Can you make baked potatoes without foil? Absolutely! Fluffy on the inside with a salty crisp skin- these delicious oven-baked potatoes make the perfect quick and easy side dish. All you'll need is an oven, a baking tray and - of course- potatoes!
These oven-baked potatoes are one of our favorite side dishes. With a prep time of only 5 minutes, they make the perfect quick and easy side dish alongside soups or other main dishes.
Keen on potato recipes? Check out our Mashed Potatoes, Potato Soup, Potato Goulash or Sweet Potato Curry.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Minimal prep time.
- Minimal equipment- no foil needed!
- Customizable and tastes great as a alongside a lot of main dishes.
Can you bake potatoes without foil?
Yes, there's no need to wrap your potatoes in foil while baking. You can just as easily bake potatoes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper without foil wrapped around them.
However, we recommend brushing on some olive oil dressing to make the potato skin crispier and tastier.
Ingredients
- Potatoes: We chose russet potatoes. They are usually our first choice when it comes to baked potatoes. Their skin crisps up nicely and they are low in moisture which results in fluffy baked potatoes. You can also use Yukon gold which are usually a big smaller.
- Olive Oil Sauce (optional): I highly recommend coating the potatoes in either plain olive oil or an oil-based sauce (you can also use canola oil). We included salt, garlic powder and Italian herbs.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to bake a potato without foil
For the most basic recipe, you'll only need 3 simple ingredients: potatoes, salt and oil. We decided to add a bit more taste and make a simple olive oil dressing.
STEP 1: Olive oil marinade. Add olive oil, garlic powder, salt and Italian herbs to a small bowl. If you want to skip the marinade then only coat the potatoes in plain oil and salt instead.
Whisk until well combined.
STEP 2: Poke holes into the cleaned potatoes using a fork. This will allow the steam to escape and prevent them from "exploding" in the oven.
STEP 3: Coat each potato with the olive oil mix (or just plain oil and salt).
STEP 4: Bake at 400°F/ 200°C for 45 minutes to 1h (depending on the size of your potato).
STEP 5: Serve. Cut them open lengthwise and drizzle with some more olive oil marinade.
How long to bake a potato at 400 °F?
Usually between 45-60 minutes depending on the size of your potato. Smaller potatoes are on the lower end of the spectrum while larger ones will need a little longer.
Top Tips
- Seasoning: I highly recommend not skipping the seasoning because it adds some great additional taste to these baked potatoes. If you don't like garlic powder or Italian herbs you can stick to just oil and salt.
Variations
- More Flavors: Feel free to add more spices such as paprika powder (also one of our favorites), onion powder, dried rosemary, dried basil, Garam Masala or other herbs and spices.
- Spicy: If you like it spicy, feel free to coat them in chili flakes or hot paprika powder.
- Butter: We used olive oil as a healthier alternative to butter but feel free to use regular butter instead.
Serving Suggestions
- Main Dish: Try these baked potatoes topped with our vegan walnut pesto or mushroom ragout as a simple and cheap yet delicious main dish.
- Side Dish: Of course these baked potatoes taste great alongside a number of main dishes such as Loubia, Mexican Bean Soup, Vegetarian Chili con Carne or Green Bean Casserole. They also taste gread alongside this Mushroom Soup.
How to store baked potatoes
- To store: Once cooled, immediately store baked potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-2 days. You can enjoy them (such as in a salad) or reheat them.
- To reheat: Take the baked potato out of the fridge and reheat in a microwave using a microwave-friendly jar or in the preheated oven until hot. Reheat the potatoes only once.
FAQ
Our first choice when it comes to baked potatoes is russet potatoes. Their skin crisps up nicely and they are low in moisture and high in starch which results in fluffy baked potatoes.
You can cook potatoes using a microwave but the skin won't be as crispy as in an oven so I generally don't recommend a microwave over an oven. However, you can check out this microwave-baked potato recipe for more infos.
Similar to the microwave method, you can make baked potatoes in an instant pot but they will turn out as steamed potatoes without a crispy skin.
Recipes to try these with
📖 Recipe
Baked Potatoes (Without Foil)
Ingredients
- 6 medium-sized russet potatoes (5-6 ounces each/ 160g)
- 3 tablespoon olive oil *or other vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt *optional
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder *optional
- ½ teaspoon Italian herbs *optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Give potatoes a good wash and cut out any bruises or spots.
- Pat dry with a towel and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Whisk together olive oil, salt, garlic powder and herbs. Coat each potato with the olive oil dressing. Alternatively, you can only use oil and salt.
- Pierce each potato with a fork (4-5 times), see step-by-step photos.
- Bake potatoes for 45 - 60 minutes or until flesh is soft.
- To serve, cut open lenghtwise and drizzle with more olive oil marinade.
Video
Tips & Notes
- Serving size: Usually serves 3 people as a side or 2 people as a main dish.
- Seasoning: I highly recommend not skipping the seasoning because it adds some great additional taste to these baked potatoes. If you don't like garlic powder or Italian herbs you can stick to just oil and salt.
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