I am the first person to acknowledge that there are a lot of strong feelings about throwing the term “baked potato” around–how potatoes should (and should not) be baked, what kinds of potatoes are eligible for baking. There are lots of opinions. And I do have some opinions on the matter; I feel like you can bake any potato you want, but for a real, true Baked Potato experience, they should be russets. I like the sweetness and the light fluffy texture of baking them in the oven (either rubbed in olive oil and sprinkled in kosher salt and baked at 425 for 40 minutes or so, or this method), I do not like them cooked in the microwave (gummy and dense with a weird aftertaste), and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed potatoes “baked” in the crockpot. No, they don’t have the crispy skins of the oven-baked potatoes, but straight out of the crockpot, they are light, fluffy and perfectly tender. If you’re doing potatoes for a crowd (for, say, a church Halloween potato bar or a chili cook-off), this is your answer–you can pile them into the crockpot and then keep them warm until ready to serve. If you have dinner going on in one crockpot and you’re going to want to eat when you get home and don’t want to have to wait another 45 minutes, this is your answer. If you know you’re going to want baked potatoes for dinner and then 5:00 rolls around and you’ve forgotten about the potatoes and all you want to do is lock yourself in the bathroom and eat a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, this is your answer. Potatoes in the crock pot solve problems on multiple levels.
To make crockpot baked potatoes, you’re going to need Russet potatoes, roughly similar in size, as many or as few as you want (maybe not as many as you want..if you want 30 potatoes, they probably won’t fit into a single crockpot)…
Scrub them down and then pat them dry with a paper towel.
Lightly drizzle the potatoes with olive oil (I love using our rosemary olive oil, but our garlic and bacon olive oils are also fantastic choices. You can also use regular olive oil, it just won’t infuse that flavor into your potatoes.)
Rub the oil all over the potatoes and then sprinkle with kosher salt.
Place the potatoes into the crockpot (no need to wrap them in foil–I’ve tried it that way and while they were fine straight out of the crockpot, the longer they sat, the more they sweated and then the insides turned gummy) and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When done cooking, serve immediately or keep them warm in the crockpot on the warm setting.
Crockpot Baked Potatoes
Description
Learn how easy it is to make baked potatoes in the crockpot!
Ingredients
- Medium Russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Lightly drizzle the cleaned potatoes with olive oil and then rub the oil over the potatoes to coat them evenly. Sprinkle the potatoes with kosher salt and place into the crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Serve immediately or keep warm on the warm setting.
Can I use red potatoes?
I’ve never tried it, but I bet you could…you’d just need to adjust the cooking time (not sure by how much though.)
I pre-bake potatoes for camping trips. I let them cool then bag/refrigerate until needed. When I’m ready to prepare the meal, I coarsely dice them onto a heavy-duty sheet of foil and top with cheese and bacon, then close the foil to form a pocket. Fifteen minutes or so over a low-medium grill and voila, twice-baked potatoes. If we want hash for breakfast, a few onions, sausage, bacon, etc. does the trick. I’m hoping crock-pot baked potatoes will retain more moisture to withstand the twice-baking process better! Thanks for the help!
Can you cut larger potatoes in half? Thinking about making them for a potluck at work tomorrow.
Thanks 🙂
Can you use red potatoes instead of russets?
Yep! Any kinds of potatoes! If your reds are smaller than your average russets, I’d cut back on the time a little.
Do you need to spray the crock pot so skins don’t stick? Thanks!! 🙂
Nope! The olive oil on the skins help and they just aren’t very sticky. 🙂
Have you tried this with sweet potatoes?
Yes! Totally works! 🙂
In the crockpot now. I used your rosemary oil. Can’t wait to come home from family pictures this evening and drown my sorrows in delish baked potato carby-ness.
Brilliant! My family loves baked potatoes and I always forget to put them in the oven. Can’t wait to cook them in the crock pot and not worry about getting them in the oven at the right moment! Thanks!
I really need to try this some time! It would be a great idea in the summer if you’re grilling steaks and don’t want to turn on the oven. You guys inspire me to use the crockpot for stuff other than meat – the chocolate pudding cake is happening soon!
I am the total oddball that likes microwaved potatoes – though they aren’t a substitute for baked potatoes but a different option entirely. They taste like the rushed post-swim practice suppers of my adolescence – although they’re no longer accompanied by fried bologna or chicken fingers.
These potatoes look so easy and delicious! The perfect weeknight meal!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Do you have to prick the potatoes with a fork first??? I would imagine it cooks somewhat similar to oven or microwave right? Wouldn’t they explode? Just asking because I have a knack for exploding and/or burning things…. thanks 🙂
Nope, no pricking or poking, no exploding. 🙂 And they taste so much better than when they’re cooked in the microwave. It’s kind of magical, lol.
Awww, stabbing the potatoes is half the fun! (I guess eating the only other fun part, there’s really not much going on in cooking potatoes!)
You can totally still stab them if you want, haha!
what a great idea ! Do you think this would work well with sweet potatoes ?
Yep, it totally works!!
I always think there’s a darn good reason Wendy’s always uses Russet potatoes for their fries. Potatoes in a crock pot? Ok, I’m going to tell my wife that I thought of this myself. I’ll tell her about your blog later, hehe. It’s the competitive gym teacher in me.
Hahahaha! You’re the best, Tom!!
Awesome idea for the slow cooker!! Definitely trying this!
Sounds yummy! Can you pile them on top of each other?
Yep! Just pile ’em in there. Make sure they’re not extending past the top of the pot, but otherwise, you can put in as many as you want!