Air Fryer Baked Potatoes {So Easy!}

Amazing! The best Air Fryer Baked Potatoes have fluffy centers, crisp skin, and are topped with your faves: butter, chives, sour cream, bacon, and more! 5 min prep, less oil and faster cook time than regular baked potatoes.

What is it about a baked potato that is so darn good? It’s simple, delicious, and now thanks to an air fryer, so much quicker to make.

I’m sharing this incredible and easy air fryer baked potatoes recipe so you can have this tasty dish tonight!

If you’re in the mood for more air fryer recipes, be sure to check out my homemade Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets.

Oil, salt, pepper, and russet potatoes show the easy ingredients for this recipe

Air Fryer Baked Potato Ingredients

  • Russet Potatoes: 4 medium-sized potatoes are good, but you can make smaller ones (and use a lower cook time) or bigger ones (with a higher cook time).
  • Oil: you can use olive oil spray or olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper: use the amount to your liking, or the amount I suggest.

How to Bake a Potato in an Air Fryer

It’s super easy to get those creamy, soft, mashed-potato-like centers, crisp exterior, and perfect for adding toppings base that is air fryer baked potatoes!

Two photos showing How to Bake Potatoes in Air Fryer - forking holes into a potato, then drizzling in oil to coat
  1. Poke holes all over the potatoes–yes, even the bottom! Then, coat all over in oil or cooking spray.
  2. Lay the potatoes in a single, spaced-out layer in your air fryer basket. Sprinkle with salt.
  3. Bake for about 30-45 minutes, until you can easily pierce through the center of the potato.
Two photos showing How to Bake a Potato in Air Fryer - laying potatoes out in the air fryer and sprinkling with salt

How Long to Cook Baked Potatoes in an Air Fryer

Depending on size, here are some guidelines on how long to cook baked potatoes in an air fryer.

  • Small potatoes: about 30 minutes
  • Medium potatoes: about 40 minutes
  • Larger potatoes: about 45 minutes
  • Keep in mind, cook times vary based on your specific air fryer. Cook until the centers are soft and easy to poke through (try poking with one chopstick, not something sharp like a knife).
Close up of baked potato in air fryer to show soft center and crisp skin

Air Fryer Baked Potato Toppings

  • Sour Cream: regular sour cream, low-fat, or even a healthier option–Greek yogurt–for that creamy tanginess. Erik loves putting our homemade ranch dressing (or sometimes tartar sauce) on baked potatoes.
  • Bacon: one of my favorite toppings! Also try any kind of meat or even plant-based meats like sausage crumbles.
  • Chives
  • Butter: you can use salted or unsalted, dairy-free and more.
  • Seasonings: seasoned salt or garlic salt, spicy cajun seasoning, or plain ol’ salt & pepper
  • Cheese: Top with shredded cheddar cheese or even a dollop of cream cheese (when it melts and softens, it’s soooo good!)
  • Sauces: top with zesty onion ring sauce or chipotle aioli, creamy roasted garlic aioli, or for a sweet twist: Asian salad dressing (why do I love sweet ‘n savory so much??).

How to Open a Baked Potato

Otherwise known as how to pop a potato, or how to split one open. No matter how you phrase it, here’s the best and tastiest way to do so.

Using a fork, slice down the length of the potato. Then, make a perpendicular cut—this will result in a cross shape.

Two photos showing How to Open a Baked Potato - using a fork to create a crisscross slice to split open the potato

Pinch the corners of the potato and push inward and up—this will make the fluffy centers “pop” up. You can see my finger divots in the photos—this is where I pushed the potato in from four different corners.

Two photos showing How to Open a Baked Potato - two hands pressing and splitting open a baked potato.

Once split, use a fork to mash and fluff up the centers. This is how I got the baked potato to look like it does in my photos.

A showing how to split one open - using a fork to mash and fluff up the center

Tools you’ll need

Here are our recommendations for the best air fryers. Enjoy!!

Sour cream, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper toppings for this easy recipe

Last Step

Last step, rate this recipe! If you’ve tried it, go ahead and leave a rating and review. It truly helps our small business keep going, and helps our readers.

xo demeter

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️

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featured image with air fryer baked potato topped with a pat of butter and chives

Air Fryer Baked Potatoes {So Easy!}


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Description

The best Air Fryer Baked Potatoes have fluffy centers, crisp skin, and are topped with your faves: butter, chives, sour cream, bacon, and more! 5 min prep, less oil and faster cook time than regular baked potatoes.


Ingredients

Scale

Tools Needed

Ingredients

  • 4 medium russet potatoes
  • Olive oil spray or 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • Black pepper to taste

Optional Toppings

  • Butter
  • Chives, chopped
  • Sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • Cheese, bacon

Instructions

  1. Wash and scrub potatoes. Pat with a towel to dry.
  2. Using a fork, poke holes all over the potatoes. Coat with cooking spray or drizzle and rub with oil to evenly coat potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the center of the potato, flipping halfway through. Cook on the higher end for larger potatoes.
  4. Carefully transfer to serving plate. Cut a slit through the top half of the potato. Learn how to pop a potato in the post with instructional photos
  5. Add Optional Toppings as desired. Enjoy!
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Side Dishes, Appetizers
  • Method: Air Fryer

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