Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes inside the slow cooker cut open with butter in them.

Make perfectly tender Crock Pot Baked Potatoes with just 3 simple ingredients! This is an easy slow cooker baked potato recipe that yields fluffy texture potato centers and perfectly seasoned crispy skins - THE BEST baked potatoes.

Course Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword crock pot baked potatoes, how to make baked potatoes in a slow cooker

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 10

Servings

Calories 312kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

8QT Crock Pot

Ingredients

6 large russet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

Wash and scrub the potatoes thoroughly under cool running water to remove any dirt from the skins. Dry the potatoes completely with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
Pierce each potato 5-6 times with a fork so the steam can escape while they cook.
Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and use your clean hands to rub each potato evenly until it's coated in olive oil. Then sprinkle the kosher salt over the potatoes and again, rub it into all sides of each potato.
Place the seasoned potatoes inside a large crock pot (I use 8QT) and arrange them in a single layer as best you can. A small amount of overlapping or stacking is fine, but avoid tightly packing them inside.
Cover the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.
^{*Begin checking the potatoes for doneness (easily pierced with a fork or knife) at the earliest coking time since the exact cooking time will depend on the potato size and the size of the crockpot used.}
^{*I prefer cooking on low heat for 7-8 hours for the softest, fluffiest potato. Low and slow is always best in the crock pot.}
Carefully remove the hot potatoes from the crockpot using tongs. Cut a slit lengthwise across the top of each potato, gently squeeze the ends to open it up, fluff the inside with a fork and add all your favorite toppings (butter, salt & pepper, shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, and bacon bits).

Notes

Choose potatoes that are similar in size so they cook evenly.
You can cook as many of potatoes at once that your crockpot allows. I use a larger crockpot (7QT or 8 QT) and I can easily fit 6-8 large russet potatoes inside. You want to try to keep them in a single layer, but overlapping or stacking them also work just fine - just watch the cook time because they may need longer if they're stacked together in a smaller crockpot.
I prefer cooking on LOW heat for 8 hours. This way, the potatoes are guaranteed to be ultra tender & soft, and ready to go by dinnertime.
Avoid lifting the crock pot lid frequently because each time the lid is removed, heat escapes and may extend the cook time. It's really important, especially for potatoes, to leave the lid on constantly so you end up with perfectly soft potatoes. There really is never a need to lift the lid off during the cook time.
I only recommend using Russet Potatoes and nothing else - there are lots of options such as Idaho potatoes, Yukon golds, red potatoes, etc - but Russet potatoes are the only potato I suggest using when making crock pot potatoes.
To check if the potatoes are done; insert a knife or fork into the center of the largest potato (and each potato to ensure all are cooked). The potatoes are ready when they are fork tender - meaning, that a fork or knife very easily, with no resistance, slides right into the center of the potato. If that doesn't happen then leave the potatoes in the crockpot to cook for longer.

Nutrition