Gimme Some Oven

Baked Potato

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The best baked potato recipe — perfectly crispy and flavorful on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and so flavorful and delicious.

Baked Potato Recipe

Today, I thought we could go back to the basics and review a simple skill that every good cook should master…

…how to bake a potato. ♡

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally came to appreciate for myself the difference between a good baked potato and a great baked potato. You know what I’m talking about. Those baked potatoes whose skins are irresistibly golden and crispy, with a satisfying hint of crunchy salt in each bite. Those baked potatoes whose insides are perfectly light and fluffy and steamy, ready to enjoy with a dash of fresh chives or maybe loaded up with all of your favorite toppings. Those baked potatoes that taste like pure, nostalgic, comforting carbohydrate magic, and remind you how satisfying a simple potato can be.

That’s what we’re talking about today. And the good news for us all is that perfectly baked potatoes are actually incredibly easy to make. The secret lies 100% in this method below. All you need are 4 easy ingredients, a few minutes of active prep time and a piping hot oven. Then before you know it, the best baked potatoes of your life will be ready to serve and load up with your favorite toppings in no time.

Let’s bake some potatoes!

Perfect Baked Potato Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Baked Potato Recipe Ingredients

Oven Baked Potato Ingredients:

Alright first, let’s talk ingredients. To make this easy baked potato recipe, you will need:

  • Russet potatoes: Technically, you can make baked potatoes with any type of potatoes. But to make the best baked potatoes, I strongly believe that Russets are the way to go. The skins of Russet potatoes are nice and thick, which allow them to crisp up perfectly in the oven. And the insides are starchy, which make for an extra fluffy and sweet filling.
  • Butter or olive oil: I also strongly recommend using butter to crisp up your potato skins, which adds so much flavor and helps the skins get extra golden. But if you prefer not to cook with butter, you could sub in whatever type of high-heat cooking oil you prefer. (I would recommend avocado oil or regular olive oil, not extra-virgin.)
  • Kosher salt: I recommend using coarse Kosher salt, in order to add a bit of a crunch to the potato skins.
  • Freshly-ground black pepper: You can sprinkle black pepper on the potato skin before baking and/or add a few generous cracks of black pepper to the fluffy insides of the potatoes once they have fully baked.

Detailed ingredient amounts and instructions listed below.

How To Bake A Potato

How To Bake A Potato:

Here is my tried and true best method for how to make baked potatoes in the oven…

  1. Heat oven to 450°F. Yep, you read the temperature right. The oven needs to be extra hot, so that the potato skins will crisp up quickly.
  2. Prepare your baking sheet.  If you happen to own a wire cooling rack, I highly recommend placing one on top of a baking sheet, so that the potatoes can cook evenly on all sides. Or if you don’t own a wire rack, you can either place the potatoes directly on the oven racks (with a baking sheet below, to catch any drips) or you can just bake the potatoes on a foil-lined (or parchment-lined, at your own risk) baking sheet.
  3. Poke your potato all over with a fork.  Because no one wants to deal with exploding potatoes. ;)
  4. First bake. My best advice for how long to bake a potato — in two rounds! For the first round, bake for about 25 minutes, until the skin starts to feel dry and slightly wrinkly.
  5. Brush the potato with melted butter (or oil). Next, carefully remove the potato from the oven. Use a pastry brush to brush the potato with melted butter (or oil) evenly on all sides. Sprinkle the potato with a generous pinch of Kosher salt. (I like mine fairly coarse so that you get a bit of a crunch.)  Then place the potato back on the baking sheet, opposite side up, so that the potato can cook evenly on both sides.
  6. Second bake. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Then very carefully, use an oven mitt to squeeze the potato (it will be hot) to check for doneness. If the insides are nice and soft and give under pressure, remove the potato from the oven. Otherwise, continue cooking in 5-minute increments until the potato is ready to go. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes, but on average, they typically take 45-55 minutes to cook.
  7. Cut, squeeze, fluff, season and serve! Finally, slice the potato open lengthwise with a paring knife, give it a good squeeze to open it up, fluff the insides with a fork, add your favorite seasonings or toppings. Then a perfectly crispy-on-the-outside, soft-and-fluffy-on-the-inside, and oh-so-delicious baked potato will now be yours to enjoy!

