Turn Baked Potatoes Into A British-Style Comfort Meal With One Canned Staple

The humble baked potato is a budget-friendly dish unrivaled in convenience. Perfect for meal prep or a lazy weeknight dinner, all you've gotta do is poke some holes in the potatoes and bake them until crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. But no baked potato is complete without toppings. There's no shortage of ways to jazz them up, and if you're looking for inspiration, take a page from the British, who have long been pairing baked potatoes with baked beans.

The Brits have a long-standing love of the baked potato, or as it's known over there, the jacket potato — an honest contender for its national dish. But perhaps even more beloved are baked beans, an essential component of a full English breakfast and a common topping for everything from toast (don't knock it 'til you've tried it) to jacket potatoes. Though British people love to endlessly debate over which brand of food item reigns supreme, baked beans are something of an anomaly, with the uncontested top brand being Heinz: navy beans cooked and canned in a thin, sweet tomato sauce that you can find sold in Costco or Walmart. Over in the U.K., it's honestly rare to find a jacket potato served without them.

Adding baked beans to your baked potato requires zero effort. As the potato cooks, warm the canned beans on the stove or in the microwave until hot. To ensure easy mixing, cut a cross into the top of the cooked potato and squeeze the sides to open it up. For extra flavor, salt, pepper, and a knob of melted butter are a must; use a fork to mash them into the potato flesh. Then, simply slather your beans on top to your heart's content.

The Brits get a pretty bad, and in our opinion, undeserved, reputation for food. Sure, it might lack the technicality of French cuisine or the vibrant seasoning of Indian cooking, but where British food excels is in homey comfort. Few dishes capture that better than the jacket potato, so it's no surprise it's come with a whole world of unique topping combos.

Baked potato and baked beans might be an iconic combo, but for many Brits, that's still only half the equation. The real holy trinity is baked potato, baked beans, and a generous helping of grated cheddar on top. We'd always recommend a sharp, mature cheddar; its bold, tangy bite is strong enough to hold its own against the rich, tomatoey base rather than getting lost underneath it. There's endless debate over whether the cheese belongs on top of the beans or underneath. Layering the beans on top will melt the cheese into a rich, gooey filling, but tradition still leans towards sprinkling the cheese on as a finishing touch. If you're after an American-British twist, swap the cheddar for Pepper Jack for a spicy kick, or Monterey Jack for a milder profile with top-tier meltability.

Another classic way of topping a British jacket potato is with tuna mayonnaise, which is very similar to tuna salad. This one is far more customizable than the beans-and-cheddar combo, with mix-ins like sweetcorn and scallions (known to the Brits as spring onion) among the most popular additions. Simply combine canned tuna with a generous spoonful of mayo, fold in your extras, and pile it onto a hot, fluffy potato. For a bit of extra indulgence, some Brits will even mix in shredded cheddar and pop the whole thing back under the grill for a melty, twice-baked finish.