This 12-Minute Baked Potato Is My New Favorite Side Dish

A baked potato is one of life's simple pleasures. Warm and fluffy on the inside, crispy and salty on the out, but the cooking time puts a real damper on this classic side. If you want all the joys of the baked potato without the hour-long cooking time, there's a method that will net similarly delicious results in a fraction of the time. 

With this CNET-tested method for baking potatoes, I use the microwave's nuclear rays to blast a potato to soft and toothsome doneness in about 8 to 10 minutes. Next, the mighty air fryer crisps the skin in under 4 minutes with no preheating time required. That's 12 minutes, give or take, for a baked potato that's as good or better than anything you'll make in the oven.

Finally, this super side dish can be made on the fly for a weeknight dinner. Or load it up with broccoli, bacon and cheese for a perfectly filling lunch or mid-day snack. 

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