Use the Microwave for a Fluffy Baked Potato in a Fraction of the Time (2025)

FAQs

How long to microwave a cooked baked potato? ›

Reheating a baked potato in the microwave may be the quickest method, but it can result in dried-out potatoes if you aren't careful. To prevent that, cut the potato in half, place it in a microwave-safe dish, and cover each half with a damp paper towel—heat for two to three minutes or until the potato is heated.

Microwaves zap the food haphazardly, so that one part can get instantly very hot and a spot a millimeter away doesn't get hot at all. The rapid heating can cause the granules to burst, and release sticky, gelatinized starch.

Microwave potato:

Microwave on HIGH 4 minutes. Carefully turn the potato over, and microwave 3 minutes longer. To make multiple potatoes, add 1 minute of cooking time per side per potato. Test for doneness with a fork; if it slides in easily, it's done.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Crispy outside and creamy and fluffy inside, the air fryer is the BEST way to cook potatoes.

However, in terms of the actual costs, it may depend on your local electricity rates. But generally, if we're considering energy efficiency and speed, a microwave is likely to be less expensive to operate.

Microwave “Baked” Potatoes Are the Best Baked Potatoes

If you go a little longer on the cooking time, you'll end up with little crunchy bits along the edges where the potato dries out—for me, this is the best part of a microwave baked potato, and I always save it for the last bite.

Can you microwave potatoes instead of baking them? ›

Using a fork, poke holes in each potato. Then, wrap each potato in a damp paper towel. Place the paper towel-wrapped potatoes in the microwave and microwave on high for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, using an oven mitt, squeeze the potatoes to test for doneness; if it gives, it's done.

This feature allows you to cook potato without setting weight and time. The oven simplifies programming. Preperation: Potatoes, are a food with nonporous skin.

While water content depletes gradually during storage and baking, the mechanism behind microwaving causes water to evaporate at a much faster rate. Therefore, wrapping potatoes in moist paper towels acts as an evaporation buffer that helps the potato retain the water it needs to stay moist and fluffy.

Method #2: Shortcut Baked Potato How-To

So, I like to jumpstart the cooking process with the microwave. Clean and poke your potatoes as described above. 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.)

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. Let rest for 2 minutes.

Can you reheat potatoes? Yes, it is safe to reheat potatoes. However, they must be stored properly after initial cooking. If they are not, it can result in the growth of a bacterium known as Clostridium botulinum, which can cause a fatal disease, botulism.

After they are removed from the oven they get wrapped in aluminum wrap tightly. Then the potatoes are are piled closed to the oven to keep warm. Often just befor they're served the potatoes are Nuked so they are piping hot. That's how we did it.

Even to speed up a simple side dish of ordinarily-boiled-potatoes: just microwave the potatoes instead. Toss with butter and herbs, or olive oil and lemon juice, and serve.