Our microwave potato recipe is the perfect quick weeknight meal when you're in the mood for potatoes but short on time. It's a speedy, fluffy, and equally delicious alternative to using your oven!
Clean the potato by rinsing and scrubbing away any dirt or debris.
Pat potato dry and stab it with a fork about 4 times on each side.
Place potato in the microwave and cook for 3 ½ minutes. Then, flip the potato over to its other side and cook for another 3 ½ minutes. Note: We recommend placing the potato on a microwave safe plate or a paper towel to catch excess moisture.
Check to see if the potato is done cooking by piercing it with a knife. The potato should feel tender. Cook at 1 minute intervals until tender. Carefully remove the potato from the microwave and let it rest for a few minutes before cutting it open.
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Notes
Note that the nutrition calculation for this recipe is for the potato only. Toppings vary and will change the nutritional content of your food.
If cooking more than one potato in the microwave, make sure potatoes are not touching. You may need to add an additional 1-2 minute of cooking for each additional potato in the microwave.
The potato will be extremely hot when it's done cooking. Handle carefully. Oven mitts or tongs are useful here.
Keep in mind that since microwaves can vary, the cooking time may differ depending on the specific potato.
To prevent your potato from drying out, be sure to flip it over halfway through cooking. If your microwave lacks a rotating plate, you can give the potato a few turns during the cooking process.
Our instructions are for medium potatoes. If working with larger or smaller potatoes, you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Specifically, we recommend adding 1-2 minutes of cooking time on each side for larger potatoes and removing 1-2 minutes of cooking time for smaller potatoes.