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Air Fryer Baked Potato

Air fryer baked potatoes are perfect for a side dish (or even a meal!). They are quick to cook, with perfectly crispy skin and fork-tender on the inside. Here is a simple recipe for baked potatoes in the air fryer (with my bonus method for if you’re really short on time!).

An air fryer backed potato with grated cheese and sour cream.
Air fryer baked potato.

Why you’ll love this recipe

Baked potatoes (aka jacket potatoes) are the perfect comfort food. Warming, hearty and so delicious! But the one thing I don’t like is how darn long an oven-baked potato takes to cook. Baking potatoes the old way can take 45 minutes an hour!

Well not any longer! The method I am going to show you in this recipe includes the quickest way I know to get a perfect baked potato. Think gorgeously crispy skin, and a fork-tender fluffy inside that is just begging to be slathered in butter and devoured.

I also love that you can easily cook a single baked potato in the air fryer. I don’t know about you, but before I got my air fryer I never would have turned my oven on and waited for it to heat up etc. etc. just to cook one baked potato!

Air frying is my favorite way to cook potatoes. They cook faster, and the action of cooking with hot air results in a crispier, tastier potato without needing to add a lot of oil.

Some other favorite air fryer potato recipes to try are air fryer roasted potatoes, air fryer baby potatoes, air fryer french fries, and air fryer smashed potatoes.

Scroll down for the printable card for this air fryer baked potato recipe, or read on for all the details!

Ingredients

Potatoes

The ideal variety of potatoes for baking are those with a high starch content. This gives them the soft fluffy texture that is so perfect in a baked potato.

Any of the following will be great:

  • Russet potatoes
  • Yellow varieties
  • Idaho
  • Maris Piper
  • Red gold
  • Yukon gold
  • Most varieties of sweet potato

Probably the best type of potatoes to choose for baking is a russet potato. Not only are they a wonderfully fluffy potato when cooked, but they also have thick skins which will crisp up nicely in the air fryer.

Oil or butter

Air frying does a good job of crisping up food on its own, but with baked potatoes, if you want that skin really crispy then it is best to add a little oil or butter to help it along.

Salt

Salt adds flavor to the potatoes, but feel free to skip this ingredient if you are trying to cut the sodium in your diet.

How to make a baked potato in an air fryer

Step 1: Prepare potatoes

Scrub the potatoes clean. Prick the potato skin all over with a fork or a sharp knife.

Then rub the potatoes with oil (or melted butter) and sprinkle with salt. You can also give them a quick spray with olive oil when they are in the air fryer basket if you want to reduce the amount of oil that you use.

Tip

If you are short on time you can start the cooking process in the microwave, followed by a blast in the air fryer to crisp it up. See below for method.

Step 2: Place potatoes in the air fryer

Place the potato in the air fryer basket. If you are cooking more than one baked potato, ensure they are not touching.

Step 3: Air fry baked potatoes

Cook the baked potatoes in air fryer at 360°F (180°C) for 30-40 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on the outside, and tender in the center.

If you have extra-large potatoes cook time may need to be adjusted. If required, air fry for additional 5-minute intervals until it is done.

Jacket potatoes in air fryer basket.
Place potatoes in air fryer basket. If you are cooking more than one, ensure they are not touching.
Baked potatoes in air fryer basket.
Cook baked potatoes in air fryer at 360°F (180°C) for 30-40 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on the outside, and tender in the center.

Step 4: Serve and enjoy!

Cut potato open, add butter, pile high with delicious toppings and enjoy!

Air fryer baked potato quick method

Air fried baked potatoes still take a while to cook through if you just use the air fryer.

If you are really short on time you can speed things up by starting the cooking process in the microwave, followed by a blast in the air fryer to crisp the potato up:

  1. Prepare the potatoes as above, but before adding the oil and salt microwave the potato on High for 5 minutes.
  2. When it is finished, the potato should feel soft on the outside. If you have a really large potato and it is still hard you will need to adjust the cooking time – turn the potato over and microwave for another 3-4 minutes until it starts to feel soft. For smaller potatoes, you could start with 3-4 minutes.
  3. Then remove potato from microwave (use oven mitts – it will be hot!), carefully add oil and salt as in the method above, and place the potato in air fryer basket.
  4. Air fry baked potato at 360°F (180°C) for 15 minutes, until crispy on the outside and fork-tender in the center.

How long to cook baked potatoes in air fryer

The exact cook times will depend on how large your potatoes are, and how powerful your air fryer is. Medium-sized potatoes should take around 30 minutes to air fry (15 minutes if you blasted them in the microwave for 5 minutes first).

Larger potatoes will take 40 minutes or even longer to cook if you don’t microwave first, or around 20-25 minutes if you do.

Air fryer baked potatoes with melted butter and cheese.
Air fried baked potatoes.

Serving ideas

Now all you need to figure out is what topping you are going to top that potato with. If you need some ideas, some of my favorite toppings are:

  • Butter, sea salt and black pepper
  • Mexican beef mince, cheddar cheese, and sour cream
  • Chicken mayo
  • Cottage cheese and slaw
  • Sour cream, bacon bits and chives or green onion
  • Tuna mayo
  • Avocado, chopped red onion and a drizzle of lemon juice
  • Butter and shredded cheese

Storing and reheating

In the unlikely event that you have any leftover baked potato, store it in an air tight container in the refrigerator and use within 3 days.

You can reheat the baked potato in the air fryer, air fry for 3-4 minutes until warmed through.

An air fryer backed potato with grated cheese and sour cream.
Yield: 1 Serving

Air Fryer Baked Potato

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

How to cook a baked potato in an air fryer.

Ingredients

  • 1 large potato (Idaho, Russet, King Edward or Maris Piper)
  • ½ teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • Your toppings of choice

Instructions

  1. Scrub the potato and prick with a fork to pierce the skin all over [Note 1].
  2. Drizzle the potato with oil and sprinkle with salt, and rub the salt and oil to cover the potato.
  3. Place potato in air fryer basket. If you are cooking more than one, ensure they are not touching.
  4. Bake potato in the air fryer at 360°F/ 180°C for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy on the outside, and fork-tender in the center [Note 2].
  5. Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

Notes

  1. If you are short on time you can blast the potato in the microwave for five minutes first until tender [Note 2], then halve the air frying time.
  2. Cook times may need to be adjusted for extra large potatoes. If needed, cook for additional 3-4 minute intervals until done.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 298Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 162mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 7gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g

Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.

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Welcome to Love Food Not Cooking!

I’m Eliza, busy mom, home cook, and blogger. My goal is to help everyone cook good food. Whether you are short on time, skills, or motivation, there is something here for you! We have dozens of quick and easy recipes for dinner, lunch, side dishes, and more. Our recipes use everyday ingredients, for quick delicious meals your family will love! Read more…

Cartoon drawing of the author.

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