Baked Potatoes

Baked Potato FAQ:

Here are some answers to a few of the most popular questions we have received over the years about how to make baked potatoes…

  • Can I make vegan baked potatoes? Definitely, just use vegan butter or a high-heat cooking oil (in place of butter).
  • Can I make microwave baked potatoes? You can use the same ingredients to make a microwave baked potato, but it will not have the same crispy skin and fluffy insides. I highly recommend the oven method instead.
  • Can I make Instant Pot baked potatoes? You can, but they also will not have the same crispy skin and fluffy insides that the oven method yields.
  • Can you make baked sweet potatoes with the same method? You can! Although baked sweet potatoes may have a slightly different cooking time, depending on the size/type of the potatoes.
  • Do I need to wrap the potatoes in foil? Nope, the potatoes need to stay uncovered with this method so that their skins can get extra-crispy.
  • What if I don’t have coarse Kosher salt?  No worries, just sprinkle on some fine sea salt instead. I also occasionally use old-school seasoned salt on my potato skins and it is delicious!

Loaded Baked Potatoes

Loaded Baked Potato Toppings:

Want to load your baked potatoes up with some fun toppings? Here are a few of my favorite ingredient combos for loaded baked potatoes…

  • Classic loaded baked potato: topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, and/or green onions
  • Chili baked potato: topped with traditional chili or vegetarian chili, plus cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions and/or avocado
  • Guacamole baked potato: topped with a generous scoop of guacamole, plus optional extra cheese and/or crumbled tortilla chips
  • Broccoli cheese baked potato: topped with broccoli and melted cheddar cheese

The Best Baked Potato Recipe

More Favorite Potato Recipes:

Looking for some more classic potato recipes? Here are a few of my faves…

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The Perfect Baked Potato

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 273 reviews
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 52 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x

Description

Learn how to make the perfect baked potato using this step-by-step tutorial and recipe. So easy and delicious!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 medium-to-large Russet potato, scrubbed clean of any dirt
  • 12 teaspoons melted butter (or olive oil)
  • pinch of coarse Kosher salt
  • pinch of freshly-cracked black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven. Heat oven to 450°F.  Line a large baking sheet with foil (or parchment*), and if you happen to own a wire cooling rack, place it on top of the baking sheet.
  2. Prep the potato. Using a dinner fork or a small paring knife, poke the potato at least 10 times on all sides.  Place the potato on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake (round one). Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from the oven.
  4. Brush with butter (or oil).  Using a pastry brush, brush the outside of the potato with melted butter or olive oil until it is completely coated on all sides.  Sprinkle the potato with a generous pinch of Kosher salt, and place the potato back on the baking sheet reverse-side-up, so that it can cook evenly on both sides.
  5. Bake (round two). Bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Using an oven mitt, carefully squeeze the potato to check for doneness.  If the insides are soft and give under pressure, remove the potato from the oven.  Otherwise, continue cooking in 5-minute increments until the potato is soft.
  6. Cut the potato.  Using a small paring knife, slice halfway through the potato lengthwise.  Then give it a gentle squeeze to open.
  7. Serve.  Serve immediately, with your desired toppings.


Notes

*Baking sheet: You can either bake the potatoes (1) directly on the oven racks themselves, with an extra baking sheet on a rack below to catch any drippings (2) on a baking sheet, which I recommend covering with foil or parchment paper (at your own risk) for easy cleanup.

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505 comments on “Baked Potato”

  1. Oh my!! These are the Bomb!! I never had success with baked potatoes until now!! Thank you!!






    • Me too!!!! Perfect
      Just watch not to cook too long on first side.
      450 for 25 min for smaller potatoes cooks quickly!!

  2. I’m having the same problem with cooking time as others. Had to make something else for dinner instead.






  3. Just made a baked potato and it was delicious! Nice and crispy. I greased lightly with bacon grease when I first put in oven.

  4. delicious
    Its delicious!
    :)

  5. I didn’t like these instructions for a bit to the editor. I know how to cook a baked potato. I was just trying to see if there was anything better than the way I cook it and no this is not.

    • Thanks so much for your highly useful input, it is much appreciated!

    • Since you didn’t share your way, I’m going with this way. If you don’t allow us to compare apples to apples, then why bother commenting…Sheesh…

  6. Great recipe for old fashioned baked potatoes. SO MUCH BETTER than microwaved … No comparison.
    Takes longer but it’s worth the wait.






