Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

If you’ve never “baked” potatoes this way yet they are SO good!! I dare say the salty crispy potato skins are almost better than the inside and they taste just like you get them at your favorite steak restaurant. Ready to stuff with all the goodies. This is just one of our favorite easy air fryer recipes.

This is by far our favorite meal is to stuff them full of chili with cheese on top. Talk about a super cheap meal that warms you all over and reminds me of my childhood. We live in Idaho so yes we know a lot about potatoes. 😉

As far as this goes we are going to focus on Russets because when you think of baked, those are what you picture.

Ingredient Notes

To start, you need to choose the best type of potatoes. We live in Idaho so a bag of russet potatoes are easy to find, and in fact are the best for baking! They are a high starch potato that will lend a light, mealy texture, great for stuffing with We love Instant Pot chili . Yukon Gold have thinner skins and red are more firm so they may take a bit longer to get tender.

Can you use sweet potatoes?

Want a sweeter side? You can follow the same basic directions to make a few Sweet potato in air fryer with butter and cinnamon and sugar too.

You want some good extra virgin olive oil to coat the skins well, I mean really well. Like you want a lot so it is almost dripping off as it will bake off over time and you don’t want the outside to dry out.

And then there is sea salt for the outside. Especially if you are going to eat the skins (which you should because they are so so good for you) you will want to coat the outside with this to give it flavor and make it crispier as it soaks up any existing moisture.

How Long to Cook Baked Potatoes in Air Fryer

You need to preheat your machine first, that takes 5 minutes. Then once prepared you need a good 40 minutes, but there is a range. As you know, this food comes in a huge range of sizes. The larger they are the longer it will take of course to get tender in the very center.

Baked Potatoes in Ninja (option)

For years we only made pressure cooker baked potatoes, but then I got this “magic pot” and had two lids to choose from. Yes I am talking about Ninja Foodi recipes. Steamed yes is great, but the outside is soggy. Using the lid attached to air crisp is what we are talking about here.

So quick and easy and any brand will do. If you’d rather slice them and make Ninja Foodi french fries those are good too, especially for little hands that love everything finger food related.

How do you know when they are done?

It is all about the texture. The ideal is that the outside is golden brown, skin is shriveled a bit as a sign that they are crispy. Inside you need it to become super tender in the very center, the thickest part – middle of them. If it takes any effort for a knife to slide into the middle it needs more time. Give it another 5 minutes and check again, it should glide right in and out.

Tips to Get Crispy Baked Potatoes in Air Fryer

The more dry you can get the outside the crispier the potato skins will be, and that is the ultimate goal right?? Then coat with oil well and coat with salt especially if you want to make air fryer potato skinswith them. Best salt you can use is sea salt which is bigger than what you have on your table so you pack on the flavor and dry out the outside a bit better.

Should you wrap potatoes in foil?

Do not wrap potatoes in aluminum foil for baking in an oven or in an air fryer. Foil holds in moisture and steams the potatoes, resulting in a “boiled” taste and texture. In an oven you’ll need to turn the potatoes over halfway through the baking time, it isn’t necessary using this method though.

How to Serve

I mean everyone has their own favorites right?? If you are up for a few new suggestions to change up your meal planning here are some that we think of right away.

1. 5 ingredient Crockpot chili
   1. Instructions for pressure cooker and slow cooker above
2. Instant pot broccoli
   1. Pair with a homemade cheese sauce
3. Sour cream and bacon bits
4. Salsa for a really low fat and gluten free meal

How to Make Twice Baked Potatoes when Done

Want to make them twice baked potatoes once you’re done?? You totally can. Just slice in half, scoop out the insides and add all the goodies. Mash it all together, fill back into the skins and air fry for a few minutes until the top cheese is melted.

Can you reheat a potato in an air fryer ?

Absolutely, not just fresh but you can reheat baked potato in air fryer air fryer too. Seriously the best way to do it so it gets warmed but the skins get nice and crispy again as well. Then fill with things like broccoli and cheese, chili, or dice up and make a hash out of it in a skillet.

You can even skin them and make a batch of creamy air fryer mashed potatoes if you’d rather. These may be a game changers for your family too.

Other air fryer recipes you’ll love

Looking for other easy Ninja Foodi air fryer recipes? We have a bunch of other ideas you will thoroughly enjoy right here, let us know which are your favorites. Air fryer kale chips and air fryer zucchini chips are great snacks Our frozen air fryer tater tots are so good too

If you have little ones at home, I always loved making everything bite sized! Like that too? Try roasted potatoes in air fryer with little ones like these! Mixed with some seasonings, olive oil and diced onions they’re full of flavor and faster to get tender.