Toaster ovens are a new kitchen craze as they can substitute a number of appliances you find in someone’s kitchen, including yours. Air fryer, stove ovens, toasters, and others are all being substituted with this miniature multi-purpose appliance.
You can bake, cook, broil, grill, and toast in this perfectly optimized kitchen appliance. One of the favorite dishes you can prepare in the toaster oven is the baked potatoes. Potatoes can be easily made in many forms and are so flawlessly delicious in whichever way you make them, cooked, fried, mashed, or baked.
Things You Need for Toaster Oven Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes in a toaster oven need several items to come out just perfectly.
Olive Oil
A small amount of oil will help potatoes receive extra crispy skin; make sure to cover all the pieces of potatoes that you will bake.
Knife and Fork
You need a plain-edged knife to cut open your potatoes so the heat reaches the insides of your potatoes and bake it both inside and out. Don’t use an extremely sharpened knife because it will make a deeper cut than you need.
You need the fork for fluffing up the insides of the potatoes once they are baked. Prefer a steel fork rather than a plastic one, despite the fact that the baked potatoes have soft cooked insides. It is much easier to fluff them up with a steel fork.
Baking Sheet + Rack
Potatoes can be baked directly on a toaster oven rack, which is a better option since it will allow the heat to move evenly around the potatoes.
However, if you have decided to use oil on your potatoes to get crispy skin, then that oil will get in the bottom of the toaster oven, which afterward needs cleaning. To avoid this, use a baking sheet + rack combo.
Additional Ingredients
Salt, pepper, and such herbs as thyme and basil add flavor and aromas to your dish. Also, a dab of butter or sour cream can come in handy. Whatever you like and think will only contribute to the result.
Now, all you need is to follow a few steps before serving perfect mouth-watering baked potatoes.
How to Make Baked Potatoes in a Toaster Oven
Preheating and Preparing the Toaster Oven
Before everything, prepare the toaster oven. Clean it up inside and make sure that there isn’t anything left from your previous kitchen mission. Once you have it clean, turn on the toaster oven to preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you’re not sure how to do it check out the handy guide I wrote about preheating a toaster oven.
Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes!
After you have successfully cleaned and prepared the oven for baking potatoes, you will need to prepare potatoes.
Scrub off the dirt from the potatoes’ skin and make sure that there are no traces of it.
When the you’re done with cleaning you should dry them out with a clean towel or a cloth.
Once clean and dry, rub oil on the potatoes’ exterior until they become shiny as diamonds.
Baking
Now that you have prepared both the oven and potatoes all that is left to do is baking them.
However, before putting them into the toaster oven, stab each potato with a fork on both sides. Be careful, you just want to pierce the potato and not rip through to the other side. If you don’t do this, the steam from the potato won’t be released and the potatoes could explode inside the toaster oven creating a mess.
After this, put the potatoes inside the toaster oven placed on the toaster oven baking sheet or a rack, whatever you are using.
In the next 45 minutes to 1 hour, you can do anything else while your potatoes are slowly baking in the toaster oven.
You don’t need to be an expert chef to decide if the potatoes are done or not, simply stab them with the fork and if it slides easily through the biggest potato then your potatoes are baked. Another indicator is the light brown and crispy skin.
Remove the entire rack or baking sheet from the toaster oven and prepare for some fluffing.
Fluffing
Once removed from the oven, don’t wait for too much to fluff the potatoes. Fluffing is the process of steam removal from the potatoes and to do this, create some zig-zag cuts in the middle of your potatoes.
Once you have made a pattern, put your thumbs on each end of the potato and press towards the center. Your potato will pop open and release the steam. Watch it out and then fluff the interior with a fork.
Another fluffing method is called you can use is thwacking. Hold the potatoes in your hands and just thwack them against the table or cutting board a couple of times. This fluffs up the potato flesh and cracks it open.
Spice It Up
Add a dash of salt and a bit of pepper at the top of the potatoes. Also, if you have those herbs with you, now is the best time to spice the potatoes with them. You can mix and try out whatever aroma and flavor you like, as everything only adds to the overall taste of the baked potatoes.
Related Questions
Do Baked Potatoes Cook Faster With or Without Foil?
Baked potatoes cook faster when wrapped in aluminum foil since the aluminum itself conducts heat and traps it. Your baked potatoes will also stay hot for longer once they are out of the oven. However, the foil will also leave you without crispy skin, and instead, you will get softer, steamed skin and boiled, rather than baked.
Is it Better to Bake a Potato in the Oven or a Microwave?
The oven is your best choice for a baked potato, however, you can certainly prepare it in a microwave. Thanks to the radiant heat the microwave emits, the potato to bake needs just around 5 to 6 minutes per side. It is an easy fix, but the oven gives a better final result.
How Long Does It Take to Bake a Potato at 325 Degrees Fahrenheit?
At 325 degrees Fahrenheit, baked potatoes are ready in around 90 minutes. You can shorten the baking time by increasing the temperature to 400 degrees. At this temperature, your potatoes will be ready in 45 to 50 minutes.
How Long Does It Take to Bake a Potato at 475 Degrees Fahrenheit?
Potatoes baked at 475 degrees Fahrenheit, need just about an hour to become perfectly baked with tender insides and crispy skin, ready to be served.
