These Air Fryer Potato Skins are crispy, delicious and fully loaded with cheddar cheese, bacon, green onions and sour cream. They’re the perfect side dish or game day appetizer, and recipe includes instructions to prep them in advance!

Air fryer potato skins on a platter

Potatoes are one of my favorite foods, hands down. They’re comforting, satisfying and you just can’t beat how versatile they are.

It doesn’t matter whether I’m eating mashed potatoes or smashed baby potatoes…I’ll take them any way they’re served up.

The funny thing is that the skin of the potato is my favorite part. Not only is it nutritious, but it adds great texture….especially when it’s crispy!

I prepare potatoes in the air fryer most of the time these days because it’s the best way to get that crispy skin that I love.

My air fryer potatoes are a shining example of that, but these Air Fryer Potato Skins take things to new heights.

It doesn’t get better than crispy, cheesy loaded potato skins with bacon, sour cream and fresh green onions, and I can never have just one. 🙂

Platter of loaded potato skins garnished with scallions

Why you’ll love this recipe:

  • Air Fryer potato skins are crispy, cheesy, and loaded with all the fixin’s.
  • It’s one of the easiest air fryer recipes, and they may be prepped ahead of time.
  • This recipe is very versatile and makes a great gluten-free side dish or game day snack.
  • They’re easily customizable with your favorite fillings/toppings.

Recipe ingredients

Loaded potato skins ingredients

Ingredient notes

  • Russet potatoes. The best potatoes for this recipe are russet potatoes because the skin is thicker than most varieties and it gets nice and crispy. Use smaller potatoes to keep baking time to a minimum, and make them easier to pick up and eat.
  • Oil. Once the flesh is removed from the potatoes, they’re brushed with oil and air fried until crispy before adding the cheese.
  • Cheddar cheese. Sub the cheddar cheese with your favorite variety. How much cheese you’ll need depends on the size of your potatoes.
  • Bacon. Cook a batch of my air fryer bacon, or use your favorite cooking method. It may be made a few days in advance and added with the cheese in Step 4 of the recipe to crisp it up. Omit to make these potato skins vegetarian.
  • Sour cream. Substitute with Greek yogurt for added protein.
  • Green onion. Sub with chives or chopped parsley.

How to make potato skins in the air fryer

Making potato skins in the air fryer couldn’t be easier. I love that I can prepare the baked potatoes and the actual potato skins in the air fryer without even turning the oven on!

Pro tip:  Prepare the baked potatoes and even scoop out the flesh a few days in advance. From there, proceed from Step 3 in the recipe instructions.

See the recipe card below for full instructions.

How to make potato skins in air fryer
  1. Bake the potatoes, then once cool enough to handle cut them in half to cool even further.
  2. Scoop out the flesh of the potato, leaving about 1/4″ border. Be careful not to rip the potato skin!
  3. Brush the inside of the potato with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Air fry in (2) batches at 400 degrees for 5 minutes until crispy.
  5. Fill each potato skin with grated cheese.
  6. Air fry in (2) batches at 350 degrees until the cheese has melted.
Potato skins in air fryer

FAQs

What are potato skins made of?

Potato skins, also called jacket potatoes, are halved baked potatoes that are hollowed out with about a 1/4″ border of potato flesh.

From there, they’re loaded with cheese, bacon, sour cream and green onions, an can be customized with a number of different fillings.

How long do potato skins take in the air fryer?

Once the potatoes have been baked, they take a total of 8 minutes to cook in the air fryer.

They’re brushed with oil and cooked at 400 degrees for 5 minutes until crispy, then filled with cheese and cooked at 350 degrees for 3 minutes until the cheese has melted.

What temperature do I cook potato skins in the air fryer?

Potato skins are cooked at 400 degrees until crispy prior to adding the cheese. Once the cheese is added, they’re cooked at 350 degrees just to melt the cheese.

Can I make these potato skins in the oven?

Yes! Simply bake the potatoes in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until tender.

Once the potato skins have been prepped, bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes until crispy, then fill with cheese and bake 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Serving suggestions

Recipe notes

  • Pro tip:  Prepare the baked potatoes and even scoop out the flesh a few days in advance. From there, proceed from Step 3 in the recipe instructions.
  • Cooking time includes about 40-45 minutes to bake the potatoes, then cooking the potato skins in (2) batches as 4-5 fit in my air fryer. If you have a toaster oven style air fryer, you can cook them all at once.
  • Cook a batch of my air fryer bacon, or use your favorite cooking method. It may be made a few days in advance and added with the cheese in Step 4 of the recipe to crisp it up.
  • If your potatoes are on the larger side, they you will need more cheese — simply add enough cheese to fill up the potato skin.
  • Potato skins keep in the refrigerator without green onions or sour cream for up to 3 days.
Loaded potato skins on a platter with scallions

More air fryer recipes you’ll love:

Did you try this recipe?  If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram

Air fryer potato skins on a platter

Air Fryer Potato Skins

Air Fryer Potato Skins are ultra crispy and loaded with cheddar cheese, bacon, green onions and sour cream. They're a great gluten-free side dish or game day appetizer!
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Ingredients

  • 4 small russet potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese sub with your favorite
  • 3 slices cooked crumbled bacon see notes
  • 1 large green onion sliced thinly on the bias
  • 1/2 cup sour cream sub with Greek yogurt if desired

Instructions 

  • Bake the potatoes using my air fryer baked potatoes recipe or your favorite cooking method, then set aside until cool enough to handle.
    4 small russet potatoes
  • Halve each baked potato, and using the tip of a spoon, gently remove the flesh, leaving about 1/4" border. Be very careful not to tear the potato skin.
  • Brush the inside of the potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place (4) potato skins in the air fryer and cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then remove and repeat with the remaining (4) potato skins.
    1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper
  • Fill each potato skin with about 2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese (use more if your potatoes are larger), then place (4) in the air fryer and cook at 350 degrees for 3 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Remove and repeat with the remaining (4) potato skins.
    1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • Top the potato skins with crumbled bacon, green onions, sour cream, then serve immediately. Enjoy!
    3 slices cooked crumbled bacon, 1 large green onion, 1/2 cup sour cream

Notes

  • Pro tip:  Prepare the baked potatoes and even scoop out the flesh a few days in advance. From there, proceed from step 3 in the recipe instructions.
  • Cooking time includes about 40-45 minutes to bake the potatoes, then cooking the potato skins in (2) batches as 4-5 fit in my air fryer. If you have a toaster oven style air fryer, you can cook them all at once.
  • Cook a batch of my air fryer bacon, or use your favorite cooking method. It may be made a few days in advance and added with the cheese in Step 4 of the recipe to crisp it up.
  • If your potatoes are on the larger side, they you will need more cheese — simply add enough cheese to fill up the potato skin.
  • Potato skins keep in the refrigerator without green onions or sour cream for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 2potato skins, Calories: 373kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 205mg, Potassium: 962mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 524IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 261mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to tag @flavorthemoments with the hashtag #flavorthemoments on Instagram so I can see what you made!

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