Do you know how to bake a potato? When I first got married, I didn’t. A loaded baked potato is one of Jeremiah’s favorite things, so I quickly learned two ways to cook a spud.
Here’s my basic method, which takes about 1 hour.
Perfect Baked Potato
Author: Anne Sweden
Recipe type: Side
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
- Medium to large russet potato (however many you desire)
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- While it warms up, wash the potatoes, pat them dry and pierce each with a fork two or three times. Light rub each potato with oil, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can use a pastry brush or a paper towel to rub in the oil.
- Place potatoes on a sprayed, foiled-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, turning them over halfway through.
- Check to see if they are done by seeing if a fork slides through easily.
To get a potato that cooks a little quicker and doesn’t have such a crispy skin, follow the recipe above except heat the oven to 425 and cook the potatoes about 50 to 60 minutes.
If you like soft skins, or don’t plan to eat the skin, wrap the potatoes in foil while they bake.
How do you cook your baked potatoes?
I love to do the way with crispy skin, but rarely have two hours to do it. I have done baked potatoes in the crock pot and that is super cool!
Never tried the crock pot method; you learn something every day!
I actually hate potatoes, and so I never make them for my husband, who loves them, poor guy. I think I’ll surprise him and make him one for dinner now that I actually know how. 😉
What?? That’s un-American! Just kidding, Nikki. ~Anne
LOL, I know! Blame the Air Force for sending my dad to the Philippines (where I was born). Those first few years of eating like a native set my taste preferences for life! I’m a rice girl all the way.
Ooh, I love that, too! All kinds! Do you have a favorite?
I tend to go with the longer method, your first version. Usually I put them in there along with a roast and then they both finish up together.
Well, we really cheat and do them in the microwave; but I’ll have to try it this way!
I turned to my sister for help when I was making my first baked potato, also freshly married! Like most dishes I make, it did turn out as intended, but it was edible. 🙂 Time to practice!
Thanks for the recipe! I just don’t make potatoes because I never have a recipe on hand so now we can have some baked potatoes for dinner with extra fixings of broccoli and cheddar.
I love baked potatoes too! Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t so I rarely get them. 🙁
Im super impatient so I tend to microwave them lol!! I smother them in sour cream, butter, cheese, bacon and chives anyways so I tend to not care how fabulous the actual potato ends up!
So basically it’s just a medium for all those yummy toppings? hahaha ~Anne
We love a good baked potato! Cracked potatoes get done quite often as well…
We do baked potatoes a lot since they are so cheap 🙂 I’ll have to try it without the foil for crispy outside. Yum!
We like to make a dinner with just a big baked potato fully loaded–yummy!
Sounds good to me, Polly! ~Anne
This is exactly how I make mine. So good. I love the skin a little crispy. Great recipe. Thank you