I tried Ina Garten's recipe for baked potatoes, and I'll never use another method again

By: Paige Bennett

5 March 2025 at 08:45

completed ina garten baked potato recipe with whipped feta — I made a baked potato using a recipe from Ina Garten, and I was blown away.
Paige Bennett

After making a few baked-potato recipes from chefs, I fell in love with Ina Garten's cooking method.
The celebrity chef calls for a herby, salty coating that gets rubbed on the potatoes before baking.
The herby coating and lack of foil resulted in a perfectly crisp exterior and creamy interior.

I've loved baked potatoes since I was a kid, and I've always made them the same way: Wrapped in foil and popped in a hot oven for about an hour.

However, many skilled chefs, including Ina Garten, skip the foil in order to achieve crispy exteriors.

Since I love eating the skin of baked potatoes, I was ready to give Garten's method a try.

Garten's recipe includes unexpected ingredients, like fresh herbs and lemon zest.

ina garten baked potato recipe ingredients on cutting board — This dish required a few herbs.
Paige Bennett

This recipe calls for coating the potatoes in a flavorful herb mix before baking.

Garten combines fresh rosemary, thyme, and lemon zest with sea salt to create a tasty coating for the skins.

The method is a little more involved than I'm used to, but it's totally worth it.

rolling potato in ina garten salt mixture recipe — I never thought to season the outside of a potato before baking it.
Paige Bennett

I started by washing my potato and poking holes before setting it aside.

Then I combined the sea salt, rosemary, and lemon zest in a small food processor and transferred it to a plate. I dislike the taste of thyme, so I omitted it.

I completely coated the baked potato in olive oil and rolled it in the salt mixture.

Garten doesn't wrap her baked potatoes in aluminum foil.

seasoned potatoes on a foil-lined baking tray — Ina Garten's recipe only uses foil on the pan, not the potatoes.
Paige Bennett

Instead of wrapping the potato in foil, Garten just covers a baking sheet with foil and places the spuds on top. I followed suit, placing my seasoned potato on a foil-covered tray.

Once the oven was preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, I baked the potato for one hour.

While the potatoes cooked, I prepped Garten's whipped feta.

ingredients for ina garten's whipped feta recipe on a wooden cutting board — The creamy topping goes inside the cooked potatoes.
Paige Bennett

The unique herb mixture on the potato doesn't exactly complement toppings like shredded cheddar or bacon.

Instead, Garten calls for a homemade whipped feta topping and fresh chives.

The finished topping looked and smelled amazing.

whipped feta being made in a food processor — I threw all the ingredients into my food processor.
Paige Bennett

To make the topping, I combined crumbled feta cheese, cream cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon juice in a food processor.

It smelled incredible, and I couldn't wait to taste it on the potato.

The potato looked restaurant-worthy and smelled amazing.

cooked baked potatoes on a foil-lined baking tray — I was excited about the potatoes right when I pulled them from the oven.
Paige Bennett

After an hour in the oven, the potato was ready.

The skin looked crispy and fancy, thanks to the sea salt. I cut it open and stuffed the interior with plenty of whipped feta and a generous sprinkle of chives.

The potato was even more delicious than it looked. The skin was super crispy and flaky and had so much flavor from the salt and herbs. The crunchy exterior also went well with the soft, creamy interior.

The cold, whipped topping contrasted with the hot potato, and the chives added a fresh, bright flavor, balancing the otherwise heavy dish.

From appearance to texture to taste, this potato won in every category.

Baked potatoes are hard to mess up, but I've never had one that checked every box like Garten's did.

It tasted amazing, with various textures to keep each bite exciting, and it looked good enough to snap a few pictures for Instagram.

It was a nice twist from the standard cheddar, butter, and sour cream varieties I know and love.

Garten's method for making baked potatoes is now my go-to, especially for nice dinners with family or friends.

This story was originally published in 2022 and most recently updated on March 5, 2025.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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