Have you ever wondered why the Outback Steakhouse Baked Potato tastes so good? What do they do differently from you and me? The potatoes have a magnificent salt crisp crust with a moist, tender inside.
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Restaurant Style Baked Potato
You can make a baked potato just like Outback. It takes just an extra step or two to make your typical baked potato taste as if it came from a steakhouse. Hands down, this is one of my favorite and most used copycat recipes.
Perhaps you have seen this classic baked potato in the steakhouse for years and may have long wondered how to prepare this famous side dish. It is straightforward to do.
Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
Ingredient Notes
I recommend using a russet potato. They bake up very well and are ideal for baked potato. Your cooking time may vary. If you have an extra-large potato, you will need to be prepared it so that it will cook for a little longer.
This recipe works best when using potatoes that are 5 ounces. For a 5-ounce potato, you will need to cook it for 50 minutes. If your potato is larger, you will need to cook it longer.
Also, cut the sprouts off your potatoes before cooking them. The nodes are not tasty, and they are said to be poisonous.
How to Make Outback Baked Potatoes
- Wash and dry the potatoes and do not poke each potato once or twice with a fork.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a small dish and dip a paper towel into the oil.
- Rub the oil all over each potato.
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet.
- Sprinkle salt over the potatoes.
- Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.
- Check the potatoes for doneness by inserting a fork into one. If it presses through easily, the potato is thoroughly baked.
- Serve with butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and chives.
What to serve your baked potato with
Now that you have a perfectly baked potato, you will add the perfect toppings. I would suggest the following:
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Butter
- Sour cream
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Crispy bacon cumbles
- Sliced green onions
Potato Buying Tips
I have two major tips when it comes to buying potatoes:
- Do not buy potatoes with a green tint. Potatoes with a green tint are old and they are past their prime.
- You should pick potatoes that are even in size and have that consistent brown skin.
How to store leftovers
- Cool the potatoes: Allow the baked potatoes to cool completely at room temperature. This will prevent moisture from building up in the storage container, which can cause the potatoes to spoil quickly.
- Store in an airtight container: Once the potatoes have cooled, place them in an airtight container. Ensure the container is big enough to hold the potatoes without crowding them. You can use a plastic container with a lid, a resealable plastic bag, or wrap them in plastic.
- Refrigerate the potatoes: Store the airtight container in the refrigerator. Baked potatoes can be stored in the fridge for up to four days.
Four different ways to reheat a baked potato
There are several ways to reheat a baked potato, but the best method depends on personal preference and the equipment you have available. Here are some standard methods:
- Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the baked potato on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until heated.
- Microwave: Pierce the baked potato several times with a fork to allow steam to escape. Place the potato on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, turning the potato over halfway through.
- Air Fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C). Place the baked potato in the air fryer basket and cook for 5-10 minutes until heated and crispy outside.
- Grill or BBQ: Cut the baked potato into thick slices and grill over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side until heated through and crispy.
No matter which method you choose, monitor the potato closely to avoid overcooking or drying it out. You can also add toppings like butter, cheese, sour cream, or chives after reheating to add flavor and texture.
Love Outback? Make these copycat Outback Steakhouse recipes!
- Bloomin Onion
- Outback Alice Springs Chicken Recipes
- Baked Sweet Potato with Cinnamon Butter
- Outback Steamed Vegetables Recipe – Green Beans
- Outback Soups – Walkabout Creamy Onion Soup
- Dill Sauce for Steak
Best Potato Recipes
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Lipton Onion Soup Mix Potatoes
- Red Skin Potatoes Recipe
- Baked Potato Slow Cooker
- Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
- Leek and Potato Bake
- Easy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
- Roast Potatoes Greek Style
Be sure to check out more of the best side dish recipes and copycat restaurant food.
Outback Steakhouse Baked Potato
Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes (about 1/2 pound each)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wash and dry the potatoes and do not poke each potato once or twice with a fork. Again, do not poke any holes in the potato. Potatoes only explode when they are overcooked.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a small dish and dip a paper towel into the oil. Rub the oil all over each potato.
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle salt over the potatoes.
- Bake for about 1 hour. Check the potatoes for doneness by inserting a fork into one. If it presses through easily, the potato has completed cooking.
Jennifer Watson
Actually, we rub the potatoes in butter then rub with salt. The potatoes come out with an almost crusty skin that tastes fabulous!
Robin Gaylor
Good morning! I love your recipes! Could you please do molly woos firecracker shrimp and fried rice? My daddy has heart cancer and I had to move home. It’s his favorite meal and he asks for it every day
Joe
For toppings the best I have found is Cottage Cheese and Salsa
LJ ONeill
I’ve been baking potatoes like this for years, but Outback must do something different. Mine are never like this.
Stephanie Manley
I am not sure what you mean. Are the potatoes that you bake not like this? Or are potatoes at the restaurant not like the copykat recipe?
Shirley Wine
I have a very bad allergy to monosodium glutamate.
I took the potato peel home with a piece of steak. I ate it in the evening.
I immediate got sick. Distended abdomen & diarrhea alll nighT.
Please respond.
Stephanie Manley
I am not the Outback Steakhouse, I am a recipe website. How can I help you?
Danny
I don’t think anybody needed to know that.
Michele J Maramarco
Excellent step ,cooking a baked potato that sometimes we don’t think about makes the potato wonderful
Tamantha
I always wondered how restaurants do this! Thanks.
Pauline Blackbum
I loved this recipe.
