These Crispy Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins are filled with crunchy bacon and tangy cheddar cheese, are so easy to make and are super delicious! They make the perfect appetizer or a game day snack!
There is something very nostalgic about potato skins, it takes me right back to the 90's when my favourite starter was cheese and bacon loaded potato skins from TGI's!
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I decided to try and re-create them in the air fryer at home and they were AMAZING! So were these air fryer crispy smashed potatoes & air fryer parmentier potatoes.
These crispy skins are a super easy appetizer that I know you are going to love, and of course I have allergy-friendly options for you, so let's find out how to make them!
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🥘 Ingredients You Will Need
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need to make this air fryer potato skins recipe. To find out how to make them allergy-friendly, simply scroll down to the section below this one.
- Potatoes - You will need cooled, cooked potatoes that have already been pre-baked. You can use standard baking potatoes, as well as Maris Piper and red potatoes. If you are in the US russet potatoes are good too. You can also use sweet potatoes, however be aware that the skins don't tend to get as crispy.
- Bacon - I have used unsmoked back bacon, but feel free to use smoked bacon for extra flavour. If you are in the US, streaky bacon tends to be more popular and this is great to use too.
- Cheddar Cheese - Use mild, medium or mature cheddar depending on how strong you like your cheese! Red Leicester cheese is also amazing in these homemade potato skins.
- Spring Onions - Known as green onions in the US, these are sliced and sprinkled over as a garnish for some crunch at the end.
- Sour Cream - This is dolloped over once the skins have been cooked and adds a yummy tang to the crispy skins.
✋ Double check all packaging for allergens ✋
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🥜 How Can I Make These Allergy Friendly?
This dish is pretty allergy-friendly as the only top 14 allergen it contains is dairy, however with a couple of tweaks it can be made dairy-free too.
Make It Dairy-Free: There was a time when it was really hard to find a dairy-free cheese that melted, but there are now a good few options on the market that melt just like real cheese.
A couple of our favourites are the Violife mature cheddar & the Applewood smokey vegan cheese.
You will also need to buy a vegan sour cream (this is mostly found online) or you can make your own. Alternatively you can use a dairy-free ranch dressing instead.
🤔 Do I Need To Pre-heat The Air Fryer?
It depends on your model of air fryer. The first air fryer I had was an Instant Pot Vortex Clear Cook. (Which I absolutely loved by the way and would totally recommend - I only changed to a different one as my husband bought me a new one as a present) and that had a pre-heat function on it.
I now have a Ninja Foodie Dual Zone Air Fryer (which is also great!) but this doesn't have a pre-heat function on it.
If your model of air fryer doesn't have a pre-heat function, you might need to adjust the cooking time & cook your food for a little longer than the recipe says.
This is because the air fryer needs time to get hot before you put your food in. Just keep an eye on your food while it's cooking and add a few extra minutes if needed to make sure it's cooked all the way through and nice and crispy.
🤔 Can I Use Different Toppings?
Of course! Whilst I have opted for the classic loaded potato skins with bacon and cheddar cheese ( which is my favourite!) Here are some other tasty ideas to try!
- ✔️ Nacho Style: Mix crushed tortilla chips with the cheese and bake. Top each potato skin with a dollop of fresh guacamole, salsa & sour cream.
- ✔️ BBQ Chicken: Add cooked shredded chicken to the grated cheese. Once cooked, drizzle with BBQ sauce and top with chopped spring onions.
- ✔️ Veggie Option: Leave out the bacon, then top the cheese mixture with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped fresh chives.
✏️ How to Make - Step-By-Step Instructions
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
Step 1: To get started, you'll need pre-baked potatoes that have had a chance to cool down. If you haven't baked them yet, don't worry – it's easy!
Simply give your potatoes a light rub or spray with olive oil, then sprinkle them with a bit of salt. Pop them into the air fryer basket and let them cook for about 35-40 minutes at 200˚C/400˚F.
You'll know they're ready when they're fork-tender and the skins are nice and crispy.
