Baked Potato Skins (Air Fryer)

These Air Fryer Potato Skins use cooked potatoes and take less than 10 minutes to make. Serve these on game-day or as a delicious meal anytime.

Baked Potato:
4 large russet potatoes, cut in half
1-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ Tbsp. course sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Toppings:
course sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
seasoning and/or herbs, optional but recommended
½ cup Colby jack or cheddar cheese, freshly grated
2 slices bacon, cooked, chopped

Garnish:
sour cream
chopped green onions

Clean and dry the potatoes thoroughly.

Add potatoes to a bowl, drizzle oil over them. Use hands to rub the oil into the potatoes skins. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the potatoes, turning to evenly coat.

Add the potatoes to the Air Fryer, making sure they are not touching (I could fit 4 large potatoes in my 7 qt air fryer). Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) and 35 minutes.

At the 35 minute mark, test the potatoes by poking with a fork - if the fork does not slide in and out easily, cook for another 5 minutes. Continue until the fork slides in and out of the potato easily (My large potatoes were done cooking at 40 minutes in my air fryer. Again, times will vary depending on air fryer model).

Remove the potatoes carefully with tongs. Let cool and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or until they are cold enough to cut in half.

Using the halved cooked potatoes, scoop out a bit of the potato flesh to make a pocket and set it aside. Don’t scoop too much out as we want to eat the potato too. Repeat for all potatoes.

Drizzle olive oil over the top/flesh of the potatoes, then brush to coat completely. Sprinkle salt and pepper over potato skins. Sprinkle your favourite seasoning or herb, if desired.

Add the potato skins to the air fryer basket and set to 400°F (200°C) and 5 minutes. Remove basket.

Add shredded cheese and cooked bacon to the pocket of the potato skins. Close the air fryer basket and reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C). Set the timer for 2 minutes (cook additional minute if needed). Carefully remove potato skins.

Top the potato skins with desired toppings such as sour cream and green onions and serve.

How to Freeze Potato Skins:

• Make the potato skins according to directions. Do not add sour cream or green onions to the top. Allow to cool completely. Place potato skins into a freezer safe ziplock bag, and remove the air from the bag. Place into the freezer. The potato skins will keep in the freezer for 6 months.
• To reheat frozen potato skins in the air fryer: Add frozen potato skins to the air fryer basket. Set the temperature to 370°F, and 5 minutes. If your potatoes are larger, you may need to add 1-3 additional minutes to cook through.