These air fryer baked potatoes have a super-crispy skin with a fluffy, moist interior that’s ready for your favorite toppings.

white plate with a baked potato with sour cream, cheese and scallions

Baked potatoes are an easy and filling side dish that pairs well with any meat or vegetarian entrees. And when you make them in an air fryer, they’re ultra-crisp on the outside without drying out inside.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe: These baked potatoes cook quickly in an air fryer and have the classic steakhouse crispy skin. You can pile them high with any of your favorite toppings for a fun DIY family-friendly dinner.

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What is a Steakhouse Baked Potato?

A steakhouse baked potato is a baked potato but the skin is generously salted. As the potatoes air-fry the salt causes the skin to crisp up.

There are two ways to make a Steakhouse Air-fryer Baked Potato: with oil and without.

With oil: The oil causes the skin to turn golden brown and crisp up.
Without oil: Using water to wet the potato skin causes the skin to crisp up in thin layers. The salt absorbs the moisture in the skin so it gets crispy as it bakes. This is the crispier of the two options.

collage of the stpes to make ar fryer baked potatoes

How to Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

Since the skin can be the best part of a baked potato, be sure to wash your potatoes well to remove all the dirt. Make sure to get in any crevices and use a soft bristle brush if necessary. Be careful not to puncture the skin.

You can use nearly any kind of finely-ground salt for the baked potatoes. I use finely ground sea salt. However, table salt, pink Himalayan or Kosher salt will work. Whichever you choose, make sure it is finely ground.

When sprinkling the salt on potato skin, be generous. The salt is what will act to crisp up the potato skin.

The best way to check if your potatoes are done is with an instant-read thermometer. The potatoes are perfectly cooked at 205°F.

wire rack with four baked potatoes from an air fryer

Short Cut Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

If you are short on time, you can microwave or pressure cook the potato before air-frying for the crispy skin.

For the microwave, start with 3 minutes and add time until you can easily pierce the potato with a knife. Note that the potato will be hot so you may need to hold it with a fork or tongs to salt it.

To pressure cook your potatoes, see our recipe on Pressure Cooking Today for Instant Pot Baked Potatoes. They take 20 minutes at high pressure, but you can also get a nice crispy skin with an air-fryer lid.

Once you’ve cooked your potatoes, you can proceed with salting the skin and pop it in the air-fryer until the skin is crispy.

plate with an air fried baked potato with a pat of butter on top

Topping Ideas for Baked Potatoes

Have fun with your toppings! Here are some of my family’s favorite baked potato fillings and flavorings:

Butter. This crispy, salty skin combined with creamy butter is a match made in heaven.
Pepper. Fresh black pepper balances the salt on the potato skins.
Sour cream is a classic creamy and cool topping. To get the perfect little scoops, use a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop.
Cheese. We like cheddar but any favorite cheese will do, including parmesan, Colby jack, and other melty cheeses.
Chives bring a fresh and bright balance to all the creaminess.
Green onions provide a fresh hit of flavor.
Chili. In cold weather, chili is a wonderful topping for these potatoes. Plus, it makes a complete meal.

baked air fried potato on a white plate with cheese, sour cream and scallions

More Air Fryer Recipes

Put your air fryer to good use with these other delicious, crispy recipes:

Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies are crisp on the outside and gooey and soft in the center: the perfect texture.
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are the crispiest dunkable chicken nuggets you can make.
Air Fryer Pizza Pockets are easy to make with flaky, buttery puff pastry and your favorite pizza toppings.

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