How to microwave a baked potato

by Editorial team
How to microwave a baked potato

For more ideas of what to serve with jacket potatoes, see our guide on how to make the ultimate baked potato, then see our best baked potato toppings for plenty of ways to pile your spud. We also have plenty of healthy jacket potato fillings and vegan jacket potato filling ideas.

Stuck on what to do with the rest of your potatoes? Find out how you can turn one bag of potatoes into 5 easy meals, or check out our most comforting potato recipes and top potato recipes.

The important thing to remember is always to prick the potatoes with a fork before cooking – this allows the steam to escape and will stop them from exploding.

Make sure you’re using top kitchen kit with our pick of the best microwaves, tried and tested.

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How to microwave a jacket potato recipe

Serves 2

  • 2 large baking potatoes
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • pinch of salt
  • butter

You will also need:

  • 2 sheets of kitchen roll
  • 1 microwave-safe plate
  1. Wash the baking potatoes and prick the skins all over with a fork, creating lots of little holes for steam to escape from.
  2. Lay a piece of kitchen roll on a microwave-safe plate, put the potatoes on it and pop another sheet of kitchen roll on top. Microwave for 4 mins, then take them out and turn the potatoes over – careful, they will be hot. Re-cover with the kitchen roll and cook for another 4 mins, then turn again. Keep cooking in 1-2 min bursts until they feel soft all the way through and the skins are wrinkled. Take them out and leave them to cool.
  3. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, rub the skins all over with the olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt. Put them in the oven for 10-15 mins or until the skins are starting to crisp. Split the potatoes open and add the butter. Serve with your favourite toppings or alongside a stew or casserole.

Top 5 jacket potato recipes

For best results, we recommend cooking your jacket potatoes in the oven, but you can easily speed up the process by starting them off in the microwave as detailed above.

Potato skin tacos

Load up these spicy, cheesy potatoes with avocado and onion salad for a quick and easy veggie dish.

Mushroom jacket potatoes

Take just a few ingredients and rustle up these tasty jacket potatoes with mushrooms. They’re healthy, low-calorie, gluten-free and ideal for a filling lunch or supper.

Jacket potato with whipped feta & sumac

The fragrant, zesty flavour of sumac is a refreshing contrast to the creamy whipped feta.

Soy-baked potatoes with tuna sriracha mayo

Perfect for a speedy supper, serve jacket potatoes with a spicy mayo that’s fragrant with ginger for a fresh take on the usual cheesy beans number.

Loaded potato skins with speedy baked beans

Try our healthier version of cheesy potato skins topped with baked beans for a satisfying weeknight supper.

See our baked potato collection for more recipe inspiration.

Check out more microwaveable recipes and gadgets…

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