I love baked potatoes but find myself reaching for other types of spuds such as fries or chips simply because of how long the baked version takes to make. A traditional baked potato will cost you up to an hour of time and plenty of oven energy, but I found a way to make an equally delicious baked potato -- soft and fluffy on the inside with crispu skin -- in about 12 minutes.

With this CNET-tested method for baking potatoes, the microwave's nuclear rays blast the potato to soft and toothsome doneness in about 8 to 10 minutes, while an air fryer can crisp the flesh and skin in 4 minutes or less. By my math, that's 12 minutes for a baked potato that's as good or better than anything you'll make in the oven.

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As a bonus, air fryers and microwaves use less energy than a large oven and take almost no time to preheat. Here's how to make the best and fastest baked potato of your life in 12 minutes.

What you'll need:

Directions:

• Step 1: Poke air holes in the potato using a fork.
• Step 2: Microwave the potato on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until it's fork-tender and cooked through.
• Step 3: Slice the potato halfway through and toss with melted butter or olive oil. You can also stuff the potato with cheese or bacon bits.
• Step 4: Air fry on high skin side up for 2 minutes. Flip and cook another two minutes until desired crispiness is achieved. (If topping with cheese, veggies or bacon, cook skin side down only.)

For more tips, see my list of the seven foods I'll only air fry from now and on and learn the best way to reheat every kind of leftovers.