You could spend 15 minutes preheating your oven and then another hour baking your potato, but why would you ever do that when you can microwave your potato in just 7 minutes? In the summer when the days are already hot enough on their own, a compact microwave is the perfect alternative to baking without the intense blast of 350° heat.
Read on for more of our top tips on the easiest way to serve up your baked potato!
Wash it.
You’ll need to clean your potato first, especially if you like to eat your baked potato with the skin on (and why wouldn’t you?). Give it a thorough scrub to get all the nitty gritty off, rinse well, and dry it off.
Poke it.
With a fork, stab your potato all over — this helps the steam escape during the heating process to prevent a potato explosion inside your microwave, and helps the potato take on a fluffier texture when cooked. It’s an important step, so don’t skip it! If you want the skin to turn a little crispy, be sure your potato is totally dried off from the wash, then massage it with a little bit of oil right before it hits the microwave.
Make sure to cook it whole — don’t cut it up! While it may seem time-effective to cut it up, keeping the potato whole steams them in the microwave. Cutting it into sections will dehydrate the potato, making it rubbery.
Microwave it.
We like a traditional russet potato for our baked potato, but you can really give any tater variation this same treatment. Depending on the size and density of your potato, cooking times will vary. Start with 3 or 4 minutes, then flip the hot potato with a pair of tongs and continue with an addition 3 minutes of cooking time, adding more time as necessary to get the perfect tender, creamy, baked potato. Want something a little sweeter? Give a sweet potato the same microwave treatment!
Top it.
Go easy or go crazy with the toppings, your choice! Just because you’ve made a meal in the microwave doesn’t mean it can’t be exciting. Load it up plain and simple with pat of butter, a dollop of sour cream, a pinch of salt and pepper, and your favorite fresh herbs. Or, add some cheese and pop it back in the microwave for a minute to get melty, then top with crispy bacon for a take on a loaded baked potato. You can also opt for the roads less traveled: pesto with freshly grated Parmesan, a smear of miso and a sprinkling of furikake, or serve with a runny sunny-side up egg and a drizzle of hot sauce.
Serve it up!
Whether you choose to go plain or load it up with your fav toppings, a baked potato goes with just about any meal. Pair it with your steak dinner for a classic, filling meal or as a side to your holiday dinner. Make it the base for a vegetarian dinner, or serve it with some plant-based butter for a vegan side to please!
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
Editor’s note: This intro was updated to add more information about the dish on September 21, 2022.