How to Make the Best Baked Potatoes
Love baked potatoes and wondering how to make them taste incredible every time?
Potatoes are one of my very favorite foods—they’re affordable, crowd-pleasing, versatile, and so darn GOOD. You can prepare them as an easy side dish or load them up with all sorts of delicious toppings as a yummy meal.
Russet potatoes are the best option for baking because their thick skin gets crispy on the outside, while the starchy insides bake up soft and steamy. My biggest tip is to coat the outside with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. After baking, you’ll get a delicious potato, easy to prepare any day of the week!
Here’s how to make the absolute best baked potatoes!
Oven Baked Potatoes
yield: 2 SERVINGS
prep time: 5 MINUTES
cook time: 45 MINUTES
total time: 50 MINUTES
Perfectly baked with crispy skin on the outside and fluffy potato on the inside.
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes
- olive oil
- sea salt
- toppings: such as butter, sour cream, bacon bits, etc.
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. For easy clean-up, line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
2
Wash and dry potatoes. Use a fork to pierce a few holes in the potatoes. Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3
Place in the oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. They will be done when the outside is crisp and the inside is soft and tender.
4
Remove from the oven and slice down the middle - but be careful as the potatoes will be quite hot! Serve with desired toppings and enjoy! It's that easy!
Additional tips for making the best baked potatoes:
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- Microwave for 3-4 minutes before placing them in the oven for even faster baked potatoes.
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- Using the air fryer is also another great method to cook baked potatoes, especially if you’re only making a couple. There’s no preheat time and when the weather is warm, this method won’t heat your entire kitchen just for a couple of potatoes. Air fry potatoes for about 40 minutes on 400 degrees and the skin will be super crispy and so good!
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- Baked potatoes are great for meal prepping! One idea is to make a couple extra and then fry them up in a skillet later on in the week to make breakfast potatoes or breakfast burritos—YUM!
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- If you prefer a softer skin texture, wrap them in aluminum foil before placing them in the oven. You could even coat the skin with some butter, a pinch of garlic powder, and a tiny bit of Italian seasoning for extra flavor before wrapping in foil.
There’s nothing better than a warm, buttery baked potato!
This is such a comforting food and so simple to bake! My family could eat them all the time and it’s so easy to customize with any toppings you like. You could also bulk it up by turning baked potatoes into a meal by adding homemade chili or shredded BBQ chicken as a yummy, hearty idea.
Need an easy meal idea to serve a large crowd?
Consider baking a large number of potatoes and then setting up a yummy baked potato bar with a large variety of toppings for folks to build their own loaded potato as a meal!
Make creamy potato salad using the Instant Pot for your next potluck!
This is how we made our baked potatoes, and they are AMAZING!!
Thanks Amanda!
Air fryer baked potatoes are the best & just as easy as the normal oven method. I, too, love to use the air fryer for my potatoes in the warm months if the year.
Thanks for sharing Jen! I love air drying them too 👍
Love the potato bar idea Lina. Clever and a great way for everyone to have it just like they like it! Happy holidays to you, your family and the rest of the awesome Hip2Save team!
Thanks so much Bunny! Happy Holidays 🎄❤️
This is how I bake ours as well except I use the air fryer. I love how light and fluffy they become!
Yes I love the air fryer method too! So easy 👍 thanks for sharing!
They are sooooo easy and fast to make in the instant pot. I don’t like the skin crispy, so that method is perfect…skin is so tender that even the ones who normally won’t eat the skin love them. I don’t like the texture when they are cooked in the microwave, but instant pot texture is just like they were slowly baked.
Thanks for sharing!
How long do you cook them? You just set them in there? Liquid?
Thanks
Thanks, Lina – all of your posts are 👍👍👍👍👍
Oh thanks Em!
This is the way I make them and I absolutely love them. I like mine very crispy
Yes! Thanks so much!
For extra fluffiness, bake in a bed of kosher salt. You need at least one box depending on size of pan and potatoes
Instant pot was super delicious. Literally tried it for the first time today! I may need to get the air fryer lid for it so I can use the fryer after cooking them! I read it’s even better when you do that.
Oh nice! I’m so glad. Yes that lid is awesome 👏
Didn’t know you could make baked potatoes in the air fryer! What a great tip, especially in the summer when we never turn our oven on.