same kind of customization applies to aromatics, with the ability to shape the flavor palate using thyme, turmeric, or garlic. For the chicken, you can ease preparation by buying a rotisserie bird or simply poaching breasts to a tender state. Simmer it all together — binding the mixture with cream and flour — and you'll get a delicious baked potato topping, ready to serve the whole family.