Dolly Parton’s Trick for the Best Baked Potato

I never thought I’d call Dolly Parton my baked potato muse. But if I’ve learned anything since moving to Tennessee (Dolly’s home state), it’s that we Dolly everything from music and cast iron to cooking. 

Dolly and her sister Rachel Parton George published a cookbook together, Good Lookin’ Cookin’. In it, they reveal that their method for baking potatoes is “a little different.” So I had to try it. The results were baked potatoes with extremely crispy skin and a super fluffy interior—the kind of baked potato that is so good that it only requires a little butter and salt to be a memorable dinner side dish.

Dolly and Rachel’s Secret to the Best Baked Potato

Dolly and Rachel’s recipe calls for russet potatoes that are scrubbed clean and toweled dry, which isn’t unusual. But unlike other recipes that call for foil wrapping, poking, or prepping with oil, this recipe has you throw the potatoes right into a hot oven and bake them directly on the oven rack.

Many recipes call for using the tines of a fork to poke lots of holes in the skin of each potato. The idea is these holes prevent potatoes from bursting by allowing steam to escape the skin, which might ultimately make the inside of a baked potato more fluffy. Skipping this step was too alluring not to try it out.

How Dolly and Rachel Make Baked Potatoes

Following Dolly and Rachel’s recipe, I scrubbed four medium russet potatoes and dried them with a paper towel while I preheated the oven to 450°F. The oven temperature seemed a bit high for the suggested baking time of 50 minutes to one hour, but ‘In Dolly We Trust,’ right? 

When the oven was ready, I baked the potatoes directly on the rack. To my surprise, the potatoes didn’t burn or burst and the results were incredible. The finished potatoes had a cracker-like skin and an ultra-creamy interior that readily soaked up butter. 

These baked potatoes reminded me of English jacket potatoes, which usually call for at least two hours of baking at 400°F, but were ready in half the time. If you’re the kind of potato lover who also devours the baked potato skins, you’ll love how crispy these baked potatoes get. 

While I was worried that Dolly and Rachel’s potatoes would be bland without any oil or salt on the outside, these ended up as more of a beautiful blank canvas (you can add plenty of butter and salt before serving). Plus, I loved the minimal prep and cleanup since there’s no need to clean oil and salt off a counter or cutting board. 

Next time you need an easy dinner side, follow these ladies’ directions and just throw some potatoes in a hot oven—no foil, poking, or salting required.