Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins with Bacon and Leeks, topped with cheese, are incredible! Cheesy, tasty and super easy. Perfect with soured cream.
Baked potatoes aren’t a proper meal. They’re an easy lunch or a lazy dinner. Until you stuff them with bacon and leeks, then, they’re a meal!
If I’m honest, sometimes baked potatoes are a meal. If the kids have had a hot lunch at school, they don’t always want a big dinner, and jackets with cheese and beans are perfect.
This means the grownups can have these yummy air fryer potato skins!
Why I Love Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
I adore air fryer loaded potato skins because:
- They remind me of my childhood. We’d have called them stuffed potato skins then, I think. And I didn’t like leek, so mine were just bacon.
- They are super easy to make.
- Air fryer loaded potato skins are cheesy and absolutely delicious!
- You can enjoy them for lunch or dinner. They also make a fab starter.
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Ingredients For Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
When I make my easy meatball pasta bake recipe, I use:
Baking Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Cooking Spray
Bacon – I use thick-cut smoked bacon, but this is just a preference.
Leek
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
You’ll Also Need
To make air-fried stuffed potato skins, you need:
- Air fryer. Preferably with a crisper tray, which helps the air circulate underneath the potato and helps crisp the skin.
- Mixing Bowl
- Spoon
- Cheesegrater
I think that’s it!
How to Make Loaded Potato Skins in the Air Fryer– Step-by-Step Instructions
Full, easy-to-follow instructions and quantities are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One
Preheat the air fryer to 200 degrees C and set for 45 minutes. If your air fryer doesn’t have a preheat setting, just turn it on for a few minutes before adding the food.
Step Two
Prick the potatoes all over with a fork.
Step Three
Rub the potato skins liberally with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. This helps you get nice, crispy skin.
Step Four
Place in the air fryer basket on the crisper tray, and air fry for 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft in the middle, returning for up to 15 minutes if necessary.
If your potatoes are small, check after 30.
Step Five
While the potatoes are cooking mist a non-stick, flameproof pan with cooking spray and warm over medium heat on the hob.
Step Six
Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes.
Step Seven
Add the leeks and cook for 10 minutes. I like my bacon quite well done. Cook it until it’s how you like it.
Step Eight
When the potatoes are cooked, cut them in half along the longest side. You can leave them to cool for a few minutes first if you like.
Step Nine
Scoop out the potato and place it in a large mixing bowl. You don’t have to get every last bit out; leaving a little potato on the skin can help it hold its shape and make filling easier.
Step Ten
Add the butter and mix well. You can use a potato masher, but if your potatoes are very soft, you should be able to mix the butter through with a spoon.
Step Eleven
Tip in the cooked bacon and leeks and stir to mix through.
Step Twelve
Return the potato mixture to the baked potato skins, distributing them evenly. They should be heaped up.
Step Thirteen
Sprinkle over grated cheese.
Step Fourteen
Return to the air fryer and air fry at 200 degrees C for 5 minutes
Top Tips
The really important thing is to cook your jacket potatoes until the outside is firm and crispy and the middle is super fluffy and soft.
This might mean cooking for longer than you’d usually air-fry baked potatoes.
Serving Suggestions
I tend to serve my air fryer stuffed potato skins with a bit of sour cream and chives. They don’t need anything fancy, just your favourite dips or condiments.
Some recipes add a cheese sauce, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Variations
There are a few things that you can do differently when you make stuffed air fryer baked potato skins.
Mix in Some Cheese
Mixing cheese with the leeks and bacon means your loaded potato skins are very cheesy. You can still add some to the top of your air fryer loaded potatoes.
Add a Sauce
A simple cheese sauce will usually do if you want to add a sauce to your air fryer stuffed baked potato.
Use Other Cheeses
Mature Cheddar Cheese is great with air fryer stuffed potatoes. It has a strong, sharp flavour and shredded Cheddar cheese melts well. But you could try other things like mozzarella or even something with a stronger flavour, like blue cheese.
Change the Toppings
Bacon bits, leeks, and cheese are always my favourites, but you can stuff jacket potato skins with almost anything. Try things like Spring onions, fresh herbs, chives, chicken, steak, fajita spice, and roasted veggies.
Leftovers
I tend just to make what I need, so there are rarely leftovers.
If you have any left, you can reheat them in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 150 degrees C or a few minutes in the microwave.
Storage
Let leftover loaded potatoes cool before placing them in an airtight tub and refrigerating. Keep for up to two days.
FAQ
Yes, you can air-fry loaded potato skins.
If your potatoes are still hard, try air-frying them for longer or increasing the temperature, and make sure you’ve pricked them thoroughly.
Yes, the skin is the best bit of a loaded potato skins recipe.
Cook the potatoes for about 45 minutes until soft, and then cook the loaded skins for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Other Recipes
If you like these air-fried stuffed potato skins, you might also want to try these air-fryer recipes:
- Air Fryer Cauliflower Cheese
- Mac and Cheese for One
- Air Fryer Mac and Cheese
- Fish Finger Sandwiches
- Air Fried Katsu Chicken
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Crispy Chicken Wraps
- Tuna Melts
Recipe Card
Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 2 Large Baking Potatoes
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Pinch Salt and pepper
- Cooking Spray (Or a splash of oil)
- 4 Rashers Thick Cut Smoked Bacon (Chopped into 1-2cm chunks)
- 1 Medium Leek (Sliced)
- 30 g Butter
- 50 g Cheddar Cheese (Grated)
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 200 degrees C and set for 45 minutes.
- Prick the potatoes all over with a fork.
- Rub the potato skins liberally with oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper.
- Place in the air fryer on the crisper tray, and air fry for 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft in the middle, returning for up to 15 minutes if necessary.
- While the potatoes are cooking mist a non-stick, flameproof pan with cooking spray and warm over medium heat on the hob.
- Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the leeks and cook for 10 minutes until they are soft and the bacon is as you like it.
- When the potatoes are cooked, cut in half along the longest side.
- Scoop out the potato and place it in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the butter and mix well.
- Tip in the cooked bacon and leeks and stir to mix through.
- Return the potato mixes to the skins, distributing evenly between them.
- Sprinkle over grated cheese.
- Return to the air fryer and air fry at 200 degrees C for 5 minutes.
Notes
- How long your potatoes take will depend on the size. If they are small, check after 30 minutes.
- Read the post above for more tips and advice.
Nutrition
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
