You Can Bake A Potato In 20 Minutes With This Hack

After a long, busy day, no one wants to wash post-dinner dishes. Here's your solution: the baked potato in all its glory, loaded with chives, bacon, sour cream, and butter. Baked potatoes make a spectacularly filling and simple dinner, but the long cooking time is an issue.

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Waiting an hour for your potato to cook isn't always an option, and that baked potato setting on your microwave results in a mushy texture that isn't quite the same as the fluffy oven-baked potato with a slightly crisped skin. Luckily, there is another way — involving both the microwave and the oven — that will cut your cooking time down from an hour to just 20 minutes.

First, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Then, prep your potato as you usually would, by using the tines of a fork to prick the potato. Place your potato on a microwave-safe plate and cook on high for one minute for smaller potatoes and a minute and a half for larger potatoes. Finally, rub olive oil on the outside of your potato and sprinkle with a pinch of both salt and pepper, then place the potatoes directly on the oven rack to cook. After about 20 minutes, your potato will be fork tender and ready to eat.
 

Angela Carlos is the Cook Editor at The Daily Meal. Find her on Twitter and tweet @angelaccarlos.