Big Potatoes Stuffed with Mac and Cheese | Yelena Belova Inspired
Crispy baked potatoes filled with creamy cheddar and mozzarella mac and cheese, then finished with Parmesan and chives. Inspired by Yelena Belova’s mac and cheese featured in Hawkeye, and the big potato mentioned in Spider Man: Brand New Day, this Marvel inspired recipe combines fluffy baked potato, rich cheese sauce, and tender pasta in one seriously comforting dish. Perfect for a cozy dinner, a Marvel movie night, or whenever you need a truly loaded potato.
🍽️ Servings: 2
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 1 large baking potatoes, 350 g each
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1.5 g sea salt
- 10 g butter
- 10 g heavy cream
Mac and Cheese
- 25 g elbow macaroni
- 10 g butter
- 10 g all purpose flour
- 75 g whole milk
- 37.5 g heavy cream
- 40 g cheddar cheese, shredded
- 20 g mozzarella, shredded
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 g salt
Topping
- 10 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 5 g chives, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C / 392 °F.
- Scrub the potatoes thoroughly and dry them well. Pierce the potato several times with a fork, rub with olive oil, and season with sea salt.
- Place the potatoes directly on a baking tray and bake for about 75 minutes, until the skins are crisp and the centers are completely tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in well salted water until just al dente. Drain well.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Add the heavy cream and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring until the sauce slightly thickens.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheddar and mozzarella gradually, stirring until completely melted and smooth. Stir in the hot sauce, then season with salt.
- Add the cooked macaroni and stir until evenly coated. Keep the mac and cheese slightly looser than usual so it stays creamy after baking inside the potatoes.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut off the tops.
- Scoop out most of the potato flesh, leaving enough inside the skins to keep the potatoes stable.
- Add the butter to a bowl. Pass the warm potato flesh through a potato ricer into the same bowl. Add the heavy cream gradually and mix until creamy but still fluffy. Season with salt.
- Add about two tablespoons of the seasoned potato mixture back into the potato. Save the remaining potato flesh for another use.
- Fill the potato generously with all of the mac and cheese, keeping some of the pasta exposed on top.
- Generously cover the mac and cheese with the finely grated Parmesan cheese.
- Return the potatoes to the oven and bake at 220 °C / 425 °F for about 8 minutes, until the Parmesan is melted and golden and the filling is bubbling.
- Finish with chopped chives and serve immediately.
Tips & More Info
Choosing large baking potatoes
Large baking potatoes work best because their size gives you enough room for a generous filling while keeping the skin intact. Look for potatoes with a relatively even shape so they bake consistently and are easier to fill.
Piercing the potatoes before baking
Piercing allows steam to escape during baking and reduces pressure building inside the potato. It also helps prevent the skin from splitting unpredictably, so you can cut and fill the potato cleanly afterward.
Keep the mac and cheese slightly loose
The filling should be creamier than a finished stovetop mac and cheese because it will continue to absorb moisture inside the potato. Starting with a looser sauce ensures the pasta remains creamy rather than becoming dry after the final bake.
Do not overcook the macaroni
Cooking the pasta only to al dente gives it enough structure to withstand the additional heat from the filled potato. Softer pasta can become mushy once it is combined with the sauce and baked again.
Keep the skins intact
When scooping out the potato, leave a substantial layer of flesh around the inside of the skin. This keeps the shell sturdy enough to hold the filling and prevents the potato from collapsing during the final bake.
Serve immediately
The contrast between crisp potato skin, bubbling mac and cheese, and fresh chives is best straight from the oven. As the filling cools, the cheese sauce naturally thickens, so serving immediately keeps the texture at its creamiest.