I love making this easy air fryer potato skins recipe for fun get-togethers like casual birthday parties or game days! They are the perfect addition to a spread of other delicious appetizers, and they come together with minimal effort. Plus, there’s no need to deep fry them — the air fryer ensures they turn out addictively crispy every time!
I top my air fryer potato skins with crispy bacon, green onions, and sour cream, but you can use your favorite toppings, and I have plenty of ideas below if you’d like to try something new. And for more air fryer appetizers, try my air fryer potato chips, air fryer buffalo cauliflower, and air fryer jalapeño poppers.
Ingredients
Potatoes — you need cooked and cooled russet potatoes for this easy appetizer. Choose small potatoes that are roughly 1½ inches in diameter and around 5 ounces in weight.
Oil — olive oil helps to crisp the potato skin and turn the flesh golden brown.
Seasoning — a simple seasoning of salt and black pepper is all you need!
Cheese — I use Colby Jack, but you can use cheddar cheese or your favorite melting cheese if you prefer.
Bacon — cook and crumble a few slices of bacon. My air fryer bacon recipe is perfect here!
Toppings — I love the classic combo of sour cream and green onions, but you can mix it up!
How Should I Make The Cooked Potatoes?
This is a great way to use leftover baked potatoes if you have them! Otherwise, there are a few great and easy ways to cook them for air-fried potato skins– you can cook the potatoes in the oven, air fryer, or Instant Pot. Before you cook the potatoes, scrub them well to remove any dirt.
To make oven-baked potatoes, poke holes all over the potatoes with a fork, rub them with oil, and bake at 425°F until fork tender (about 45 minutes). You can also follow my recipes for air fryer baked potatoes or Instant Pot baked potatoes for easy and convenient cooking methods.
How To Make Air Fryer Potato Skins
1. Cut the cooked, cooled potatoes in half lengthwise
2. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick. Be careful not to rip the skin.
3. Brush the inside and outside of the potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle the inside with salt and ground black pepper.
4. Preheat the air fryer to 375°F. Place the potato halves, skin side up, in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Air fry for 5 minutes.
5. Flip over and sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly inside each potato skin shell. Continue air frying for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned and the skins are crispy.
6. Carefully remove from the air fryer and top with sour cream, bacon, green onions, and more cheese if desired.
How Can I Use The Potato Scooped Out Of The Skin?
Don’t throw away the scooped potato flesh! You can use it to make potato bread or lefse or add it to shepherd’s pie topping. You can also stir the potato into soups for extra creaminess. It’s also great for filling a quiche, frittata, or breakfast tacos.
Topping Variations
Feel free to get creative with air fryer potato skins toppings! Here are a few ideas:
- Sliced jalapeños or pickled jalapeños for a slight kick
- Stuff them with shredded chicken, like leftover rotisserie chicken, air fryer whole chicken, or Instant Pot shredded chicken
- Use a different cheese, like mild or sharp cheddar, Swiss cheese, or crumbled blue cheese
- Drizzle with ranch dressing instead of using sour cream
- Load them with slow cooker chili for a more filling appetizer
How to Store and Reheat
- Refrigerating: Store completely cooled leftover potato skins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: If you plan on freezing them, don’t add the toppings in step 5. Remove the air-fried potato skins from the air fryer, let them cool completely, and store them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat and add your desired toppings.
- Reheating: To reheat leftovers, pop them into a 350°F air fryer for about 4 minutes. To reheat frozen air fryer potato skins, place them in a 375°F air fryer for about 5 minutes. You can reheat them from frozen; no need to thaw them out first.
What To Serve With Air Fryer Potato Skins
For a full appetizer spread at your next gathering or on game day, serve air fryer potato skins along with:
- Million Dollar Dip Recipe
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Jalapeño Poppers
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Bacon Wrapped Dates
- Fried Pickles
- Ham and Cheese Sliders
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Choose similar-sized potatoes: To ensure the potato skins cook at the same rate, pick potatoes that are around the same size (around 5 ounces/140g each).
- Use clean, cooked potatoes. You need to wash off all the dirt and debris that may be on the potato peels before cooking them to use in this recipe. Since the crispy skins are being eaten, you want to make sure they are clean.
- Don’t peel the potatoes! Leaving the skin on is important and is what holds the shell together.
- Shred the cheese at home. Pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as well as it contains anti-clumping agents. Grate the cheese yourself for the meltiest results.
- Leave room between the potato skins in the air fryer. Don’t crowd the basket. This allows air to circulate around them so they crisp up. If you have a smaller air fryer (less than 6 quarts), you will probably have to cook them in batches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Russet potatoes are the best potatoes for this air fryer potato skins recipe, but you can use large Yukon gold or red potatoes in a pinch.
Yes. Bake the potato skins on a baking sheet at 400°F (use convection if you have it) for 10 minutes, skin side up. Then, flip them over, add your desired toppings like cheese and bacon, and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Only add the sour cream and green onions right before serving.
Yes, assemble the air fryer potato skins with the cheese and bacon, and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to cook them, place them in the air fryer, topping-side up, and air fry for 10 minutes.
If you’ve tried this air fryer potato skins recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Air Fryer Potato Skins Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 small russet potatoes cooked and cooled (about 200g each)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup shredded Colby jack cheese plus more for topping (60g)
- 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled (97g)
- Sour cream for topping
- Chopped green onions for topping
Instructions
- Cut each cooked potato in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick.
- Brush the inside and outside of the potatoes with the oil. Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the air fryer to 375°F.
- Place the potato skin halves, skin side up, in the air fryer basket. (Make sure you leave some room between each, and cook in batches if needed.) Cook for 5 minutes. Flip the skins over and sprinkle the cheese evenly inside each potato skin shell.
- Continue air frying for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned and the skins are crispy. Remove from the air fryer and top with sour cream, bacon, green onions, and more cheese if desired before serving.
Notes
- Choose similar-sized potatoes: To ensure the potato skins cook at the same rate, pick potatoes that are around the same size (around 5 ounces/140g each).
- Use clean, cooked potatoes. You need to wash off all the dirt and debris that may be on the potato peels before cooking them to use in this recipe. Since the crispy skins are being eaten, you want to make sure they are clean.
- Don’t peel the potatoes! Leaving the skin on is important and is what holds the shell together.
- Shred the cheese at home. Pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as well as it contains anti-clumping agents. Grate the cheese yourself for the meltiest results.
- Leave room between the potato skins in the air fryer. Don’t crowd the basket. This allows air to circulate around them so they crisp up. If you have a smaller air fryer (less than 6 quarts), you will probably have to cook them in batches.
Leave a Reply