Air-fryer baked potatoes have a crispy skin on the outside and are beautifully soft and creamy on the inside. Cover them with my savoury mince and you have an easy instant meal that's far healthier than any ready meal you can buy in the shop (and they taste better too)!
Jump to:
Easy baked potatoes
Sometimes, the simplest meals are the best, and I think a baked potato covered with your favourite topping takes some beating.
A baked potato dripping with butter, is practically a meal in its own right. But cover it with savoury mince and a spoonful of grated cheese (as I've done here) and you have a meal that is the epitome of comfort food. Winter warmers don't get much better than this.
Baked potatoes are a fantastic way of using leftover stews, curries and casseroles. Just top the baked potatoes with whatever you happen to have in the refrigerator for an (almost) instant meal.
To save on energy costs, I've made these baked potatoes in an air-fryer, but there's no reason you couldn't bake them in the oven. If you want to make them even faster (and save even more energy costs) you could cook them in the microwave before crisping the skins either in the oven or air-fryer. I've included all the instructions below.
Nothing is easier than baking a potato, all you need are potatoes, salt, and a little cooking oil and you too can make the perfect baked potato.
For the topping, I've adapted the ingredients from this minced beef hotpot recipe. If you would like to read the details on how to make it, you can click the link, but I have included the recipe in the recipe card for convenience.
What you will need
Equipment
I use an air-fryer oven but you can use the normal air-fryer with a basket. Cooking in an air-fryer oven means you don't have to shake the basket or turn the food over halfway through the cooking process because there is more room in the oven for the hot air to circulate.
Ingredients
This recipe feeds 2 people (one potato each) - to feed more, simply add more potatoes.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and detailed instructions for making air-fryer baked potatoes on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Potatoes - You can use whatever potatoes you like and it depends on the texture you are looking for. Maris Piper or King Edwards are more floury and deliver a soft fluffy interior whereas waxy potatoes such as Charlottes will be firmer. I live in the UK and I normally just buy potatoes labelled as 'baking potatoes'. I believe in the US russet or Yukon Gold potatoes are the way to go.
Salt - this is a must for getting the crispy skin on the potatoes, as the salt helps draw excess moisture out. I've allowed 1 teaspoon of salt for 2 potatoes which may sound excessive, but a lot of it remains on your hands after you've rubbed it onto the potatoes with the oil, so don't cut back on it.
Oil - you need oil with a high smoke point to withstand the high heat at which these potatoes are baked. I use sunflower oil but you could use canola or other neutral-flavoured oil. I wouldn't use olive oil as it has a lower smoke point.
What to do (air-fryer oven)
It couldn't be easier!
Scrub your potatoes to remove any bits of dirt, then prick them a few times with a fork.
This will prevent any steam from building up inside the potatoes which may cause them to explode.
Rub the potatoes with oil and salt and place them on an air-fryer oven rack.
I find it easiest to use my hands to rub the oil and salt over the potatoes.
Place the rack in the middle of your air-fryer oven, set the temperature to 190C or 375F, and the timer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, slide a sharp knife into the potato. If there is any resistance, cook them for a few minutes longer.
The actual cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes.
Cut open the potato and cover with savoury mince and grated cheese. I also like to add some freshly steamed vegetables on the side.
Basket air-fryer method
This takes slightly longer than an air-fryer oven.
- Prepare the potatoes as above and place them in the air-fryer basket.
- Cook at 200C/400F for 20 minutes then turn the potatoes over.
- Cook for a further 20 minutes.
- If the potatoes are not soft on the inside (test with a sharp knife) cook them for a few minutes longer.
Oven method
This takes the longest time.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
- Prepare the potatoes as above, place them on a baking tray and place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the potatoes are done.
Microwave
If you precook the potatoes in the microwave it will cut down on the cooking time for all three of the above methods considerably.
- Prepare the potatoes as above and cook them on full power in the microwave until you can pierce them easily with a sharp knife:
- 2 potatoes will take between 8 and 10 minutes to cook
- 4 potatoes between 10 and 12 minutes
- These timings are for a 900-watt microwave. Timings for different wattage microwaves will be either one or two minutes higher or lower. Please use this as a guide only.
- Crisp the skins using your preferred cooking method as follows:
- air-fryer oven 190C/375F - 8 minutes
- basket air-fryer - 200C/400F - 8 minutes
- oven - 200C/400F - 10 to 15 minutes
If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.
Savoury mince
As I mentioned above, I've adapted my minced beef hotpot recipe for the savoury mince topping, so I'm not going to do too much of a write-up here, other than mention a few tips.
- Don't add too much liquid to the savoury mince. You don't want the potato swimming in gravy. If the gravy seems too thin, remove the lid from the pan 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time to allow the excess liquid to evaporate.
- You can use your own choice of vegetables but do chop them finely.
