Loaded Air Fryer Potato Skins are surprisingly easy and fun to make appetizers. Skip going out to order them at a restaurant when they’re so inexpensive and easy to prep at home!
Crispy potato skins are cooked in the air fryer, then topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, and green onions. This is a great appetizer for your next party, happy hour, or game day gathering.
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Tailgating Snacks month
Happy tailgating snacks month here on Life Currents.
I’ll be bringing you lots of great game day grub here in this 9th annual edition in 2022.
Favorite game day foods
Potato Skins may just be the perfect party food. They’re inexpensive to make, can be made ahead, full of flavor, and they’re topped with all your favorite things.
I’ve made my potato skins either regular loaded with bacon for meat eaters.
Or, make them vegetarian by leaving the bacon off, or by using one of those {affiliate link} “bacos” type of toppings. Those toppings are surprisingly good and quite delicious!
Serve these your next tailgating party alongside my Caprese Dip, Jalapeno Popper Puffs, Air Fryer Pierogies, and Pizza Puffs for a delicious game day party table!
Pro tips on how to make the best potato skins
There are detailed instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below. Make sure to scroll down to see it.
Prep the potatoes
Russet potatoes are the best potatoes to use for potato skins. They have nice firm skin that doesn’t fall apart when baked and scooped. When buying the potatoes from the store, keep in mind that the bigger the potato, the longer the baking time.
Start by poking holes in the potatoes to allow some of the moisture to escape as they bake, and to avoid explosions!
Next rub the potatoes with oil before air frying them, which keeps the skins as dry and crisp as possible. Skip wrapping in foil, because this actually steams the potato resulting in a softer skin.
Cook ’em up
Place the potatoes in the {affiliate link} air fryer and cook until the skins are crisp and inside is tender.
To check for doneness, slide a fork into the potato; if it slides in and out easily, the potato is done.
Scoop them out
After the whole potatoes are cooked, and cooled a bit, you’ll need to slice them. I found that a {affiliate link} serrated knife works best, as it’s less likely to rip the skins than a chef’s knife can.
Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, leaving about ¼-inch intact, reserve the flesh for another use.
You can see in the picture on the right (above), that I drew a border around the inside of the potato where I was going to scoop out the flesh. This helps keep it from breaking apart as you scoop.
Reserve the scooped flesh for mashed potatoes, Savory mashed potato puffs, or Potato and veggie fritters.
Fill and heat
Brush the skin side and the inside of the potatoes with melted butter and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in the air fryer until the edges just start to brown.
Fill each skin with cheese and crumbled bacon or bacos.
Use about ½ piece of thick cut bacon per potato skin, but more or less as you prefer. And, it’s about ½ teaspoon “bacos” per potato skin, or more or less as you see fit.
Place back in the air fryer at until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Yes, they potato skins can be made ahead of time!
You can bake the potatoes and scoop them out, allow the skins to cool completely and place them in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 days.
The bacon can be cooked ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Shred the cheese and chop the green onions up to 2 days ahead of time, too, refrigerating them until needed.
When it comes time to make the loaded skins, brush the butter on, and pop them in the oven or air fryer. Then proceed with filling and cooking.
The prepped potato skins can also be frozen for longer storage. Let them cool completely and place them in a freezer safe airtight container or ziptop bag. They’ll keep for several months in the freezer. Bake these potato skins right from frozen, no need to defrost first.
How to reheat leftovers
Leftover stuffed potato skins? Well, that’s a great problem to have!
Scoop out any sour cream and pop them in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat them, reheat them in a 400°F oven for 5 minutes, or air fryer for 2-5 minutes.
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Air Fryer Potato Skins Recipe
Air Fryer Potato Skins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Russet potatoes scrubbed clean and dried
- vegetable oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Chopped green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400° F.
- Poke holes into each potato several times with a fork. Rub oil all over each potato. Place the potatoes in the air fryer and cook until the skins are crisp and inside is tender, about 50 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Slice each potato in half lengthwise with a serrated knife. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, leaving about ¼-inch intact, reserve the flesh for another use. Brush the skin side and the inside of the potatoes with melted butter and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400° F until the edges just start to brown.
- Fill each skin with cheese and crumbled bacon. Place back in the air fryer at 400° F until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2-5 minutes, keep a close eye on it. Remove from the air fryer and top each with sour cream and green onions. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Julie
You’ve got amazing air-fryer recipes and this one is one of my favorites! I’ll be making up another batch for tailgating this weekend!
susan | the wimpy vegetarian
I am so on this for this weekend’s football!! This is a perfect way to use my air fryer!!
Michaela Kenkel
OMG these are TO DIE FOR YUMMY!!
Susannah
This recipe turned out so well! I loooove all things potatoes!