  7. This recipes worked perfect for me but I stabbed the potato a lot more than recommended. I used a ninja air fryer and baking combo. Put some vegetarian impossible chili on top with mozzarella and green onions. So perfect.






    • This was the perfect formula for restaurant style potatos. They were nice and fuffly with a crispy skin after 45 mins.. My house smelled like a steak house. Paired perfectly homemade Salisbury Steak. Thank you!!






  8. These were crispier on the outside than when I wrap in foil and bake..I used EVO and lightly brushed the entire skin then loaded on kosher salt and baked them on a wire rack, smart suggestion!! I used russetts about the size of my hand, smallest you can find when buying individually and found out you definetly need to cook longer than recepie called for…In total I baked the potatoe w/no oil for what your recipie calls for then lightly brushed the skin w/EVO (I know you said not to but thats all I had & no smoke occured) then cooked for 40 mins and the inside was fluffy and skin was crisp, I guess I’ll try w/melted butter next time to see if skin comes out crispier! Easy & good recepie…






  9. When the recipe says it’s the best, it has to live up to expectation! Wow, these are the BEST, just like the best steakhouse potatoes. I will be making these again!






  10. Potatoes turned out absolutely amazing!! Of course there was timing adjustments bc the potatoes I used were the giant baking kind. However, only really needed to add on like 15 extra mins. I just couldn’t believe how fluffy they were in the inside. Thank you for the great recipe😊

  11. I will never bake potatoes any other way! Brilliant!






    • This is my favorite way to bake potatoes. Why didn’t my mother teach me this? Much better than in tin foil. Best recipe!






  12. This technique worked like a charm. I consider myself to be a very good cook but these were the best baked potatoes I have ever done. Bravo!!!






  13. Made these for my book club! They were a hit! I will never wrap potatoes in foil again! I did need extra time and the potatoes were medium sized.






  14. If I can’t smoke our baked potatoes on the smoker, I’m making them this way! Fantastic!






  15. I disagree with a lot of these comments.. although I admit I got nervous when I read them but I already had the potato in the oven so there was no turning back! The potato I used was fairly large so I thought the recipe wasn’t going to work but I was pleasantly surprised! Only needed an extra 10 min.. next time I would add it onto the first half of the recipe to reduce the smoke from the butter. The finished product tasted incredible!






    • I may be wrong but I’ve never experienced a potato explode from not pricking it with a knife or fork before baking. I’m in the process of baking six potatoes now and will not poke through the skin before putting them in the oven. If I have to clean up exploded potato I will post that I was mistaken.

  16. I love this recipe! I
    We use avocado oil on the potatoes to better tolerate the high temp (opposed to EVOO).
    I did not find the same timing issue some of the comments mention. Maybe these bought huge potatoes?






  17. My husband called these the best baked potatoes he’s ever had! They were wonderful!






  18. Used large potatoes and ended up baking for an hour and 10 minutes. Did have some smoking issues toward the end but it wasn’t too bad






  19. I came across this receipt by accident a few months ago and have made these potatoes a few times now. Best baked potatoes ever. This elevates a blah side dish to the perfect side dish or the perfect main dish tbh. I’ve made these for company twice with steaks on the grill and both times I’ve been asked for the receipt. For the people saying they get smoke in the house, here’s a tip. DO NOT BRUSH THE BUTTER ON THE SAME SHEET PAN YOU’RE BAKING THE POTATOES ON. That’s why you’re smoking your house out from the extra butter on the bottom on your sheet pan. Remove the hot potato and brush with butter and put back on your hot sheet pan.

  20. Did you use a petite potato for this recipe? 45 minutes would barely crisp the skin on a grape.

    • I used this recipe to cook 1 grape and it came out perfect. Not sure where you got your statistic from.

  21. I have used this recipe for years and have never read the comments before today. Hilarious! Obviously baking times vary for something like potatoes that can be so variable in size! I usually spend time on the weekend making a big batch of these and then we reheat using microwave + air fryer method for lunches during the week.

  22. These are PERFECT! Even my boyfriend, who is a decent chef and a bit of a food snob, said that he has never known the perect way to get potatoes like this and was super impressed. Saving this FOREVER, because it’s the only baked potato recipe I’ll ever need ❤️






  23. Perfect for the Russet. Poke some holes, light olive oil it and kosher salted.

    Put it on the rack of a broiler pan, tweaking the time.

