The air fryer is a superweapon when it comes to potato cookery. Whether you're baking or frying in any shape, potatoes are where the air fryer shows its best potential.
Air Fryer Baked Potato
The baked potato is about the simplest thing there is to cook, and it's a good way to test how your air fryer works. Look for a soft center and crispy skin as your optimum.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat a 5-quart or larger air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Pierce each potato 6 times; rub with oil and salt.
- Space potatoes directly in basket without foil; cook 25 minutes.
- Turn; cook 20 to 25 minutes more until centers easily pierce and skins are dry and crisp. Add 5 minutes if center remains firm.
- Transfer to plates; rest 3 minutes. Slit lengthwise, gently press ends inward, and fluff flesh with a fork.
- Add 1 tablespoon butter and half the pepper to each; serve immediately.
Air Fryer French Fries
Making fries at home is normally a nightmare, but the air fryer works spectacularly, with no greasy mess. Be sure to soak and dry to clear away any excess starch.
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These easy homemade Air Fryer French Fries are a super healthy way to enjoy this popular potato side dish. Use fresh russet potatoes or frozen french fries depending on what you have on hand, both will turn out wonderfully crisp and tasty.
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet potato fries can't crisp up like ordinary fries — accept this as one of the many inevitable truths of life. A good sweet potato fry should brown up, though, and the sweet, soft center is always good.
Ingredients
Method
- Towel-dry fries. Toss with cornstarch to leave a thin dusting, then oil and paprika.
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 380°F for 3 minutes. Spread half the fries in a loose single layer, leaving air gaps between most.
- Air fry 8 minutes; gently shake and cook 6 to 9 minutes more until tender inside and edges browned. Remove narrow fries early if darkening faster.
- Transfer loosely to a plate; add half the salt. Repeat with remaining fries and salt.
- Serve 4 side portions immediately; refresh first batch in empty hot basket for 1 minute if needed.
Air Fryer Cheesy Potato Wedges
If you're looking for a delectable snack or a mouthwatering side dish, look no further than air fryer cheesy potato wedges. These irresistible treats combine the perfect balance of crispy and cheesy goodness, making them a crowd-pleasing favorite.
Monique, Ambitious Foodie
Get the full Air Fryer Cheesy Potato Wedges recipe at Ambitious Foodie.
Air Fryer Roasted Baby Potatoes
Baby potatoes roast up so nicely — more surface area means more delicious, crispy potato skin. Make sure to use approximately equal sizes, or you'll get a mix of undercooked and burnt.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat a 5-quart or larger air fryer to 390°F for 3 minutes. Pat potatoes dry again, removing all wash water.
- Evenly coat whole potatoes with oil, salt, crushed rosemary, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Arrange in one layer; air fry 12 minutes, then shake to turn.
- Cook 10 to 14 minutes more until skins browned and largest potato easily pierced with a skewer.
- Serve hot, skins intact, in 4 side portions.
Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
The smashed potato is somehow mashed, baked, and fried at the same time. Be sure the microwave-steamed potato is fully tender before you smash it into oblivion.
Ingredients
Method
- Put potatoes and water in a covered, vented microwave-safe dish. Microwave on HIGH 7 to 9 minutes, turning halfway, until a skewer passes easily through every center. Drain; let steam escape 5 minutes.
- Flatten potatoes on a plate with a glass bottom to about 1/2 inch thick, keeping rough pieces attached. Brush both faces with oil; season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Transfer 6 potatoes with a thin spatula to basket in one layer; cook 8 minutes.
- Turn carefully; cook 6 to 8 minutes more until edges crisp. Transfer to a rack; repeat with remaining potatoes.
- Microwave butter in a small microwave-safe bowl 15 to 20 seconds. Stir in garlic powder and dill; brush lightly over cooked potatoes. Serve 3 per portion.
Air Fryer Hasselback Potatoes
A Hasselback potato is bound to impress with both flavor and visual impact, and it's easier than it looks. Holding the potato in place with a couple of chopsticks makes it easy to slice almost all the way to the bottom while keeping the whole thing unified.
Ingredients
Method
- Set a potato between two wooden chopsticks. Slice crosswise 1/8 inch apart, stopping 1/4 inch above bottom to keep base joined; take care at narrow ends. Repeat with second potato.
- Preheat a 5-quart or larger air fryer to 350°F for 3 minutes. Rub potatoes with oil; add salt and pepper, working some into cuts without forcing apart.
- Air fry cut-side up 25 minutes. Briefly transfer to a plate; gently brush melted butter over tops and into opening cuts.
- Return to basket at 400°F; cook 15 to 20 minutes until edges golden and joined base easily pierced. Add 5 minutes if base remains firm.
- Rest 3 minutes. Serve one whole fanned potato per person, bottom connected.
Air Fryer Homemade Tater Tots
Yes, you can make tots from scratch, even if Tater Tots is a trademark of the Ore-Ida Corporation (please don't sue!). The air fryer helps ensure they don't fall apart, too, which is a risk with hot oil.
Ingredients
Method
- Simmer cooking water and cooking salt in a saucepan large enough for whole potatoes. Add potatoes; simmer 7 to 9 minutes until outside softens, center firm. Drain; cool 15 minutes.
- Coarsely box-grate potatoes into a bowl. Gently fold in flour, cornstarch, onion powder, seasoning salt, and pepper.
- Divide into 24 equal heaped-tablespoon portions; firmly squeeze into cylinders about 1 1/4 inches long. Gently brush all surfaces with measured oil.
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 390°F for 3 minutes. Space 12 tots in one layer; cook undisturbed 7 minutes.
