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How To Make Baked Potatoes

April 9, 2020 by Mirlandra 5 Comments

The best baked potato is crispy on the outside like a potato chip and perfectly soft and fluffy on the inside! Friend, you can’t get those results with foil!!! I tested too many potatoes to count and figured out the BEST method to make baked potatoes.

This is a lovely, fluffy baked potato cut open to see the delicious inside of the potato.  It has butter on top and a potato chip crispy skin.
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Last year I realized I’ve been making baked potatoes WRONG forever! My potatoes were dense, wet, and just plain BAD. I thought I knew how to bake a potato but turns out I had a few things to learn!

(Spoiler Alert: There is NO SUCH THING as a great potato in foil! Let’s just kill that idea now!)

A perfect baked potato is wonderfully simple and delightful to eat! This is a great skill everybody should have. You won’t regret having a perfect baked potato to go with your steak, loaded up as a main dish, or for a simple dinner full of butter or my magical Sour Cream Herb Sauce (included in the recipe).

My Secrets: How to Make Baked Potatoes

It turns out the best baked potato recipe is simple enough your kids can learn to cook a baked potato for dinner!

The very best way to bake potatoes is simply to wash them, bake to the correct temperature, coat with oil / salt and then make sure to cut them open right after so the seam can escape.

I’ve found that making sure to let the steam out at the end is a BIG deal. If the steam escapes the potato stays light and fluffy inside. If the steam stays in the potato it condenses as it cools making the potato wet, soggy, and can we just say sort of nasty!?!

The Magic Baked Potato Temperature

Over and over I have discovered that using a digital thermometer is the secret to getting food cooked perfectly! Most foods have a “perfect” temperature they should be cooked to and baked potatoes are no different.

I suggest baking potatoes to 205 degrees on a digital thermometer and then brushing on the oil and baking another 10 minutes to crisp up that skin! Owning a good quality digital thermometer that is accurate and quick to respond will make your cooking life significantly better.

How Long Does It Take to Bake a Potato?

The time it takes to bake a potato depends on the size of potato you are baking! I only suggest baking russet potatoes because they have the perfect texture for a good baked potato. Of course russet potatoes come in a bunch of different sizes…

I’ve weighed different potatoes to estimate how much time you will need to plan on for perfect baked potatoes!

  • 5oz potatoes take about 40 minutes
  • 8oz potatoes take about 45 minutes
  • 10.5oz potatoes take about 60-65 minutes

If you want to know exactly what size your potatoes are a good quality kitchen scale won’t set you back very much! (And it is helpful in all sorts of recipes!)

Should Make a Baked Potato In The Oven?

YES! This is the ONLY place you should be baking a potato!

  • Using an Instant Pot to make baked potatoes is going to get you a steamed, soggy potato
  • Microwaving baked potatoes also makes soggy potatoes. Microwaves cook unevenly so you have a real problem getting the potato cooked correctly. Sure, it will get cooked but the results are sad. Anything that cooks a potato rapidly (like a microwave) will cause the cells in the potato to actually burst! This releases starch molecules and you get a more gluey, sticky potato instead of a fluffy one!
  • Slow Cookers also make soggy baked potatoes.
  • Every method I’ve seen for using a BBQ to make baked potatoes involves foil! However, to be totally fair I’ve not tried cooking them on a BBQ! If you can get the heat nice and even and avoid foil this might work? (If you try it tell me!)

Baked Potato Toppings (Making a Loaded Baked Potato)

Having some creative baked potato toppings can make for a great dinner. Heck you can have an entire dinner party economically out of a baked potato bar! Here are my 30 top suggestions to loading up those ‘taters 🙂

  • Butter (I hope this goes without saying but let’s list it anyways!)
  • Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper (yes, classic but try smoked salt to dress it up!)
  • Bacon
  • Sausage – you can’t go wrong with any meat topping
  • Roasted Vegetables
  • Steamed Broccoli
  • Sour Cream
  • Sour Cream Herb Sauce
  • Sauteed Mushrooms
  • CHEESE! Really any kind: Blue Cheese. Sharp cheddar, medium cheddar, Colby, pepper Jack
  • Chives or other fresh herbs
  • Sauteed bell peppers or spicy peppers like Serrano or jalapeno
  • Pesto
  • Plain Yogurt / Greek Yogurt
  • Artichoke Parmesan Dip
  • Fresh Salsa
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Green onions
  • Diced sweet onions, red onions, or white onions
  • Roasted Chickpeas
  • Spinach and Artichoke Dip
  • leftover BBQ meats like chicken, sausage, or beef brisket
  • chili
  • Black Beans
  • Hatch Chili or other diced fire roasted chili
  • Goat Cheese
  • Baked Beans
  • Queso!
  • Ranch dressing or other salad dressing
  • Ketchup (for the child in me who still loves ketchup, ranch and cheddar on a potato!)

