Looking for the perfect baked potato recipe? These air fryer baked potatoes minimize your cooking time and result in a tender, flavorful inside wrapped in a crispy delicious shell. With only three ingredients this recipe will become your new favorite side dish.
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Learn how to cook baked potatoes in an air fryer, and you’ll never go back. For busy days, this air fryer baked potato recipe is easier than any other cooking method. With just three ingredients you'll get a tender, flavorful snack.
Soon enough you’ll be using these potatoes as a side dish for Chicken Leg Quarters, full course, and as a game-day appetizer (maybe next to some Air Fryer Halloumi?). They’re that simple.
Why you will love this recipe
- It’s the fastest way to bake potatoes
- There’s crispy skin with little effort
- Light and fluffy potato flesh
- Save oven space for main course meals
- Avoid heating the kitchen - so you can make it even on hot summer days
- With only three ingredients you already have everything you need
What you need to make them
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Baking potatoes, also known as russet potatoes, have a high starch and fiber content so they’re best for baking as they come out fluffy
- Other types of potatoes won’t come out with as crispy a skin, but can be used as well
- Olive oil helps crisp up the exterior. Any neutral oil will work, as will cooking spray.
- Salt adds a bit of flavor already during cooking, and makes the skin taste amazing
- Additional seasonings can be added to switch up the flavors.
How to make them
- Prick the potatoes with a fork ten times each
- Coat the potatoes in olive oil and salt
- Place them in the preheated air fryer basket
- Air fry thirty minutes then flip them and air fry until tender (about 20 minutes
Tips & tricks
- Poke the skin of the potato before cooking, for the crispiest skin
- Scrub the potatoes to remove any dirt before baking. This can be done the day before to save prep time.
- Additional seasonings like garlic powder give the potatoes a whole new flavor
- Cook time will vary slightly depending on the size of your air fryer and potatoes. Always make sure to cook them until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork or knife.
Storing, Freezing & Reheating
Storing: Store leftover cooked potatoes in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezing: This recipe does not freeze well.
Reheating: Pop them back in the air fryer for a few minutes until heated through. Or, cut them into pieces and fry them for a bite-sized snack.
Baked Potato Toppings
The way you top your potatoes can make the difference between them being an appetizer, side dish, or even a full meal.
To make them for lunch or dinner, use them as the base with your favorite protein and you have a complete meal.
Some of our favorite toppings are:
- Sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- Bacon bits
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Additional salt and pepper
- Chopped chili
- Butter
- BBQ chicken
- Chives or green onions
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Pulled pork
Or use them to make Air Fryer Potato Skins for the tastiest appetizer ever.
Recipe FAQ
Russet (or baking) potatoes tend to work best as their skin becomes the crispiest when baking in the oven or air fryer. They’re higher in starch which also means the potato flesh becomes really light and fluffy. Idaho potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes will work but won’t be as fluffy.
Yes! Piercing the potato before air frying or baking allows the steam to escape while cooking. This helps give them their fluffy texture and crispy skin.
No. When making a baked potato in the air fryer, you want the skin to get as crispy as possible. To do this, you cook them without tin foil.
More quick & easy air fryer potato sides
Looking for more quick and easy sir fryer sides like these Air Fryer Baked Potatoes?
- Air fryer baby potatoes
- Air fryer potato wedges
- Air fryer sweet potatoes with cinnamon
- Mexican potatoes with lime and cilantro
- How to make tater tots
Did you love this recipe? Rate it five stars!
...and let me know what you loved about it in the comments.
Recipe
Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
Print RateIngredients
- 2 baking potatoes Russet potatoes are best
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or other neutral oil
- ½ teaspoon salt fine table salt or crushed sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer by running it at 360℉ (180℃) for 5 minutes.
- Use a fork to prick the skin of the potatoes, about 10 times each.2 baking potatoes
- Coat the potatoes in olive oil and salt, then place in the preheated air fryer basket.1 teaspoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt
- Air fry 30 minutes at 360℉ (180℃), then flip them and air fry 20 minutes more, until fork tender.
Equipment (may contain affiliate links)
- 1 Fork
Notes
- Pierce the skin of the potatoes before cooking, for the crispiest skin
- Scrub the potatoes to remove any dirt before baking. This can be done the day before to save prep time.
- Cook times will vary slightly depending on the size of your fryer and potatoes. Always make sure to cook them until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Store them in the fridge for 3-4 days
- To reheat the potatoes, pop them back in the air fryer for a few minutes until cooked through and the outside is crispy.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
Sandy
I am laughing at this because 50 minutes is not speedy! Not to mention hauling the air fryer out of the pantry and setting it up the pre heating. Why is this so much better? Lol
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Sandy! I find it much easier to just pop the potatoes in the air fryer than to heat up my whole oven to make it there. I also don't need any extra dishes or sheet pans to cook it, which I would in the oven. And yes, 50 minutes might not be "super quick" - but it's faster than my oven! If you prefer the oven, then awesome - keep doing that. /Emmeline