Cook easy and delicious air fryer smashed potatoes with any variety of small potatoes. We show you how to cook potatoes before smashing or how to cook smashed potatoes in air fryer with precooked potatoes. Serve with your favorite baked potato toppings!
It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM in less than 30 minutes!
These Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes are so easy!
I fully admit to us being a potato obsessed family. Giving up gluten due to gluten sensitivities was no problem, potatoes such as air fryer home fries or air fryer baby potatoes are, in our opinion, much better than bread and processed carbs anyways!
While we sometimes have pressure cooker steamed potatoes already in the fridge, which makes air frying smashed potatoes even faster, we do show you how to make the recipe from raw potatoes too, all in less than 40 minutes!
Serve the air fryer smashed potatoes with a complete air fryer meal like air fryer broccolini and our popular air fryer brats recipe.
- Making air fryer smashed potatoes (or crushed potatoes) is even quicker than the oven or any other cooking method!
- They're easy to customize the flavor based on your personal preferences. Loading them with your favorite baked potato toppings is simply divine!
- We show you how to make the smashed potatoes air fryer recipe starting with precooked potatoes OR raw whole potatoes.
- Crispy smashed potatoes in the air fryer are naturally gluten free and dairy free.
- Everyone will think you're a gourmet cook! But shhh, these are beyond simple and we won't tell anyone 😉
Ingredient notes
With just small potatoes like red or Yukon gold, plus a few basic seasonings, you'll have air fried smashed potatoes made in a flash!
- baby potatoes (red or Yukon gold)
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Variations
Potato Varieties- While our air fryer smashed potato recipe is designed for the cute little baby potatoes whether we're talking the tiny variety, small, or medium sized, you could or course also smash a large baked potato after cooking or a whole sweet potato too.
Equipment you'll need
An Air Fryer- We have a Cosori XL basket style air fryer, an Omni Plus oven style air fryer, and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer. The Cosori was used in this recipe
How to make Smashed Potatoes in Air Fryer
If you're starting with precooked potatoes, there are just a couple of simple steps to follow. Smash the potatoes (gently, don't beat them!), season, and air fry. So simple yet so gourmet!
However, you MUST precook the potatoes before making air fryer smashed potatoes or the recipe won't turn out. We'll show you how to cook them below if you don't already have a stash of steamed potatoes in your fridge.
1. Cooking the Whole Potatoes
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 F.
Add as many small potatoes as desired to the air fryer basket or air fryer oven, making sure the potatoes are in a single layer.
If you already have pre-cooked potatoes, skip this step. Air fry the potatoes at 400 F for 18-20+ minutes until they're cooked through and easy to pierce with a fork, the timing can vary depending on the size of your potatoes. Flip over halfway through cooking. Let the potatoes cool slightly.
2. Smashing and cooking
On a piece of parchment paper the size of your air fryer basket or oven, gently smash the cooked potatoes with the bottom of a measuring cup or mug. Don't smash too hard or the potatoes could fall apart.
Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle them to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
Carefully transfer the parchment paper with the smashed potatoes on top to the air fryer basket. Air fry the potatoes on one side for 5-8 minutes or until they're golden brown. The time will vary depending on whether you started with precooked cold potatoes or warm potatoes you just cooked.
Sprinkle with more seasoning if desired and add fresh parsley for color, optional. other great toppings are parmesan cheese, cheddar, cooked and crumbled bacon, sour cream, and/or fresh chives.
Enjoy!
Helpful tips
- To add cheese such as parmesan cheese or cheddar to the air fried smashed potatoes, sprinkle the cheese on the potatoes in the last minute of cooking.
- We used medium sized red potatoes, Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes also work great.
- Parchment paper isn't essential but it does help with transferring the potatoes or for easy clean-up. Foil should work also.
- If you have precooked cold potatoes they'll take longer to cook than potatoes you just cooked whole in the air fryer before air frying smashed potatoes.
Serving ideas
Smashed potatoes in air fryer make a terrific healthy and easy side dish for all sorts of recipes such as chicken, pork, beef, or seafood. Just add a green vegetable like steamed broccoli or a green salad for a complete meal.
Storing leftovers
Leftover air fryer smashed potatoes will keep for up to 4-5 days in the fridge in an air tight container.
FAQs
In general, if your potatoes are still hard after air frying, there could be a few reasons why. Your potato pieces could be too large. The air fryer temp could be set too high, causing the outsides to cook faster than the insides. Also, not all potatoes are the same; some varieties take longer to cook than others. We recommend using Yukon Gold, red potatoes, or small Russet potatoes.
The time it takes for a potato to get soft in an air fryer varies based on the size of the potato pieces, your air fryer, and the type of potato. Typically, for smashed potatoes, it's best to pre-cook them until they are just tender before smashing and air frying.
This might take around 17-18+ minutes at 400F. After smashing, they usually take an additional 5-8 minutes to become crispy and golden brown. It's important to keep an eye on them to avoid overcooking, and you can also use a fork to check if they're soft enough to your liking.
More Air Fryer Potato Recipes
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Smashed Potatoes Air Fryer Recipe
Cook easy and delicious air fryer smashed potatoes with any variety of small potatoes. We show you how to cook potatoes before smashing or how to cook smashed potatoes in air fryer with precooked potatoes. Serve with your favorite baked potato toppings!
Ingredients
- ¾ lb+ Baby potatoes (red or Yukon gold)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- ¼+ teaspoon Garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 F.
- Add as many small potatoes as desired to the air fryer basket or air fryer oven, making sure the potatoes are in a single layer.
- If you already have pre-cooked potatoes, skip this step. Air fry the potatoes at 400 F for 18-20+ minutes until they're cooked through and easy to pierce with a fork, the timing can vary depending on the size of your potatoes. Flip over halfway through cooking. Let the potatoes cool slightly.
- On a piece of parchment paper the size of your air fryer basket or oven, gently smash the cooked potatoes with the bottom of a measuring cup or mug. Don't smash too hard or the potatoes could fall apart.
- Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle them to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
- Carefully transfer the parchment paper with the smashed potatoes on top to the air fryer basket. Air fry the potatoes on one side for 5-8 minutes or until they're golden brown. The time will vary depending on whether you started with precooked cold potatoes or warm potatoes you just cooked.
- Sprinkle with more seasoning if desired and add fresh parsley for color, optional. other great toppings are parmesan cheese, cheddar, cooked and crumbled bacon, sour cream, and/or fresh chives. Enjoy!
Notes
To add cheese such as parmesan cheese or cheddar to the air fried smashed potatoes, sprinkle the cheese on the potatoes in the last minute of cooking.
We used medium sized red potatoes, Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes also work great.
Parchment paper isn't essential but it does help with transferring the potatoes or for easy clean-up. Foil should work also.
if you have precooked cold potatoes they'll take longer to cook than potatoes you just cooked whole in the air fryer before air frying smashed potatoes.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 74Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 583mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 1g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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