Comfort Food

Baked Potato Skins

Prep

10 minutes

Cook

1 hour 10 minutes

Yield

12 -15 potato skins

These delicious Baked Potato Skins are easy-to-make and use less oil than the typical, pub, fried version. They’re excellent for dipping and serving as an appetizer.

If you’ve ever ordered potato skins at a pub, chances are they were deep-fried. Delicious? Sure. Heavy? Also yes. This recipe is for Baked Potato Skins that are not fried but still give you that crispiness you love. The problem with a lot of baked versions of Potato Skins is that they are often soft or chewy. The good news is that crispiness is possible to achieve through baking; it just takes some technique! This recipe makes delicious bite-sized potato skins that are totally customizable.

Prep Matters Because the Skin Is the Star

Since the skin is the part we’re actually eating, preparation is essential. Start by scrubbing the potatoes well under running water to remove any dirt. Once cleaned, make sure they are completely dry before they go into the oven. Surface moisture causes potatoes to steam rather than crisp, so drying them thoroughly is one of the simplest (but most important) steps. Remember that dry skins bake into crisp skins.

Several whole baked potatoes with golden-brown skin rest on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The potatoes have a slightly wrinkled texture, indicating they are freshly baked. - 3

Potato Choice (Foundation of Success)

For baked potato skins, I used small golden potatoes. These help you make bite-sized potato skins that cook faster and make easy appetizers. They have a creamy texture, so you don’t need to scoop out as much flesh, and they prep quicker than other larger baking potatoes. Their light, buttery flavor also pairs perfectly with any toppings or dips you serve with them.

A person uses a spoon to scoop the inside out of a baked potato, with other potatoes, dishes, and kitchen items blurred in the background. - 4

The Scoop Rule: Leave Enough Potato Behind

Once baked, the potatoes are halved and scooped, but not completely hollowed out. Leaving about a quarter-inch of potato attached to the skin gives the shells structure and keeps them from becoming tough.

Scooping your potatoes too thinly makes the skin turn leathery. Leave too much potato behind, and trapped steam prevents the crisping. Letting potatoes cool for about 10-15 minutes before scooping also helps maintain clean edges and prevents tearing.

Halved spaghetti squash with the insides scooped out and coated with a creamy spread, arranged on parchment paper on a speckled green and white baking sheet. - 5

Oil and Salt Help Skins Crisp, Not Fry

Even though these are baked, oil still plays an important role. Brushing both the inside and outside of the skins with oil encourages even browning and crisp texture. Olive oil works great, but you can use whatever oil you have on hand, like vegetable oil or avocado.

Salting the skins before baking also helps draw out moisture, which helps with that perfect crispiness. Combined with a hot oven, the skins roast rather than steam, giving you crisp results without frying.

A hand scoops creamy spinach and artichoke dip from a white dish using a potato skin, with more potato skins in a bowl and a person in a blue shirt in the background. - 6

Easy Ways to Change Up the Flavours

Once your skins are crisp, you can take them in all kinds of directions. Classic loaded baked potato skins are always a hit. Top them with melted cheese, bacon, and chives, then dollop with sour cream after baking. For a Mediterranean spin, try adding feta and mozzarella, then finishing with tzatziki, chopped tomatoes, olives, and oregano once they’re out of the oven.

These Baked Potato Skins go so well with my Mediterranean Mezze ideas if you’re looking for what to serve them with.

How to Prevent Soggy Baked Potato Skins

Don’t Bake Wet Ingredients: Baking wet toppings like salsa or sour cream directly on the skins causes steaming, so those should always be added afterward.
Crowding: Crowding the baking sheet can trap heat and moisture, so leave space between skins to allow airflow. Crisping depends as much on circulation as oven temp.

Storage and Reheating Tips

Leftover skins keep well in the fridge for three to four days when stored in an airtight container. They can also be frozen by first freezing them individually on a tray, then transferring them to a freezer bag once solid.

For reheating, the air fryer gives the best results, bringing the skins back to life with crisp edges. You can also use an oven to reheat, but I’d avoid the microwave if you want to keep them crispy.

Crispy baked potato skins come from removing excess moisture and using high heat. Dry the potatoes well before baking, brush oil on both the inside and outside of the skins, salt them to help draw out moisture, and bake the skins empty first so steam can escape before adding toppings.

Russet potatoes are the classic choice because their thick skins and starchy interiors hold up well and crisp nicely. However, small golden or yellow potatoes (used in this recipe) also work well when you want bite-sized skins that cook faster and are easier to serve as appetizers.

Potato skins usually turn soggy when moisture gets trapped during baking. This can happen if the potatoes aren’t dried properly, the skins are overcrowded on the baking sheet, or wet toppings are baked on instead of added after cooking.

Yes. You can bake and crisp the skins ahead of time, then refrigerate or freeze them. When ready to serve, simply reheat them in the oven or air fryer to bring back their crispy texture.

Baked potato skins are generally lighter because they use far less oil than deep-fried versions.

Yes, the skin is meant to be eaten. When properly baked, it becomes crispy and flavorful, making it so good!

Baked Potato Skins

Video

Ingredients1x2x3x

12-15 small golden potatoes, washed and dried
3 tbsp Toom Garlic Dip
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
olive oil cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F.
Wash and dry the potatoes and set them on a baking sheet. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and use your hands to toss the potatoes with the olive oil and then spread out on the baking sheet. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside. https://www.foodbymaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bake-them.mp4
Turn up the heat to 425F.
When the potatoes are just cool enough to handle, slice each in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon to gently scoop out the flesh, leaving ¼ inch potato flesh inside the potato skin. https://www.foodbymaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/cut-and-scoop.mp4
Mix together the Toom Garlic Dip, salt and pepper and then brush the insides and outsides of the potato skins and place them all cut side down on the baking sheet. https://www.foodbymaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/butter.mp4
When the oven is preheated to 425F, bake for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 5-10 minutes until browned and crispy.
Use these baked potato skins to dip into your favorite dip! https://www.foodbymaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/finale-1.mp4

Notes

We love to dip these baked potato skins into our Spinach and Artichoke Dip , 7 Greek Layer Dip and Spicy Greek Feta Dip (Tirokafteri)

Nutrition

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Baked Potato Skins

Ingredients

12-15 small golden potatoes, washed and dried
3 tbsp Toom Garlic Dip
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
olive oil cooking spray