These air fryer baked potatoes have that crispy skin and tender, fluffy inside, and they are the best baked potatoes!
I confess that the Instant Pot used to be our go-to for baking potatoes. But my go-to just got overturned! As much as I love Instant Pot potatoes, if you want crispy skin, you have to choose another method.
And my new method of choice? Air fryer baked potatoes! 🎉🙌🏻
So why do I like these so much?
(1) You don’t have to wait for an oven to preheat.
(2) It’s energy efficient.
(3) The air fryer doesn’t heat up the entire house like the oven does. This is no small thing in Alabama summers, y’all.😎
And finally (4) This method results in the crispiest skin and the best texture of any baked potato method I have ever used.
How to Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
I start with my favorite type of potato for baking – russets.
I wash and pat them dry. Then I place them in the Air Fryer basket. I give them a light coat of cooking spray.
You can use any type of cooking spray. I am using avocado oil, and it works great. I just rotate the potatoes to be sure and spray them on all sides. This helps crisp up the skin, plus it helps the seasoning to stick to the potato skins.
If you don’t have cooking spray, you can use a little drizzle of oil and just rub to coat the potato skins. I would recommend an oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado or even canola.
Next, I sprinkle them generously with sea salt and garlic powder. I use 1/2 teaspoon of each for either 3 or 4 potatoes. I use my hands to spread everything around and make sure it has an even coat.
Then I cook them in the Air Fryer on 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. I did take a peek at them about 25 minutes in to that cook time. The skins were looking pretty brown on top. So I used some tongs and carefully flipped them over.
After forty minutes, mine were perfect!
Yum!!! 😍👌🏻
Tips for Making Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
First, don’t overcrowd the Air Fryer basket. Four medium potatoes would probably be my maximum recommendation. You want to make sure that the skin has enough space to crisp up.
Also, there is no need to pierce with a fork first. When I made my first batch, I remembered about half-way through and freaked out a little. And you know what? They did fine! I haven’t pierced them since. So save yourself the trouble.
Last, different sized potatoes can have different cook times. The good news is that you can always put them back in for a few extra minutes.
If you want to try this method with red potatoes or gold potatoes, it will still taste great! Just check them during cooking. They may have a different cook time.
Tools Used to Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
Note: These are Amazon affiliate links.
- Air Fryer – I am using the Avalon Bay brand
- Measuring spoons
- Tongs are helpful for flipping and removing the potatoes from the basket
Air Fryer Baked Potato Recipe
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Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
These air fryer baked potatoes have that crispy skin and tender, fluffy inside, and they are the best baked potatoes!
Ingredients
- 3 russet potatoes (medium sized, scrubbed and rinsed)
- cooking spray (I used avocado oil spray)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (use a bit less if you are using a finer salt, like table salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
-
Place your potatoes in the Air Fryer basket, and spray with cooking spray on both sides.
-
Sprinkle sea salt and garlic on all sides, rotating the potatoes as you got.
-
Use your hands to rub the potatoes to make sure everything gets evenly coated.
-
Cook in the Air Fryer on 400 degrees for about 40 to 50 minutes, until fork tender. (Note: I used tongs to rotate mine after about 25 minutes, as they were getting pretty brown on top.)
Recipe Notes
Don't overcrowd the Air Fryer basket. 4 medium potatoes would probably be my maximum recommendation. You want to make sure that the skin has enough space to crisp up and that the potatoes all lie flat (not stacked on top of each other).
There is no need to pierce with a fork first.
Different sized potatoes can have different cook times. The good news is that you can always put them back in for a few extra minutes.
If you want to try this method with red potatoes or gold potatoes, it will still taste great! Just check them during cooking. They may have a different cook time.
Nutrition information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Dave says
Worked out as explained. Great way to make baked potatoes. New at air fryers. Thx!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Dave!🙌🏻
Tami Yeomans says
These are fantastic! Question… for twice baked loaded potatoes, how long and at what temperature should I do the second bake?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Tami! I an glad you are enjoying the recipe. I have not made twice baked ones myself. So it make take some experimentation. I’d be curious to hear, if you end up trying it, though.
Amy says
I made theseast night and they are AMAZING! This will be the only way I make baked potatoes from now on. Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Amy!🙌🏻
rohit aggarwal says
thank you apinchofhealthy for giving me wonderful information
Janie Tallman says
Excellent. My new go to recipe.thank you
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Janie!
D buschman says
Do I need to preheat??
mICHAEL says
bEST POTATO i HAVE EVER HAD. THE CRISPIEST SKIN EVER. I CRAVE THEM NOW…THANK YOU…
p.S. FORGIVE THE LACK OF CAPITALIZATION. FOR SOME REASON MY KEYBOARD WON’T ALLOW ME ON THIS SITE….BUT HAD TO COMMENT AND GIVE THE WELL DESERVED 5 STARS…
Micahel says
Dang, everything I typed was lower case in the comment box so I didn’t realize I had the caps on. Mea Culpa…so embarrassed…
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
No worries…Not your fault! It’s a bug on my end that I need to hire a developer to help me fix. I am really glad you enjoyed the potato!🙌🏻
Greg says
Fantastic came out the best tasting crisp skins I used olive oil and onion powder only cause that’s what I had on hand and just maybe the best I’ve ever had
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Woo hoo, Greg! I am so happy to hear that. 🙌🏻
Catherine Berry says
Olive oil turns toxic if burned too hot, I use grapeseed oil’ goes UP to 425!
