Perfectly tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, smoked baked potatoes are the only way you will want to make these again! With just three ingredients, you’ll want to make several at once and treat your family to a fantastic side dish!
These salt-crusted spuds are laced with a light smoky flavor, which I promise, will be the upgrade you never knew you needed!
The best part of having baked potatoes is that everyone in the family scarfs them down with no complaints. I love how it’s just as easy to make one potato or ten.
The process is the same, and depending on the smoker you have, you can get them all in.
🥔 Ingredients
Baker Sized Potatoes | The timing on this recipe is based on the baker (larger) sized potatoes. The ones in the 5-pound bag are much smaller and will take a lot less time.
Kosher Salt | Use coarse kosher salt and not the fine-grained table salt. These have larger salt particles in the blue box found in the spice aisle of the grocery store on the bottom shelf.
Olive Oil | The oil (along with the salt) keeps everything crispy on the outside so the potatoes don’t feel like they were steamed. Nothing beats the crispy skin and soft, fluffy insides.
Toppings of Choice | Besides butter, the toppings you choose for these taters can be anything you like. Go crazy here. Try cheddar cheese, jalapeños, bacon chunks, pepperoni, peppers, chili, corn, or anything else that tickles your fancy.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
Smoker | We love using our Big Green Egg for smoking just about anything. Traeger, Masterbuilt, Camp Chef, Char Broil, and Weber all make impressive smokers that work perfectly for all of these recipes as well.
Wood Chips or Blocks of Wood | We used a nice chunk of pecan for this recipe. You’ll have to use pellets if you have a pellet smoker or a pellet grill. Wood choices don’t have to be difficult when using a wood-smoking cheat sheet. We recommend you stick with lighter fruit woods, like apple or cherry, and stay away from mesquite or hickory for vegetables. Maple is a nice choice if you’re looking for a more intense smoke flavor.
Note: You do not need to wrap these in aluminum foil. In fact, simply placing them unwrapped on the grill grate allows them to really absorb that smoky flavor.
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Set the smoker up for 225°F. For Kamado-style grills, this means using a plate setter for indirect heat. Scrub the potatoes and pat dry with a paper towel.
Step Two: Drizzle 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons of olive oil to cover the potato and then add a light coating of kosher salt so the entire thing is crusted. Alternatively, you may simply sprinkle the salt.
Step Three: Place the potatoes on the grill grate and smoke for 2-4 hours. The time range is dependent on the SIZE of the potato and the temperature of the grill. If you are using smaller potatoes, it will be closer to the two-hour mark. Baker potatoes will take four hours (sometimes a little bit more depending on size) to smoke.
Step Four: Remove the smoked baked potatoes when they are fork tender or their internal temperature is 205-210°F. It might take a bit of effort to push the fork through the crispy skin, but you’ll feel when the inside is nice and fluffy.
Step five: Cut each potato lengthwise without going all the way through – you’re basically making a pocket. Fill it with your favorite toppings and serve!
♨️What Kind of Potatoes Are Best for Smoking?
Russet potatoes are a high-starch variety and these are the ones we used for this recipe. You can also use Yukon Gold potatoes which are a medium-starch kind. Red potatoes have less starch which helps hold their shape when cooked.
The key here is to choose the larger baker sized potatoes if you want to have room for fillings and toppings.
See the differences between these types of potatoes in our how many potatoes are in a pound guide.
❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks
Larger, baker-sized potatoes will take upwards of 4 hours, and the Russet smaller-sized potatoes will take about 2 hours.
If you are worried about the salt crust, leave it off and just sprinkle with kosher salt. This baked potato recipe is extremely forgiving, so be creative.
Doneness can be tested using an instant-read thermometer or by using the old-fashioned fork test to make sure it’s tender inside.
Traeger baked potatoes should be smoked the same. 225°F on indirect heat is the norm for smoking large potatoes regardless if you’re using a Traeger grill or a Traeger smoker, a basic charcoal grill, or a gas grill.
Don’t peek too often! Your potatoes will smoke faster and more evenly with the lid closed.
🧑🍳 Storage and Reheating
Store these smoked potatoes in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat in the microwave for a couple of minutes or put them in the oven, or air fryer.
Alternatively, you can freeze these smoked potatoes in an airtight container or resealable freezer bag and they will keep well for 2-3 months. Thaw leftovers in the fridge overnight and reheat as instructed above.
Additions and Substitutions
As previously mentioned, there is so much you can do to change up these smoked baked potatoes.
Potato Bar | Make a Smoked Baked Potato Bar for your next cookout by putting out all the fixings you can think of on a big tray for everyone to pick and choose what they like to make each one a masterpiece. Include fresh chives, black pepper, sour cream, and bacon bits of course!
Taco Potato | Taco meat, beans, cheese, green onions, sour cream, guacamole and pico.
Black Bean Taco | Black beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and charred corn.
Pizza | Put all of your favorite pizza toppings on your tater. Crumbled sausage, cheese, sauce and veggies all loaded and piled high.
Eggs Benedict | Fluff up the potato, place a fried egg along with some drizzled hollandaise sauce or cream cheese.
Twice Baked Potatoes | Wait for the potatoes to cool a bit, scoop out the fluffy centers, and make your favorite twice-baked filling, place in the oven at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
Pulled Pork | Make it a hearty meal by using pulled pork as a filling. These baked potatoes are a great leftover pulled pork recipe and will help you finish that grilled pork shoulder faster.
One more thing you can do for the sake of variety is to experiment with different seasonings. Olive oil and kosher salt make a great place to start but you can go for other flavors such as garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
A dry rub like our all-purpose dry rub for grilling would also be fantastic!
Serving Suggestions
This is one of my all-time favorite potato recipes, and I try to serve these when I am making a smoked meat dish that takes about the same amount of time.
It’s easy to throw a few on the grill to cook alongside the meat. It was a huge hit with our Smoked Prime Rib and Smoked Chicken but would pair nicely with just about any BBQ meat.
As long as the smoke is going, you can also throw on some veggies like the Smoked Asparagus Bundles, Smoked Corn On The Cob, or even a whole Smoked Cauliflower Head.
❓ Recipe FAQ
The salt pulls the moisture from the potato which will help the skin become drier and the insides become fluffier.
When you toss potatoes to bake in the microwave, you notice that when you cut it open it is very damp.
No, because they are on the grill grate and not on a flat surface. If you were cooking these on a flat surface, you would want to flip them or they get flat, hard spots where they are resting.
Using a thermometer, they will be done when the internal temperature reaches 205-210 degrees f. I find it easier to use a fork to pierce the skin and it is ready when the interior is soft.
For smaller russet potatoes, smoke for two hours. For the larger baker sized spuds, it will take up to four hours. They are thick, dense, and packed with starch so it takes time.
While it might not happen often, whole-cooked potatoes can burst open. Piercing the skin with a fork will release some of the pressure that builds up as they cook.
Related Potato Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Smoked Baked Potatoes
Equipment
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 4 Baker Potatoes
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Set the smoker up for 225° F. Scrub the potatoes and dry off all of the water using a paper towel.
- Drizzle 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons of olive oil to cover the potato and then add a light coating of kosher salt so the entire thing is crusted. Alternatively, you may simply sprinkle the salt.
- Place the bakers on the grate and smoke for 2-4 hours. The range is all dependent on the SIZE of the potato and the temperature of the grill. Larger potatoes will take four hours to smoke.
- Remove when the potatoes are fork tender.
- Cut each potato lengthwise without going all the way through – you're basically making a pocket. Fill it with your favorite toppings and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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