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There’s simply nothing better than an air fryer baked potato. The skin is crispy and delectably salty, and the flesh is perfectly light and fluffy. Best of all, the quick and easy air fryer method takes a fraction of the time of other cooking options. Dress up these foolproof baked potatoes with your favorite toppings and dig in!
🥔 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Tired of baked potatoes that are cooked unevenly, with hard or cool spots peppered throughout the center? You’re in luck. This air fryer baked potato recipe is exactly what you need! With the air fryer, the potatoes are soft, tender, and cooked perfectly throughout. Plus, this foolproof method is hands down the easiest way to get perfect baked potatoes every single time.
- Baked potatoes are unbelievably versatile. They’re a great side dish for steak, chicken, and pork dishes, but they’re also tasty all on their own. Load them up with any combo of your favorite toppings (seriously, the possibilities are endless) and you’ve got a simple but delicious meal with minimal effort.
- Meal preppers rejoice – the air fryer is a great way to prepare several baked potatoes to get you through the week ahead. Just refrigerate the baked potatoes in an airtight container after cooking and reheat them in the microwave (or air fryer) when it’s time to eat.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Cook times will vary from one air fryer to the next, so be sure to check your potatoes periodically and adjust your cook time as needed! When I checked on mine at the 30-minute mark, they were still pretty firm. I ended up needing another 10 minutes (40 minutes total) before they were ready to go. Check yours at 30 minutes and then every 5 minutes after as needed.
- Make sure you poke ventilation holes in the potatoes with a fork before you season and cook them! It may not seem important, but those tiny little holes help the potatoes cook more evenly. They also let any steam inside the potatoes escape, which will lessen the odds of the potatoes exploding in the air fryer.
- Unlike baked potatoes on the grill, there’s no need to wrap an air fryer baked potato in aluminum foil before cooking. In fact, I highly recommend you don’t! For a really crispy potato skin, air fry them completely unwrapped. The air will circulate around the salt-crusted potatoes and crisp them up beautifully! Aluminum foil will just make the potato skins soggy, which isn’t ideal.
👀 More Easy, Delicious Recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Breast
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Carnitas (Pork Carnitas with Pork Loin or Tenderloin)
- Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Fried Pickle Dip
- Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast
- Sausage in the Air Fryer
- Healthy-ish Apple Nachos
- Crockpot Potato Soup
- Air Fryer Frozen Hash Brown Patties
- Easy Chicken Burrito Recipe
- Bacon Chips (Keto)
- Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
The easiest, most foolproof way to get perfect baked potatoes!
baked potatoes
Equipment
- air fryer
- water
- vegetable scrubber or brush
- Paper towels
- Cutting board
- Fork
- oven mitts or kitchen towel
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
For the Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- 4 medium russet potatoes 6-8 ounces each
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil plus more as needed
- coarse sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. Wash 4 medium russet potatoes well under running water and scrub with vegetable scrubber to remove any surface dirt. Use paper towels to dry each potato completely then place potatoes on cutting board.
- Carefully poke each potato with tines of fork, creating small vent holes over entire potato surface. Gently rub entire surface of potatoes with 1 tablespoon neutral oil, then sprinkle coarse sea salt over all sides of potatoes.
- Place salt-crusted potatoes in air fryer basket, working in batches as needed if using especially large potatoes or if air fryer is small. Place basket in preheated air fryer and cook potatoes 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove basket from air fryer. Test potato doneness by poking potatoes with tines of fork – fork should easily pierce skin and inner flesh of potatoes. Note: If fork does not easily pierce potatoes, return basket to air fryer. Cook potatoes another 5 minutes, then check doneness again. Repeat as needed until potatoes are ready.
- When potatoes are ready, remove basket from air fryer and carefully transfer potatoes to cutting board.
- Slice potatoes down center with knife, being careful not to cut potatoes completely in half. Gently press on sides of potato to open center slice and allow steam to escape.
- Use fork to fluff insides of potatoes, then dress baked potatoes with desired toppings and serve immediately.
- You must poke holes in the potatoes with a fork before you cook them! These ventilation holes allow steam to escape from the potatoes and will keep the potatoes from exploding in the air fryer.
- Cook Time: Each time we tested this recipe, our total cook time was 40 minutes. Cook times will vary depending on a number of factors, like the size of the potatoes, the make and model of air fryer, the age of your air fryer, etc. Adjust your cook time as needed!
Suggested Toppings
- Greek yogurt or sour cream and butter
- Cheddar cheese and broccoli
- Guacamole or avocado slices
- Ranch dressing
- Pesto, cherry tomatoes, and feta
- Queso, seasoned ground beef, salsa, and jalapeños
- Sautéed spinach
- Shredded chicken and buffalo sauce
- Pulled pork and barbecue sauce
- Chives, cheddar cheese, bacon, and sour cream
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1baked potato (without toppings)Calories: 165calProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0.5gSodium: 9mgPotassium: 709mgTotal Carbs: 31gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gNet Carbs: 29gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Can you microwave them for a little before putting into airfryer to cut the cooking time down?
We didn’t test it that way so we can’t say for sure what results you might get from it. Let us know if you try it!
I love these baked potatoes. Right up there with best I have ever had (these are the best). They are my go to.
Wow, what an honor! Thank you so much, Mary, I’m so happy you enjoy these baked potatoes so much!
Followed directions exactly. Cooked in Air Fryer 43 mins at 400. The skin portion hard as a rock. First layer inside was done, middle still very hard. So I’d say your recipe is a complete flop.
I’m so sorry that was your experience, Debra! This method works for us every time so I really hate that it didn’t work for you. I’d love to help you troubleshoot it if I can!
You say you follow the directions exactly, so I’m assuming you ventilated the potatoes really well to start. When you checked them at the 30-minute mark, did the potatoes give at all under the pressure from the fork?
Love it! Ignore the people who say it’s a flop. Don’t know how you could mess it up.Love it! Don’t have to turn on the oven during a heatwave for perfect baked taters!
I’m so happy this worked for you, April! Thank you so much for your review!
Deborah I’d say your ability to follow simple instructions is the flop here. method is fool proof, I guess your not fool proof. 🤣
These are delicious. I will always make my baked potatoes this way from now on.
Thank you so much for sharing your review, Prudence! I’m so happy you enjoyed this method so much!
Best baked potato ever
Isn’t it?!! Thanks so much for sharing!
These potatoes are so so good my go to now for baked potatoes in the air fryer
Aren’t they so good?! They’re my go-to, too! Thanks for sharing, Lucy!
Will this work in an oven air fryer as opposed to a traditional one? My Ninja won’t fit more than two at a time, but oven has air fryer option
Yes, that should work just fine!
Would you cook a sweet potato for the same amount of time?
Great question, Tiah! Yes, you would. Exact time would depend on the size of the sweet potato and your air fryer, but just check on it periodically after the first 30 minutes and you should be good. Let us know how it works out!
I can not wait to try this
Hope you love it!
Could I make these slightly ahead of time? I’ve been asked to bring baked potatoes to dinner with my in-laws.
Sure! Best served the same day or within 24 hours. You can reheat in the oven!