- Carefully turn with tongs; cook 6 to 8 minutes more until golden and cooked through. Transfer to rack; repeat remaining tots.
- Serve 6 hot tots per portion; refresh first batch in empty basket 1 minute if needed.
Air Fryer Home Fries
Home fries are a brunch staple in my house. Be sure to allow plenty of room for air circulation.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 390°F for 3 minutes. Thoroughly dry potato cubes; toss with 2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, paprika, and pepper.
- Spread loosely in basket; cook 10 minutes, shaking after 5 minutes to expose new faces.
- Toss onion with remaining oil and salt. Add to potatoes; gently shake to distribute and cook 8 minutes.
- Shake; cook 5 to 7 minutes more until centers tender and several faces golden brown. Remove small onion pieces early if darkening too fast.
- Serve immediately in 4 side portions, each with potatoes and softened onion.
Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
Potato skins start with baked potatoes. After that, simply scoop out most of the flesh, crisp the skins up, and load them with your favorite toppings.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Fork-pierce potatoes; rub with 1 teaspoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 40 to 50 minutes, turning halfway, until easily pierced.
- Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium 7 to 9 minutes until crisp. Drain on paper towel; set aside.
- Cool potatoes 8 minutes; halve lengthwise. Scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4-inch walls attached to skins. Reserve flesh for another use.
- Brush all surfaces of 4 shells with remaining oil; add remaining salt. Cook 2 shells hollow-side down at 400°F for 5 minutes; turn hollow-side up and cook 4 minutes.
- Fill each of the 2 crisp shells with one-quarter of cheddar and cooked bacon. Air fry at 375°F for 2 to 3 minutes until cheese melts. Transfer to plates; repeat crisping and filling with remaining 2 shells, cheddar, and bacon.
- Plate; top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Serve one loaded half per side portion.
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes
These are essentially home fries, sweet potato edition. As with all sweet potato recipes, expect browning, but don't try to get them crisp — you'll just end up burning them.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 390°F for 3 minutes. Pat cut sweet potato cubes dry.
- Toss cubes with oil, salt, cumin, chili powder, and pepper to coat all faces.
- Spread in a loose single layer in basket; cook 10 minutes. Shake to turn cubes and separate touching pieces.
- Cook 8 to 12 minutes more until edges brown and a fork passes easily through the largest cube.
- Divide into 4 side portions; serve hot while browned surfaces remain dry.
Air Fryer Twice-Baked Potatoes
Twice-baked potatoes can be filled with a lot more than sour cream and cheese. This recipe uses spinach, ricotta, and feta for a hybrid twice-baked potato and spanakopita.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Pierce potatoes; rub with oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 40 to 50 minutes, turning halfway, until very tender throughout.
- Cool 8 minutes; halve lengthwise. Scoop flesh into a bowl, leaving 1/4-inch walls attached to skins. Gently mash warm flesh with butter and milk.
- Fold in squeezed spinach, ricotta, half feta, remaining salt, and pepper. Divide among 4 shells, gently mounding; top with remaining feta.
- Reduce air fryer to 375°F. Cook 2 halves 8 to 10 minutes until filling is hot throughout and ridges lightly golden.
- Carefully transfer to plates; repeat remaining 2 halves. Serve one half per side portion, refreshing first pair in empty basket 1 minute if needed.
Soaking cut potatoes and why it matters
Cutting a russet exposes starch on the new surfaces. A cold-water soak removes some of that loose starch and keeps thin fries from sticking together as readily. For the french fries here, soak the quarter-inch sticks for thirty minutes, then drain and rinse them before drying. Keep the pieces roughly the same thickness so the soak and cooking time work across the batch instead of leaving a few thick sticks undercooked beside narrow browned ones.
Drying is the step that completes the soak. Spread the potatoes on a clean towel, cover with another towel and press gently until the surfaces no longer feel wet. Oil clings more evenly to dry potatoes, and the air fryer can start browning them sooner when it does not first have to evaporate water between the pieces. Do not move dripping potatoes straight from a colander into the basket and expect the stated cooking time to give the same result.
Follow the preparation for each shape rather than soaking everything in the list. Sweet potato fries use a thin starch coating and no soak; the coated Jojo wedges get a microwave head start and a buttermilk dip. Whole baked potatoes need scrubbing and drying, while homemade tots begin with par-cooked potatoes that must stay firm enough to grate. Smashed potatoes need fully tender centers before flattening. Those steps solve different texture problems, so replacing them all with the same bowl of soaking water will not produce the intended crust or center.
Air fryer sizes and batch timing
Basket capacity is about usable floor space as well as the quart number on the appliance. A deep narrow basket can hold a large volume of food but still offer little room for fries to spread out. The recipes here specify five- or six-quart baskets and use modest potato amounts. If your basket is smaller, divide the food into additional batches while keeping the pieces the same size and the temperature unchanged. Check each batch for tenderness and browning rather than shortening the cook just because it contains less food.
The stated cooking times include all planned batches. Two rounds of fries take longer than the number shown for one turn through the basket, and filled potato halves need room around their tops. Keep the first finished batch in a loose layer on a rack or plate while the next cooks. Covering it tightly traps steam against the crust. For fries or tots that lose their edge while waiting, a minute or two in the emptied hot basket can refresh the outside just before serving.
Shake loose cubes and fries when directed so different faces reach the heat. Turn coated wedges, smashed potatoes and handmade tots with tongs or a thin spatula once their surfaces have set. Keep any liner from blocking the basket’s airflow, and never preheat with loose paper that could lift toward the heating element. Start checking near the low end of the stated range, since basket shape and airflow affect browning. A fork or skewer should still pass through the thickest potato piece easily before it goes on the plate.
