Hot Dog Baked Potatoes

A tasty, hearty way to enjoy vegetarian hot dogs – hot dog baked potatoes! Loaded with all my favourite hot dog toppings.

Sausages and potatoes are a match made in heaven, but I’ve never had them quite like this before. These hot dog baked potatoes combine two awesome things, to give an end result that’s even greater than the sum of its parts. It’s hearty and warming, and absolutely packed with flavour.

Vegetarian hot dogs

I have fond memories of eating hot dogs as a child (always on holiday, for some reason), so I was really excited when vegetarian hot dogs became available. They taste just like I remember them!

I usually use hot dog sausages in the ‘normal’ ways – either in a bread bun, or cut up in pasta. But this time I thought I’d do something a little different, and swap the bun for a crispy jacket potato.

The flavours are just like my favourite loaded hot dogs, but the potato bakes it heartier and more filling – more like a full evening meal than a sports game snack.

Bonfire night dinner idea

If you’re in the UK, you’ll know all about Bonfire Night (a.k.a. Fireworks Night, a.k.a. Guy Fawkes Night). Every year on 5th November, we Brits get together to celebrate a failed murder attempt from a few hundred years ago.

Yeah, I’m not really sure why either.

But it’s an excuse to light fireworks and bonfires, and to eat good food.

To me, Bonfire Night always means eating one of two things:

• hot dogs and burgers cooked on a BBQ at a bonfire display
• a baked potato and sausages cooked at home

These hot dog baked potatoes combine the two, for the ultimate Bonfire Night dinner.

How to make hot dog baked potatoes

This recipe is really more of an assembly job than an actual recipe, to be honest. There’s not a huge amount of explanation necessary, so here’s just a brief overview!

Step 1: Bake some potatoes

I’ve previously written a whole post about how to make a perfect baked potato, so I won’t rehash it all again here.

For these hot dog baked potatoes, you can cook your potatoes using either the microwave or the oven. The microwave method is significantly quicker, but you don’t end up with a nice crispy skin. Using the oven, on the other hand, takes much longer, but crisps everything up nicely.

My preferred method, detailed in the post I linked above, is to start them off in the microwave, then finish them in the oven. It’s the best of both worlds.

Step 2: Sauté some onions

In my opinion, no hot dog is complete without a good heap of sautéed onions.

If you have time to make proper caramelised onions (which can take up to an hour to do properly), go for it – but even just 10 minutes in a pan with some butter will make really tasty onions.

Step 3: Boil the hot dogs

Cook your vegetarian hot dogs according to the instructions on the packet. Mine had to be boiled for about 15 minutes.

Step 4: Assemble!

Cut your baked potato in half, and add the hot dog and fried onions. Then you can load it up with whatever other toppings you like on your hot dogs.

Hot dog topping ideas

Here are a few ideas for topping your hot dog baked potatoes:

• American-style yellow mustard
• ketchup
• pickles (pickled gherkins)
• crispy onion bits
• crispy bacon bits (usually vegetarian!)
• tomato salsa
• grated cheese

Do you have any other favourite hot dog toppings?

Print Recipe

Hot dog baked potatoes

A tasty, hearty way to enjoy vegetarian hot dogs – hot dog baked potatoes! Loaded with all my favourite hot dog toppings.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Main meals

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 potatoes

Calories: 422kcal

Author: Becca Heyes

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 vegetarian hot dogs
• Your choice of additional hot dog toppings, e.g. ketchup, mustard, pickled gherkins, etc.

Instructions

• Bake the potatoes using your favourite method. I like to start them off in the microwave, then crisp them up in the oven, as detailed here.
• Meanwhile, add the sliced onions to a frying pan, along with the butter and oil. Cook over a medium-low heat for at least 10 minutes (longer is better), until softened. If you have more time, you can caramelise them fully by cooking over a very low heat for a long time (up to an hour or so).
• Cook the vegetarian hot dogs according to the instructions on the packet. Mine needed to be boiled for 15 minutes.
• When everything is ready, assemble the hot dog baked potatoes. Cut the potatoes in half, add some sautéed onions and a sausage, and finish with your favourite hot dog toppings.

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1 hot dog baked potato, with the toppings in the photos.

Looking for another fun way to liven up your hot dogs? Try pizza hot dogs!