Best Way to Make Baked Potatoes

This is the best way to make baked potatoes without foil at 425 for crispy flavorful potato skins with salt with a super tender and fluffy inside! Used as a side dish or dinner stuffed with chili or cheese they’re delicious and cheap to make in the oven.

Should baked potatoes be wrapped in aluminum foil?

That depends on the outcome you want. If you want a crispy skin that is super flavorful you want to leave that off and allow the outside to get crunchy and let the Kosher salt to bake right on for even more flavor. For super tender then yes, you would want to wrap before baking, we prefer without for sure.

Personally we make these filled with our popular 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe topped with cheese several times a week. You could fill them with just about anything though. For a flavorful skin with tender insides this is the trick to the perfect taters. That is the goal right??

First you have to start with some baked potatoes right? We live in Idaho so we are set in that department. 😉 Grab a bag of russets, medium size, and I prefer sea salt myself because I think the taste and texture is better…especially for this side dish.

How Long to Cook Baked Potatoes in the Oven

The key is to make the perfect baked potato skin a bit crunchy and super flavorful, you do this with olive oil and sea salt. BUT you want the inside to be as fluffy as possible which works best in your oven at a steady temperature for just under an hour (medium size, larger potatoes may take longer).

There really isn’t a huge difference between sweet and russet. I do have a specific post on how long to bake a sweet potato at 400 F here though too. Of course timing will slightly vary depending on the size you choose, I would stick to medium all the way around.

Ingredients

1. Russet potatoes – medium size, large is fine it just will take a bit longer in the oven
2. Kosher salt – larger pieces are much better than table salt for this
3. Olive oil
4. Baking sheet – I line it with foil just for easier cleanup

I poke potatoes with a fork 4-5 times on the top and the bottom to get a consistent texture inside. Then serve as is or I have a few yummy suggestions below on how to stuff it and make it a great dinner. Same goes for baked red potatoes if you would prefer that color and taste.

I do have a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post to refer to and keep on hand if you would like. This is if you want crispy skins. To keep everything just tender this is how long to bake potatoes at 375 in foil instead. Here is a brief rundown to start with though.

How to Bake the Perfect Baked Potato

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Scrub your potatoes well to remove debris and pat dry with paper towels.
• Use a fork to pierce each potato 4-5 times on the top and the bottom.
• Use your hands to rub olive oil on each one and put on a baking sheet (I line my sheet with tinfoil first).
• Sprinkle sea salt on the top of each potato on your baking sheet, then flip each one over and sprinkle the same amount on that side. Make sure oven rack is in the middle.
• Put baked potatoes into your oven for 50 minutes or until knife slides in easily. Remove with oven mitt.
• Slice right down the middle of each one and gently squeeze the sides to plump the inside of the potato out a bit and serve or fill with toppings and enjoy!

Like I said we like twice stuffed potatoes as well with crispy skin and fluffy insides AND all the things inside. I like to use my pressure cooker a lot, but not for baked potatoes. That is not the best way to make them because you won’t get the perfect outer texture like when they’re baked in the oven.

How do you keep potatoes warm?

Remove from the oven and set them on a dish or rack. Be sure not to cut open or pierce any part of the potato yet. Tightly wrap potatoes in foil individually so that there are no uncovered or loose sections. The foil will keep any steam from escaping, keeping the potato warmer longer.

What goes good with a baked potato?

I mean you can go boring with just butter and sour cream but you can literally make them into a complete meal if you want. We do this often because everyone can stuff their own and it’s a super cheap meal for everyone.

1. 5 ingredient Instant Pot chili is a yummy filler topped with cheese
2. Fill with pulled pork you will love.
3. You can just melt some Velveeta cheese sauce, OR to make your own cheesy sauce you just warm and whisk together the following ingredients:
   • 1 can cheddar cheese soup
   • 3/4 c. heavy cream, or milk if you like a thinner cheese sauce
     1. whisk together over stovetop until warm, or microwave for 1 min. & stir until warm
     2. add broccoli florets with cheese too!

How to cook baked potatoes without an oven

• Crockpot baked potatoes
• Smoked baked potatoes
• Our Pressure cooker baked potatoes are great – the quickest way to get them cooked
• Wondering how to make air fryer baked potatoes?
• Try sweet potatoes in the air fryer first.