There’s a specific kind of cold that settles over Cape Town in July, the kind that gets into your knees on the walk from the car to the front door. A jacket potato, eaten standing at the kitchen counter, solves that faster than almost anything else — sitting down feels like too much effort before dinner’s even properly started.
Rub the skin with a glug of Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil before it goes into the oven, press the salt in with your thumbs, then pile on whatever’s left over in the fridge once it comes out. That’s really the whole method.
That’s the spirit behind these four fillings. None of them are complicated. Each one takes what’s already sitting in your kitchen and turns a plain baked potato into something worth sitting down for. Make one, or make all four, and let everyone at the table pick their own.
4 Brilliant Jacket Potato Fillings
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork, pat them dry, then rub the skins with Wilson's Extra Virgin Olive Oil and press the salt in with your thumbs.
- Bake the potatoes directly on the oven rack for 60–70 minutes, until the skins are crisp and a knife slides easily into the centre.
- For the Tuna Mayo Twist: mix the tuna, mayonnaise, lime juice, red onion and chives in a bowl. Season with black pepper and set aside.
- For the Caramelised Red Onion & Bacon: fry the bacon in a pan until crisp, then remove and set aside. Add the olive oil and onion to the same pan and cook on low heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, cook for 2 more minutes, then return the bacon to the pan. Fold through the cheddar just before serving so it melts slightly.
- For the Peri-Peri Chicken & Sweetcorn: warm the peri-peri oil in a pan, add the shredded chicken and sweetcorn, and toss until heated through, about 4 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the sour cream and spring onion.
- For the Truffle Mushroom & Parmesan: sauté the mushrooms and garlic in the truffle oil over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, until golden. Stir in the cream cheese until it coats the mushrooms, then top with shaved parmesan and parsley.
- Split each baked potato down the middle, fluff the flesh with a fork and add a small drizzle of Wilson's Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Top each with one of the four fillings and serve immediately.
Notes
- Bake potatoes plain and freeze once completely cool; reheat from frozen in a hot oven and add fresh filling once heated through.
- Wedon'trecommend freezing the fillings themselves, especially the tuna mayo, as the texture suffers on thawing.
- Leftover jacket potatoes reheat best in the oven at 200°C for about 15 minutes — this brings the skin back to crispy, which a microwavewon'tdo.
We Use Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A jacket potato lives or dies on its skin. Rub it with Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil before it goes into a hot oven and the skin blisters and crisps properly, instead of steaming soft inside foil.
It does more than the outside, too. The caramelised onion softens in it, the peri-peri filling gets its base flavour from it, and the truffle mushrooms pick up everything the oil is carrying. Even the fillings that don’t cook in it get a last drizzle over the top before serving, which pulls the whole plate together.
One bottle, four completely different results. That’s the point of keeping a good olive oil in the kitchen.
Our Tips
Dry the potatoes properly first — pat them completely dry before rubbing on the oil, otherwise the skin steams instead of crisping.
Skip the foil — wrapping the potato traps steam and gives you a soft, damp skin instead of a crackly one.
Fluff the flesh before filling — split the potato, rough up the inside with a fork, and add a small drizzle of oil so the filling has something to sit on rather than sliding off.
Make the fillings while the potatoes bake — all four come together in under fifteen minutes, so start them once the potatoes have about twenty minutes left in the oven.
Reheat in the oven, not the microwave — a leftover jacket potato goes back to crispy at 200°C in about fifteen minutes; the microwave just makes it chewy.
Salt the skin, not just the flesh — a proper pinch pressed into the oiled skin before baking is what gives you that crackle on the outside.
How We Serve It
We put all four fillings out in bowls down the middle of the table and let people build their own. It works for a lazy Sunday lunch just as well as it does for a weeknight when nobody has the energy to decide what everyone else should eat.
If you’re working from home, one potato with the peri-peri chicken filling is a proper midday reset — it takes twenty minutes if the potato’s already baked, and it’s a lot more filling than a sandwich.
They also hold their own at a braai. Bake a tray of them alongside the fire while the coals are still coming right, and they’re ready by the time the meat is.
More Ways to Use Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Once you’ve got a bottle of Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil open, it doesn’t stop at potatoes. Here’s where else it earns its keep in our kitchen.
Steak & Onion Sandwich — the recipe uses the oil in the pan for the onions and again as a finishing drizzle.
Three Flavour Focaccia — this one uses it in the dough and again on top before it bakes, which is where most of the flavour actually lives.
Mediterranean Summer Salad — no cooking involved here, just a proper dressing built around the oil.
Cheesy Onion Soup — the onions take their time softening in it before anything else goes into the pot.
Lemon and Herb Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary Potatoes — a whole tray that leans on it for both the marinade and the roast potatoes underneath.
The Good Stuff
Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil is Halaal and Kosher certified, and it’s suitable for vegan, lacto vegetarian, ovo vegetarian and Hindu diets. It’s the kind of detail that matters when you’re cooking for a table where not everyone eats the same way.
Ways to Change It Up
Make it vegetarian — swap the bacon in the onion filling for sliced halloumi and the chicken in the peri-peri filling for grilled halloumi or chickpeas.
Use the air fryer — oiled and salted potatoes crisp up in about 45 minutes at 200°C in an air fryer, turned once halfway.
Try sweet potato — the truffle mushroom filling in particular works beautifully against the sweetness.
Turn up the heat — add extra Wilson’s Peri-Peri Flavoured Oil to the chicken filling if you like it properly fiery.
Go dairy-free — leave the cheddar out of the onion and bacon filling and swap the cream cheese in the truffle mushroom filling for a plant-based alternative.
Bake a batch ahead — potatoes reheat well, so bake a tray on the weekend and build fresh fillings through the week.
Questions You Might Have
What’s the best potato for a jacket potato?
A floury variety like a Mnandi or a large Up-to-Date gives you the fluffiest centre. Look for potatoes on the larger side so there’s room for a proper filling.
Can I make the fillings ahead of time?
Yes. All four keep well in the fridge for up to two days in sealed containers. Bring them back to room temperature or warm them gently before spooning onto a hot potato.
Can I freeze jacket potatoes?
Bake the potatoes plain, let them cool completely, then freeze. Reheat from frozen in a hot oven and add the fillings once they’re heated through. We wouldn’t freeze the fillings themselves, especially the mayo-based tuna one.
How long does a jacket potato actually take to bake?
A large potato needs 60 to 70 minutes at 200°C. You’ll know it’s ready when a knife slides in with no resistance.
Can I speed things up in the microwave first?
You can microwave the potato for eight to ten minutes to soften it, then finish it in a hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes to get the skin properly crisp.
Which filling should I try first?
If you’re not sure, start with the caramelised red onion and bacon. It’s the one that gets requested again the fastest in our house.
Can I make these for a crowd?
Easily. Bake as many potatoes as you need on one large tray and multiply each filling recipe by how many people you’re feeding. Set them out buffet-style and let everyone choose.
Where can I buy Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
It’s available to order directly from oliveoil.co.za and at leading retailers across South Africa.
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