Microwave Baked Potato (2024)

FAQs

Microwave Baked Potato? ›

Microwave your potato: Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes, flip, and microwave for an additional 4-5 minutes depending on the size of your potato and the efficiency of your microwave oven. (Give it a little squeeze in between cooking times to see how far you have to go.)

Step 1Wash potato thoroughly and pat completely dry. Pierce 3 to 4 times with a fork. Step 2Place potato on microwave-safe plate and microwave 7 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking. If your potato isn't fork-tender after 7 minutes, continue microwaving in 1 minute increments until fully cooked.

The rapid heating can cause the granules to burst, and release sticky, gelatinized starch.

According to USDA data, microwaving potatoes is the best way to retain its nutritional value, boiling potatoes causes the most nutrient loss, and frying adds fat and extra calories. None of the cooking methods destroy fiber. Still, potatoes are rich in key nutrients regardless of how they are cooked.

Baking a potato can take an hour, while microwaving takes about 10 minutes. An equally good reason is this method produces a superior baked potato. A long time in the oven can often dry out the interior of a potato, but not so with the microwave. It steams the interior of the potato, keeping it moist and fluffy.

Poke holes in the potato: Using a fork or the tip of a knife, poke several small holes all over the potato before microwaving. This allows the potato to release steam as it cooks, resulting in a crispy skin and fluffy interior.

Before placing in the microwave for 10 minutes, cover with cling film leaving a little breathing space – this allows the insides to steam and soften whilst the heated olive oil will crisp up the exterior of the potatoes nicely.

Among the oven, microwave, and air fryer, I found that the air fryer yields the most evenly cooked baked potato. There were no weird undercooked parts, and it wasn't overcooked or dried out. It also fluffed up perfectly with a fork.

Don't Forget to Poke

Use a fork and poke the potato four or five times on each side. These little holes allow steam to escape while the potato is cooking. Forget to poke, and your potato could end up exploding in your microwave from the pent-up steam. It's both messy and a serious dinner let-down.

If your potato came out of the microwave hard it's likely over-cooked. Over-cooking a potato can cause it to lose its moisture which is what creates that light and fluffy texture. Be sure you're cooking the potato for the recommended time depending on its size!

Are baked potatoes good for high blood pressure? ›

Baked white potatoes

Like potassium, magnesium is also a key player in promoting healthy blood flow. Therefore, maintaining a healthy balance of both minerals can help keep high blood pressure at bay.

Many microwaves have moisture sensors inside so that all you need to do is press the button that says 'potato' and just wait for the microwave to beep at you. If your microwave doesn't have a potato button, a general rule is that one 7-to-8 ounce Idaho potato takes about 7 minutes to cook. 2 will take about 11 minutes.

Method #2: Shortcut Baked Potato How-To

Then, wrap 'em in plastic wrap and pop it into a microwave for 5 minutes. (If you use this trick a lot, you can even invest in or make a reusable potato sack.) Then, carefully remove your plastic wrap and place potatoes on a baking sheet. Season with oil, salt and pepper.

But the biggest difference between yours and a chef's is likely the way you bake it — which should never include aluminum foil, but should lean heavily on a source of fat — oil or butter. If crispy outsides and a creamy interior are what you're after — and it is — tweaking these two steps makes all the difference.

Once your potato is done in the microwave, place it on a baking sheet. Rub it with some olive oil and sprinkle it on all sides with kosher salt. Bake it in a hot oven for about 10 minutes and it'll crisp up beautifully. This adds a few minutes to your total time, but it's worth it for that crispy potato skin.

All you need to know about microwaving potatoes

Potatoes take about 5-6 minutes in the microwave for a 1000w microwave. We recommend cutting the potato in half lengthwise for quick, even cooking. For lower wattage microwaves, add 1-2 more minutes of cook time for a fully cooked potato.

While these potatoes are marketed as an instruction-friendly convenience to consumers, you can certainly microwave any potato as-is, minus any plastic wrap and requires nothing more than a rinse and skin pierce.

There's actually a quicker method you can employ when you plan to serve baked potatoes: Use the microwave to speed up the cooking process, which pretty much cuts the baking time in half.

Why do potatoes get hard in the microwave? Potatoes get hard in the microwave when they're overcooked and the overcooked sections lose too much moisture and become dry and hard.