Air Fryer Baked Potatoes are just the thing when you are craving that nice crispy skin with perfectly cooked potato on the inside. Best of all, you don’t have to turn on the oven to make them.
This carb is a favorite side dish that never gets boring. We’ve already shown you how to bake potatoes in the oven, so we thought we’d show you how to cook them in the air fryer – perfect for hot summer days.
They turn out amazing with crispy skin on the outside and a soft fluffy texture on the inside. The best part is that you don’t have to poke the potatoes with a fork. Just rub them gently with oil and sprinkle with seasoning.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Kind Of Potatoes Can You Air Fry?
You can use all types of potatoes in the air fryer including yellow, sweet potatoes, red, or white potatoes. Keep in mind you will need to adjust cooking time for different types and sizes of potatoes since some of them may require more or less time of cooking.
For reference, I used large russet potatoes which are often called baking potatoes. There can definitely be variety of sizes even in the same bag of potatoes, so try to cook ones of similar size together so they are ready at the same time.
Why Use The Air Fryer?
One reason to bake potatoes in the air fryer is that you don’t have to heat up the house by turning on the oven when you’re just baking a couple. However, the best reason is that the potatoes cook perfectly and taste amazing. The insides get tender and the skin gets wonderfully crispy.
To get them crisp on the outside you need to air fry them in a single layer – don’t stack the potatoes on each other. The hot air needs to be able to circulate around them. If your air fryer is especially small, you can cut the potatoes in half before cooking.
Need to bake a lot of potatoes? Classic oven-baked potatoes will still be your best option.
How To Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
For this air fryer baked potato recipe, you first need to wash the potatoes. Give them a good scrub because that skin is going to end up delicious. You don’t have to peel or poke them, but you can use a fork to poke a few holes if you’d prefer.
After that, use your hands to rub olive oil all over each potato, then sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. You can also use other seasonings like onion powder or sweet paprika to give the skins extra flavor.
Place the potatoes in the basket of your air fryer, then set the temperature and time to start cooking. After the first 20 minutes, use tongs to turn the potatoes to the other side to cook the remaining time. If you don’t flip the potatoes they might burn on top, so you want to be sure to flip them so they cook evenly.
My russet potatoes usually take about 40 minutes in the air fryer. Then it’s time to cut them open and add my favorite toppings. You could stick with butter and some extra salt and pepper, but why not go all in with sour cream, chives, and shredded Cheddar cheese?
How To Know Your Baked Potatoes Are Done
The baked potatoes are cooked through when you can easily pierce a knife through the thickest part of the potato. If it slides easily in, wonderful, time to eat. If there’s any resistance, give it some more time and check again in 5-10 minutes.
Tip For Shortcut Baked Potatoes
You can also cook the potatoes in the microwave first, following this step-by-step tutorial on how to cook potatoes in the microwave. After the potatoes are cooked in the microwave, cut each potato in half, and put olive oil, salt, and pepper on them then put in the air fryer skin side down for 10 minutes at 400°F. They’ll get all brown and crunchy in a fraction of the time.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Want to make more side dishes in your air fryer? Try these great recipes.
Air Fryer Baked Potatoes Recipe
Air Fryer Baked Potatoes are just the thing when you are craving that nice crispy skin with perfectly cooked potato on the inside. Best of all, you don’t have to turn on the oven to make them.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes and rub oil over the skin. Sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.
- Place potatoes in the air fryer basket, set the temperature to 400°F and the time for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, use tongs to turn potatoes to the other side and cook for another 20 minutes.
- The cooking time might vary as it depends on the size of the potatoes. Check to see if they are cooked through. Add 5-10 minutes cook time if needed.
- Serve with butter and freshly cracked black pepper.
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This post originally appeared in July 2020 and was revised and republished in July 2023.
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