Do you like potato skins? TGI Fridays and your favorite bars have them and you can get them frozen at the store. Instead, make Crispy Air Fryer Potato Skins at home! They’re easy. These are loaded with melted cheese and bacon then topped with sour cream and chives.
Air Fryer Potato Skins are an easy appetizer recipe. It’s not as quick as popping open a box from the freezer or getting them at TGI Fridays, but you get a couple of really good bonuses by making them at home.
- Bonus 1 – They’re inexpensive. Potato skins in a restaurant cost $7-9 or more! Making them at home costs pennies a piece.
- Bonus 2 – The entire potato gets used. You can use the inside of the potatoes to make mashed potatoes.
Air Fryer Potato Skins
The air fryer is the perfect small appliance to get crispy potato skins. It bakes the potatoes faster than the oven.
You first start out with baked potatoes that I make using my Air Fryer. They’re easy to make and you can learn how to make them HERE.
Once the potatoes are baked and scooped out, you still have extra potato. No worries, the extra is perfect to make these Loaded Mashed Potatoes with.
Air Fryer Potato Skin Tips
Here are some tips for potato skin success.
The Potatoes
- Use medium sized potatoes that are all about the same size so they cook evenly
- Cut the potatoes in half and scoop them out as soon as they are cool enough to handle
- The scooped out potatoes make great mashed potatoes so don’t discard them.
- Brushing the potato skins with melted butter and cooking them before adding toppings allows the inside of the skin to crisp up.
The Bacon
- If you are cooking up bacon for this recipe, learn how to cook it crispy and without the greasy mess HERE.
- Most of the time, I opt for using real Bacon pieces, such as the Hormel or Oscar Mayer Brand. It makes it easier.
The Cheese
I use a Mexican or cheddar cheese blend for these. Use your favorite.
The Sour Cream and Chives
Top each Potato Skin with Sour Cream and Chives or put a bowl of them on side.
Ok, now that you know how easy these are, start cooking and enjoy!
Other Easy Gluten Free Appetizers
Check out some of these other easy appetizers.
- Keto Pizza Bites – All the Pizza flavor you love in an easy gluten free bite.
- Caprese Salad Skewers – If you like Caprese Salad you’ll love this mini version perfect for parties.
- Parmesan Crisps – A one ingredient, cheesy bite of goodness.
- Restaurant Style Salsa – I can eat salsa by the gallon and this recipe is similar to your favorite Mexican restaurant version.
Crispy Loaded Air Fryer Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 4-5 Medium Russet Potatoes, Baked or Air Fried
- 1 TBS Melted Butter
- ½ Cup Shredded Cheese such as cheddar or a Mexican blend
- ¼ Cup Real Bacon Pieces, such as Oscar Mayer Brand or 3-4 slices of crumbled bacon
- ⅓-½ Cup Sour Cream
- 2-3 TBS Fresh Chives, Finely Chopped
Instructions
- When the Potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half long ways down the middle.
- Scoop out the potato, leaving a little rim of potato close to the skin. Reserve the scooped out potato for another use such as mashed potatoes!
- Brush the inside of each potato skin with a little melted butter.
- Set the air fryer to 400º.
- Place the buttered potato skins in the air fryer and Cook 5-7 minutes until they start to brown.
- Once browned, remove the potato skins, add a tablespoon or so of shredded cheese and a teaspoon or so of crumbled bacon.
- Bake for an additional 4-6 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
- Once the Potato Skins are cooked and crispy serve with sour cream and finely chopped chives.