Make Extra Baked Potatoes For These Great Meals

If you have a few extra potatoes make more baked potatoes than you need! You can take the extras and make a brand new meal the next day that will make you super happy!

  • Loaded Baked Potato Soup
  • Twice Baked Potato Casserole
  • Loaded Baked Potato Salad
This is a perfectly baked potato that is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The skin is crusted with salt and a pat of butter is melting on the potato.
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3.68 from 31 votes

How to Make Baked Potatoes

The key to perfect, fluffy baked potatoes is using the correct oven temperature and the right cooking method. I cooked SO many potatoes to discover this is really the best way to do it! Taking an extra minute to add the oil and salt makes a delicious baked potato skin similar to a potato chip. I also love serving the Sour Cream Herb Sauce with these potatoes (just toss it together while they bake). But if you need more ideas for loading up those taters I’ve included a list of my 30 favorites in the post!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword baked potato, loaded baked potato, baked potato bar,
Prep Time 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

For Baked Potatoes

  • 4 Russet Potatoes 7oz-9oz is a good size
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • Kosher salt

For the Sour Cream Herb Sauce

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 Tbsp. freeze dried chives or Salad Dressing Herb Blend see note
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper ½ tsp. for pepper lovers
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Instructions

  • Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
  • Scrub potatoes under running water to remove any dirt.
  • Use a fork to pierce the potato skin in several places.
  • Place potatoes in preheated oven and bake until the center of the biggest potato is 205F on a digital thermometer. (This will take 45-60 minutes depending on the size of your potato. See note at bottom of recipe for more details.)
  • While the potatoes are baking combine the ingredients for the sour cream herb sauce and refrigerate. (Taste before serving and add additional salt if desired.)
  • Working quickly, remove the potatoes from oven and brush the sides and tops with oil. (If you don’t have a brush you can drizzle the oil on but it takes more oil this way.)
  • Sprinkle salt over the potatoes and return them to the oven for 10 more minutes.
  • Remove the potatoes from the oven and use a small paring knife to cut an “X” into each the top of each potato. Use a kitchen tongs to grab each potato by the end, cut the “X” and then squeeze the ends together to push the inside of the potato up and out.
  • Serve immediately with your favorite toppings. (See the post for my favorite 30 toppings.)

Notes

Potato Cooking Times:
The time it takes to cook a potato is dependent on size. I have found these times to be true in my oven.
5oz potato 40 min
8oz potato 45 min
10oz potato 55 min
10.5oz potato 60 min
Herb Mixes for the Sour Cream Herb Sauce
I’ve found Lighthouse brand Salad Dressing Herb Blend available in many grocery stores (produce section). This is a great blend of parsley, red onion, chives, shallots, garlic and dill. If I have this on hand, I use it in my sour cream herb sauce. If not I use chives or whatever else I do have. Any herbs will make a great sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 347mg | Potassium: 969mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 358IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

MirlandrasKitchen.com is written to share great recipes. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline, we are not registered dietitians and the values provided here should be considered estimates – not exact scientific data.

Calories 343kcal

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Filed Under: Collections, Cookout Side Dishes, Main Dish, Potatoes and Rice, Recipe Index, Side Dish, Sunday Supper, Vegetarian, Veggies, Winter Warmers

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marilyn Beyer says

    April 9, 2020 at 11:56 PM

    Do you put the potato directly on the rack – not on a tray or anything?? And after adding the oil and salt, put it back on the rack? Would you recommend cooking sweet potatoes and yams the same way??
    Thanks! Turns out I’ve been making them wrong for a LONG time! I thought they were supposed to be soggy!

    Reply
  2. Jennifer Evans says

    April 13, 2020 at 2:07 PM

    Thank you! I grew up with foil-baked potatoes, and as an adult have cooked them in the microwave because they’re better, but still not great. Now the skins are my favorite part!

    Reply
    • Mirlandra says

      April 15, 2020 at 4:04 AM

      Jennifer! HI! So good to hear from you 🙂 Thanks for stopping in to let me know. I confess this is one of the recipes I’ve been most excited about recently! Just something about a great baked potato 🙂

      Reply
  3. Aphroheidi says

    June 7, 2021 at 11:10 AM

    5 stars
    You were the first one to come up, and exactly what I needed… This is perfection, sweet perfection 🙂 thank you so kindly for posting/pinning🙏🏿

    Reply
    • Mirlandra says

      July 27, 2021 at 3:02 PM

      You are most welcome!

      Reply

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Welcome!  I’m Mirlandra

I provide real dinner solutions so busy women can kick kitchen overwhelm to the curb and learn to make simple, healthy dinners to fit any schedule and family.

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