Microwave Baked Potato

A baked potato topped with sour cream and bacon.

4.63 from 8 votes

Free up your oven and make your baked potato in microwave instead! Simply, wash and poke a few holes into your potato. Then, rub it with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and microwave on high for 6-8 minutes.

Prep 5

Cook 8

Total 13

Fat 15

Carbs 0.3

Protein 0.2

Yield

Ingredients

1 medium to large russet potato washed
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt + more for topping
¼ teaspoon ground pepper + more for topping
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Prepare your potato by rinsing it under cold water and using a kitchen towel to remove any dirt. Then, use a sharp fork or knife to carefully poke holes all over the potato.
Drizzle olive oil over the potato and use your hands to massage the oil into the potato.
Generously season the potato with salt and pepper.
Place the potato on a microwave-safe plate and cook the potato on high for 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, check your potato. Pierce it with a fork to make sure it isn’t too soft* and then flip the potato over and cook it on high for another 2 minutes. If after 2 minutes, the potato is fork-tender, remove it from the microwave. If it isn’t quite ready, cook the potato for an additional 2 minutes.
Remove the potato from the microwave and cut the potato in half. Fluff the insides of the potato with a fork and serve with butter, salt, and pepper.

Tips & Notes

We tested this recipe with a medium and large potato and the cook times were similar.
Every microwave is different so the cooking time may vary based on the potato
Make sure you poke holes deep enough into the potato. It helps cook the potato a bit quicker as well as any accidental potato eruptions in the microwave.
Remember that the size of your potato will dictate how long it has to be in the microwave. If your potato is smaller, 6 minutes may be enough. If your potato is large you may need to add a few extra minutes to the cook time.

Nutrition Facts