How Long It Takes To Cook A Baked Potato In The Air Fryer

There simply isn't a more classic dinner pairing than meat and potatoes, but sometimes pulling off this seemingly simple concept is more work than you'd think. Baked potatoes — a staple side dish — can be a pain in the neck to get ready when you're in a time crunch to get dinner on the table. Food Network says to leave about 45 minutes for a baked potato to fully cook, and if you already have another dish in the oven, you'll likely need to do some traffic control to maximize your oven space and get everything in and out on time.

The seemingly obvious way to avoid this problem is to find a faster alternative — which would most logically be the microwave, but it comes with its own shortcomings. While the microwave can indeed bake a potato in a fraction of the time, it's a humid method; as The Cookful explains, the potato will turn soft, noticeably absent of the delicious crispy skin you get from an oven-baked spud. 

So, is there an alternative somewhere between an oven and microwave? Consider the air fryer.

Potatoes can easily be baked in an air fryer without a ton of preparation (as explained by Natasha's Kitchen). The site notes that this method can cut the cook time of a traditional baked potato in half, yet still leave you with that delightful crispy skin on the outside. All you need is some cooking oil and salt.

Simply wash the potatoes and poke holes in them as you normally would, then evenly coat them in oil and sea salt and pop them in the air fryer basket. After about 30 minutes at 400 degrees F, you should flip them over and allow them to cook for another five minutes, or until you can easily pierce them. While larger potatoes may take a bit longer, this is standard for any cooking method. Just keep putting them in for three to five additional minutes at a time. You may need to get one additional appliance going, but it is a simple way of getting a classic side a little quicker.