Spinach-Artichoke Baked Potatoes (vegan | plant-based)

I used to not like baked potatoes, in fact, I only liked potatoes in some kind of deep-fried form (tots, fries, hash browns, etc). But then I got pregnant and literally nothing appealed to me. Well very few things did, and a bake potato was one of them. Sure, I drenched it in bbq sauce, but I really enjoyed it and started eating them non stop.

I’m no longer pregnant but I’m still very much into baked potatoes. They need lots of sauce and toppings, but that’s pretty much always how I roll. For this version I took inspo from spinach-artichoke dip. I used my white bean cheezy sauce which makes a big batch, plenty of sauce for these, trust me. And then a simple spinach artichoke mixture to bring it all together.

Spinach-Artichoke Baked Potatoes
serves 4

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes*
olive oil
sea salt, fine grain

for the sauce

1/2 cup raw cashews, unsalted
1 14-oz can white beans (drained/rinsed)
5 cloves garlic, crushed/peeled/roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 to 1 tsp sea salt, fine grain*

for the spinach-artichoke mixture

olive oil
2 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt, fine grain
1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, water packed, drained, roughly chopped
8 oz spinach, roughly chopped

To Make

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub potatoes with oil and prick each potato about 6 times with a fork, evenly distributed over the surface of the potatoes. Place on foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 65-75 minutes, flipping halfway through.

For the cheezy cream sauce, in a small sauce pan or skillet, simmer garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat until most of chopped garlic is light golden. Stir frequently. Remove from heat. In a high speed blender, add all ingredients to a blender with 1 cup water. Start with less salt and add more salt to taste.

For the spinach and artichoke mixure, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced shallots and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Saute until translucent, soft and browned. Deglaze pan with a splash of water. Add artichoke hearts, when heated through, add spinach in batches until gently wilted, along with salt to taste.

When potatoes are finished cooking, allow to cool slightly. Cut into the top each potato, end to end. Firmly pound the potato onto the counter, slit side up. This flattens the bottom and widens the opening. Season inside with salt and olive oil or butter if desired. Add some sauce to plate, transfer potato on top of sauce. Top/fill potatoes liberally with cheezy sauce. Add a quarter of the spinach artichoke mixture to each potato and finish with more sauce.