Loaded Baked Potatoes
 
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These loaded baked potatoes are new favorite at our house. They're so easy to make and you can play with the toppings to change them up. I went pretty unconventional by topping these with kale chips and a delicious cilantro cashew cream that is to die for. I also topped them with a "Parmesan" from Oh She Glows, which is ideal for salads or pasta dishes, too. You can't see them in the picture, but there's diced tomato, green onion, and avocado on these as well. These make a great weekday meal when you don't have a ton of time, although, they might become a weekend favorite, too!
Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 6 large russet potatoes
  • 1-2 large avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
  • 1-2 large tomato, diced
  • 1 C green onion, sliced
  • Tofutti sour cream (optional)
  • 5 C kale, torn into pieces
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • .
  • Cilantro-Cashew Cream
  • .
  • 1 C unsalted cashews
  • ¾ C cold water
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ C fresh cilantro
  • ¾ tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • .
  • Nut and Seed Parmesan (from Oh She Glows)1/4 cup raw cashews
  • .
  • 1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons hulled hemp seeds
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • fine grain sea salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425. I prepared everything and then nuked the potatoes because it just seemed easiest that way. First, place the cashews in a bowl and pour boiling water over them; set aside. (You'll prepare the rest of the sauce last).
  2. To make the Parmesan, place all of the ingredients in a food processor and grind to a fine crumble. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  3. Next, to prepare the kale chips, place the kale in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Using your hands, massage the oil onto the kale leaves. Transfer to a baking dish and set aside.
  4. I then microwaved the potatoes. Stick each one several times with a fork first, then nuke. (I used the potato setting), so about 5 minutes, then turn and another 5 minutes.
  5. During the first five minutes, prepare the cashew sauce: Drain the cashews and place in a food processor with the garlic. Puree for 30 seconds. Add all of the other ingredients and puree 2-3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times.Using a funnel, I poured the sauce into a squeeze bottle.
  6. During the last five minutes of potato cooking, place the kale chips in the preheated oven. Keep an eye on them so they don't turn black---they'll shrivel up, but still have bright green spots. Let them bake 4-5 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt.
  7. To assemble, cut each potato in half and top with sour cream (if using), tomato, avocado, green onion, cilantro-cashew cream, crumbled kale chips, and finally, the nut and seed Parmesan mixture. So good! Enjoy!
Recipe by Epicurean Vegan at http://epicureanvegan.com/2015/01/20/loaded-baked-potatoes/