Transform Simple Baked Potatoes Into A Hearty Entree With One BBQ Topping

There is a lot to love about baked potatoes. These starchy sides are versatile; they can be excellent pairings for everything from steak to chicken. However, too often, they're relegated to just being side dishes rather than the star of the show. If you want to give your baked potatoes a promotion — from humble side to center stage — you're going to need a protein assist from a tasty ingredient: shredded barbecue chicken.

Popular baked potato toppings like bacon, sour cream, and chives can only go so far. But when you add moist, shredded chicken flavored with your favorite barbecue sauce, you're getting a punch of not only flavor, but also heartiness. The juicy chicken will settle into all of the nooks and crannies of your potato, offering protein and jiving with virtually any normal baked potato topping you'd use. Plus, chicken is less intensely flavored than pork, meaning you'll be able to taste more of your other favorite toppings and the starchy, potatoey filling, rather than getting hit with distracting porky flavor.

There are many potential pathways you can take when adding barbecue chicken to your baked potatoes. For one, you can use the leftovers from barbecue chicken sliders; simply heat the leftovers in your microwave and spoon them into your awaiting baked potatoes. Shredded barbecue chicken also shines as a filling for twice-baked potatoes: the classic baked potato's meltier, googier cousin. Our recipe for barbecue chicken-stuffed twice-baked potatoes calls for mashing the potato filling with sour cream and seasoning before returning it to the potato skins with the shredded chicken and cheese. It's like the potato version of deviled eggs, and baking the pre-cooked chicken with the potato filling and cheese allows their flavors to meld together even more. 

One of the biggest perks of this topping is that it plays well with others. Whether you prefer a loaded baked potato with cheese, sour cream, and bacon, or like it simple with a pat of butter and flaky salt, barbecue chicken will fit right in. You could even turn up the barbecue element by gracing your spuds with a slaw topping for crunchiness and tanginess; it's in good company with both the chicken and the comparatively bland potato.