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.
Pete says
Half way through flip over and slice open in a cross and 3 mins before done..insert slices of cheese into cross. Very nice with salad and chicken coujons.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Sounds like a yummy addition!👌🏻
Laura says
I like your recipe, however, there is science behind pricking the skin of a potato. Check out this very short article
https://www.southernliving.com/kitchen-assistant/baked-potatoes-do-you-need-to-prick
Have a great day!
Jill says
Yes best to prick them. It hardly ever happens, but potato explosion is indeed a real thing.
Barbara Wykoff says
Making them now! Can’t wait to try them!!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Barbara Wykoff says
I meant to give you 5 stars. Am using an Emerald air fryer btw
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I hope you enjoy them!💖
Barbara Kaufer says
I have the Gowise airfryer, tried doing a baked potato, a russet, 40 mintes later it was still not done. Does it make a difference if the potoato is on a rack as opposed to a basket? Thanks
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Barbara! I am not familiar with that model, but the location should not make a difference. The size of your potato is likely larger than the ones I used, I am guessing. Just cook it a bit longer when they are larger.
Barbara Kaufer says
thanks, I ill five it more cook time
Wink says
I did this with medium Yukon Golds and they were delicious! I cooked one at a time, two days in a row so I did some experimenting: Day 1 cooking at 400 for 40 mins was still crunchy in the middle when poked with a knife (I live at 5,000 ft., which makes a difference with anything boiled or baked) so I added another 20 minutes at 450 and it was perfect. On day 2, I discovered that my air fryer won’t LET me set the timer for 40 minutes at 450–overheating danger, maybe?–so I tried 425 for 40 and while the potato was a touch closer, it still wasn’t cooked through. A total of one hour at 425 did the trick, though, so as long as I plan ahead I can have a pillowy, crispy potato every day without heating the whole oven!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
It can take some trial an error, and some air fryers run hotter/ cooler than others for some reason. Nevertheless, I am glad you figured it out. Potato size can make a difference too.
Rita says
I have not made this yet. However, it is ridiculous to have to HUNT for the PRINT KEY, AND THERE IS NO REASON THAT I SHOULD NEED TO PRINT 17 PAGES TO GET A ONE PAGE RECIPE! Not likely to come back to this site.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Rita. The print button is in the recipe card, under the thumbnail and will only print the recipe card itself, not the blog post. Hope that helps!
Relli says
If you print from a phone, you can see the pages and un-check the pages you don’t need, before you click on print the final time.
Paul says
Just tell your printer to print only the page(s) you need
Tilda says
Perfect and easy, just what I needed! when done, sprinkled cheese on them air fried real quick to melt the cheese and the kids loved them! Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad to hear it, Tilda!
carla says
I tried to leave 5 stars but was unable to for some reason! I just got my new GoWise Air Fryer, and this was my second attempt. They came out perfectly! I used 4 small potatoes, so cooked about 30 minutes. I think I could have gone the extra 10 but I was getting nervous because they were pretty brown. But yours are even darker in the picture, so could have cooked a bit more. Anyway, thank you for posting, this is very helpful!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad to hear it, Carla🙌🏻
Angela says
I’d like to make these but I have the airfryer with the paddle
Rosita says
I used medium potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. I put them in the air fryer for about 42 minutes, flipped halfway at 200° Celsius. They came out cooked to perfection.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That is great to hear, Rosita! Glad you enjoyed it.
Patricia says
Can someone tell me if I use Air roast, air fry or air bake to make crispy skinned baked potatoe? Thank you
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Patricia! Air fry works for me. All these new models have so many options, LOL.
Bret Hon says
My son just bought an air fryer and I did 4 potato’s in it right now. Like you said I did not “fork” the potato’s (my son wanted to), and at 25 min left they were nice & “crunchy” looking. Can’t wait as it’s at 20 min left now.
Hint: If you banana bread is not done through it all the way and you stick it in an air fryer, only do like 5 min not 10. It was crusty, but it still tasted fine.