You're Baking Potatoes On The Wrong Kind Of Tray. Here's What To Use Instead

Baked potatoes are about as easy as it gets. But flawless baked potatoes — the kind with crisp skins, and fluffy, evenly baked insides — are a little trickier. We asked blogger and cookbook author Tara Bench, who goes by Tara Teaspoon, for tips on turning baked potatoes from decent to delectable. Bench recommends reassessing your tray, since the wrong tray can leave you with unevenly-baked spuds. Here's the twist: No matter what kind of tray you're using, you're using the wrong one. For the best results, bake your potatoes directly on the oven rack. 

"You'll love a baked potato cooked right on the oven rack because air can circulate fully around it," Bench says. "The air will dry the skin as it cooks and give you that crisp, crackly skin and fluffy interior." There's a method to the madness: "If the potato is sitting on a baking tray the one side will be soft and steamed instead of crisp," she explains. She's not alone in her aversion to trays. Stars like and recommend setting potatoes directly on the oven rack, too. For extra crispy skin, turn on your convection oven or bake your potatoes on a rack in your air fryer.

There's no reason why you shouldn't set potatoes directly on an oven rack, assuming you keep your oven relatively clean. Still, something about it just feels wrong. And what if the potato drips?  

According to Tara Bench, you don't have to ditch the tray entirely — you just have to use it differently. "My go-to method is baking potatoes on a metal rack set over a baking sheet," she says. "The air circulates properly giving me crisp skin all around, and the baking sheet catches any drips from the potato so there's minimal oven clean up!" Plus, a little foil can make clean up extra easy. "Line the baking sheet with foil and you'll have zero need for soapy water cleanup, too," she says. Just make sure you don't wrap your baked potatoes in foil: The classic method actually , which is the exact soggy texture you're trying to avoid.