Crispy Air Fryer Baked Potatoes made in the air fryer in 40 minutes with just 3 minutes of prep. These baked potatoes have crispy skin on the outside and a fluffy potato center on the inside. Top with sour cream, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese, green onions, and bacon for the perfect side dish recipe. Serve with steak, chicken, fish, or turkey.

For more potato recipes, try this Loaded Baked Potato Salad. Next, try serving this baked potato recipe with these Air Fryer Steak Bites.

The Air Fryer is a rockstar with air fryer baked potatoes, giving you that perfect combination that steakhouse restaurants achieve, fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside without having to heat an entire oven and in much less time.

My Mom loved to cook great dishes in the oven and throw some potatoes in to bake, as she became an empty nester though, she shifted to a lot of stove-top meals and baked the potatoes in the microwave. Even when I went home for dinner we used the microwave, the insides were still fluffy and delicious, but the outsides were soft and unappealing.

For years it seemed that Yukon gold potatoes or red salad potatoes excelled in popularity in the kitchens of those that loved their meat and potatoes, but now the discovery of the Air Fryer has brought the good ‘ole Idaho Russet potatoes back.

I’m not saying you must give up the gold and red potatoes, experiment and see what you like best. You will find that the russet potato has a thicker skin, thus giving that wonderful crispy outside.

How to Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

1. Wash potatoes. Pat dry.
2. Rub with oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Preheat air fryer.
4. Place in air fryer.
5. Cook at 390°F for 40 minutes.
6. Pierce with a fork or knife and cook at 5 minute increments until tender and done.
7. Cut potato down the center.
8. Top with butter and allow to melt
9. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
10. Loade with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onions.

Air Fryer Baked Potato Ingredients

POTATOES: Use medium size Russet/Idaho potatoes. They have a firmer skin that makes for the perfect baked potato every time. If you have any other kind of potato, they will work as well.

OIL: Use virgin, grapeseed, peanut, vegetable oil, or avocado oil. Don’t use “extra virgin olive oil as it will not hold up to the heat as well as the other oils. The oil is necessary as it helps to crisp the skin and keeps it moist with it roasts or fries in the fryer.

SEASONING: Using regular salt and pepper in this recipe works just fine. However, most steakhouses will use kosher salt which is much grainier and thicker than table salt. Also, Himalayan salt works perfectly as well. I season before air frying and after air fryer.

TOPPING: If you’re hosting a baked potato bar, think of toppings like bacon, a variety of cheeses like cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, feta cheese, blue cheese, brie cheese, queso cheese, or any other varieties. In addition, fresh herbs like parsley, dill, green onions, cilantro, rosemary, mint, oregano, thyme, and others add extra flavor. Diced vegetables like bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, jalapenos, habanero peppers, banana peppers, and more add a nice crunchy texture. Classics like cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and mascarpone cheese add a lot of richness to the potato.

Flavorful Variations

• Bacon
• Avocado
• Diced meats like turkey, chicken, beef
• Pastrami
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Fresh parmesan cheese
• Greek yogurt
• Marinara sauce
• Salsa
• Chili
• Tomato pesto
• Pico de Gallo
• Taco toppings
• Creole sesasoning
• Everything bagel sesaoning
• mac and cheese
• queso cheese sauce or dip
• peas
• black beans
• refried beans
• tofu
• broccoli
• carrots
• asparagus
• Mexican rice
• corn
• nuts

Cooking with Potatoes

In my recipe we use the medium potatoes, large cook longer, smaller cooks less. There really isn’t much to prep time. Be sure to wash the potato as you will become a fan of eating the skin which is super healthy. I also found it is not necessary to poke the potato before baking.

The flesh of the potato contains most of the potassium and vitamin C found in this vegetable while the flesh contains iron, vitamin B3 and is a good source of insoluble dietary fiber.

Remember to never put potatoes in your refrigerator, doing so causes an enzyme change which is referred to as cold-induced sweetening. This will cause your roasted and fried potatoes to have a different taste as well as a grey or darker appearance.

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