19 Potato Recipes That Beat a Plain Baked Potato Every Time

A plain baked potato has its place, but there’s only so much excitement a pat of butter can bring. Give that same humble potato a little more attention, and it can become crisp, cheesy, creamy, loaded, or downright indulgent.

Sometimes all it takes is one good idea to turn the side dish everyone overlooks into the thing people actually reach for first. The baked potato can keep its jacket. We have plans.

Scalloped Potatoes

When you want a side dish that feels a little fancy without actually keeping you chained to the stove all night, thin slices of potato baked in a rich homemade cream sauce will save the day. They bubble away in the oven until tender, cheesy, and utterly delicious, leaving any plain baked spud in the dust.
Get the Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes

Grilled Potatoes

Why turn on the oven when your backyard grill can do all the heavy lifting? Tossing potatoes over the open flame gives tender, fluffy spuds on the inside and crispy, salty skin on the outside, making it the best way to upgrade a basic summer side dish.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Potatoes

Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

If your weeknight dinner rotation feels a little tired, swirling nutty browned butter directly into fresh boiled spuds will change everything. A good saucepan makes the first step simple, cooking the potatoes until tender before they become something wonderfully rich and velvety that tastes so fresh you will gladly leave plain spuds behind.
Get the Recipe: Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

Easy Cheesy Loaded Tater Tots Recipe

Let’s be real: everyone loves a crispy tater tot, but smothering them in a hot baking dish with melted cheese, bacon bits, and green onions takes them to a whole new level. Making them fresh at home adds so much extra flavor that your family will skip the plain baked version every time.
Get the Recipe: Easy Cheesy Loaded Tater Tots Recipe

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes

You do not need complicated ingredients to make an impressive side dish that completely overshadows a standard baked potato. As the Parmesan cheese melts directly onto the hot baking pan, it forms a salty, crunchy crust under every single potato half that is impossible to resist.
Get the Recipe: Parmesan Crusted Potatoes

Vegetarian Swamp Potatoes with Sausage

On nights when you want maximum comfort with almost zero cleanup, a cozy one-pan Dutch oven is your best friend. Combining tender potatoes, green beans, and veggie sausage into a full meal delivers real food that makes you forget all about a boring baked potato.
Get the Recipe: Vegetarian Swamp Potatoes with Sausage

Russian Fried Potatoes

There is a reason simple skillet potatoes fried up golden with sweet onions have been a comfort food favorite for generations. They bring old-school coziness right to your stove, and a roomy frying pan gives the potatoes space to brown properly while delivering so much real flavor that you will never look at a plain spud the same way again.
Get the Recipe: Russian Fried Potatoes

Garlic Butter Fondant Potatoes

If you want to make your dinner table feel like a high-end restaurant, thick potato rounds seared in a hot pan and roasted in garlic butter are the answer. Letting the centers turn melt-in-your-mouth tender creates a rich texture that beats a basic baked potato by a mile.
Get the Recipe: Garlic Butter Fondant Potatoes

Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

When you want all the gooey goodness of a stuffed potato without waiting an hour for the oven, the air fryer is a total game-changer. Whip up fluffy spuds loaded with your favorite toppings in a fraction of the time for a quick weeknight win.
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

Potatoes Romanoff

Whenever you need a side dish that feeds a crowd and steals the spotlight, a steakhouse classic casserole filled with chunky grated potatoes in a sour cream and cheese sauce is the way to go. It takes ordinary spuds and turns them into something extraordinary.
Get the Recipe: Potatoes Romanoff

Paprika Potatoes And Mushrooms

As hot paprika and fresh garlic envelop potatoes and mushrooms in the roasting pan, your kitchen fills with an incredible warm aroma. It turns basic spuds into a hearty winter meal that completely eclipses a plain baked potato on a chilly evening.
Get the Recipe: Paprika Potatoes And Mushrooms

Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes

If you love smoky flavors, adding a rustic twist to classic au gratin potatoes creates a rich and comforting side dish with a unique edge. It is a brilliant way to steal the spotlight from ordinary spuds at your next family dinner.
Get the Recipe: Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes

Garlic and Dill Roasted Potatoes

I have roasted more trays of baby potatoes than I can count, and this combination of fresh dill, garlic, and lemon remains my absolute favorite. It proves that a handful of simple ingredients can become the first empty serving dish on the table.
Get the Recipe: Garlic and Dill Roasted Potatoes

Potato and Chickpea Burgers

If you are tired of dry store-bought veggie patties crumbling all over your plate, a golden potato and chickpea patty is the sturdy, soft fix you need. They crisp up so nicely in the skillet that your whole family will happily trade in a plain baked potato for a burger night.
Get the Recipe: Potato and Chickpea Burgers

Slow Cooker Cheesy Ranch Bacon Potatoes

Tossing potatoes into the slow cooker with ranch seasoning, cheddar, and bacon is my favorite hands-off way to upgrade dinner. This rich and cozy dish delivers so much savory flavor that nobody will ever miss a plain baked spud.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Cheesy Ranch Bacon Potatoes

Potato Fritters

Whenever I grate fresh potatoes with onions and garlic to pan-fry until golden, breakfast instantly feels like a special event. Serving these crispy patties up hot with a dollop of yogurt proves that homemade always beats a basic baked potato.
Get the Recipe: Potato Fritters

Campfire Potatoes

You do not need a full kitchen to whip up an incredible side dish when you have a roll of aluminum foil and some hot coals. Trapping the steam and melting cheese right into the sliced potatoes gives you a fresh, incredibly soft spud with zero fuss.
Get the Recipe: Campfire Potatoes

Party Potatoes

Creamy, fatty, and rich, a good casserole of party potatoes makes for a comforting dish to share with friends and family. It beats a plain baked spud any day of the week when you are feeding a hungry crowd.
Get the Recipe: Party Potatoes

Crispy Smashed Baby Potatoes

Crushing tender baby potatoes before roasting them with lemon and fresh herbs gives you a buttery crunch that no plain baked potato could ever match. It gives a crispy outside and a soft inside that pulls everyone right to the table.
Get the Recipe: Crispy Smashed Baby Potatoes

My family would still happily eat a baked potato. They just know better than to expect me to stop there.