Step 2: Once your potatoes are cooked, take them out of the air fryer and let them cool down just a bit until they're safe to handle.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise, and using a spoon, gently scoop out the flesh on the inside of the potato, leaving about a quarter-inch layer attached to the skins.
You can save the scooped out potato for another recipe, like this leftover lamb shepherds pie.
Step 3: Next, spray the skin of the potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using olive oil spray makes it a healthier option as you are using less oil than if you deep fried them or drizzled with oil.
Place them into the air fryer in a single layer, skin side down, and let them cook for 5 minutes or so until they're golden brown and crispy on the edges.
Step 4: While your potato skins are crisping up, it's the perfect time to get your toppings ready.
Grate the cheddar cheese and chop the cooked bacon – if you haven't cooked the bacon yet, no worries, you can do it while the potato skins are in the air fryer!
Step 5: Once the potato skins are nice and crispy, it's time to load them up!
Sprinkle each skin with a generous amount of cheddar cheese and chopped bacon bits, then pop them back into the air fryer for another 2-3 minutes until the cheese is all melty and bubbly.
Step 6: When your loaded potato skins are done, carefully remove them from the air fryer and transfer them to a serving platter.
Add a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced spring onions on each skin.
💡 Tips & Tricks
- ✔️ Pre-bake and Cool the Potatoes: Pre-bake the potatoes until they're fork-tender, then allow them to cool before scooping out the flesh otherwise you may end up with burnt fingers!
- ✔️ Use Block Cheese: If you can, buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself, as the pre-grated stuff is full of potato starch to stop the cheese clumping together in the bag, but this also stops it melting quite as well as block cheese.
- ✔️ Crisp the Skins Twice: After scooping out the flesh, crisp the potato skins in the air fryer on their own before adding toppings. Then, air fry them again after adding toppings for extra crunch.
🍴 How To Serve
These cheesy potato skins are perfect for kicking off any meal, serve them up before this Five Guys Copycat Burger & Cajun Fries. They also make a great snack or as part of a buffet spread with these air fryer crispy chicken wings & honey & mustard glazed sausages.
You can also enjoy them as a main dish alongside some dairy free coleslaw and a crisp, green salad.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Place any leftover potato skins in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep there for up to 2 days. (do not add the sour cream to any leftover skins) Reheat in the airfryer for 5-6 minutes until piping hot.
Yes! Once cool, flash freeze them on a baking tray for 1 hour until hard, then transfer to a freezer safe container, where they will keep for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as above.
⚡ More Potato Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
Equipment
- Olive oil spray bottle optional
Ingredients
- 2 medium baked potatoes cooked
- 2 rashers bacon cooked
- 50 g ( ½ cup ) cheddar cheese grated - can be substituted for DF cheese
- 2 spring onions (green onions) sliced
- 2 tablespoon sour cream can be substituted for DF sour cream
- salt & pepper to season
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- You will need pre-baked cooled potatoes for this recipe. If you haven't already baked them, lightly rub or spray the potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle them with salt & pepper. Place the potatoes in the air fryer basket and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until they are fork-tender and the skins are crispy.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the air fryer and let them cool slightly until they are safe to handle.
- Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving about ¼ inch of potato attached to the skins. Keep the scooped-out potato for another use, such as mashed potatoes.
- Spray the skins with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the potato skins in the air fryer at 200˚C/400˚F, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the skins are golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the potato skins from the air fryer and let them cool slightly.
- Once the potato skins are cool enough to handle, sprinkle each one with shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled cooked bacon. (If you haven't cooked the bacon already, you can cook it whilst the potatoes are in the air fryer - Step 4)
- Return the loaded potato skins to the air fryer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove the potato skins from the air fryer and transfer them to a serving platter.
- Top each potato skin with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced spring onions.
- Serve the air fryer crispy loaded potato skins immediately as a delicious appetizer or snack.
Lauren Woodger says
great recipe!