Air Fryer Baked Potato
Air Fryer Baked Potato
Air fryer baked potato is a whole floury baking potato (russet, Maris Piper, King Edward or Bintje), unpeeled, rubbed with oil and salt and cooked in a basket air fryer at 400°F (204°C) until the skin turns crisp and the inside goes soft and fluffy. It’s the same result as an oven-baked jacket potato, just faster — usually 35 to 45 minutes for a medium potato instead of an hour or more in the oven.
The potato’s starch does the real work. These floury varieties are high in starch and low in moisture compared to waxy potatoes, so the flesh steams itself soft inside the skin rather than turning gluey. Cut one open right after cooking and fluff it with a fork — the inside should be pale yellow, light and dry, never wet or dense.
Two details separate a good result from a soggy one: no foil, and prick the skin first. Foil traps steam against the skin and turns it soft and leathery instead of crisp. A few fork holes let steam escape as the potato cooks, which keeps the skin from splitting open in the basket.
Serve it hot, split open down the middle, with whatever toppings you like — butter, sour cream, grated cheddar, chives, crumbled bacon. It works as a simple side dish or, loaded up, a meal on its own.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 4 medium floury baking potatoes (russet, Maris Piper, King Edward or Bintje), unpeeled (about 225 g each)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt or kosher salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder (optional)
- black pepper, freshly ground (optional)
- butter, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, grated cheddar, chopped chives or green onions, crumbled cooked bacon, to serve (optional)
Directions
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C). If your air fryer runs hot — some toaster-style models do — set it to 375°F (190°C) instead.
Scrub the potatoes clean under running water and dry them thoroughly with a towel; a wet skin won’t crisp properly. Prick each potato four or five times all over with a fork so steam has somewhere to escape while it cooks.
Rub each potato all over with the olive oil, then sprinkle it evenly with salt. Add the garlic powder here too, if you’re using it.
Arrange the potatoes in the air fryer basket in a single layer with space between them so air can move freely around each one.
Air fry at 400°F (204°C) for 35 to 45 minutes for medium potatoes, flipping each one once at around the halfway point for even browning. Smaller potatoes usually need only 25 to 30 minutes; larger ones can take 45 to 60. The potato is done when a knife or fork slides into the center with no resistance and the skin looks crisp; if you have a thermometer, it should read 205–210°F (96–99°C) at the center.
As soon as they’re done, slit each potato open lengthwise, squeeze the ends gently to open it up, and fluff the flesh with a fork. Add toppings right away and serve while hot.
Notes
Don’t wrap the potatoes in foil — it traps steam against the skin and leaves it soft instead of crisp. Skip the pricking step and you risk a potato bursting in the basket, so don’t leave it out either.
For a variation on the salt step, dissolve 2 tbsp coarse salt in ½ cup water and toss the pricked potatoes in it to coat before air frying, then brush or spray them with oil after about 30 minutes instead of oiling them at the start. The brine helps the salt cling to the skin.
Air fryer models vary quite a bit in actual output, so check a few minutes early the first time you make these and go by the knife test and internal temperature rather than the clock.
Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to about 5 days. Reheat in the air fryer at 400°F (204°C) to crisp the skin back up.
See Also
