How To Air Fry A Baked Potato For Unbelievably Crispy Skin

Air fryers can pull off a lot of neat culinary tricks, from extra crunchy French fries and eggrolls to delicious frozen corn and even crispy sandwich wraps. One of the best ways to make use of everyone's favorite countertop gadget, however, is for making simple, satisfying baked potatoes. Not only can you get perfectly fluffy results in 40 minutes, you won't have to worry about heating up the kitchen just for a couple of spuds. Even better, an air fryer will give baked potatoes a super satisfying crunchy skin. Once you get the hang of it, you'll never lack for a side dish again, although if you ask us, a loaded baked potato is a perfectly good main dish if you have the right toppings.

There is not a lot of technique involved in making a baked potato in the air fryer, and you certainly don't need a recipe, but there are a few important points to keep in mind. Just like making pizza, a crispy potato skin needs high heat. Also, be sure to oil up the outside of the potato for a perfectly crispy texture, and never wrap your taters with foil.

If you're ready for an air fryer baked potato experience, you don't need any special tools or equipment. All you have to do is oil up the outside of each potato and season with a little salt, poke a few holes in the top, and bake the spuds at around 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

A word of caution about aluminum foil: don't use it here. While you may have grown up baking potatoes in tin foil, or seen them served as sides at classic steak houses, foil traps moisture inside the potato and around the skin, which will make it cook faster but the skin will be soggy. Also, don't skip poking holes or making a slash in the top of your baked potatoes. The breaks in the skin will allow some of the steam to escape while the potato is cooking, and it will keep it from potentially exploding inside the air fryer.

There are a lot of ways to get from point A to point B if you want to make a baked potato, but a hot air fryer will make a super fluffy spud with potato chip-like crunchy skin with almost no effort on your part. Just keep it simple with some good quality olive oil, set a timer for 40 minutes, and you'll have a restaurant-quality spud on the table any night of the week.