Skip to main content

Baked Potatoes (Air Fryer)

airfryer-bakedpotatoesThese air fryer baked potatoes are just that - simple, yet so delicious and satisfying. And best of all, air-fried baked potatoes have crispy skin and perfectly cooked and fluffy insides. With this easy “Set it and forget it” method, you will rub your potatoes with a little oil and salt, then put them in the air fryer and walk away. Knowing when the timer beeps you will come back to perfectly cooked potatoes.

2 (8 oz) russet potatoes, unpeeled (227 g)
Canola, vegetable or olive oil
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground 

Garnish:
4 Tbsp. butter, softened (57 g)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
sour cream

Using a fork or paring knife, lightly prick each potato all over several times. Rub each potato with oil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.

Place potatoes in an air fryer basket, spaced evenly apart. Place the basket in the air fryer and cook at 400°F (200°C) until the potato skin is crispy and a paring knife inserted into the center of the potatoes meets little to no resistance, about 40 minutes. (Center of potatoes should register between 205-210°F (96-99°C) with an instant-read thermometer.)

Transfer the potatoes to a plate and let them rest for 5 minutes. Slice each open lengthwise add the butter, salt, pepper and other toppings as desired.

Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Cook's Notes:

  • Puncture your potatoes: Jabbing your potatoes with a sharp knife or fork is more than just a great form of anger management—it also allows some steam and excess moisture to escape from the inside of the potatoes as they are cooking, which results in a drier and fluffier interior once cooked. It also eliminates the small risk of the steam building up inside the potato and causing it to explode (I admit that an exploding potato sounds kind of cool, but if you’ve ever cleaned potato fragments out of the inside of your oven, you know it’s not a great thing).
  • Oil and season your potatoes before cooking: Rubbing the potatoes with oil before baking turns the skin pleasantly crisp when baked, rather than leathery and tough. Simply use your hands to rub it all over, or you can be fancy like me and use a pastry brush for an even coating. Even when scrubbed thoroughly, potato skins still have an earthy taste because, well, they grow in the earth! I find that a light sprinkle of salt and pepper over the oiled skin seasons the exterior to cover up any unwanted lingering earthy flavors once baked.
  • Rest your potatoes: Remember the childhood game of hot potato where you’d pretend a ball was a steaming hot potato burning your fingers, and you needed to throw it as fast as you could? Well, we’re not playing that game here in real life. Avoid burning your fingers and just let the potatoes sit on a plate for a few minutes once they’re done cooking. They’ll still be plenty hot and steamy to enjoy, but not burn-the-skin-of-your-fingers level hot. Just make sure to not let the potatoes sit too long before slicing into them. As they cool the remaining steam inside the baked potato will turn back into water and turn the potatoes wet and gummy inside.
  • Butter and season the potatoes thoroughly after baking: This is Daniel’s technique for ensuring every bite of the potato is properly seasoned, and it’s worth the time. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, split each potato open from end to end and use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a bowl, then mix butter, salt, and pepper into the flesh before scooping the mixture back into the potato skins.
  • If this seems a bit fussy to you, you can technically skip this step and just cut open the potatoes and butter and season the cut tops of the flesh and mash it with a fork right in its skin, but they won’t be perfectly seasoned, and if you’ve just spent 40 minutes waiting for perfectly fluffy baked potatoes, don’t you want to spend the two extra minutes to season them properly? The answer is yes. I’m telling you to scoop and mash and reload.

Air-Fryer Instructions:

  • Don't overcrowd the air fryer basket - you want to allow the air to circulate around the food to "fry it" with the hot air.
  • Adjust the time and temperature if your potatoes are smaller cook less if they're larger cook longer and possibly reduce the temperature if much larger.
  • Bucket style air fryers may not need to flip the potatoes, with oven style flipping helps it evenly crisp the food.
  • Cook at 350°F for toaster oven style and 400°F for bucket style.
  • Don’t preheat the air fryer. We found in side-by-side testing that preheating the air fryer made no difference in the final texture or cook time of the potato. So save yourself the five minutes of waiting for your air fryer to preheat.

Toppings for Baked Potatoes:

  • I love my baked potato with lots of butter. However, there are countless toppings that can take it to the next level:
  • Sour cream and chives, provide a perfect balance of creaminess and tanginess.
  • Chili, adds a heartwarming touch to the dish.
  • For a lighter option, try yogurt or cottage cheese with herbs.
  • Cheese is a classic choice for baked potatoes, and it can be combined with other ingredients like bacon, sour cream, and chives
  • For a truly decadent treat, top your potato with air-fried sauté onions, or mushrooms and onions.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving: Calories: 562 | Fat: 35g | Carbs: 50g | Protein: 13g