Perfect Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are incredibly easy to make – you can walk in the door, throw a few potatoes in the oven, and carry on with your after-work routine until they’re ready to eat. Cracked open and still steaming, baked potatoes are ready to receive anything from a pat of butter, a sprinkle of cheese, or last night’s beef chili.

Baking a potato in the oven does require a little more time than zapping it in the microwave, though. First, you’ll want to scrub the potatoes thoroughly under running water — a vegetable brush is great for this — and pat them dry. Rub them with a bit of olive oil, season with kosher salt and pepper, then prick the potatoes all over with a fork (this allows steam to escape).

Bake the potatoes for about 50 to 60 minutes at 425°F (220°C) until completely soft when pierced. That’s it! This method will give you the best baked potatoes that are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.

Here’s how to make absolutely perfect baked potatoes every time. 

• They’re crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. Our method is easy and foolproof.
• Baked potatoes are the perfect side to so many cozy dinners. They pair well with everything for dinner – from seared steak and roast chicken to pork chops and meatloaf.

• Russet potatoes: Russet potatoes are the best for baking in the oven. The skins are thicker and the starchy interior has a sweet flavor and fluffy texture when baked. Russets are also usually large (about 6 to 8 ounces). One potato per person makes a good side dish or meal on its own.
• Olive oil: Rub the potatoes with a bit of olive oil.
• Kosher salt and black pepper: Season the potatoes with kosher salt and black pepper.

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 425ºF while you’re preparing the potatoes.
2. Scrub the potatoes clean. Scrub the potatoes thoroughly under running water and pat them dry.
3. Rub the potatoes with olive oil. Rub the potatoes all over with a little olive oil.
4. Season the potatoes. Generously sprinkle the potatoes on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
5. Prick all over with a fork. Prick the potatoes in a few places with the tines of a fork. This allows steam to escape from the baking potato.
6. Bake the potatoes. Bake the potatoes for 50 to 60 minutes. Flip them over every 20 minutes or so and check them for doneness by piercing them with a fork. The potatoes are done when the skins are dry and the insides feel completely soft when pierced.

• To cut down the baking time: Microwave the potatoes for 3 to 4 minutes in the microwave before baking.
• For softer skins: Wrap the potatoes in foil before baking.
• For extra-crispy skins: Brine the potatoes. Stir 2 tablespoons kosher salt into 1/2 cup water until dissolved. Toss each potato in the brine. Drain and bake directly on the rack as instructed above. Brush with oil during the last 10 minutes of baking. 

• Twice-Baked Potatoes
• Loaded Baked Potatoes
• Twice-Baked Queso Potatoes
• French Onion Baked Potatoes
• Twice-Baked Colcannon Potatoes

• Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• To reheat: Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack in a 325°F oven until warmed through.

• Steak au Poivre
• Tuscan Chicken
• Stuffed Pork Chops
• Creamy Lemon-Dill Salmon
• French Onion Dip Chicken Thighs

In November 2019, we pitted six of the most popular baked potato methods from around the web against one another to determine the best. The winner was a technique heralded by America’s Test Kitchen, in which the potatoes are brined before they’re baked. Around the same time, we fell in love with a recipe for British-style jacket potatoes from Cup of Jo, which are baked for two hours, split, then baked again. 

Given these newfound methods, we felt it was time to look at our own baked potato recipe to see how it stacked up. To determine whether Kitchn’s oven-baked potato recipe needed an update, I spent an afternoon comparing it to the other two methods. 

All three of the recipes — The Kitchn’s, Cup of Jo’s, and America’s Test Kitchen’s — baked up crispy-crackly on the outside and tender on the inside. The jacket-style potatoes and the brined potatoes, however, required more time and attention than Kitchn’s. For that reason we still feel our method stands up as the best way to make a basic baked potato. 

After further testing, we did decide to streamline our recipe, however. We’re now calling for baking the potatoes directly on the oven rack. This means the air flow is unobstructed, so flipping every 20 minutes isn’t necessary, and it reduces cleanup, too. As a nod to America’s Test Kitchen’s winning technique — and because we really did fall for that seasoned, extra-crispy skin — we’ve included brining instructions in the recipe notes should you want to take that extra step. 

— Patty, August 2020

• How to Bake a Potato in the Microwave
• How to Make Crispy British-Style Jacket Potatoes
• How to Bake a Potato in the Slow Cooker
• How to Make Potatoes in the Instant Pot
• How to Make Baked Sweet Potatoes