Crispy on the outside with fluffy insides, Grilled Baked Potatoes are an excellent side dish for most grilled meals. Learn how to grill a whole potato without aluminum foil easily.
🥔Ingredients
Russet potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
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Featured Comment from Dale:
"5 stars—my new way of baking pots on a gas grill. I put a grill mat between the potatoes and the flame, and they came out perfect."
A great grilled side for the summer that's cheap, easy, and delicious. Grilled baked potatoes have the most wonderful crispy skin you will love as much as the fluffy interior.
It's so simple: Wash the potato, stick it with a fork a few times, brush it with oil, and season it. Then microwave for 2-3 minutes and grill over direct heat until done. The grill time and temperature fit nicely with grilled chicken and pork recipes.
There are only a few secrets to getting that whole baked potato grilled to perfection, and it does not involve aluminum foil.
👨🍳How to Grill Whole Baked Potatoes Without Foil
- Use a grill with a surface in the range of 450°-500°—this is the temperature range for most chicken and pork recipes.
- Clean and brush medium-sized russet potatoes.
- Oil, season, and pierce the skin with a fork a few times.
- Microwave on high for about 2 to 2 ½ minutes per potato, flipping over halfway through.
- Grill over direct heat, flipping every 4-5 minutes until the outside is nicely brown and an internal temp 200°-210°—total grill time 12-14 minutes.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Tips to get it right every time
- Russets are picked when mature and tend to have more starch. They make great bakers, and the thick skin is great for this recipe.
- The potato needs to be partly cooked (heated) before grilling. You can not get the inside done otherwise.
- You need to use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature. A fully baked potato is 200°-210° internal. Cook’s Illustrated recommends 205° to 212°. Potatoes are very forgiving, so a little over is better than under. 200° is usually ok, but 190° is not done.
- The grill time and temperature fit nicely with grilled chicken and pork recipes. To use it with steaks, you must set up a cooler zone for the potatoes.
- Please do not overcook it in the microwave, or it will fade. But microwaves vary some, and potato size varies. A little under is better than over, and make it up on the grill.
Serving
Serve with butter, salt, and pepper. I like adding sour cream and a good sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese.
You can kick it up to the loaded potato range with bacon bits and sliced green onions. Or add other potato toppings like chives.
Serve as a grilled side to steak recipes like Grilled New York Strip Steaks or Grilled Filet Mignon. But also great with Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Grilled Loin Pork Chops, Grilled Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill, or Grilled Boneless Pork Ribs.
And don't miss these other grilled side dishes, like Grilled Red Potatoes, Grilling Asparagus, Grilled Mixed Vegetables, Grilled Potato Slices, and Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes.
Storage of leftovers
Store airtight in the refrigerator for 4 days. Reheat in the microwave, but it will reheat quicker and easier if cut in half.
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FAQs
No, but it will be very hard to get a fully-cooked baking potato on the grill without it. So partially cooking by parboiling or a short time in the microwave will significantly decrease the cooking time.
The foil will not affect the total cooking time significantly but will trap the moisture from the cooking and "steam" the potatoes. For great crispy skin and better flavor, direct grilling is preferred.
For more discussion, see the Idaho Potato Commission.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of 450°-500°—medium-high heat on most grills.
Clean and brush well under running water. You want to eat the skin, so get it clean.
Pierce the skin with a fork a few times on each side.
Give them a nice brush of olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. I use my 7:2:2 seasoning that also adds some garlic. Microwave on high for 2 to 2 ½ minutes per potato, flipping halfway through. This can vary some with the strength of your microwave and the size of the potatoes. DO NOT overcook in the microwave.
Transfer the potatoes to the grill over direct heat. Flip every 4-5 minutes. Grill until the outside is nicely brown and has an internal temp of 200° to 210°. The total grill time is 12-14 minutes.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Grilled Baked Potatoes without Foil
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes - medium russet
- olive oil - for brushing
- salt and pepper to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of 450°-500°—medium-high heat on most grills.
- Clean and brush well under running water. You want to eat the skin, so get it clean.
- Pierce the skin with a fork a few times on each side.
- Give them a nice brush of olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. I use my 7:2:2 seasoning that also adds some garlic. Microwave on high for 2 to 2 ½ minutes per potato, flipping halfway through. This can vary some with the strength of your microwave and the size of the potatoes. DO NOT overcook in the microwave.
- Transfer the potatoes to the grill over direct heat. Flip every 4-5 minutes. Grill until the outside is nicely brown and an internal temp of 200° to 210°—total grill time 12-14 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Cook the number of potatoes you need.
- Do not do this with huge potatoes.
- Precook in the microwave for a few minutes. A little short is better than too long in the microwave.
- Oil before microwaving— it seems to help the potatoes not to shrivel up as microwave potatoes do.
- A done potato should be 200°+. A little too high is better than not enough. Do not stop under 190°.
- Huge variables due to the size of the potatoes, the microwave, and the grill.
- Times are provided as general guidelines only. GO BY INTERNAL TEMPERATURE ONLY.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published May 9, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Susan H says
I cut the potato in half. Microwave for 1-2 minutes per whole potato, until el dente with a large fork. Brush cut side with oil. Throw it on the grill, skin side down. Turn over after 4-5 minutes. Give it another 4-5 minutes. Done after that. Takes a little longer than the pork chops, so I put them to grill first.
What's nice is you can pre-cook the potatoes a little ahead of time, so there's no hurry on that front.
Dale says
my new way of baking pots on a gas grill. I put a grill mat between the potatoes and the flame and they came out perfect.
Thanks for sharing
Cheers!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Dale,
Welcome to the blog.
I do love a good baked potato. Good idea on the mat.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Ian says
It is 2019 and potatoes are still being grilled without foil. I came back and read this after putting my potato rocks on the grill. I realized you said microwave EACH potato 2-3 minutes. I microwaved all 3 potatos together for 3 minutes. I'm not a doctor but I think that's going to be a problem. Maybe that should be underlined for us lazy readers. Hoping it still works out. I don't like depending on foil for everything; Just hats.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Ian,
Welcome to the blog.
I truly hate foil on potatoes. Just steam them and get it over with.
This recipe works and you may be fine with the less microwave time. When I developed this 1 minute was not dependable in getting enough of a head start on the cooking.
But the whole idea is to get enough energy into the potato and finish on the grill. If you try without that, you will generally not be successful. I do sometimes do this without the microwave if I'm doing a low and slow thing like a pork butt. I just toss them in the back of the grill for a couple of hours.
Remember a done potato is about 205 degrees. And baked potatoes are very forgiving.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Lisa Gabriel says
I microwaved them for 19 minutes, brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and put them on the top rack for 10 minutes. They were perfect!
batman says
What happens when you follow the directions and the potatos are still hard in the center?
DrDan says
The main variable not controlled is potato size. Be sure to check the internal temperature on the potato. If not done then grill a little longer or microwave for a short period to get there. Hope that helps.
DrDan
Chris says
I need to try this when I don't have time to bake them. good tips.
Jerry says
Great tip that I'm going to try :) Thanks for sharing!