This easy Chili Baked Potato recipe combines two of our favorite comfort foods; warm chili and the classic baked potato, which adds a heartiness that we didn’t know that we were missing until we tried it. Top with all the essentials and enjoy!
The Best Chili Baked Potato
Enjoy the best of both worlds with this fun take on two of our comfort food favorites! Make the chili in advance to make this an easy weeknight meal or enjoy it straight out of the oven on a lazy Sunday. The baked potatos soak up the savory flavors of our favorite chili recipe. And sour cream, bacon bits, and shredded cheese taste amazing on both, making this combo a no-brainer.
Looking for More Recipes Like This?
If you’re a fan of stuffing your potatoes with the best flavors, check out our twice baked potatoes! And if you want to get creative with your chili, try our easy pumpkin chili or our best ever short rib chili.
What You Will Need
- extra virgin olive oil – Just a bit to soften up the veggies in the chili
- garlic – Some mild heat combined with some earthy tones makes this ingredient a no-brainer.
- yellow onion – A classic chili ingredient.
- ground beef – To add heartiness and protein.
- whole tomatoes – Provides some acid to give this recipe the right amount of balance.
- tomato paste – For some more rich tomato flavors.
- red kidney beans – A hearty legume that keeps its shape during the cooking process.
- bay leaf – A simple ingredient that adds pine, mint, clove, and a whole slew of other subtle, but important flavors.
- chili powder – To get that classic chili flavor.
- cumin, garlic powder, & onion powder – A blend of flavors to make the quintessential chili seasoning.
- kosher salt & ground black pepper – Just a bit to heighten.
- russet potatoes – Our favorite potato variety when making baked potatoes.
- colby jack cheese, sour cream, and green onions for toppings
How To Make Chili Baked Potatoes
The first step is to gather and prep all of your ingredients for the chili and the baked potatoes.
Start your chili by bringing a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and then add some olive oil and make sure it coats the bottom. Then add in your garlic and move it around the pan for about 10-20 seconds. Next, add the diced onions and let them cook for 2 minutes. Then add in your ground beef and be sure to season it with salt and pepper. Move everything around the pan until the beef is no longer pink. Then drain the grease and add that whole meat mixture to your trusty crockpot or slow cooker along with the whole tomatoes, tomato paste, kidney beans, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cut the whole tomatoes into quarters, put on the lid, and let the chili cook on low setting for for 6-8 hours.
In the final hour of cooking your chili, start on the potatoes by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse the potatoes under cold water, pat them dry, and then pierce each potato 3-4 times with a fork. Rub the outsides with olive oil and season with just a touch of kosher salt. Then place those bad boys directly on the wire rack of your preheated oven and bake for 60-75 minutes.
Pro Tip
To make your dinner prep even easier, meal prep the baked potatoes in your slow cooker earlier in the week and simply warm before serving. Slow cooker baked potatoes are a great way to make hands-off potatoes that are fluffy on the inside with a crispy skin.
Carefully remove them from the oven, let them cool slightly for 5-10 minutes, and then use a sharp knife to cut a slit down the middle, creating a “boat” of sorts for your hot chili to live in. Then scoop about a half cup of that yummy homemade chili into each potato and top with shredded cheddar cheese or colby jack cheese, sour cream, and green onions. For best results, enjoy immediately on a crisp fall day.
Meal Prep This Recipe!
Make a double batch of chili on the weekend and save half to make an easy weeknight meal! All you’ll have to do is throw the potatoes in the oven and grab the toppings and you’ll have an amazing family dinner on the table in no time.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- Storage: Store the chili and baked potatoes separately each in their own airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- What to serve with chili baked potato? This feels like a complete meal to us, but a simple side salad would add fresh flavors to this cozy meal.
- toppings: Let your taste buds guide you here! Bacon bits would be amazing along with a healthy pat of butter. And doesn’t ranch dressing taste good on everything?
- Is a chili baked potato healthy? We’ll let you decide, as healthy is pretty subjective. Scroll down to the recipe card for the nutritional info.
Made these delicious chili stuffed baked potatoes recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Other Easy Dinner Recipes You Might Like
Chili Baked Potato
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Slow Cooker + Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our epic Chili Baked Potato recipe is an easy and delicious dinner that can be prepped ahead of time and topped any way you want!
Ingredients
Classic Chili Recipe:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or ghee)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- (1) 28oz can whole tomatoes (don’t drain)
- (1) 6oz can tomato paste
- 1 15oz can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2–3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Baked Potatoes:
- 4 russet potatoes
- extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
Toppings:
- 1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
- 4 tablespoons sour cream (regular or dairy free sour cream)
- 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Prep Chili: Bring a large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add garlic and move around the pan for about 10-20 seconds. Add onions and allow them to cook down, about 2 minutes. Add ground beef to the pan, season with salt and pepper. Move around the pan (turn heat down a bit if you need to) until ground beef is no longer pink. Drain grease.
- Slow Cooker: Add to crockpot along with the whole tomatoes (use knife to cut them into quarters), tomato paste, kidney beans, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook on the low setting of the slow cooker for 6-8 hours.
- Prep Potatoes: During the last hour of the chili cooking – preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse the potatoes under cold water, pat dry with paper towel, and pierce each potato 3-4 times with a fork. Rub the outside of each potato with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake: Place the potatoes directly on the wire rack and bake for 60-75 minutes.
- Cool + Cut: Carefully remove from oven, let cool slightly, and then use a sharp knife to make a cut, lengthwise, down the top of each potato.
- Add Toppings: Scoop about a 1/2 cup of chili onto each potato, then some shredded cheese, to let it melt a little bit, and then add the rest of the toppings.
- Serve: Enjoy immediately!
Notes
- Baked Potatoes: follow recipe card to make a classic oven baked potato or prep the potatoes ahead of time by making slow cooker baked potatoes.
- Leftover Chili: feel free to warm up leftover slow cooker chili for this recipe, to make it even easier!
- Toppings: these topping amounts are suggestions – option to adjust amounts as desired or swap out for your favorite toppings!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 641
- Sugar: 13.5 g
- Sodium: 1123.6 mg
- Fat: 16.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 73.6 g
- Protein: 54.9 g
- Cholesterol: 105.9 mg
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