When it comes to simple but effectively delicious dinners, nothing beats a baked potato.
Fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, baked potatoes are the best vessel for a whole range of fillings: from a sour cream-chilli sauce concoction and cheesy tuna mornay, to chipotle chicken and loaded with beans (or simply as a side on the dinner plate).
It seriously is the best dinner ever… but it does come at a cost.
The problem with baked potatoes
You can’t go wrong with a baked potato ever (we’ve never met a baked potato we didn’t like), but they’re not exactly the quickest thing to whip up.
Baking a potato in the oven can take a seriously long time… up to an hour!
And while the results are always worth it, most of the time we don’t have an hour to wait for a spud to bake away.
When we’re in a serious rush, we’ve opted to cook our potatoes in the microwave, but the skin is never crispy, and let’s just say, we’re not strangers to a potato explosion in the microwave…
(This is a PSA to always pierce your taters before putting them in the microwave.)
Luckily, everyone’s favourite appliance in 2025 can give you a crispy baked potato in less time than a traditional oven.
The best way to bake a potato… in the air fryer!
When we got our first air fryer, we were told we HAD to make a baked potato in there…
And we’ve never looked back.
Air fryer baked potatoes are the best of both worlds: the air fryer allows for the potato to get a super crispy skin, as an oven would do, and it cooks the potatoes super fast – it nearly cuts the cook time in half when compared to traditional oven-baked potatoes.
How to make air fryer baked potatoes
Our recipe for air fryer baked potatoes was one of the first recipes we ever made in the air fryer, and with just 2 simple steps, it’s still one of our favourites.
Step 1: Prick potatoes, and place the potatoes in the air fryer basket. Cover the potatoes in salt and oil, and cook until tender.
Step 2: Once the potatoes are ready to be served, split open the potatoes and top with sour cream, sweet chilli sauce and chives. Serve.
You’ll never need to turn on the oven again when you need crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside baked potatoes.
The easiest recipes to make in your air fryer
If you’re still a novice when it comes to air fryer cooking (perhaps Santa blessed you with an air fryer this year), then you’ll want to test out the air fryer with these beginner-friendly air fryer recipes.
WATCH: Air fryer devilled egg lollipops
Easiest-ever air fryer scones
Yeah, the air fryer is great for dinner and reheating leftovers, but it’s also a hack for simple and quick baking.
Using a simple, 3-ingredient scone dough, you can cook fluffy scones in the air fryer.
And the best part? They only take 8 minutes to cook!
Credit: Rhonda.pinder10-minute air fryer corn
For an easy side dish or finger food, try this corn à la air fryer.
Unlike soggy steamed corn, the air fryer gives corn a little crispiness, which is delicious when the corn is topped with heaps of butter and cheese – the kids love these corn cobs!
Credit: Kelsie HeemskerkAir fryer custard cake
When we say there’s no reason to turn your oven on again, we really mean it – you can even make cakes in the air fryer!
In this recipe, we use our favourite ingredient, custard powder, to make a simple cake that you just pop in the air fryer to bake.
Be sure to top this cake with the fluffy custard powder frosting.
An air fryer can really do it all.
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