    It comes out crispy skinned and delicious for a loaded meal on its own.

    Yum






  24. I have been cooking for over 60 years, but these are the best baked potatoes I have ever prepared. Thank you for posting this.






  25. I have searched and searched for the secret to making crispy skinned baked potatoes with a fluffy interior. It has eluded me. Then I found THIS recipe. Wow! This is exactly what I have been looking for. I am so thankful for this recipe! I can’t think of eating baked potatoes any other way!






  26. If your way is better, why not advise how you make baked potatoes? Unfortunately that just sounded like trolling.






  27. Wonderful! I did have to add little extra time but my potatoes came out perfect! My husband surprised me by eating the whole potato skin and all! I guess he liked the light brush of butter on the skin and salt; thank you for a very good recipe!






  28. Thank you for going back to the basics
    I have had a stroke and have not retained how to cook. Thank you…

  29. Oh yeah, this is the perfect way to do it for the basic where the flared up baked potato

  30. Oh yeah, this is the perfect way to do it for the basic or the flared up baked potato. I’ve read many reviews on not to wrap it in foil because you’re steaming the potato and ruining the skin making it wet and mushy so this is my way from now on. Perfect! thank you.!






  31. Outside is crispy, but cooking time is way off. You need to cook a baked potato for longer if you cook it at 450 degrees (way longer than 45 mins)






  32. The only way I bake my potatoes now.






  33. My go to guide! My potatoes always come out perfect!






  34. A while back, ATK determined that 205° F is the ideal internal temperature for a baked potato. More and more folks, it seems, have either instant read or probe thermometers. Truly a foolproof way to guarantee a perfectly cooked inside regardless of the size of the potato.

    Note: love your fried rice recipe!

  35. These were really good, but took quite a while. We had 12 large baking potatoes in a 425 convection oven with a large tray of chicken. We cooked them 40 minutes, flipped and basted with butter and salt, then back in for another 40-60 minutes before they were done. I think that’s to be expected with that much food in the oven. My 16yo (who does not normally like potatoes) said they were the best ever and had TWO. I’ll definitely use this again.

  36. Absolutely the BEST baked potato I’ve ever tasted!! The skin was crispy and the inside very fluffy!! Thank you for this recipe. I’ll never make a baked potato any other way!






  37. Wow! Best baked potato ever. I tried this instead of my usual method but didn’t say anything to my boyfriend. He noticed the change and said they were the best potatoes he has ever had. They were medium sized russets and I forgot them in the oven so they got an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven. Amazing!! Thank you Ali!






  38. Wow amazing loved these potatoes
    Crispy outside
    Soft inside
    Yummy
    Topped with real garlic butter






  39. Nope, didn’t work. Never got soft, just baked hard.

  40. Can the first bake be done a day in advance or can the whole recipe be made the day before and reheated?
    Small oven!!

  41. The perfect baked potato every time! The only way to bake them! I will NEVER go back to using a microwave EVER!






  42. The best baked potato I ever cooked at home. The crust had a slight crisp while the inside was soft.






  43. First dinner date at my house and she was impressed with my culinary skills. “Oh, that’s just the first bake. It’s the SECOND bake that adds all the yumminess. Just you wait.” And it was awesome.

    Paired with sous vide steak and sous vide asparagus.






  44. Perfect! Now I wanna rebake for Xmas day so I’m trying this recipe and second bake I shortened 10 mins. Hoping this will be ok What do you think?!
    Karen

  45. I use this recipe every time! Always turns out great. Normally I bake medium size potatoes so the time on this recipe works well. Tonight I baked 2 jumbo potatoes. Baked one hour, covered with butter, baked 20 more minutes. Perfect!!
    Thanks for posting






  46. No no no, never slice a potato. Run a series of deep fork pokes to created a perforated line in the skin, then squeeze from the end of the potato. It will look marvelous darling.

  47. This is the only way I will make my potatoes anymore!! So fluffy!






  48. Love this cooking method. Easy to follow instructions and the potato comes out perfect every time. Use your imagination on toppings. I just tried a Philly steak and cheese topper. Excellent.






  49. Delicious.






  50. Perfect jacket potatoes!! Took longer by 10 minutes.