Amanda
When I worked at Outback, they rolled the potatoes in butter and coarse salt. Then each potato was wrapped in a sheet of foil. This recipe sounds pretty close.
Irene Kachel
Looking for Baked Sweet Potato Recipe
Karen Daniels
Just tried your recipe and it was spot on!!! My husband and I have tried to recreate the Outback Baked Potato numerous times via recipes and have always been disappointed!
Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoyed it!
Carol
Can this recipe be adapted to an air fryer? If so, what setting and temp?
Stephanie Manley
Yes, you can make this in an air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees. Cook the potato for approximately 40-45 minutes. If your potato is extra small or large you may need to adjust the cooking time.
Shelly
I worked at Outback for almost 9 years. Here is how we do it:
We would cover the potato with margarine (yes, margarine ) and then sprinkle with rock salt. They would then put them on a tray to “age” for 1 1/2 to 2 days. Just in the open, not covered, After a couple days they are then wrapped in aluminum foil and baked until done.
Hashbrowns
I would bring some extra ones home, leave them in the fridge for 4-7 days (still wrapped in the foil) and then use them for hash browns, grating the whole potato. Aging in the fridge is important, it dries the potato to perfection. 🙂
Diana Sears
Thank you, Shelly…nothing beats first hand experience.
Yana
Hi Shelly do you put your potatoes inside the refrigerator for a days or just leave it outside ? Thanks
Ann Scholl
Try reading what Shelly wrote again. I bet you’ll find the answer to your question right away. (shaking my head).
SR
She didn’t say what “out in the open” meant in the first part. It just says not covered. It could mean out in the open inside the fridge but not covered. And she only spoke of aging in the fridge in terms of hashbrowns. It is a valid question Yana asked. Although unclear as to if she herself is talking about baked or hashed, certainly not cause for which being condescended to is warranted.
G-Man
Relax people and don’t be so judge mental .
thehattrick69
If you don’t have margarine, can you use salted butter? Would you have to refrigerate it? Thanks in advance.
Marie
I am looking for the no rules outback pasta. Does anyone have it?
Debra
Thank you, Shelly.
Crystal H
Could you bake these, then scoop out the insides, mix with whatever you like to make a twice baked potato? Reuse the skin as the bowl?
Heidi W
Yes.
Stephanie
You could totally do this, it would be a great way to upgrade a twice baked potato.
Kristi
Last night I was in a hurry, but still wanted a baked tater. I increased the temp to 400 and since it was a large tater, it cooked 50 minutes. I usually use foil, but i wanted to later add broccoli to roast and just put it on a foil lined sheet pan. Best tater ever. It was more crispy on the outside than when i cook at 350. i also added garlic and pepper blend with kosher salt.
Wayne H.
I was born in 1931 and have loved baked potatoes all my life until about 20 years ago., give or take a few. The current baking potatoes have an off taste, have lots of hidden small black spots not shown through to the skin.
Restaurants often still have good baked potatoes but tell me they have to be bought from restaurant suppliers. I tried organic but saw no improvement. Can you tell what changed over perhaps the last 20 years? Thanks.
Nancy Lim
Has you tried using Instant Pot / pressure cooker, baked mode?
Stephanie
My two models of Instant Pot do not have a bake mode. I’ll have to look into this.
Carlos
Grocery stores no longer buy produce based on taste, or quality. The enduring appearance of freshness is the 1 goal of producers and buyers.
Dean
To: wayne, born in 1931, whom asked. Purchase chef’s potatoes. Which are Idaho types, all number 1 potatoes. And only from a fruit/ vegetable market. Grocery stores, super markets etc have old blemished stuff. Get to know an owner of the for mentioned.
Helene Berg
You need to visit the fields where potatoes grow to see the horror of how we grow potatoes now. Acres of potatoes are not dug up by hand but by machine. In order not to bung up the machinery, the plant greens are sprayed with herbicides to kill off the foliage. 2-3 days later the potatoes are harvested with a commitment by herbicidal companies that there is no contamination…IF HARVESTED WITHIN THOSE 2-3 days. If it rains in the meantime, or if machinery breaks down, etc., contamination can occur. No one’s going to destroy their crop because of a delay in harvesting. Growing your own potatoes? Your seed potatoes can come from the same source and thus also contaminated. Just so you know.
Mary B. Feagler
Love your recipes. Do you have a recipe for Old Chicago’s chicken tortilla green chili soup ( I think that’s the name…it is one of their 2 daily soups)?
plasterer bristol
Really happy to have found this recipe. It’s great. Thanks for sharing. Simon
Karyn
Hope you are still answering questions… I have 25 people coming on Sunday and want to make potatoes… what is the time and temp for 25 baked potatoes? Anything else I should know?
Stephanie
I still answer questions. I think the temperature would still be the same. I don’t know how large your potatoes are. So I don’t know if you have small potatoes, Trader Joes has some very small potatoes, and my local Kroger has huge baked potatoes that weigh more than a pound a piece. If they are fairly large I would do this, bake the potatoes for 50 to 60 minutes. Flip them over every 20 minutes or so and check them for doneness by piercing them with a fork.
Karyn
Thank you Stephanie !!! I look forward to following you in the future! Merry Christmas!
rags
I cook them at 425 for 1 hour.Perfect every time. I do use a large tater. No poke. Rub down with butter wrap in foil seam side up. And bake 1 hour at 425 degrees F .
rags
Fogot to add salt and pepper before you wrap it so you can eat the skin. Great tasten.
Shirley Donihoo
I could not locate a place to sign up for your emails. Do you have one? I love your recipes.