Baked potatoes go with almost anything, and you can stuff them with cheese, meat or vegetables for a full-on meal. But waiting an hour for one or two taters to cook through is sort of a buzzkill. That’s why this fool-proof 12-minute method for making baked potatoes has climbed up the rankings of my favorite food discoveries for 2024, along with air fryer salmon and 1-minute microwave-poached eggs.
With this CNET-tested method for making the historically protracted recipe in under 15 minutes, I use the microwave to blast a potato to soft and toothsome doneness in about 8 to 10 minutes. Next, the 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.
A microwave and an air fryer will give you the best baked potato of your life.
What you’ll need:
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.)
Feel free to stuff or top the potato to your heart’s content.
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.
