Air Fryer Baked Potatoes (Crispy Skin, Fluffy Inside, No Foil)

These air fryer baked potatoes are the reason I have not turned the oven on for a baked potato in two years: a russet rubbed with olive oil and coarse salt goes into the basket at 400°F and comes out 40 to 45 minutes later with skin so crisp it crackles when you press it and an inside that fluffs up like a cloud. No foil, no hour-plus oven preheat, no soft, steamed skin. They are the base for a loaded potato night, the side I make with garlic butter steak bites, and the thing I cook first when I am making my new air fryer chicken drumsticks so the whole dinner comes from one basket.

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Why air fryer baked potatoes beat the oven every time.

• The skin actually gets crispy. An oven surrounds a potato with still, dry heat; an air fryer blasts it with moving hot air, which pulls moisture off the skin fast. Combined with oil and coarse salt, that gives air fryer baked potatoes a crackly, almost chip-like skin that an oven only manages at the very end of a long bake. It is the same convection magic behind my air fryer smashed potatoes.
• It is faster, and there is no preheat. A big russet takes about an hour in a 400°F oven, plus 15 minutes to heat the oven. In the air fryer it is 40 to 45 minutes, start to finish. On a busy weeknight that 30 minutes is the difference between a baked potato in the air fryer and takeout.
• No foil, on purpose. Foil traps steam, and steamed skin is soft skin. Leaving the potatoes bare lets the skin dry out and crisp, and the inside still cooks through evenly because the hot air hits every side. If you want soft skins for some reason, wrap them — but then you might as well use the microwave. This is one of the air fryer recipes that convinced me the appliance earns its counter space.

Here's what you'll need.

Three ingredients for the potatoes — russets, olive oil and coarse kosher salt — plus whatever you like on top: butter, sour cream, shredded cheddar, chives and bacon bits are my standard spread.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — Scrub and dry the potatoes.

Scrub the russets well under running water — you are eating the skin, so get the dirt out of the eyes — then dry them completely with a towel. A damp potato steams itself for the first 10 minutes instead of crisping.

STEP 2 — Pierce each potato.

Prick each potato 6 to 8 times all over with a fork. This lets steam escape as the inside cooks so the skin does not split, and in rare cases, so the potato does not burst.

STEP 3 — Rub with oil and coarse salt.

Rub each potato all over with olive oil — about a teaspoon per potato — then sprinkle generously with coarse kosher salt and a little pepper, turning so the salt sticks to every side. The oil carries heat into the skin and the salt draws out moisture; together they are the crisp.

STEP 4 — Arrange in the basket.

Place the potatoes in the air fryer basket with space between them so air can circulate all the way around. Do not stack them. Air fry at 400°F for 40 to 45 minutes, flipping once at the halfway point.

STEP 5 — Check for tenderness.

Slide a paring knife into the center of the largest potato. It should go in with no resistance at all, and the skin should feel dry and crackly. If there is any firmness, give them 5 more minutes. Very large potatoes can need 50 to 55 minutes.

STEP 6 — Split, fluff and top.

Cut a slit lengthwise down each potato, squeeze the ends toward the middle to pop it open and fluff the inside with a fork. Add a pat of butter right away so it melts in, then pile on sour cream, cheddar, chives and bacon.

If simple, crispy sides like this are what you want your air fryer doing every night, there are dozens more exactly like it in the Super Easy Ninja Crispi Air Fryer Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Use russets, and pick even sizes. Russets have the starchy, dry flesh that fluffs. Yukon Golds work but come out creamy rather than fluffy and the skin stays thinner. Choose potatoes of similar size, 8 to 10 oz each, so they finish together.
• Coarse salt, not fine. Fine salt dissolves into the oil and disappears. Coarse kosher salt or flaky salt stays on the surface and gives you that salted-skin crunch you get at a good steakhouse.
• Do not crowd the basket. Four medium russets is the limit in most 5 to 6 quart baskets. In my Ninja Crispi I do four in the large basket; if they are touching on all sides, the skin in between stays soft.
• Flip once. The side resting on the basket does not crisp as well. Turning the potatoes at the 20-minute mark evens that out.
• Brush with butter at the end for a softer, salty skin. If your family prefers a tender skin over a crackly one, brush the hot potatoes with melted butter the minute they come out. The skin softens slightly and tastes incredible.

Why this is the side dish I make most in the air fryer.

• It turns a potato into dinner. Pile on chili, pulled pork, broccoli and cheese or leftover taco meat and a baked potato is a complete meal. Topped with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and a scoop of shredded chicken, one potato can push 30g of protein; the protein calculator makes it easy to see what to add for your own goals.
• It is hands-off cooking. Five minutes of prep, then nothing until the timer beeps. That is 40 minutes to cook a main, set the table or do nothing at all, and the kitchen stays cool because the oven never comes on.
• Leftovers become something new. Extra baked potatoes are a head start on home fries, twice-baked potatoes, potato skins or a quick potato soup. I always make two more than I need.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Garlic butter steak bites — steakhouse night at home, spooned right over the potato
• Crockpot beef chili — a chili-stuffed potato is one of the best dinners there is
• Crockpot pulled pork — pulled pork, cheddar and a little slaw on top
• Broccoli cheddar soup — a ladle of it over a split potato is lunch sorted
• Air fryer chicken thighs — cook the potatoes first, then the thighs while the potatoes rest

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Cool completely and refrigerate, unwrapped or loosely covered, for up to 4 days. Keep the toppings separate. I do not recommend freezing whole baked potatoes, but mashed or scooped potato flesh freezes fine for soup.

Reheating: Air fry at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes to re-crisp the skin and heat the inside through. The microwave works in a pinch, 2 to 3 minutes, but the skin goes soft. For a quick twice-baked potato, scoop, mash with butter and cheese, refill and air fry 10 minutes at 375°F.

More easy air fryer recipes...

Air fryer smashed potatoes Air fryer steak bites and potatoes Air fryer chicken breast Slow cooker potato soup

Also new this week: air fryer chicken drumsticks — crispy, smoky-sweet and 32g protein a serving, the main I cook right after these potatoes come out — and air fryer green beans to round out the plate.

The sides that make the air fryer worth it

If a perfect baked potato with no oven is your idea of a good weeknight, the Super Easy Ninja Crispi Air Fryer Cookbook is full of crispy sides and quick mains built for the Crispi and any basket air fryer you already own.

Get the cookbook on Amazon

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