Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
Air fryer baby potatoes are one of the BEST side dishes you can make! Ready in 20 minutes, these potatoes are soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Oh and they are packed with flavor. You are going to look for reasons to make these!
Made with super simple pantry ingredients, you never have to have a boring side dish again. Thanks to the air fryer, you can cook small potatoes in under 20 minutes, making them the perfect side dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
If you love using the air fryer, you should try air fryer potato cubes, air fryer smashed potatoes (OMG YUM) or one of my favorites, air fryer sweet potato wedges.
This recipe is so easy to make, its perfect for beginner or advanced chefs! All you need is a sharp knife, a few spices and the air fryer to make the perfect potatoes every time!
Oh and this recipe is pretty healthy too! It uses less oil than cooking potatoes in the oven and it’s got great ingredients, making it vegan, Whole30 and gluten free.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Baby potatoes (small potatoes or mini potatoes) – baby potatoes are typically yellow, red or purple potatoes. If you can’t find baby potatoes, you can use larger potatoes cut down to 1-1.5 inch cubes.
- Extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) – the oil helps to ensure the potatoes get crisp when air frying and also helps the spices stick to the potatoes well. You could also use melted coconut oil or melted ghee in place of the olive oil.
- Spices: Salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, dried thyme – these spices help to create a smoky, savory coating on the potatoes that makes them incredibly satisfying.
How to make air fryer baby potatoes
Cut the potatoes: Wash the potatoes then cut them in half or quarters depending on their size. You want uniform thickness so that they will all be cooked through at the same time.
Add the spices: Add the potatoes to a large bowl, then add the olive oil and spices. Stir well until well coated.
Cook the potatoes: Add the potatoes to the air fryer basket. It’s ok if they overlap. Turn the air fryer on 400F for 16 minutes. When the air fryer has 5 minutes left, shake the basket. You can shake it again around 2 minutes if you find they are not cooking evenly.
Top tips
- Cut the potatoes down in half or quarters depending on the size, this helps to ensure that they get slightly crispy on the outside.
- To make even crispier potatoes, use canned potatoes. Because the canned potatoes are precooked, they are able to get even crispier when cooked in the air fryer.
- Drain them first and cut them in half before adding olive oil and spices. Check them after 10 minutes as they will not need as much cooking time.
- How to check to see if potatoes are done cooking – after cooking baby potatoes in the air fryer, insert a paring knife or a fork into the thickest one you can find. If the knife easily pierces through the center, they are fully cooked. Then you just have to decide if the outside of the potatoes is crisp enough.
- The potatoes lose crispiness as they sit out. They are the crispiest right out of the air fryer (don’t burn your tongue) and will start to get soggy as they sit out. Reheat the baby potatoes in the air fryer to get that crispy coating back (400F for 4-6 minutes).
- Cooking time will depend on your air fryer – each model/brand is slightly different in how strong the motors are and how large the baskets are which can impact cooking times. This recipe is very forgiving though, so start checking with a fork/knife around 14 minutes.
Other flavor combinations
- Ranch – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tbsp. dried chives, 1 tsp. dried parsley and ½ tsp. dried dill to the salt and garlic powder mixture.
- Cajun – omit the smoked paprika and the dried thyme and add ½ tbsp. cajun seasoning.
- Italian – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning.
- Greek – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tsp. Italian seasoning and ½ tsp. dried oregano.
- Mexican – omit the dried thyme and add 1 tsp. chili powder, ½ tsp. ground cumin and ¼ tsp. dried oregano
- Curry – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tsp. curry powder and ½ tsp. ground cumin. You can also add ½ tsp. garam masala if you have it on hand.
What to serve with air fryer small potatoes
- Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, sausage, peppers and onions
- Lunch: On top of salads, as a side for sandwiches, wraps, burgers or veggie burgers
- Dinner: On the side of turkey meatloaf, 10 minute ranch chicken, buffalo chicken or cajun salmon
- Snack: serve with your favorite dip for a fun snack! Some great options include: cilantro tahini dressing, chimichurri, homemade ketchup or spicy chipotle mayo!
Common questions
What if you don’t have baby potatoes?
Baby potatoes are typically red, gold or purple potatoes that are cultivated earlier, giving them the smaller size. Because these potatoes are cultivated earlier in the season and have more natural sugar in them, making them even more crispy when roasted in the air fryer or oven.
If you don’t have baby potatoes, you can use red potatoes or gold potatoes that are cut down into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces. You may need to add 1-2 more minutes to the cooking time to ensure the potatoes get crispy.
Do you need to boil the potatoes first?
No there is no need to cook them ahead.
Can you keep the small potatoes whole?
If you want to make whole baby potatoes in the air fryer, you will need to increase the cooking time from 16 minutes to closer to 20 minutes.
Can you double the recipe?
If you want to double the recipe, make this recipe in batches or they will steam and not get crispy on the outside. Keep the cooked potatoes in a 300F oven to stay warm while the second batch cooks. Right before serving, transfer the small potatoes that were in the oven back to the air fryer and cook at 400F for 3-4 minutes to crisp the outside again.
Storing leftovers
- Fridge: these last 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Reheat in air fryer 400F for 6 minutes for crispy crust on potatoes
- Freezer: Store leftovers in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.
More air fryer recipes to try
Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
$3.46 Recipe/$0.87 ServingIngredients
- 1.5 pounds baby potatoes, cut in half or quarters - $2.99
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) - $0.22
- 1 tsp sea salt - $0.05
- 1 tsp smoked paprika - $0.10
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder - $0.05
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme - $0.05
Instructions
- Wash under warm water, scrubbing them if needed. Dry as best as possible.
- Cut the potatoes in half or in quarters depending on the size.
- Add to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder and dried thyme. Stir well.
- Add the potatoes to the air fryer basket and cook on high for 16 minutes at 400F.
- After cooking for 10 minutes, pause the air fryer and shake the basket. Continue to cook for the next 6 minutes.
- After 16 minutes of cooking, check the potatoes with a paring knife or fork to see if they are fully cooked. You may need to add 1-4 minutes of cooking time to get the crispy exterior depending on your air fryer.
Equipment
Notes
- Cut the potatoes down in half or quarters depending on the size, this helps to ensure that the potatoes can get slightly crispy on the outside.
- To make even crispier potatoes, use canned potatoes. Drain them first and cut them in half before adding olive oil and spices. Check them after 10 minutes.
- The potatoes lose crispiness as they sit out.
- Cooking time will depend on your air fryer, start checking them around 14 minutes.
- Ranch – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tbsp. dried chives, 1 tsp. dried parsley and ½ tsp. dried dill to the salt and garlic powder mixture.
- Cajun – omit the smoked paprika and the dried thyme and add ½ tbsp. cajun seasoning.
- Italian – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning.
- Greek – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tsp. Italian seasoning and ½ tsp. dried oregano.
- Mexican – omit the dried thyme and add 1 tsp. chili powder, ½ tsp. ground cumin and ¼ tsp. dried oregano
- Curry – omit the smoked paprika and dried thyme and add 1 tsp. curry powder and ½ tsp. ground cumin. You can also add ½ tsp. garam masala if you have it on hand.
- Fridge: leftover will last 5 days in the fridge.
- Reheat: Reheat in the air fryer 400F for 4-6 minutes.
- Freezer: Store leftovers in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost before reheating.
