Cheesy Bake
Cheese Potato is one of the easiest and cheapest comfort foods I know. I first started to love it at school when it was regularly served as a main course with vegetables. It is really low cost too – under £1 for four people – depending on what you pay for your potatoes and cheese.
Easy make, cheap recipe that is warming, filling and very tasty. Serve with your favourite vegetables
I either buy potatoes at a green grocers where locally grown, unwashed potatoes are very low cost or buy a bag from the supermarket that is on its use by date, so reduced even though the potatoes are still perfectly good. I got a 2.5kg bag for just 40p recently.
Most supermarkets do some offer in the more mass produced cheddar cheese and also on their won brand cheese and for cooking this is fine. If you can get it reduced – even better. Cheese can be frozen too – although it does tend to be a bit more crumbly when it is defrosted.
A Very Easy Recipes
Sometimes I am unsure whether to put such easy recipes on my website – I wonder if anyone will be interested as they may all know how to do it. However I am also reminded that it is about having ideas and answering the What’s for Dinner question – especially when you are tired and can’t be bothered to make much effort.
I also find that sometimes I can forget about favourite recipes I have cooked in the past – and it is good to be reminded of some good simple meals – with some guidance as to how to do them. I think that in the world of celebrity chefs – cooking has got too complicated.
So I kind of apologise if you find this recipe too simple to be included, but have also think it is justified. I would love to hear your opinion….
Potatoes
When really hot, mashed potato keeps its heat well so it is very warming and filling. Potatoes have had a mixed profile in the past. In the seventies it was considered off limits to anyone wanting to lose weight but ever since the F Plan diet (remember that?) of the eighties it has become a dieters friend.
It is also high in vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and fibre and is completely fat free (thank goodness because we love to add butter and cheese!).
It is the starch in potatoes and the fibre that keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
Cheddar
Cheddar cheese needs to be eaten in moderation and if you love the flavour buy mature or extra mature cheddar to get the full benefit for a smaller amount. The cheese supplies the protein in this dish as well as calcium.
Cheddar can be bought for a number of different prices and I tend to use the low cost, mass produced variety for this dish. I think it can be worth buying artisan West Country cheddar for the cheese board and I am sure it would make cheese potato taste even more tangy and delicious – clearly it is your choice which you buy. If you can get some excellent cheese at a reduced price that may be your best option
I know there is concern that some mass produced cheddar cheese is hardly good enough to bear the name cheddar but while people need to seek out low cost food, the taste of mass produced cheddar is certainly good enough for cooking with.
Vegetables To Serve
To get a more balanced meal and plenty of vitamins, serve this with your favourite vegetables. Sweetcorn, peas and carrots all go well in my opinion as do cauliflower or sprouts. Just boil or steam the veggies you love. Baked beans – home made or from a tin – would also go well
Of course you can serve cheese potato as a side dish to a meat or vegetarian dish – just halve the quantities of the cheese potato recipe
NB If you want to increase the fibre and vitamin C – only wash but do not peel the potatoes. I like to have the skin in mashed potato – but not everyone does – the choice is yours…
More Potato Recipes
Cheese Potato Bake
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes
- 100g cheddar cheese, grated
- 100ml milk
- 25g /1 oz butter
- butter for greasing
Cooking Directions
- Wash the potatoes and peel if desired
- Chop each potato into 5 or 6 pieces
- Place in a large saucepan and cover in boiling water
- Bring back to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are throroughly cooked
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
- Drain and pour in the milk and add the butter
- Mash with a masher until smooth
- Place about 2/3 of the cheese in the mash and stir in
- Spoon into the casserole or baking dish
- Sprinkle on the remaining cheese
- Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until golden on top
- Serve immediately with plenty of black pepper
Love this recipe, I mash cooked cauliflower with the potatoes and its lovely.
Thank you – and the cooked cauliflower idea sounds great!
Delicious thanks… I tweaked it a bit to use up some leftovers so cooked the potatoes in a vegetarian stock cube added to the water with a teaspoon of marmite, and added some fried onions and garlic to the mix.
Penny – you certainly should not be ashamed of adding very simple recipes – especially when they are as tasty as this one. It makes the simple respectable!
Thank you Tony 🙂
I do this with baked potatos – it’s even less effort then because you don’t have to boil them! When they are cooked cut in half, scoop out the potato, mash with butter and cheese, sometimes a spash of milk and herbs and squash back into the potato skin. Bake for another 5 minutes until the top is golden.
It’s nice with bits of chorizo or smoked salmon in the potato too, or if your potatos are big enough you can crack an egg into a dip in the mash.
That sounds delicious – thank you for sharing 🙂
From about step 8, I add a can of tuna, some frozen peas and mix through, I then call these tuna patties and omit the cheese. . I either use breadcrumbs or pulverised corn flakes, About two tablespoons of mixture, make into balls, roll in breadcrumbs or cornflakes and then cook through in vegie oil in the frying pan till breadcrumbs are golden brown, turn over and repeat. Serve with vegies or salad.
I have just discovered this website and am so looking forward to more and more recipes. I love the potato one as I live in north Cyprus and I swear we have the best potatoes in the world! I often make cheesy mash potato with a strong grated cheddar cheese beaten into the mashed potato with a wooden spoon. I am so looking forward to trying all these recipes. Thank you Penny!!
U are so right about forgetting about the simple recipes…. and this is what I certainly need… ideas! Am delighted I found this website, really good! Been browsing for hours now! 🙂
Thank you for your kind words – I hope you enjoy some of the recipes. I am glad you like easy recipes too – cooking doesn’t always have to be complicated!
I love this kind of comfort food – it is like Homity pie – I love spuds 🙂
I love cheese & potato pie. I always add fried onion (oooh even more calories) and quite often put a pastry lid on it too. Mmmm. That’s tomorrow’s dinner sorted then.
Why not steam your onions before adding them to the pie? That way you get the flavour without the added calories – and onions are also one of our five a day.
Potatoes are such a fantastic versatile vegetable. I love this simple dish and often vary it slightly by adding chopped onion or spring onion, varying the type of cheese or by adding chopped cooked bacon…or even all three!
Thanks for some great recipes.
I love this on a cold winter night I somtimes add a large pile of veg into pie saves on washing up and only one dish to put in oven when you arrive home penny I love your recpies…….