To oven bake or microwave your potatoes? What about the air fryer? We’ve tried it all and are breaking it down for you.
I prepared potatoes multiple different ways to compare baking potatoes in the oven versus microwaving them. Plus, I tried it out in the air fryer as well. So what’s the best method for tasty baked potatoes?
How To Cook Microwave Baked Potatoes
Microwaving is definitely convenient, taking way less time than cooking in the oven.
- 1 medium russet potato
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Scrub potato clean then dry it off with a clean towel.
- Poke potato with a fork 6-10 times, all around potato.
- Place potato in microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cook for 3 minutes. Turn potato over and cook, covered with plastic wrap, for 2 more minutes. Poke with a fork to see if it is soft all the way through. If potato yields easily to the fork, it’s done. If not, cook for another 1-3 minutes.
- Cut potato open and season with salt and pepper. Add desired toppings.
*Multiple potatoes may need extra time, I’ve found I can cook three at once in 10 minutes.
Pros & cons of microwaving potatoes:
+ It’s quick.
+ These potatoes came out soft and tender.
+ They can go in the microwave naked. That means one less step to prepare them.
– You don’t get a crispy skin.
– You do have to rotate the potato so it cooks evenly.
How To Bake Potatoes in the Oven
Classic baked potatoes in the oven are great, especially if you need to make several all at once. I really like them baked with some butter on them. No foil needed.
- 1 russet potato
- 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter
- Salt
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Scrub potato clean, then dry it off with a clean towel.
- Coat potato with melted butter, place on baking sheet. Bake until potato is soft and can be cut easily, about 50-60 minutes.
- Cut potato open, season with salt and pepper and add desired toppings.
Pros & cons of baking potatoes:
+ You can cook up a ton of potatoes at once.
+ Crispy skin for the win.
– It takes planning and forethought – they take at least 60 minutes to bake.
Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
But wait, there’s another method to consider as well! Lots of us have handy air fryers in our kitchen now, so how does that work for baked potatoes?
- 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 in a single layer, 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.
Pros & cons of air frying potatoes:
+ You can cook at least two potatoes, depending on the size of your air fryer.
+ They get wonderfully crispy skin without heating up the whole oven.
– It takes at least forty minutes. Quicker than the oven, but much longer than the microwave.
What Method To Choose?
It depends on what is most important to you!
Need baked potatoes quickly? Use the microwave.
Want crispy skin? Use the oven or air fryer.
Need to make a lot of potatoes? Use the oven, for sure.
Only need a couple baked potatoes? Use the air fryer or microwave.
Let me know in the comments what your favorite preparation is!
This post originally appeared in December 2017 and was revised and republished in January 2024.
I’m a firm believer that if you want a better tasting baked potatoes, bake them in a NUWave XL all-in-one oven. Toaster ovens can’t handle the it. I should know because I have a B/D toaster oven sitting on the top of my NuWave XL all-in-one Oven,and it’s only used for toasting bread and bread items.
Perfect microwave potatoes, use medium size, oil them, place in a bowl with only 1/2 inch cut on each side, cover bowl, microwave the best ever potato.
Thank you for sharing your method with us, Lyn!
when you boil the potato and it loses some of its vitamins etc, do the vitamins go into the water? The other thing is if you scrub them and then boil with the skins on do they still lose goodies.
Boiling potatoes can cause some of vitamins but retains most of them, Greg. And if you don’t want to waste that potato water, you can always turn it in Vegan Gravy!
Did nothing to answer my question!
What was your question?