Best Smoked Baked Potato

A serving platter filled with six loaded baked potatoes.

This recipe for smoked baked potatoes is so easy, and the results are amazing. Just a few simple ingredients and you have a side dish that will rival any steakhouse. These spuds are cooked to perfection on the Traeger grill, resulting in a fluffy texture and deliciously smokey flavor. Serve them alongside your favorite grilled meats or vegetables for a complete meal.

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 3 5

Servings: Servings

Calories: 265kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

4 to 6 large potatoes*
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons Kosher salt or 2 teaspoons regular salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the pellet grill to 225°F (or see the notes if you're cooking something else at a different temperature).
Scrub the potatoes under running water and dry them well.
Use a fork to poke a few holes in the potato skins.
Coat the potatoes in oil, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Place them directly on the grill grates and close the lid to the smoker.
Cook the potatoes for approximately 3 to 4 hours or until tender when pierced with a fork (larger potatoes will need to cook longer). If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register 205°F to 210°F, but it isn't necessary.
Serve the potatoes with your choice of toppings: butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, shredded cheese, and pulled pork.

Notes

When baking potatoes, prick them with a fork to allow steam to escape and prevent them from exploding.

Tip: Smoked bacon makes a great potato topping. Lay several strips of bacon on the grill grates next to the potatoes. Thin-cut bacon will take about 3 hours to get crispy when you smoke it at 225°F.

We prefer Russet potatoes (called Idaho potatoes where we live) for this recipe because they have a fluffy texture. This is the kind of potato that steak restaurants serve when you order a baked potato.

Yukon Gold potatoes will also work in this recipe. They have a creamier texture and slightly sweet, buttery flavor, but they don’t ‘fluff up” like a Russet. Since Yukons tend to run a little smaller than Russets, you may need to reduce the time on the pellet grill.

The lower temperature on the pellet grill will give the potatoes more time to infuse with a smoky flavor, but you will not get crispy skin. If you want crispy skins, increase the heat to 450°F during the last 30 to 40 minutes of the cooking time.

If you want to bump the heat up and cook the potatoes faster, here is a general guide for baking the spuds at different temps. Keep in mind that larger potatoes will need to cook longer.

Traeger Baked Potatoes at Different Temps.

450°F - 45 to 60 minutes
350°F - 60 to 75 minutes
250°F - 2-1/2 to 3 hours

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