Kumpir is a Turkish Style Baked Potato filled with a delicious pile of toppings such as cheese, olives, salads, and dill pickles. Same as Gozleme (Turkish Pancakes), Izmir Kumru, and Turkish Lahmacun, this Turkish street food is very easy to make at home with a few simple ingredients.
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This delicious Baked Kumpir Potato dish is highly popular throughout Turkey. And the most famous place to eat them is in Istanbul, a waterfront district with a view of the Bosphorus called "Ortakoy". The good news is that you can easily make your own Kumpir at home with step-by-step instructions.
What is Kumpir?
Kumpir is a popular Turkish street food made with baked potatoes served with a pile of delicious toppings and finished with a sauce such as mayonnaise, yogurt, ketchup, or sour cream. The popular toppings are cheese, butter, sweetcorn, peas, tuna, sausages, olives, and some sort of salad such as Kisir (Turkish Bulgur Salad) or Russian Salad (Olivier Salad).
Why This Recipe Works?
- To create a delicious Kumpir that you'll all love, you don't need to follow the recipe below apart from the few basic steps. Simply fill it with what you have/love!
- It is extremely easy to make and very versatile. Unlike the jacket potato in the UK, which is usually served with cheese, beans, and butter, there are many different toppings to go with Kumpir - Turkish Baked Potato.
- You can easily make this popular street food vegetarian by omitting meat fillings.
- The base for Kumpir always remains the same; large potatoes, butter, cheese, and a bit of seasoning. The rest is up to your imagination or what you have in your fridge/pantry!
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Potatoes - Varieties like King Edward, Russet, and Desiree are the best potatoes for baking since their relatively high starch content gives you that soft and fluffy inside. When choosing potatoes for Kumpir, make sure they are nice and big as well as even in size to ensure that they bake evenly.
- Butter - I use plenty of good quality salted or unsalted butter to fluff the potatoes.
- Cheese - No Kumpir would be complete without plenty of cheese. I use kasar cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella but you can use any soft cheese or hard cheese you prefer.
- Seasoning - Salt and pepper are enough for me but you can use extra flavorings such as cayenne, paprika, or grated nutmeg.
Topping Ideas for Kumpir
These are my favorite toppings for Kumpir. However, it is really up to you what to put on your potato and create your own delicious street food.
- Homemade mayonnaise
- Roasted red peppers
- Sweetcorn
- Sliced olives
- Spring onions
- Pickled red cabbage
- Cornichon
- Smoked sausages
- Ketchup
Step-by-Step Instructions
This delicious Kumpir recipe is extremely easy to make and very versatile. However, you need to follow a few simple steps to achieve the best results:
Bake the Potatoes
Wash your potatoes thoroughly and wrap each in aluminum foil. Preheat your oven to 200° C (392° F) and put the potatoes on a rack in the middle. Bake the potatoes for about an hour and then remove them from the foil. Cook for another fifteen minutes, or until they are cooked thoroughly. You can check them by poking with a skewer or a small knife.
Take the potatoes out of the oven, and cut them lengthwise, but not completely through. Add 20 grams of butter, a pinch of salt&pepper and some of the cheese, and mix it thoroughly using a fork to fluff the inner flesh of the potato without damaging the crispy skin.
Place your Kumpir on a serving plate and add your favorite toppings. Serve immediately as Kumpir tastes best when made freshly.
Top Tips From The Chef
The middle of the potato needs to be as hot as you can handle to melt the butter and cheese to achieve a creamy texture. You can use a clean kitchen towel or tongs to hold the potatoes to avoid burning your fingers.
The measurements for the toppings in the recipe card below might vary depending on your personal preferences.
Recipe FAQs
According to some, Kumpir is originally from the Balkans, former Yugoslavia. However, Turks gave it a completely new style, as it is now baked and many different fillings are added. Others claim the exact opposite and say that the Ottomans introduced the potato to the Balkans during the expansion of their empire.
You can serve Kumpir as a main meal along with a nice leafy salad such as Lebanese Fattoush Salad or Rocket Salad With Parmesan. You can also serve this Turkish-style baked potato as a side dish to your BBQ dishes or grills such as BBQ Garlic Butter Prawns or Adana Kebap (Adana Kofte).
Related Recipes
For more delicious Potato dishes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this popular Turkish street food "Kumpir" as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Kumpir - Turkish Baked Potato
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes (Preferably Desiree, King Edward or Russet)
- 80 g butter (cubed)
- 200 g kasar cheese, mozzarella or cheddar cheese
- 1 TSP salt
- ½ TSP freshly ground black pepper
Optional Topping Ideas
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup pickled red cabbage or beetroots
- 1 cup salad Olivier (Russian Salad)
- ½ cup sweetcorn
- ⅓ cup sliced pitted olives
- ⅓ cup cornichons or sauerkraut (cubed)
- ¼ cup wild garlic pesto
- ¼ cup spring onions (sliced)
- ¼ cup chopped herbs
- ⅓ cup sour cream or yoghurt
- ⅓ cup sausages or sucuk
Instructions
- Wash your potatoes thoroughly and wrap each in aluminum foil.
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (392° F) and put the potatoes on a rack in the middle.
- Bake the potatoes for about an hour and then remove them from the foil. Cook for another fifteen minutes, or until they are cooked thoroughly. You can check them by poking with a skewer or a small knife.
- Take the potatoes out of the oven, and cut them lengthwise, but not completely through.
- Add 20 grams of butter, a pinch of salt&pepper and some of the shredded cheese, and mix it thoroughly using a fork to fluff the inner flesh of the potato without damaging the crispy skin.
- Place your Kumpir on a serving plate and add your favourite toppings.
- Serve immediately as Kumpir tastes best when made freshly.
Notes
- You can easily make this popular street food vegetarian by omitting meat fillings.
- The middle of the potato needs to be as hot as you can handle to melt the butter and cheese to achieve a creamy texture.
- You can use a clean kitchen towel or tongs to hold the potatoes to avoid burning your fingers.
- Place your Kumpir on a serving plate and add your favorite toppings. Serve immediately as Kumpir tastes best when made freshly.
- You can check the doneness of potatoes by poking with a skewer or a small knife.
Nutrition
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Amira
Looks so amazing! Need to try this soon.