Add This Classic Canned Dinner To Baked Potatoes For A Hearty Protein-Packed Meal In Minutes

Baked potatoes are a warming comfort food that you can load up with all kinds of accoutrement, from the classic sour cream, scallions, and cheese to canned seafood stuffing. And you can bring two comfort food favorites together by adding sloppy joe filling to your next baked potato. Both dishes are easy to make, taste great together, and provide a well-rounded, protein- and carb-packed meal.

To make the filling, all you need to do is add a canned sloppy joe sauce to a pan of ground beef. The result is a saucy beefy dish we normally pile into a bun, although most of it ends up on our plates. A baked potato is the hearty, warming bun swap you need to try. Not only will the earthy, savory potato complement the umami-rich tomatoes and beef in the sloppy joe blend, but the meaty chew of the ground beef is a tasty textural contrast to the fluffy, soft potato pulp. Plus, a sloppy joe potato will make for a less messy eating experience, as you'll pour the sloppy joe over a baked potato that you'll then eat with a fork. While you cook your baked potatoes, you can assemble and cook your sloppy joes with the help of canned sauce and ground beef. You can always swap the beef with ground turkey for a leaner protein source. If you're a plant-based eater, try our recipe for instant pot lentil sloppy joes that's just as hearty and protein-packed.

A can of sloppy joe sauce provides all the ingredients your ground beef needs to transform into the comfort food favorite. But you can always upgrade the taste of the sauce with any number of liquid or dry seasonings. For example, you can amp up the umami-richness with the help of a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Add red pepper flakes and liquid smoke for a smoky, spicy boost. Of course, you can always go the scratch-made route and make sloppy joe sauce at home. All you need is 4 staple ingredients: mustard, ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. 

While sloppy joes are the hearty topping to make a complete meal out of a baked potato, you don't have to use it to the exclusion of other toppings either. Cheese, sour cream, and green onions will all taste delicious with it. You can swap green onions for diced white onions for more of a bite. For an ultra meaty potato, add chopped bacon or sauteed mushrooms. Pickled jalapeños and hot sauce would be spicy, tangy ingredients to cut through the meaty richness of the sloppy joes.

If you want to reduce the cooking time for your baked potato, you can steam them for around 20 minutes before crisping them up via a quick stint in the oven. If you're a fan of crispy potato skins, rub them in olive oil and coat with coarse salt before baking.