- Start cooking the mince once the potatoes are in the air-fryer so that it is ready at the same time as the potatoes.
- The mince recipe will serve 2 people but you will more than likely have leftovers.
- Leftover mince can be frozen (for up to three months) or kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Defrost in the refrigerator or microwave and reheat in a saucepan on the stove.
- If you keep packets of this savoury mince in the freezer you can whip up a delicious meal with very little effort.
- Leftover mince is delicious when turned into toasties - I like to use my snackwich toaster to do this.
Serving suggestions
There are so many other ways you can serve these baked potatoes. Here are some suggestions:
- Top them with a lump of butter and serve as a side dish with a roast.
- Or try some of these toppings for a complete meal:
- Baked beans and grated cheese
- Crispy bacon bits with sour cream and chopped chives
- Tuna mayonnaise
- Chicken a la king
- Pulled pork
- Chilli
- Ground beef curry (one of my favourites)
FAQ
No - if you wrap the potatoes in foil first, the steam will remain inside the foil packet and the skin will not crisp.
Technically you can freeze a baked potato (it won't come to any harm) but I would recommend against it. The time it would take to re-crisp the skin in the oven would mean the potatoes would be over-cooked.
If you do want to freeze them then I would take them out of the air-fryer a few minutes before they were fully cooked, allow them to cool, and then freeze them. Let them defrost and then pop them into the air-fryer (or oven) to crisp and finish off cooking.
Save for later
If you would like to make your own air-fryer baked potatoes, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other potato recipes
You may also like to try some of these other delicious potato recipes:
You can find these and other similar recipes on my vegetable recipes page.
📋The recipe
Air-fryer baked potatoes (with savoury mince topping)
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Air-fryer oven
- Saute pan for mince
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping Board
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 2 large baking potatoes approx 8 oz or 250 grams each
- 1 - 2 teaspoons sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Savoury mince (optional - you can use any topping you prefer)
- 8 ounces / 225 grams lean beef mince
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 1 stick celery finely chopped
- 1 medium red or yellow pepper seeds and membranes removed and finely diced
- 1 medium carrot finely diced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree/paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fruit chutney
- ½ cup / 140 ml passata
- 1 beef stock cube
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 - 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 - 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese for sprinkling
Instructions
Baked potatoes
- Scrub your potatoes to remove any bits of dirt, then prick them a few times with a fork.2 large baking potatoes
- Rub the potatoes with oil and salt and place them on an air-fryer oven rack.1 - 2 teaspoons sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon salt
- Place the rack in the middle of your air-fryer oven, set the temperature to 190C or 375F, and the timer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, slide a sharp knife into the potato. If there is any resistance, cook them for a few minutes longer. The actual cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes.
- Cut open the potato and cover with savoury mince and grated cheese. I also like to add some freshly steamed vegetables on the side.
Savoury mince
- Clean and finely dice the vegetables1 large onion, 1 stick celery, 1 medium red or yellow pepper, 1 medium carrot, 2 cloves garlic, 2 medium tomatoes
- Heat the oil in a large frying pa (or saute pan) and fry the onions, peppers, carrots, celery and garlic over a gentle heat for a few minutes until the onions start to soften.1 - 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Push the vegetables to one side, add the beef mince and continue to fry, stirring continuously, until the meat is crumbly.8 ounces / 225 grams lean beef mince
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato passata, Worcestershire sauce, fruit chutney, salt and sugar and stir well.2 tablespoons tomato puree/paste, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon fruit chutney, ½ cup / 140 ml passata, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar
- Dissolve the stock cube in ½ cup boiling water and stir into the meat and vegetables.1 beef stock cube, ½ cup water
- Cover the pan with a lid and leave to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened. If the sauce seems too thin, remove the lid for the final 10 minutes to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
- Stir in the frozen peas and allow the to heat through.½ cup frozen peas
- Spoon over the baked potato and sprinkle with grated cheese.1 - 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
Notes
- Prepare the potatoes as above and place them in the air-fryer basket.
- Cook at 200C/400F for 20 minutes then turn the potatoes over.
- Cook for a further 20 minutes.
- If the potatoes are not soft on the inside (test with a sharp knife) cook them for a few minutes longer.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
- Prepare the potatoes as above and place them on a baking tray and place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the potatoes are done.
- Rub the potatoes with oil and salt and cook them on full power in the microwave until you can pierce them easily with a sharp knife:
- 2 potatoes will take between 8 and 10 minutes to cook
- These timings are for a 900 Watt microwave. Timings for different wattage microwaves will be either one or two minutes higher or lower. Please use this as a guide only.
- Crisp the skins using your preferred cooking method as follows:
- air-fryer oven 190C/375F - 8 minutes
- basket air-fryer - 200C/400F - 8 minutes
- oven - 200C/400F - 10 to 15 minutes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!
If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.
Graham Howard Daubney says
Brilliant.