Use Leftover Corned Beef For Robust Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes can be elevated with simple additions like sour cream, fresh chives, or crunchy bacon or with more complex toppings like caviar and crème fraîche if you're feeling fancy. The starchy dish is versatile, so you can even add leftovers, like corned beef, the cured meat that's usually slow-cooked and served on holidays like St. Patrick's Day. The result will be flavor-packed baked potatoes that can easily be served as a main instead of a side dish.

Corned beef usually tastes salty and meaty, two flavors that work well with a baked potato that usually needs at least some butter to taste delicious. Properly cooked corned beef comes out tender, and you might barely need a knife to cut it, so you can easily shred it or cut it into bite-sized pieces to fit on top of the baked potato. You can add the corned beef on top of the baked potato with other toppings straight out of the oven. Another technique is to make twice-baked potatoes by scooping out the cooked spuds, mixing it with corned beef and other ingredients, then baking it again. Either way, these potatoes are a flavorful way to use leftover corned beef to avoid food waste.

Corned beef is typically served in long slices, but you'll want to shred it or dice it so it fits on your baked potato — even if you're using large Idaho potatoes because you want balanced bites. Some recipes suggest using one-and-a-half cups of corned beef for every four large baking potatoes, but you can use as little or as much corned beef as you'd like. Just be mindful of the salt levels when deciding how corned beef to use on the potatoes because the meat is already high in sodium on its own since it's cured.

You'll want to combine the corned beef with additional toppings to make the most flavorful potatoes. If you have leftover sides typically served with the meat like cabbage and carrots, dice that up and add it to the potatoes. You can also combine the beef with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese for a Reuben-style baked potato. Sliced green onions, chopped chives, fresh parsley, sharp cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, or horseradish sauce all pair well with corned beef and potatoes. And if you still have leftover corned beef after making these loaded baked potatoes, use it in homemade egg rolls, tacos, or breakfast hash with potatoes topped with a fried egg.