I Just Made a Crispy Baked Potato in Under 15 Minutes. Here’s How [CNET]

August 26, 2024August 26, 2024 David Watsky technology

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A proper baked potatoes typically take an hour or more, but this speedy method nets the same result in a quarter of the time.

David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen

David lives in Brooklyn where he’s spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. David earned his BA from Northeastern and has toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now he’s likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or tinkering with a toaster. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

Expertise Kitchen tools | Appliances | Food science | Subscriptions | Meal kits

I love baked potatoes but find myself reaching for other types of spuds such as fries or chips simply because of how long the baked version takes to make. A traditional baked potato will cost you up to an hour of time and plenty of oven energy, but I found a way to make an equally delicious baked potato — soft and fluffy on the inside with crispu skin — in about 12 minutes.

With this CNET-tested method for baking potatoes, the microwave’s nuclear rays blast the potato to soft and toothsome doneness in about 8 to 10 minutes, while an air fryer can crisp the flesh and skin in 4 minutes or less. By my math, that’s 12 minutes for a baked potato that’s as good or better than anything you’ll make in the oven.

As a bonus, air fryers and microwaves use less energy than a large oven and take almost no time to preheat. Here’s how to make the best and fastest baked potato of your life in 12 minutes.

A microwave and an air fryer will give you the best baked potato of your life.

David Watsky/CNET

What you’ll need:

1 russet potato
1 tsp olive oil or butter
A microwave
An air fryer

Directions:

Step 1: Poke air holes in the potato using a fork.
Step 2: Microwave the potato on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until it’s fork-tender and cooked through.
Step 3: Slice the potato halfway through and toss with melted butter or olive oil. You can also stuff the potato with cheese or bacon bits.
Step 4: Air fry on high skin side up for 2 minutes. Flip and cook another two minutes until desired crispiness is achieved. (If topping with cheese, veggies or bacon, cook skin side down only.)