Yes, and honestly the skin often comes out better than it does in the oven. An air fryer is basically a small, very fierce fan oven, and fierce moving air is exactly what a potato skin needs to go crackly.
The other win in winter is that you’re not heating a whole oven for an hour just to bake two potatoes. If you’ve wondered about that, we’ve looked at what an air fryer actually costs to run.
How to do it
- Pick the right potato. Floury ones, like Maris Piper or King Edward, give you that soft, fluffy inside. Waxy salad potatoes stay dense.
- Wash and dry them properly. A wet skin steams instead of crisping. Prick each one a few times with a fork.
- Oil and salt. Rub on a little oil and a good pinch of flaky salt. Don’t wrap them in foil, because that’s how you get a soft, soggy skin.
- Cook at around 200°C. A medium potato usually needs 40 to 50 minutes, and a big one closer to an hour. Turn them over halfway.
- Check with a knife. It should slide into the middle with no resistance at all. If you feel any firmness, give it another ten minutes.
Those times depend a lot on how big the potato is and on your machine. Go by the knife test, not the clock.
Does the air fryer matter?
A bit. The main thing is a basket wide enough that the potatoes aren’t touching, because air needs to get all the way round them. Tall, narrow baskets are fine for chips but awkward for two big bakers.
The Ninja 4.7L Air Fryer Pro (AF140UK) is a good fit for this, because it’s one wide drawer rather than a tall one. It’s a 2000W machine with a 4.7 litre non-stick drawer and a crisper plate, and it goes up to 210°C, which leaves plenty of headroom for crisping skins. There are four settings (Air Fry, Roast, Reheat and Dehydrate), and on the counter it takes up roughly 36cm deep by 28.5cm wide, about the same as a large bread bin.
Ninja says it’s sized for up to 2 people and will take a whole 1kg chicken. “Up to 2 people” sounds small, but for jacket potatoes it’s about right. Two or three large potatoes sit side by side comfortably. For a family of four wanting a potato each, they’ll be a tight squeeze, and you may get one with a paler side.
It’s also a sensible step up if you’ve read our Tower Vortx review and want something a little roomier.
In a hurry?
Microwave the potatoes for 5 to 8 minutes first, then oil and salt them and give them about 15 to 20 minutes in the air fryer. The inside gets cooked fast in the microwave and the air fryer does the skin. It’s not quite as good as the slow way, but on a weeknight you’ll barely notice.
And when you split them open, add the butter straight away while they’re steaming. It’s the best bit.
