How to Make a Freakishly Crispy Baked Potato in Under 15 Minutes

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Every season has it's signature potato preparation. I'm talking French fries in summer to accompany burgers and dogs, mashed potatoes to warm your bones during winter and roasted fingerlings to ring in spring. Baked potatoes are my favorite fall potato and I've recently discovered a way to make the crispiest version in under 15 minutes. 

If I sound excited, I am. Baked potatoes normally take about an hour to cook through in an oven, but with this truncated recipes, you'll shave 40 to 45 minutes off the cooking time, which leaves more time for leaf-peeping, sweater-wearing and trick-or-treating.

Baked potatoes go with almost anything, and you can stuff them with cheese, meat or vegetables for a full meal. Another reason these microwaved and air-fried baked potatoes has climbed up the rankings of my favorite food discoveries for 2024, along with air fryer salmon and this 1-minute microwave-poached eggs. 

As a bonus, air fryers and microwaves use less energy than a large oven and are remarkably easy to operate and clean. Here's how to make the best, crispiest baked potato of your life in about 12 minutes.

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.)

For more tips, see my list of the seven foods I'll only air fry from now and on and learn the best way to reheat every kind of leftovers.