Excellent Baked Potatoes – Barefeet In The Kitchen

Excellent baked potatoes with crispy pores and skin and a fluffy buttery inside are a kitchen staple it’s good to know the way to make. Far out of your common spud, these baked potatoes will be coated in toppings to make a hearty meal or filled with butter and cheese for a rare facet dish.

Right here’s the factor about this excellent baked potato recipe. It’s actually not rocket science, studying the way to make baked potatoes within the oven. However, this methodology does create spuds which are deserving of the label excellent. And, that’s not a phrase I throw round frivolously.

This recipe for excellent baked potatoes has been my go-to for years now.

Whether or not I’m utilizing them to make BBQ chicken stuffed baked potatoes for the boys or making a giant, cozy pot of baked potato soup, it at all times begins proper right here. And, I by no means get bored with it.

The Excellent Baked Potato!

In the event you’ve tended to shrug off baked potatoes as a boring facet dish, now’s the time to rethink your stance. I assure you these potatoes can change your thoughts. Too usually baked potatoes prove waxy with robust pores and skin, or else overcooked and mushy. When performed proper although? Oh boy. Buckle up, as a result of these are heavenly.

My youngest son was my helper once I first shot a video prepping these potatoes. I nonetheless grin on the reminiscence of his little arms drizzling the oil and sprinkling the salt. Belief me, if a 5 yr outdated can do that, you possibly can too!

Components and Substitutions

Potatoes – There is just one type of potato in relation to the recipe for the most effective baked potatoes. Russets. All the way in which.

Oil – You’re going to want oil to assist the pores and skin crisp up and get the salt to stay. I favor olive oil. You may swap for an additional oil with a excessive smoke level, although.

Salt – I at all times use kosher salt. And, this recipe is an efficient instance of why. Positive desk salt simply vanishes into the oil. Coarse kosher grains are the place it’s at!

How one can Make Baked Potatoes

Preheating the Oven: Crank it to 400°F. Let it preheat whilst you prep the potatoes.

Scrubbing the Potatoes: Potatoes develop within the floor (surprising, I do know!), and so it’s good to clear them nicely earlier than the rest.

Drying: After washing the potatoes, I dry them utterly. This helps the oil to stay, and retains further moisture out of the oven.

Poking with a Fork: Stab every potato a number of occasions. You’re making holes for the steam to flee. So, don’t skip this step. We don’t need them to bust open within the oven.

Oiling: I place the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle every potato with a few teaspoon of oil. Then, I simply rub the oil all them over with my arms.

Salting: A sprinkling of salt is the ultimate ingredient earlier than you pop these potatoes within the oven. I’m beneficiant with my salt. Don’t skimp on the flavour.

Baking: Into the oven they go. I discover that an hour is the candy spot, baking potatoes within the oven. Give or take just some minutes, and also you’ll have potatoes which are comfortable throughout, with crispy skins that make folks need to rave about them.

Checking for Doneness: In the event you’re undecided they’re completed, test them with a fork. The fork ought to pierce the potato simply and slide proper in. The pores and skin ought to look brown and crisp, not soggy in any respect.

Fluffing: When the potatoes are completed, I pull them from the oven and slice each down the center. Then, I crack them open and fluff the insides with a fork.

Serving: Prime these excellent baked potatoes with the toppings of your alternative.

Serving Options

I prefer to pair an ideal baked potato with garlic butter steak bites at our home. It’s like having a steakhouse dinner at residence. And, if you happen to haven’t drizzled cowboy butter excessive of a sizzling baked potato but? Do it. Quickly. You’ll not be sorry.

For one thing inexperienced on the plate, sauteed broccoli and asparagus is a superb alternative. Or, simply set out bowls of toppings and let everybody construct their very own.

Make Forward & Storage

Make Forward: I do that ALL the time. If I’m internet hosting a dinner or prepping for the week, I’ll bake all of the potatoes I would like, allow them to cool on the counter, then stick them within the fridge. Completed. Then when I would like them, it’s only a matter of reheating them and crisping them again up within the oven. Considered one of my readers, Tiffany used this methodology to bake 50 potatoes the day earlier than a workers lunch!

How one can Retailer: Allow them to cool first. Then I simply wrap every potato individually (or throw all of them in a giant container with a lid, no matter’s simpler). They’ll hold within the fridge a strong 4 to five days like that. We undergo ours quick, however you can even freeze them to make them last more.

How one can Reheat: You need to use the oven or the air fryer. You want that dry warmth to get them to crisp up so that they style such as you simply made them. In a pinch, I’ll use the microwave if I’m in a rush.

Extra Potato Recipes

Continuously Requested Questions

{initially revealed 4/24/19 – recipe notes and images up to date 4/22/26}