Whether they’re baked or air fried, these Potato Skin Pizzas are a win! This whole food, plant-based recipe is perfect for a healthy and delicious main course, appetizer, or between-meal snack.
Did you miss me? I’m not going to lie, I’m a little embarrassed for being gone for so long. School kind of took a hold of me. I no longer had time to create a new recipe every week or two. I’m even more ashamed I din’t snap right back to it after isolation orders were put into place. Let me catch you up…
After school got out, I packed up my studio in Pasadena and drove home to my family in Oceanside. Truth be told, being away from the husband and kids every week was A LOT harder than I thought it would be (I was driving home for the weekends only).
While most of you all were going crazy, that first three to four weeks home, I actually enjoyed. It was SO nice to be home with the fam, and I never wanted to leave.
Instead of spending time working on new recipes, I spent my evenings recreating old meals I hadn’t had the chance to cook up in a while. I loved it, I missed it, and it just made me so very happy. After a few weeks in, however, the simple lazidazical life started to be redundant, and just a bit depressing.
Let me clarify, not only was I playing it chill cooking old (but loved) recipes, I was “taking it chill” with practically everything. I started missing life before school. I was finally home, but I still wasn’t doing anything. So… this week, I started jogging every morning, lifting every other morning, getting dressed every day in things I’d never dream of wearing to bed, drinking more water, and getting serious about jotting down new, delicious recipes to share. It’s time to be productive, NOT time to waste!
All that being said, this is a recipe I’ve had on my list of ideas for quite a while. I was putting it off because though it sounded good, I wasn’t 100 percent convinced. Well, I finally gave it a go, and guess what… it was not only good, but AMAZING!
That’s what I want to share on this blog, not only good, but amazing. I perfected these in two ways, air fryer for those of you who want to cut down the cooking time and NOT use a huge oven as the weather continues to get hotter, and baked for those of you who not only do not own an air fryer but are maybe cooking this recipe in the dead of the winter, when you want to add a little heat to the room.
The oven method is also beneficial for larger batches. This recipe is written for four potatoes, 8 skins, which may not fit in your air fryer. I know the new models can be a bit larger, however, mine will only fit three potatoes at a time.
As I said, I perfected these both ways, and aside from what I said above, there’s not only those reasons to cook them one way or another, but I’ve my family’s input as well. My son prefers them cooked in the oven method because he claims the air fryer dries out the potatoes too much. My husband prefers the air fryer because they become more crispy. I don’t have a preference, but do agree they’re crispier in the air fryer. My daughter… she had her pizza as usual with olives and no cheez on a personal sized pizza crust. LOL! Yeah, she’s my Plain Jane, or Ordinary Annie rather… Ordinannie??? Except for the fact, with everything other than food, she’s EXTRAordinary, truly an awesome individual. It’s only her meals she likes on the simple side, she definitely didn’t get that from me!
As I mentioned, this is a whole food recipe for you super healthy folks (hey, I try!) but that all depends on your favorite toppings, and you can add whichever you prefer. Like you see in the pictures, I tried these a few different ways. The meatballs I make from Beyond Meat, so obviously not a whole food (but so delicious!), but all the other combinations I tried were. I want to try to make some vegan pepperoni too, because I think that would be perfect on these.
The Vegan “Meat”balls I include as a bonus recipe down below my recipe for the Potato Skin Pizzas. Just like the potatoes, I’ve included both oven and air fryer methods for the the “meat”balls. I’ve always used Beyond Meat but there are so many other brands these days with similar plant-based burger products, you can use whichever is your favorite. They’re also delicious on spaghetti, especially when stuffed with “cheese.”
OK, I think I’ve chatted your ear off enough, if not too much. I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe out there! I also hope you enjoy these as much as we did. Let me know by leaving a comment below, or taking a picture of yours and tagging me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
Potato Skin Pizzas
Ingredients
- 4 Russet Potatoes, rinsed, dried, and pierced with a fork several times each weighing approximately a 1/2 lb
- oil of choice for spraying or brushing
- sea salt for sprinkling
- 1/3 cup Easy Peasy Pizza Sauce or store-bought pizza sauce of choice (ensure vegan)
- 1/2 cup Fresh Almond Mozzarella or vegan store-bought mozzarella of choice
- Your favorite vegan pizza toppings! Enough to top 8 potato halves. Vegan "Meat"ball recipe follows.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven or air fryer to 400° F.
- Spray or brush each potato with oil of choice, then sprinkle with salt.
If using the oven…
- Once preheated, add the potatoes directly to the oven rack, keep a foil-lined baking sheet on a rack below to catch any potato drippings. Bake until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Once potatoes are baked, remove them from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 450°F. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and let them sit until cool enough to touch.
- Once potatoes have cooled enough to be handled, using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the inside of each half (*reserve for a future recipe), leaving a wall of potato about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch wide along the skins (the thickness depends on your own personal preference). Brush or spray both sides of each half with more oil, sprinkle the tops with salt, and add to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
- Make sure each potato skin is cut-side up on the baking sheet. Inside each potato skin, spread 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce, 1 tablespoon of mozzarella, and top with desired pizza toppings. Place the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. If using the Vegan "Meat"balls as a topping, don't add them to the potato skins until the last 5 minutes. Serve as a snack, appetizer, or as a main course alongside salad or garlic bread.
If using the air fryer…
- Once preheated, add the potatoes to the air fryer basket, trying carefully not to let them touch eachother (a little touhing is OK). Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook them in seperate batches or cut down the recipe. Air fry the potatoes for 20 minutes, flip, and air fry for another 10 to 20 minutes, until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Remove the potatoes from the air-fryer but keep it heated to 400° F. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and let them sit until cool enough to touch.
- Once potatoes have cooled enough to be handled, using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the inside of each half (*reserve for a future recipe), leaving a wall of potato about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch wide along the skins (the thickness depends on your own personal preference). Brush or spray both sides of each half with more oil and sprinkle the tops with salt. Add the potato skins back to the air fryer, cut-side up for 2 minutes.
- Once again, remove the poatatoes but keep the airfryer going. Inside each potato skin, spread 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce, 1 tablespoon of mozzarella, and top with desired pizza toppings. Place potato skins back in the air fryer for three more minutes. Serve as a snack, appetizer, or as a main course alongside salad or garlic bread.
Notes
And here’s your bonus recipe!!!
Vegan “Meat”balls
Ingredients
- 2 plant-based patties (8 oz total) I use Beyond Meat plant-based patties but you can use any with a similar texture (Lightlife, Impossible, etc.)
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried onion granules
- spray oil, for air fryer instructions only (optional)
Instructions
If using the oven…
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl. Mash and mix until well combined. Roll into 12 equal-sized balls (smaller or larger, if desired). Add to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for a total of 20 minutes, flipping balls after 10 minutes, and again after the next 5 minutes (try to get them evenly browned). Enjoy on top of pizza or *pasta.
If using the air fryer…
- Preheat the air fryer to 370° F.
- Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl. Mash and mix until well combined. Roll into 12 equal-sized balls (smaller or larger, if desired).
- Once the air fryer is preheated, add the "meat"balls to your air fryer basket. To ensure no-stick, first spray the bottom of your air fryer basket with oil. For the best browning, try not to let "meat"balls touch, if needed you can "fry" in two batches. Air fry 4 to 5 minutes, checking after 4 (if they'll be cooking more on pizza, remove them after 4 minutes). Add on top pizza or *pasta.