Hungry for a baked potato? Don’t even think about walking toward the oven. The hour-long oven method is officially obsolete. If you want a baked potato that’s fluffy on the inside and steakhouse-crispy on the outside without the agonizing wait, you need to embrace this “hybrid” hack.
It’s not just faster. It’s scientifically superior, and who are we to disagree with science? By blasting your russet in the microwave for about 10 minutes first to get it fork-tender, you handle the heavy lifting of cooking the interior. Then, a quick 4-minute finish in the air fryer crisps up that skin in a way a microwave never could. You get the best of both worlds. That means perfect texture without the whole “patience” thing, all in about 12 minutes flat.
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My 12-minute baked potato recipe
A microwave and an air fryer will give you the best baked potato of your life.
What you need
Directions
- Step 1: Poke 10 to 12 air holes in the potato using a fork and salt liberally.
- 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.
- Step 5: Flip and cook for 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 on, and learn the best way to reheat every kind of leftovers.