In our book, learning to make a perfect baked potato is a key life skill—and an easy one to master. Start by picking firm, unbruised starchy potatoes labelled russet or Idaho and give them a nice scrub down so you don’t end up with a mouthful of dirt later on. Pricking them all over with a fork allows steam to escape from the spud (no potato explosions, please!), and a little olive oil, salt, and pepper is all the accompaniment they need before heading into the oven.
This result is as blank-slate as it gets—and that’s on purpose. Our ideal baked potato is crisp on the outside, has a pillowy interior, and is up for dancing with almost any savory flavor in your fridge or pantry. To serve, slice lengthwise down each potato, and finish with whatever toppings you crave, such as labneh, olive oil, and za’atar, or top it with Brooklyn Delhi's Tomato Achaar. For a finish worthy of a steakhouse, add a pat of the best butter you can find and a sprinkling of chives while it’s still piping hot.
Ingredients
4 Servings
4
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and rub with oil; season generously with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Place potatoes directly on an oven rack and roast until very soft when squeezed and skin is crisp, 60–75 minutes.
Step 3
Cut open each potato; season with salt and pepper and top with butter, Parmesan, and/or chives.
Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in January 2014. Head this way for more of our favorite potato recipes →
Nutrition Per Serving
Leave a Review
Reviews (838)
Back to Top@JaneDoe, what is a "US internet?" Is it different than a Norway (or actually Denmark) internet? Does each state have its own internet? Each city? Can my friend have his own?
Jeff
Reno, NV
4/1/2023
Excellent start and can always embellish with additional ingredients! 😃👍👍
TCF
Chgo IL
4/4/2022
This is perfect. No foil and I use bacon fat instead of oo— just like my mom did
N cooper
Michigsn
4/1/2022
On the oven rack with no foil makes a real mess.
Anonymous
PA,USA
4/1/2022
@Jane Doe: Denmark and Norway are two separate countries. Americans’ tendency to ignore such distinctions in the rest of the world is how we earned the moniker “ugly.” Also, this makes for a good baked potato.
K
Chicago
3/31/2022
I have to say, I feel pretty amateurish, I have never baked a potato without covering it in foil. I have to try this now. I have baked as many as 40+ in my oven at one time for a fund raiser at 400 degrees for an hour and 20 minutes and they would come out thoroughly cooked, but I have got to try for this crispy skin. Thank you!
Cynthia Layne
Denver, Colorado
1/19/2022
450 for ~45 minutes, until temperature at the center is about 205. Remove and coat with olive and salt, bake for 10 more minutes to crisp up the skin. @anonymous in Norway this is a US mag on a US site on a US internet. If you're salty about that then go to a Norwegian site, pretty simple.
Jane Doe
Florida
11/7/2021
Please, please, please allow recipes to be printed without a giant picture and dialog before the ingredients. It takes up a whole page or more with sooo much wasted ink too.
tc4tuna
96753
10/25/2021
202 degrees is the magic number to know when it is cooked then Butter and oil or just one or the other, put it back into the oven @450 for 15 minutes to crisp it up.
Harry Hunt
Glen Cove, New York
12/4/2020
Not a very precise recipe. I have a truly perfect baked potato recipe from America's Test Kitchen. You should read it. It will give you some useful tips, like the right temperature for the finished potato.
Anonymous
San Diego
12/4/2020
No more microwaved potatoes for me. This is the way my mom made them as it should be. A world of difference! 😋
Anonymous
Bedford, NY
12/4/2020
I've made these several times now. I follow the recipe exactly, baking at 350 F for 75 minutes. The potatoes come out perfectly, as the name implies. Soft, creamy interior and crispy skin. Low and slow is the way to go for my potato!
DaveS
Palm Coast, FL
11/29/2020
Baked Potato Baked Potatoes are a little difficult to get just right. I'm working on my third try recently based on this recipe. (Actually, Olive Oil & Kosher Salt is pretty much the standard.) The first, I cooked a pretty large potato @ 400° for at least an hour and a half, perhaps a little longer. Unfortunately, though the center was well cooked, the outside was to crisp to cut with a fork. The second, I tried a much smaller potato @ 350° for an hour. It was cooked but not to the point of being soft on the inside. The outside was softer. One of the comments spoke of cooking at low temperature for a long time, there is likely something to that. I'm now trying a medium to large potato @ 360° for an hour-and-a-half. Hopefully, it will be lightly crisp but still soft enough to cut with a fork on the outside and nicely cooked on the inside. Update: 360° @ 90 minutes worked well. {100 minutes is likely just fine.} [That's 180° for those at the center of the Universe; AKA Denmark.] My presumption is that the larger the potato the longer it takes to heat through, then cook. Multiple potatoes might add to the oven time, but the size of the potatoes is most likely the key determining factor. It might be prudent to reduce heat for very large potatoes, say 340° [170° in Denmark]; however, you would then have to add time, likely around 2 hours. Olive Oil & Kosher Salt are all that is needed to season the skin, though a little Coarse Ground Pepper and/or Granulated Garlic would also add good flavor. [400° = 200° {or 205°}]
P58
Puget Sound
6/28/2020
Baked Potatoes are a little difficult to get just right. I'm working on my third try recently based on this recipe. (Actually, Olive Oil & Kosher Salt is pretty much the standard.) The first, I cooked a pretty large potato @ 400° for at least an hour and a half, perhaps a little longer. Unfortunately, though the center was well cooked, the outside was to crisps to cut with a fork. The second, I tried a much smaller potato @ 350° for an hour. It was cooked but not to the point of being soft on the inside. The outside was softer. One of the comments spoke of cooking at low temperature for a long time, there is likely something to that. I'm now trying a medium to large potato @ 360° for an hour-and-a-half. Hopefully, it will be lightly crisp but still soft enough to cut with a fork on the outside and nicely cooked on the inside.
P58
Puget Sound
6/28/2020
350 degree? My eurpeean oven does not even reach this far. Oh, are just beenig world excetrict and think the center of the universe is the US?
Anonymous
Denmark
5/17/2020