Name: Crispy Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 10-12 baby creamer potatoes; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley; 1/2 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard; 1 tsp minced garlic; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp pepper; Pickled onions (recipe here); Green onions; Chopped dill and parsley; Lemon; Pinch of salt and pepper

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This delicious and easy recipe for air fryer smashed potatoes gives you the most incredible crispy potatoes that are perfect for dipping! They are healthy, flavourful, and air fried to perfection, great for including in any lunch or dinner meal, or snacking on their own.

If you are looking for more Air Fryer Recipes don’t miss my air fryer burger, nachos, tilapia, tofu, tortilla chips, carrots, breakfast potatoes, and fish tacos!

How To Prepare Smashed Potatoes in an Air Fryer

Smashed potatoes aren’t a new thing, but they have become more trendy in the recent days of social media with all kinds of variations of smashed potatoes making their rounds.

Making crispy smashed potatoes at home that are flavourful and addicting is so easy with an air fryer. You can achieve a perfect taste and texture in a healthier way with the air fryer, and you can enjoy this delicious twist on small potatoes in a flash.

If you don’t own an Air Fryer yet, I definitely recommend adding one to your must-have list. This small kitchen appliance is incredibly easy to use and gives so many different foods that delicious crispy, crunchy fried edge that a deep fryer does… without the deep frying.

What are ‘smashed potatoes’?

Smashed potatoes are exactly as they sound: potatoes that have been “smashed” into a flat shape and then fried, roasted, or baked so that they have a crispy skin and tender flesh. Almost like a twist on a potato chip thats thicker and heartier.

These squished and crisped potatoes are delicious in their own way as they can easily be dipped and can be enjoyed like a finger-food. They also make a great side dish to many meals and can be topped with tasty additions like pickled onions, green onions, herbs, and spices.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes:

To make super flavourful smashed potatoes that are crispy on the outside and have a savoury, satisfying flavour you will need a few ingredients listed below.

baby creamer potatoes
olive oil
dijon mustard
salt and pepper
garlic
parsley
dill
pickled red onions (optional for garnishing but HIGHLY recommended!)

I enjoy my air fryer smashed potatoes on a plate with the addition of fresh herbs, pickled onions (I use this simple quick pickled onion recipe), and a dip made simply by mixing dijon mustard together with mayonnaise, then a squeeze of lemon!

You can enjoy the potatoes as a side dish or with another dip of your choice, the sky’s the limit!

Tips for Making Smashed Potatoes in the Air Fryer

When it comes to making these potatoes perfectly crispy and delicious, there are a few tips to follow for best results.

Do I need to soak the potatoes before air frying?

No! I sometimes recommend soaking potatoes before putting them in the air fryer, but for this recipe you do not need to soak the potatoes and you’ll still get them nice and crispy.

Soaking, simply removes some of the excess starch from the potatoes which can make them crispier, but while you can soak these if you want, it’s still not necessary as long as you follow the tips below.

1. Don’t over-smash the potatoes. You want to make sure they are “smashed” but remain intact. Gently press the boiled potatoes with a flat surface such as the bottom of a bowl until ‘squished’ but still in one piece.

2. Brush the air fryer basket lightly with olive oil. This prevents the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the air fryer basket when cooking.

3. Do not overlap the smashed potatoes in the air fryer basket. This will allow for more even cooking so that each and every one gets nice and crispy.

4. Enjoy the potatoes hot right out of the air fryer. Just like roasted or fried potatoes, the longer you wait to enjoy them, the softer and less crispy they become.

Why are my smashed potatoes not crispy?

If you find your potatoes are not as crispy as you’d prefer it could be because of the following:

you are putting too many potatoes in your air fryer at once. If you have too many potatoes and they are overlapping, the air won’t be able to circulate around each potato to create that perfect crispyness.

You need to fry the potatoes for longer. Because baby potatoes come in different sizes, you may need a longer cooking time if your potatoes are on the large side. Continue to air fry, checking every couple of minutes until they achieve a crispness of your liking.

How To Make Step-by-Step:

1. Boil the potatoes in a large pot of water for 12-15 minutes until just fork tender (be careful to not overcook).

2. Drain the potatoes then add to a bowl with herbs, salt, pepper, garlic, dijon, and olive oil.

3. Toss together to coat the potatoes.

4. Gently press the potatoes with a flat surface (I used the bottom of a small bowl) to “smash”.

5. Pre-heat the air fryer at 400 degrees for 2-minutes, once pre-heated, lightly brush the air fryer basket with olive oil and carefully transfer the smashed potatoes to the basket – make sure they are not overlapping.

5. Cook at 400 degrees for 14 minutes, stopping at the 7 minute mark to carefully flip the potatoes, and arrange again so none are overlapping, then air fry for 7-10 more minutes (depending on preferred level of crispiness and size of potatoes)

6. Transfer to a plate and top with fresh herbs, pickled onions, green onions, and serve hot and crispy alongside your dip of choice (ranch, ketchup, aioli, etc.)

In my book, these air fryer smashed potatoes are a win-win. They are quick, easy to make, quick, and the kids love them too!

Have you made smashed potatoes in an air fryer? Tell me about it in the comments below and be sure to pin the photo after the recipe to save this one for later.

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