Forget Sour Cream. Try The Brazilian Way To Deliciously Top A Baked Potato

Four pieces of cheese. That's all you need to make what Brazilians consider the pinnacle of baked potatoes, or batata recheada. This quadruply-cheesy variation is called quatro queijos ("four cheeses" in Portuguese), and the result is the definition of creamy decadence. No sour cream. No bacon bits scattered across the top. Just cheese. Try it once, and it'll probably make you wonder why the rest of the world has been doing this wrong the entire time.

And before we get ahead of ourselves, no, we aren't making quatro queijos by slapping four slices of American cheese right on top. Instead, each piece of the quartet is a different cheese — low-moisture mozzarella for extra chewiness, sharp provolone, tangy gorgonzola, and the piece de resistance, catupiry, a type of Brazilian soft cheese. Heavy cream binds it all into something spreadable, and might even be dangerous if you're hoping for leftovers.

Poke a few holes in the potato first, microwave it until soft (about 8-10 minutes), then carve an opening and bake until the skin's crisp and golden (you can use our twice-baked potato recipe as the base). The filling is all four cheeses plus cream and that scooped-out flesh, mixed smooth. Stuff it back in — be generous here, this isn't the time for restraint. Another round in the oven or air fryer until everything melts and bubbles. Try the cheese pull when you take it out of the oven for the first time.

Love the traditional version? Then we're certain you'll love the upgraded versions we've got for you. First, we'll address the textural issue. Right now, everything's soft and creamy, which tastes great for about three bites before you realize there's no contrast happening. An easy solution is to crisp it up with a smattering of shoestring potatoes right on top of the golden cheese filling. The crunch's going to be wonderful against the tender potato.

If you find the flavor to be too one-dimensional, there are plenty of toppings you can try. Chives are a great candidate since they won't overpower the cheese but they'll give you an aromatic lift that keeps the flavor from collapsing into itself. Spinach also helps if you want an even earthier flavor. Fold it into the filling to create dimension instead of just more of the same creamy intensity. You want smoke? Bacon. Heat that cuts through the dairy? Spicing it up with jalapeños or hot sauce will make each bite different from the last.

There's just one rule: The cheese should always be the star. If your additions start drowning it out, you've wandered from upgrade into reinvention. Nothing wrong with that if you love where you end up, but at some point you're no longer making the beloved classic.