Sue says
Did you preheat the air fryer?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Sue! No preheating for this particular recipe.
Shannon H says
I made up a couple of potatoes in the air fryer this weekend and they turned out fantastic! With the weather starting to get cooler, one of these was the perfect snack. I admit that the first one I poked holes in – it’s just one of those things hard coded into you. The next day when I made the second one, I forced myself to try without holes, even though it hurt all the way down to my DNA not to do so. It turned out just as good!
I used olive oil, and to save messy fingers, I just put a drizzle into a plastic bag with the salt and garlic powder and shook it around to coat.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Shannon!💖🙌🏻
Tina says
I only got my actifry 3 weeks ago and was desperate to try something other than fries.
I love a baked potato but can never seem to get the skins crispy enough and end up scooping out the middle and leaving the skins, but this recipe is just perfect. I rubbed mine with olive oil, garlic powder and sea salt and they were perfectly fluffy on the inside and oh so crispy on the outside. Not a morsel left on the plate. This is now my go to recipe for baked potatoes. Thank you x
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That is awesome feedback, Tina! So glad to hear you enjoyed it.💖🙌🏻
Cindy says
I made 4 average sized potatoes. Rubbed olive oil on them, fresh pepper, garlic salt and a little extra garlic powder. Cooked at 375` for about 40 minutes total, turning them once. Fantastic!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Cindy! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.🙌🏻
Dawn says
My potatoes were charred on the outside by the time the inside was cooked. I still gave the recipe 4 stars because I think it’s operator error LOL. I’m new at the air fryer… Should I try cooking them at a lower temperature for a longer time? Any advice would be appreciated!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Dawn! Yes, for potatoes of a similar size, next time try a little lower temperature.
Lynne says
Can you microwave then first to cut down on the cooking time?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Lynne! Sure I don’t see why not. This should work out fine.👌🏻
Linda C Galdieri says
Best bake potatos we have had, crispy on the outside side and fluffy in the inside. WE have made them 4 times In two weeks.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! I am super happy to hear that, and thank you for the rating, Linda!💖
Pj says
Question
Do you put potatoes in with out the paddle ?
Katherine Duchette says
I usually start my potato in the microwave and finish in the toaster oven but wanted to try my air dryer. So glad I did for it is now my favorite way to cook them now. Thanks so much for giving me the information I needed to learning how to use the hairdryer better.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Katherine!🙌🏻
Jenny says
how long do you cook in mircowave and then air fryer – 40 minutes is too long for me, so this sounds perfect solution.
Julie Marcum says
Love this best baked potatoes ever thanks for sharing I make them often in my air fryer
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Julie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating.🙏🏻💖
Christine Schwefler says
Best baked potato hands down Ever!!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Christine! I am so glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for circling back to leave a rating.🙏🏻💖
Melinda Butler says
Great advice u can help the world,,, because baked potatoes are health😘😘😘😘😘😘😘 thank U,, keep doing GREAT
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Thank you, Melinda! 🤗
Hazel says
I bought an air fryer oven yesterday and followed your recipe today and they were perfect!!!! I used avacado oil and then rubbed them with garlic powder and Trader Joes onion salt blend. I had 2 large russets and did 25 minutes a side then left them in while I did 2 steaks on top rack for and additional 8 minutes. They were perfect and had crispy skins and steaming goodness inside! Thank you for sharing!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Hazel! I am so glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating.
Ralph McGee says
I did a medium sized russet in a 2.6 quart air fryer for almost 50 minutes until the internal temperature of the potato read 205 degrees. However, the skin was still not crispy, more like it came from a microwave. Any suggestions?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Ralph! I thought of a couple things. Did you leave the finished potatoes sitting in the air fryer for any length of time with the unit off? If you left them for longer than a couple minutes, they might have been surrounded in their own steam without the fans and heat on to dry it up. Did you add any oil to the outside? Even a little cooking spray will do the trick to help crisp up. Hope that helps.
Andy Bailey says
That’s a useful article thank you and the first place I saw on Google for a search about my air fryer!
Steve Iman says
I bet the people who follow your thinking about not forking their potatoes or cutting off ends will after their first explosion;-) It’s rare, but the mess sure can be stinky and a chore to clean!
Anna says
Good advice, Steve,
Culinary School says
Surprised as from a simple recipe as baked potatoes, which are prepared by students for Breakfast you can make a gorgeous dish. Immediately it becomes clear that you have a talent for cooking. I feel like I’m in cooking school when I visit your blog.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That is very kind…thank you!💖
Christy says
These are absolutely delicious!