If you want the perfect baked potato, make these air fryer baked potatoes. The potato skins turn out crispy and perfectly seasoned, while the center of the potato is fluffy and soft. This easy recipe makes for a great side dish to any main dish.
If you'd love more delicious potato recipes, check out these Creamy Vegan Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Crispy Air Fryer Potato Cubes, Perfect Baked Potatoes (Without Foil), and these Vegan Deviled Eggs (Potatoes).
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
These are the best baked potatoes you're going to make. They're so easy and delicious. Using an air fryer cooks them in a fraction of the time and doesn't heat up your home in the hot summer months.
- It's vegan and gluten free.
- It's a fast and easy way to bake potatoes without having to turn the oven on.
- Potatoes are delicious and one of the most satiating foods on the planet.
- It makes the perfect side dish to any meal.
- It takes less time to cook than oven-baked potatoes
🥔 Simple Ingredients
The ingredients couldn't be easier. This recipe only calls for four:
- Russet potatoes - Russet potatoes are the best potatoes to use for baked potatoes because you get a really crispy exterior with fluffy insides that soaks up the seasonings. Plus russets contain a lot of starch and that makes for a fluffy and moist inner part of the baked potato.
- Oil - I love to use either olive oil or vegetable oil. Avocado oil would also be good, since it has a high smoke point. Using oil ensures a nice and crispy potato skin that doesn't dry out.
- Salt - If you have a thick, flaky salt, that would be good. But use whatever salt you have on hand. Sea salt works great.
- Garlic powder or steak seasoning - Here's where this recipe gets fun. You can season the potato skins with your favorite seasonings. I love either using garlic powder, or steak seasoning. Steak seasoning is nice because it usually has garlic powder in it, with a couple of other seasonings as well.
🔪 Directions
Make sure to scroll to the recipe card for full step-by-step instructions.
Step one: rinse off your russet potatoes really well. Getting any grit or dirt off the skins, because you're definitely going to want to be eating the potato skins.
Step two: grab a fork or a sharp knife (I find the knife is easier to pull out) and pierce the skin a few times all over.
Step three: brush some oil all over the outside of the potato. Then season with salt and steak seasoning. This will result in delicious salty skins.
Step four: air fry at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour depending on the size of the potato. Bake until the potato can easily be pierced by a fork. Take out of the air fryer and cut in half. Fluff up the inner potato with a fork and top with your favorite baked potato toppings.
👩🍳 Helpful tips
Make sure to get the same sized potatoes, so the cook time is the same and they all finish at the same time.
Don't overcrowd the potatoes when air frying. For best results, you want each potato to have enough room so the hot air circulates evenly around it. This results in a perfectly crispy skin.
Everyone's air fryer is a little bit different, so cooking times will vary, depending on your air fryer and the size of potatoes.
Cook for at least 45 minutes and then check on them. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
The cooking time will vary depending on how the size of your potatoes. Larger potatoes will take longer than smaller potatoes and medium potatoes.
There's no need to spray your air fryer basket with some cooking spray or line it with a liner, since the potatoes will be oiled, they won't stick.
🍴 Recommended equipment
You can use whatever air fryer you have on hand. Doesn't matter what type you have. I personally use this AICOOK instant pot air fryer lid.
I love this because I didn't need to buy a whole new appliance, I could just use an appliance I already had.
This is a great air fryer for people with small kitchens and limited space. The instant pot also offers an air fryer lid. If you get the instant pot duo crisp, it has it all in one.
🧈 Topping suggestions
Use whatever are your favorite toppings. You can even go crazy with your toppings to make a loaded baked potato. Some great vegan toppings for baked potatoes are:
- Dairy free sour cream
- Pat of butter - vegan of course. I like the vegan country crock or Earth Balance.
- Margarine
- Vegan Queso
- Salt and black pepper
- Green onions
- A1 steak sauce - one of my favorite potato toppings
- Hummus
- Fresh chives
- Bean chili
- Dairy free cheddar cheese
🥣 Serving suggestions
This makes a great side dish to any recipe, especially meaty vegan recipes like vegan steak, vegan chicken and BBQ tempeh.
❄️ Storing tips
Let the potatoes completely cool, then put them in an airtight container in the fridge. They will last about five days. You can eat them cold and put them on salads, make a potato salad, or reheat them in the oven or air fryer.
♨️ How to reheat
The best way to reheat a baked potato is in the oven or air fryer. This will keep the potatoes nice and crispy.
To reheat in the air fryer, just place the potatoes in the air fryer basket and bake at 350-400 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are warmed through.
To reheat in the oven, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the potato on a baking sheet so that the potato will get heat from all sides.
Once the oven is warmed up, place the potato in the oven for 20 minutes.
❓ Recipe FAQs
I don't recommend using aluminum foil because it traps the moisture in and makes the skin rubbery. I love a nice crispy and seasoned potato skin with a tender, fluffy potato inside. Using the air fryer to bake the potato without tin foil results in a perfectly cooked baked potato.
You can absolutely make these potatoes oil free. The potato skins will just turn out a bit more dry and a little less flavorful because it's lacking fat.
But if you want to keep this recipe heart friendly, feel free to leave out the oil and just season the potato after rinsing it off. Don't dry them off, you want them to be a little damp so the water from rinsing will help the seasonings to stick.
Russets are the best to use because of their high starch content, which makes them come out really fluffy, but you can use whatever type of potato you have on hand. Yukon gold potatoes and red potatoes also work well.
Sweet potatoes even taste amazing in the air fryer and come out perfect every time. Not only are they delicious, potatoes are a full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
🌱 More air fryer recipes
If you loved this recipe, leave a 5 ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Easy Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon steak seasoning (or garlic powder)
Instructions
- Rinse and clean off the potatoes well to get rid of any dirt. Pierce the potatoes with a fork a few times. Rub oil all over the potatoes then season with the steak seasoning or garlic powder and salt.2 russet potatoes, 1 teaspoon oil, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon steak seasoning
- Add the potatoes to the air fryer making sure to not over crowd. Cook at 400 degrees for 50 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Rita McKee
Giving this information to my daughter and grandkids!!
dianne hill
Really turns out great