Try This Crispy Air Fryer Baked Potato Recipe When You Need an Easy Side Dish
Everyone loves a baked potato, and whipping one up in an air fryer makes it even easier to deliver this delicious side dish.
An air fryer baked potato is one of the easiest ways to throw together a starchy, satisfying side dish. This recipe is hands-off, doesn’t require preheating the oven, and comes out with a crisp skin and fluffy interior every time. Here’s how to make the best baked potato in your air fryer in under an hour.
Why This Air Fryer Baked Potato Works Every Time
The perfect baked potato has to check a few boxes: the interior should be soft, tender, and steaming hot. And the skin should be nicely seasoned and crisp. There’s nothing worse than slicing into a freshly baked potato only to have your knife get stuck in a rock-hard center.
To find the best way to make a baked potato in the air fryer, I tested various-sized potatoes and different roasting temperatures. I also tested this recipe in an oven-style air fryer (specifically the Our Place Wonder Oven Pro) as well as a more traditional basket-style air fryer to ensure consistent results. Any of these non-toxic air fryers will work well — and without introducing PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ into your food.
You don’t need a foil wrapper, an air fryer liner, or any other special equipment to nail this simple potato recipe. The beauty of an air fryer is its small cooking space and powerful convection fan, which circulates hot air around your ingredients. This speeds up the cooking time compared to a traditional oven and ensures that the potato skin gets nice and crisp while the inside cooks through.
Trust me — once you’ve tried an air fryer baked potato, you won’t go back to the oven method. Here’s what you need to test this out.
Ingredients
You only technically need three simple ingredients for this air fryer baked potato recipe:
- Potato. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you can cook one, two, three, or even four potatoes at a time. Although any potatoes will work, choose Russets (also known as Idaho potatoes) for the best texture and flavor. The dry, starchy flesh readily soaks up flavors and the rough skin crisps nicely as it dries out.
- Olive oil. A thin coating of olive oil helps caramelize the potato skin and adds a nice layer of flavor.
- Salt and pepper. Let’s be honest, potatoes are bland on their own. Don’t hold back on seasoning your potato before and after cooking. Salt and pepper are the bare minimum, but butter and other toppings are always welcome.
Substitutions and Variations
- Though Russet potatoes are the best choice and readily available, you can use Yukon Gold potatoes as a one-for-one substitution in a pinch. They have a waxier skin that may not crisp up as nicely, but you’ll still get that deliciously fluffy center. This method will also work for an air fryer baked sweet potato.
- Feel free to use melted butter instead of olive oil. Avocado oil will also work to help the skin crisp up.
- You can add different seasonings to the potato skin if you like, such as garlic or onion powder, chili powder, or taco seasoning. Just don’t expect the dried spices to penetrate the skin very much. To season the potato itself more, add toppings after cooking.
- This air fryer baked potato recipe will also work in a traditional oven if you don’t have an air fryer, but you’ll likely need to wait for longer and may not achieve as crispy of an exterior.
How to Make an Air Fryer Baked Potato
If necessary for your specific air fryer model, start by preheating it to 400°F. While it heats up, poke your potatoes all over with a fork (go for at least 6–8 stabs of the fork). This creates steam vents that help your potato cook through and prevent a messy explosion inside the air fryer.
Next, coat your potato(es) with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkle them all over with salt and pepper.
Place the prepared potatoes directly inside the air fryer basket or on the oven rack. Cook your air fryer baked potato until it can be easily pierced with a fork. How long to cook potatoes in the air fryer will depend on their size, but it’s usually somewhere around the better part of an hour.
Temperature and Cook Time
Your air fryer baked potato temperature is 400°F, and they will take roughly 40 to 50 minutes to cook.
Tips for the Best Results
- Don’t be shy when poking your potatoes! These vents are important for an even cook and safety.
- If cooking multiple potatoes, choose ones that are evenly sized. This will help ensure they cook at the same rate.
- Scrub and dry your potatoes well before coating them in oil. Any excess moisture on the skin can prevent that crispiness you’re after.
- Leave a few inches of space between your air fryer baked potatoes when cooking. This helps air circulation for a more even cook.
What to Serve With It
Baked potatoes are a great blank canvas that go with all kinds of dishes, including everything from classics like steak and roast chicken to saucy curries, meaty chilis, and simple seafood dishes.
Plus, the cook time of an air fryer baked potato offers the perfect opportunity for you to create a balanced plate by searing salmon fillets on the stove or grilling pork chops.
You can also turn a baked potato into a meal of its own by piling on the toppings. Try shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, or crispy bacon. Or for a vegan baked potato, try tempeh and scallions!
Is An Air Fryer Baked Potato Healthy?
Yes, an air fryer baked potato can absolutely be a healthy part of a balanced plate. As we’ve discussed about the nutrition of potatoes, this misunderstood vegetable often gets a bad rep because of its carbohydrate content. But what actually deserves this reputation are the methods that are often used to prepare potatoes, such as deep frying, or even pan roasting with heaps of fat.
Air frying uses a fraction of the oil of these methods, so it’s actually a great way to prepare your potatoes — and they allow the nutrient content of the potato itself to shine. Potatoes are a whole food source of fiber, antioxidants, and potassium. While toppings can certainly send them into unhealthy territory, on their own they’re a perfectly healthy addition to a meal.
Air Fryer Baked Potato Macros (Per Serving)
A plain baked potato is naturally fat-free and cholesterol-free before toppings. The table below assumes one medium (roughly 285 g) air fryer baked potato with skin, prepared with one teaspoon of oil1.
| Amount Per Serving (medium potato) | |
| Calories | 265 |
| Protein | 7.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 60 g |
| Sugar | 3.36 g |
| Total Fat | 0.37 g |
| Potassium | 1520 mg |
| Sodium | 530 mg |
| Fiber | 6.27 g |
Storing and Reheating
Baked potatoes also make a great snack the next day. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat, you can toss them back into the air fryer at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
You can also transform any leftover air fryer baked potatoes into crispy patties or hash browns by shaping the flesh into discs or cutting them into cubes and pan-searing.
More Easy Recipes to Try
Recipe for Air Fryer Baked Potato
Ingredients
Instructions
STEP 1:
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
STEP 2:
Poke the potatoes all over with a fork. Rub the skin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
STEP 3:
Place in the basket or directly on the rack of the air fryer and air fry for 45 to 50 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the potato is easily pierced with a knife.
STEP 4:
Let the potatoes cool for 5 minutes, then slice open and serve with toppings of your choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you do not need foil for this recipe. In fact, foil traps steam that can prevent your potato skin from getting crispy.
It’s not necessary to microwave the potato first, but if you’re short on time, it can help reduce the cooking time in the air fryer. You can par-cook your potatoes in the microwave for five minutes — the goal is to get them soft enough to pierce them with a fork, but to take them out before they’re fully cooked through. Then coat them with oil and finish them in the air fryer until the skin is crisp.
Just don’t forget to puncture the potatoes before putting them in the microwave!
An air fryer is the faster cooking method for a baked potato. Some models have zero preheating time, but even those that do require preheating work much faster than a large oven. The small cooking space speeds up the cooking time and enhances the skin’s crispiness.
Depending on the size of your potatoes, they’ll take 40 to 50 minutes at 400°F in an air fryer.
Yes, you can cook as many potatoes as you can comfortably fit inside your air fryer. Make sure you leave a few inches of space on all sides for even cooking. There’s no need to change the cooking time or temperature for more potatoes.
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