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Preparing loaded baked potatoes is a great way to use up leftovers and a clever way to help your meat spread out to serve more people.
Ingredients
The cool think about making loaded baked potatoes is that you’re in complete control of the ingredients. It’s the time when you can pull out the leftovers from your fridge or freezer and pile them on.
Some toppings that go great on loaded baked potatoes include:
- Pulled Pork
- Smoked Brisket
- Smoked Macaroni and Cheese: Or use the stuff out of the blue box. It’s great, too.
- Shredded Cheese: Any kind that melts will work well. Sharp cheddar cheese is one of my favorites for this recipe.
- Sour Cream
- Chopped Green Onions, White Onions and Jalapeños
Substitutions: Add whatever else you like. Chili, grilled broccoli, grilled mushrooms, pulled turkey. You name it.
How to make a baked potato on a grill
The base of this recipe is obviously a baked potato, so let’s start with that.
- STEP ONE: Wash your russet potatoes and pierce the potato skin a few times with a fork.
- STEP TWO: Brush the potato all over with vegetable oil.
- STEP THREE: Sprinkle kosher salt all over the potato.
- STEP FOUR: Heat your grill to medium-high heat (375F degrees) with an indirect heat zone. If you have a charcoal grill, push the coals to one side. If you have a gas grill, only turn on one burner. If you have a pellet grill, set it to 375F.
- STEP FIVE: Place potatoes on the grill grates over the indirect heat, leaving some space in between them. There is no need to wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil. Keeping them exposed will help create crispy skin.
- STEP SIX: Cook the potatoes for about one hour. The time will vary, depending on the size of the potatoes. The best way to know they’re done is when the internal temperature measures between 205-210F degrees. I use my Thermapen One to check the temp.
How to make loaded bbq baked potatoes
Once your potatoes are baked through, let them cool slightly. Then, you can slice the grilled potatoes open and start adding your favorite toppings.
For best results, warm up your leftover meats and macaroni. Then, separate your warm toppings from your cooler toppings like sour cream and onions.
Place each potato in its own pan. The pan will collect any toppings that spill over. It also makes a fun serving dish.
Split the potato open and mash the inside potato flesh with a fork. Add some butter, salt and pepper.
Then, pile on the macaroni and cheese and pulled meats. You can even squeeze on some BBQ sauce. Then, add a hefty amount of shredded cheese.
Slide the pans of loaded baked potatoes right on the grill over indirect medium-high heat, and cook them until the cheese melts. So long as your meat and mac and cheese were already warm, you shouldn’t need to cook them for more than 5 minutes.
Finish by topping the potatoes with your cool fixins like a dollop of sour cream, chopped green onions, chopped white onions and jalapeño slices. If you want even more meat, throw on some bacon bits.
Bring those pans right on over to the dinner table and enjoy.
Storage
Even though this is essentially a dish meant to be made with leftovers, you can still make it a leftover one more time.
If you have extra loaded potatoes, remove the sour cream or cool toppings and save the rest of the potato and toppings in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Reheat it in the microwave or air fryer and re-top it with fresh sour cream and onions.
You can also save the potatoes baked on the grill before topping them. Just leave them whole and store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.
You can reheat them in the microwave and then top them. Or you can remove the skins and make mashed potatoes. Or slice them into wedges, throw them in the air fryer and make potato wedges.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
- Bake your potatoes for 1 hour or to an internal temp of 205-210F degrees
- Warm meats and pastas before adding them to your potatoes
- Cook each loaded potato in its own pan to catch spills
- Add cool toppings at the end, after the cheese is melted
Frequently Asked Questions
If your grill is set to 375-400F degrees, your potato will be ready in about an hour. This of course depends on the size of your potatoes, so it’s best to measure the internal temperature. When the inside of the potato registers between 205-210F degrees, they’re ready.
Absolutely. I only use foil when I put my potatoes straight on the coals. If I’m cooking them on a gas grill, charcoal grill or pellet grill, like a Traeger, I never wrap them. This way you get crisp skin and soft insides.
The simple answer is almost anything. That’s what’s so great about loaded baked potatoes. Start with butter and then add any leftover meat or vegetables. You can even add left over side dishes like mac and cheese or baked beans. Then, top them with cheese. Let that melt and finish with cool toppings like sour cream, onions and peppers.
More potato recipes
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Loaded Baked Potato on a Grill
Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Optional Loaded Potato Toppings
- 4 tsp butter
- 2 cups macaroni and cheese
- 2 cups pulled brisket or pork
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1 tbsp white onion, diced
- 12 slices jalapeno
Instructions
- Prep: Rinse the potatoes and pierce them with a fork. Brush with oil and season all sides with salt.
- Heat Grill: Heat your grill to 375-400F degrees with an indirect heat zone.
- Grill: Place the potatoes on the grill and cook for about 1 hour or until they are fork tender or the internal temperature reaches 205-210F degrees.
- Top: Place each potato in its own small pan. Slice the potato open, mash the insides. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to each potato. Top each one with 1/2 cup mac and cheese, 1/2 cup pulled meat and 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
- Twice Bake: Add the potato back to the grill over indirect heat and cook for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Cool Toppings: Add a 1/4 cup sour cream on top of each potato and sprinkle with green onions, white onions and jalapenos.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
