Crispy air fryer baked potatoes are a game changer! With a soft tender inside they come out like Texas Roadhouse for a side dish or dinner stuffed with chili! Make in a Cosori or Ninja Foodi baked potatoes.

Air fryer baked potatoes on a white plate, split open and topped with chopped green onions.

If you’ve never “baked” potatoes this way yet they are SO good!! I dare say the salty crispy potato skins are almost better than the inside and they taste just like you get them at your favorite steak restaurant. Ready to stuff with all the goodies. This is just one of our favorite easy air fryer recipes.

This is by far our favorite meal is to stuff them full of chili with cheese on top. Talk about a super cheap meal that warms you all over and reminds me of my childhood. We live in Idaho so yes we know a lot about potatoes. 😉 As far as this goes we are going to focus on Russets because when you think of baked, those are what you picture.

A Ninja air fryer, a bag of Idaho russet potatoes, and a container of sea salt on a wooden surface—everything you need for perfect air fryer baked potatoes.
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Best Potato for Air Frying

To start, you need to choose the best type of potato. We live in Idaho so a bag of russet potatoes are easy to find, and in fact are the best for baking! They are a high starch potato that will lend a light, mealy texture, great for stuffing with We love Instant Pot chili . Yukon Gold have thinner skins and red are more firm so they may take a bit longer to get tender.

Why do you need to use olive oil to make baked potatoes in the air fryer?

It allows the skins to really crisp up. Using really good EVO adds great flavor to the skins as well. Olive oil allows the salt to really stick to the potato skin and is a healthier version than vegetable or canola but those are options as well. I always always have olive on the counter next to the stovetop and a gallon of it in the pantry. Yes, I use it that often. It offers a great flavor and is great for your heart as well.

You really do want coarse sea salt that that are larger granules than just table salt. This will give you a great texture especially if you want to eat the outside and want it to be like at a restaurant.

Literally that is it, other than your air fryer. So quick and easy with about a 40 minutes cook time. Any brand will do. If you’d rather slice them and make Ninja Foodi french fries those are good too, especially for little hands that love everything finger food related.

Ninja Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

For years we only made pressure cooker baked potatoes, but then I got this “magic pot” and had two lids to choose from. Yes I am talking about Ninja Foodi recipes. Steamed yes is great, but the outside is soggy. Using the lid attached to air crisp is what we are talking about here.

Four salted potatoes rest on an air fryer rack with text above them: Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.

Tips to Get Crispy Baked Potatoes in Air Fryer

The more dry you can get the outside the crispier the potato skins will be, and that is the ultimate goal right?? Then coat with oil well and coat with salt especially if you want to make air fryer potato skins with them. Best salt you can use is sea salt which is bigger than what you have on your table so you pack on the flavor and dry out the outside a bit better.

Do you put salt on potatoes before baking?

Yes, use the larger chunks called sea salt. It’s larger than table salt, thus not coating the entire skin. Sea salt has a great flavor to it, you can find it in pink and/or truffle versions occasionally too that are “fancier” and super yummy. Salt also dries out the outsides more too so you get that crispy crunchy texture like the restaurants do.

Want a sweeter side? You can follow the same basic directions to make a few Sweet potato in air fryer with butter and cinnamon and sugar too.

Should you wrap potatoes in foil?

Do not wrap potatoes in aluminum foil for baking in an oven or in an air fryer. Foil holds in moisture and steams the potatoes, resulting in a “boiled” taste and texture. In an oven you’ll need to turn the potatoes over halfway through the baking time, it isn’t necessary using this method though.

baked potato in ninja foodi
ninja foodi baked potatoes
5 from 8 votes

Air Fryer Baked Potatoes Recipe

By Justine
Air fryer baked potatoes without foil are so amazing! With crispy skins on the outside and a soft tender inside it's the perfect side dish or dinner stuffed with chili! 
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • 1 air fryer

Ingredients 

  • 4 medium potatoes, russets are best
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp sea salt
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Instructions 

  • Wash your potatoes to remove debris, then poke them with a fork all around each one. Use a few paper towels to roll them in and press to remove as much moisture as possible (this will allow them to get super crispy)
  • Rub olive oil over each one (generously) and then sprinkle sea salt over the entire outside of each potato. Preheat machine to 400 for 5 minutes.
  • Place a trivet inside your air fryer (if yours uses one – or the Ninja Foodi flip the metal trivet it comes with upside down so it's lower).
  • Put your potatoes on your trivet (or in your basket) so they aren't overlapping.
  • Close your air fryer (lid on the Ninja Foodi it is the lid that is attached). Set to air crisp for 35-45 minutes flipping halfway. (timing will depend on size of potatoes, check after 35 min, poke with fork to see if middle is tender)
  • Take out when time is up, slice and fluff up inside.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 3oz, Calories: 185kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 3509mg, Potassium: 879mg, Fiber: 5g, Vitamin C: 24.3mg, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 6.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Baked potato toppings

I mean everyone has their own favorites right?? If you are up for a few new suggestions to change up your meal planning here are some that we think of right away.

  1. 5 ingredient Crockpot chili
    1. Instructions for pressure cooker and slow cooker above
  2. Pressure cooker broccoli
    1. Pair with a homemade cheese sauce
  3. Sour cream and bacon bits
  4. Salsa for a really low fat and gluten free meal

Want to make them twice baked potatoes once you’re done?? You totally can. Just slice in half, scoop out the insides and add all the goodies. Mash it all together, fill back into the skins and air fry for a few minutes until the top cheese is melted.

Can you reheat a potato in an air fryer ?

Absolutely, not just fresh but you can reheat baked potato in air fryer air fryer too. Seriously the best way to do it so it gets warmed but the skins get nice and crispy again as well. Then fill with things like broccoli and cheese, chili, or dice up and make a hash out of it in a skillet.

You can even skin them and make a batch of creamy air fryer mashed potatoes if you’d rather. These may be a game changers for your family too.

Other air fryer recipes you’ll love

Looking for other easy Ninja Foodi air fryer recipes? We have a bunch of other ideas you will thoroughly enjoy right here, let us know which are your favorites.

Print recipe with nutritional information above to keep on hand. Let us know what you think of this method of making an easy air fryer baked potato in the comments below! But wait, there’s more to try this week too!

If you have little ones at home, I always loved making everything bite sized! Like that too? Try roasted potatoes in air fryer with little ones like these! Mixed with some seasonings, olive oil and diced onions they’re full of flavor and faster to get tender.

I still love smoked baked potatoes but you can get that same crispiness in a fraction of the time using your Cosori, Foodi or other brand.

air fryer baked potatoes 3

About Justine

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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5 from 8 votes

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34 Comments

  1. I just received my ninja air fryer so I am looking for ways for my favorite foods. These potato receipts sound great. Thank you for sharing. I gotta get started.

  2. I tried this tonight and my potato was so PERFECT! Only way to ever make my baked potato. Thank you!

  3. I would like a foodi 8 qt recipe to make a whole chicken and potatoes at same time. Please help…Thank you

    1. You could use a vegetable steamer if you have one. You need the air to circulate on all sides so you need to elevate them somehow.

  4. Again, air fryer for the win! I love mine and cooking EVERYTHING in it! This recipe was perfect for the air fryer, made it so crispy on the outside!

  5. Oooh I love a good, crispy-skinned potato! I’m excited to try these out for my family dinner this weekend.

    1. Can the basket be used instead? I brought my ninja on vacation with us, but forgot the trivet

      1. That should be just fine. It will just be closer to the heating element so they might get extra crispy.