These Air Fryer Baked Potatoes have the most fluffy, tender insides with perfectly crispy skin. Plus, they take only a fraction of the time to cook that oven baked potatoes do, and you'll find the results are tough to beat!
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Best Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
Considering we are based in Idaho, baked potatoes are a staple around our house. We have always made these Easy Steakhouse Baked Potatoes (which, by the way, are amazing as well!), but a newly purchased air fryer got us thinking: can you bake a potato in an air fryer?
We figured, why not, and gave it a try. Turns out, the air fryer magically turns a humble baked potato into a thing of beauty. Even if you aren’t usually a potato skin lover, this method will have you convinced. Air fried potatoes give you the crispy skin and tender, flavorful insides that you crave. Plus, it takes significantly less time to cook.
What Is An Air Fryer?
An air fryer is basically a small tabletop convection oven that circulates hot air at a high speed. Because of the high speed circulation, air fryers are able to bake things more quickly and evenly than a traditional oven. They also often yield crispy results, thus the “fryer” portion of the name.
The Best Toppings for Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
We usually like to keep things simple around our house. All it takes is a little butter, sour cream and chives to make us happy. But, sometimes you want to go all out. Whether you are planning a baked potato bar, or just want a little something different, here are a few ideas that go beyond the traditional toppings:
- Chili
- Pepper Jack Cheese
- Sauteed onions and peppers
- Taco meat and toppings
- Ranch Dressing with shredded cheese and bacon bits
- Easy Guacamole
- 5 minute Salsa
- Jalapeno Popper Spread
Air Fryer Baked Potato Ingredients
- Russett Potatoes - these are the classic baking potatoes. They really do make the best crispy skins and fluffy insides. You can also try this recipe with sweet potatoes!
- Avocado Oil - you can substitute a variety of other cooking oils, keeping in mind that it’s best to choose an oil with a high smoking point, such as canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil or grapeseed oil. We recommend avoiding extra virgin olive oil.
- Sea Salt
- Toppings - this is really up to you and your family’s favorite toppings. Around our house, we like to go simple with butter, sour cream, chives and bacon bits.
How To Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Wash and dry each potato, then poke with a fork 4-5 times on all sides. Drizzle each with avocado oil and rub over the entire skin.
- Season with sea salt, then place the potatoes into your air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until fork tender (the internal temperature of the potato should be 205-210 F).
- Once cooked, remove the potatoes from the air fryer basket and let cool for 5 minutes. Slice along the top of the potato, then squeeze together from each end. Use a fork to fluff the insides of the potato and top with your choice of butter, sour cream, chives and bacon bits. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Well, that depends. The size of potatoes that you use will really dictate the cook time, and no two potatoes are alike!
We’ve found that for Russet potatoes, the average air fryer baked potatoes time is around 30 minutes to 45 minutes (the smaller the potato, the less time it takes). If you want to try using a smaller potato, it will be more like 20-35 minutes.
Potatoes last 3-4 weeks uncooked, if stored properly. Potatoes should be free from bruises, cuts, and stored in a cool dry place such as a cool garage or pantry. A potato is fine to eat if it is mostly firm. If there are soft or brown spots, you can simple cut them off and use the firm parts of the potato. When a potato starts to go bad it will become shrunken and wrinkled. A couple days later it will develop large brown spots and a stench and eventually turn into a soupy mess.
Microwave- Place the baked potato in the microwave for 90 seconds or until heated through. To get more even heating, cut into 1” cubes before heating.
Oven- Place baked potatoes in a glass baking dish, place in a preheated 350 º F oven for about 30 minutes or until heated throughout.
Air Fryer- Place the potato back into the air fryer and reheat for about 15 minutes or until warmed throughout.
A single air fryer baked potato time and temp isn't a whole lot different than if you were to cook a few at a time. At 400 degrees, it takes about 30-40 minutes to cook.
Tips for Making The Best Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Be sure and get your oil over all of the potato skins. It helps them to not stick but also gets the skin nice and crispy.
- Do not overcrowd your air fryer. You want to be sure they cook evenly, and the skin of each gets crispy.
- You want to use an oil with a high smoking point, such as avocado, canola, corn, safflower or sunflower oil.
Air Fryer Baked Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium Russet Potatoes washed and dried
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil or any cooking oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
- Butter optional topping
- Sour Cream optional topping
- Chives optional topping
- Bacon Bits optional topping
Instructions
- Wash and dry each potato, then poke with a fork 4-5 times on all sides. Drizzle each with avocado oil and rub over the entire skin.
- Season with sea salt, then place the potatoes into your air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until fork tender (the internal temperature of the potato should be 205-210 F).
- Once cooked, remove the potatoes from the air fryer basket and let cool for 5 minutes. Slice along the top of the potato, then squeeze together from each end. Use a fork to fluff the insides of the potato and top with your choice of butter, sour cream, chives and bacon bits. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More simple potato sides that we love!
- Hasselback Potatoes
- Baked Potato Skins
- Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes
- Easy Twice Baked Potatoes
- Smashed Potatoes
- More of the Best Potato Recipes
- More Family Favorite Holiday Recipes
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These Air Fryer Baked Potatoes have the crispy skin and tender, flavorful insides that you crave, but take only a fraction of the time to cook. We love them served simply with sour cream, chives and bacon bits.
Maria Soto
When making a bake potato in the Air Fryer and Oven (Chefman French door) do I put in setting of Air Fryer or Bake convection? Please please help me with this
Jill Baird
I'm not familiar with that particular oven but I make mine in my little air fryer and also my convection oven. Both will probably work but the air fryer is quicker. Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes!
Virginia
This turned out amazing! I love using my air fryer especially during the summer!
Jill Baird
We've been doing a lot with our air fryer too. This heat wave is brutal!