Martha Stewart’s Surprising Twist on Baked Potatoes Is As Simple As It Is Delicious

Martha Stewart is the queen of doing a lot with a little. Her recipes for pie crust and chicken noodle soup are accessible even to novice home cooks. The cookbook author and television personality’s take on baked potatoes may be her simplest recipe of all. Instead of adding fancy new ingredients to reinvent the classic, she swaps standard russet potatoes with Yukon golds. The dish is a perfect example of how the most basic preparations can yield delicious results.

As The Kitchn reports, Martha Stewart’s twist on baked potatoes—or “jacket” potatoes—comes directly from her Instagram page. Large russet potatoes with white interiors and dark brown skins are many people’s first choice when baking potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes of have paler, thinner skins and rich, yellow flesh. They tend to be smaller than russets, and when they’re roasted in the oven they’re usually cut into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

Larger Yukon golds are out there, and Martha Stewart demonstrated why you should be baking them in the style of russets. Roast your spuds whole at 325°F for about 90 minutes. Once they’re out of the oven, smash them against your counter just hard enough to burst the skin, then fluff the interior with a fork. Serve as you would regular baked potatoes: topped with salt, pepper, butter, sour cream, chives, or whatever accompaniments you prefer. 

Because Yukon golds have thinner skins than russets, they lend beautifully to crisping up in the oven. The creamy, slightly sweet flesh is also enhanced by a slow roast at low heat. If you’re looking for a side dish that delivers big payoff for little effort, bookmark this recipe for dinner tonight. And if you’re willing to put slightly more work into your starchy side, here’s a more involved (but still simple) recipe for the creamiest mashed potatoes ever.