Name: Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 lb Baby Potatoes (approx. 500g, 2-3oz each); 1 tbsp Olive Oil; ½ tsp Garlic Powder; ½ tsp Onion Powder; ½ tsp Paprika; ½ tsp Mixed Herbs; ½ tsp Salt; ¼ tsp Cracked Black Pepper

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Last Updated on December 7, 2023

When it comes to smashed potatoes, air fryer is your best friend. Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes is the most energy and time-saving way for cooking potatoes.

Hey! We’re ugly but delicious! Don’t judge the book by its cover! 🥔😁

When it comes to potatoes. We grease them, fry them like these Sticky Maple-glazed Potatoes, sauté them like Green beans and Potatoes, and bake them like Vegan baked Potato and Vegan Scalloped Potatoes.

Yet we never grow tired of coming up with new ways to eat them. The potato has been a coveted side dish that has only gotten better with time.

This time, we gonna smash them, and the Air Fryer Smashed Potato surely takes it to the next level!

Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Air fryer smashed Potatoes are air-fried potatoes and then flattened into a rectangular or oval-shaped disc.

Now, “smashed” potatoes can mean different things in different parts of the world. Baked smashed potatoes in the south can also be mistaken for “mashed” potatoes or creamed potatoes.

So be mindful of this when introducing your dish for tasting, as someone might get confused as to why they have potato “disks” and not a lump of creamy potatoes.

Our Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes are an easy recipe to master and are one of the best cheap easy meals to prepare! To get a smashed potato, you must prepare it.

You will have a hard time getting a raw or undercooked potato to flatten properly due to the overabundance of the starch present- and the stiffness of the potato itself. Preparing potatoes could mean anything from baking, boiling, roasting- or in our case- air-frying them.

Now, to get our Air-Fryer Smashed Potatoes to soften enough to smash, we put them in the air-fryer.

I say this because similar air fryer potato recipes suggest boiling the potatoes down first and then tossing them into the air fryer, which is an equally smart way, but our version saves you both time and extra clean-up.

Types of Potatoes

The standard golden children of the fried potato have been the Idaho Russett and Yukon Gold potatoes.

Both are used fabulously in oven-baked recipes, the Idaho Russett and Yukon Gold crisp extremely well, hold flavorings, and have the perfect crunch-to-chew ratio.

However, there are a few other types of potatoes that will work for Air-Fryer Smashed Potatoes- even a few that you haven’t heard of before.

Japanese Sweet Potatoes or Hannah Sweet Potatoes are surprisingly good substitutes.

And don’t be confused by the name! Although called, “sweet potatoes” they are a part of the Russett and Yukon Gold family and do not have a very sweet taste like actual sweet potatoes.

Although they sound like new potatoes, Japanese Sweet Potatoes or Hannah Sweet Potatoes have been around for quite some time in many parts of the world.

Melody, Laura, Ratte, and Katahdin potatoes will also work, and there won’t be much of a taste difference from Russett or Yukon.

Lastly, if none of those is an option and you are stuck choosing between a limited selection, I would opt for baby potatoes or red potatoes.

Both are the same as the potatoes listed above- the only difference is that they are smaller in size.

Ingredients You Need

Baby potatoes (little/mini potatoes) – keep the skin on as we want jacket potatoes. The size between 2-3 oz/50-85 grams is the ideal size for air fryer smashed potatoes. Too small they will get burnt and dry out quickly, too big you won’t get the crispy texture and they will take a longer time to cook.

Olive Oil – to grease.

Seasonings – Mixed herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix in a bowl for easier use later on.

How To Make Air-Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Season and oil your potatoes first, attempting to do so afterward won’t give them much flavor as the oil won’t have enough heat to blend the spice.

Adding the oil and seasonings beforehand then makes sense as the heat’s circular motion helps incorporate the spices while the potatoes are softening.

Mix garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, mixed herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Lightly oil the potatoes and rub the seasonings on the surface (not too much spice mix as we will season them again later). Add potatoes to an air fryer basket. You don’t need to preheat the air fryer. Cook for 18-20 minutes at 356° F/180° C.
20 minutes at 356 degrees is enough to get these baby potatoes to a tender state (using a fork to test). We aim to have a disk-like result, not a creamed-like result like the famous “mashed” potatoes or twice-baked potatoes. From here, the remaining steps of smashing them into thin disks and frying them become a breeze. Use the bottom of a mug to press the potatoes into thin discs (about ¼” thick). Don’t smash too much or you’ll end up with a big potato cake.
Sprinkle the spice mix and drizzle more olive oil and then place the smashed potatoes back into the air fryer.
Cook for an additional 15 minutes at 356° F/180° C until the potatoes are crispy and golden.

Serving Suggestion

I serve this dish as breakfast potatoes or a side dish for lunch and dinner. When it comes to serving size and portion control.

I first ask myself if I gonna serve the air-fryer smashed potatoes as a side dish, part of a party platter, or used as a standalone snack.

If for a side dish, I opt for no more than 3/4 cups due to the carb count of the dish. If serving during a party, I leave out ample portions and let my guests have their way- after all, parties are for enjoying yourself.

Finally, for snacks, I wouldn’t go past a dessert bowl size. Because they give you the feeling of eating chips, crisps, or french fries.

How To Store Leftovers

Leftover Air-Fryer Smashed Potatoes are tricky but easy to store and later reheat with a bit of elbow grease.

It’s a bit tricky because the reheating result may taste like hashbrowns- and not the crispy skin, drive-thru kind.

But let’s start with storing leftover Air-Fryer Smashed Potatoes. Depending on the amount left over a medium-to-large air-tight storage container or bag will work.

You want to make sure that you wrap all the remaining potatoes into paper towels. The paper towels will help wick the moisture and keep the potatoes from becoming super soggy.

Once you’re ready to reheat, drizzle on a bit of olive oil and then toss it into the air-fryer for 3-5 minutes, and voila!

Also, you want to make sure that the potatoes have reached room temperature before placing them in the fridge.

The heat and steam from hot potatoes will create a moisture pocket. So once cooled, will lead to your potatoes losing their crispness and tasting like hashbrowns.

I wouldn’t store leftovers longer than 1 day. As the longer they stay in the cooler area the harder it will be to try to regain the crispness.