Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes are a delicious side dish, ideal for a busy weeknight dinner as they take about 30 minutes to prepare and most of the time is hands-off. This versatile recipe makes crispy bites of red potatoes with creamy interiors, seasoned simply with fresh herbs and garlic.
Air-fried potatoes have a unique combination of crispy exteriors and light and creamy interiors. The recipe is particularly idea anytime you don't want to crank on the oven. Simply toss chopped red potatoes (baby potatoes or regular size work great) with oil, herbs, spices, salt and pepper then cook in the air fryer until golden brown, crispy and tender.
Air fryers are particularly well suited to cooking potatoes. There is no need to precook these potatoes, that means no boiling or microwaving required! And as the air fryer blows hot, lightly oiled air throughout the basket, the edges get nice and crispy while the insides stay tender and creamy. We use this same technique for our Air Fryer Steak Fries recipe and our Air Fryer Smashed Parmesan Potatoes.
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Ingredients that Matter
This air fried red skin potatoes recipe uses a handful of basic ingredients, and best of all, it's very easy to adjust this recipe. Here are the ingredients you'll need to make these little crispy potatoes:
- Red Potatoes. The star of this recipe is red potatoes. Use baby (new) or regular sized potatoes. Either way, chop them into bite-sized pieces. Red potatoes work well in the air fryer because their skin is quite thin, providing a distinct crispy exterior. They are also high moisture potatoes, meaning the insides stay nice and creamy.
- Oil. Just about any oil will work well for this recipe, but I tend to prefer a light tasting oil like regular olive oil, vegetable, peanut or canola. You can use extra-virgin olive oil, if you'd like, but note the oil may become a bit bitter as the air fryer gets quite hot.
- Fresh Thyme. The fresh herb is all up to you, but I prefer the bright, lemony flavor of fresh thyme. If you opt to use dried herbs instead, use half the amount of fresh.
- Garlic Powder. This, too, is a choice. You can certainly use fresh garlic, but I prefer granulated or garlic powder as fresh may burn in the air fryer.
- Salt and Pepper. A big pinch of salt and pepper provide the perfect simple seasoning on these crispy spuds.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes
The goal of this recipe is to make sliced red potatoes that are seasoned well and crispy on the outside, while creamy in the middle. Here is how to do just that:
Start by scrubbing and drying red potatoes then chop into bite-sized pieces or slice into quarters, depending on their size. Dry them well with paper towels then transfer to a medium bowl.
Drizzle the sliced red potatoes with oil then sprinkle with fresh thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss well to combine. You can do this step up to 1 day ahead of time, just be sure to cover well with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Preheat the air fryer to 400F (if your air fryer requires preheating). Add the seasoned sliced red potatoes to the basket and cook for 10 minutes. At this point the potatoes should be tender when pierced with a fork, but they'll need longer to get crispy.
Shake the potatoes in the basket and cook another 6-10 minutes at 400F, until the exterior of the potatoes are golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately.
Hint: The potatoes will lose their crispiness the longer they sit at room temperature. You can let them sit on the counter for 30 minutes, or so, while making other components of dinner. Right before you are ready to serve, pop the potatoes back in the air fryer at 400F for 1-2 minutes, until the exterior of the spuds start to sizzle.
Substitutions
This recipe is super easy to adjust based on your dietary needs and flavor preferences. Here are some suggested substitutions:
- Herbs - If you don't want to use fresh thyme, you can also use fresh rosemary or sage. You'll want about 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh herbs. Or, you can also use dried herbs, but instead use about 1 teaspoon. Most dried herbs will work well, including thyme, rosemary, oregano and Italian seasoning.
- Garlic - If you are sensitive to garlic, you can simply leave it out all together. Instead, consider adding more herbs, fresh or dried. You can use minced fresh garlic for this recipe. I recommend just 1-2 cloves. Note that minced garlic may burn when cooked this long in a hot air fryer.
- Spices - Instead of (or in addition to) fresh herbs, you can also use dried spices. Some delicious combinations include chili powder, onion powder, coriander, cumin, paprika and even our homemade chicken taco seasoning blend.
Why air fry red potatoes?
All potatoes work very well in an air fryer, but they all produce very different textures. Red potatoes have relatively thin skin and the water content is relatively high. This produces crispy skin with creamy interiors. You can get similar results with baby yellow potatoes, Yukon gold and even purple potatoes. Russet potatoes have lower moisture content, making for fluffier interiors.
Recommended Air Fryers
What air fryer works best for this recipe? You can get crispy red potatoes in either a traditional basket style air fryer or a toaster oven style air fryer. If you are in the market for an air fryer, I strongly recommend the 6QT Instant Vortex Plus (this is the one that gets the most use in my house). It is super easy to operate and very consistent.
You can also use a toaster oven style air fryer. I really this Cuisinart Air Fryer + Convection Toaster Oven. It also produces great results, with even heating and easy to control functions.
How many servings does this recipe make?
This recipe uses 1 ½ pounds of red potatoes, which is enough to serve 4 as a side dish. This quantity is also perfect to fit in a 6-quart air fryer. If you are making more than 1 ½ pounds of potatoes, consider cooking this recipe in batches.
Other cooking methods
You can make this recipe in a convection oven. Preheat the oven to 425F, being sure to switch on the convection setting. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the potatoes are golden brown on the outside and tender when pierced with a fork. Or, cook in a regular oven, simply increase the heat to 450F.
Storage & Make Ahead
Air fried potatoes won't stay crispy all that long at room temperature or once refrigerated. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I recommend reheating back in the air fryer preheated to 400F. Cook them 4-6 minutes, until the exterior is sizzling. These little red potatoes will actually get crispy once reheated in the air fryer.
To make this recipe ahead, you have two options:
- Consider pre-chopping the red potatoes and store in a bowl of water. You can soak the potatoes up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Soaking potatoes in water will help extract some starch and will actually produce even crispier air fried potatoes!
- Or, chop the potatoes and toss with the oil and spices. Then, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Then, air fry as instructed in the recipe.
Adam's Pro Tip
Do not skip the step of your air fryer preheat. If you add your potatoes to the air fryer before it's properly heated, it may mess with the cook time. The good news is this recipe is VERY forgiving. You can really let the potatoes cook even longer than the 15-20 minutes indicated in the recipe. Since red potatoes have such high water content, they will stay nice and creamy even as the skins get super crispy.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve these crispy air fryer potatoes as a side for chicken recipes like our Cast Iron BBQ Chicken Breast, Smothered Skillet Chicken with Artichokes and Red Peppers or Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders.
- Or with more savory mains, like Tender Braised Beef Shanks, Seared Shrimp with Garlic and Herbs or Miso Salmon.
- Enjoy these potatoes with a dipping sauce, like our Tahini Yogurt Sauce, Buffalo Ranch Sauce, Creamy Chipotle Lime Sauce or Sour Cream and Chive Dip.
FAQ
Just about every potato works well cooked in an air fryer. Thinner skin potatoes, like new potatoes, red or purple, or Yukon gold will produce crispy skins and creamy interiors. Higher starch potatoes, like russets, will have fluffier interiors.
Be sure to wash and dry potatoes well before cooking in the air fryer. Excess moisture on the potatoes will make it more challenging for the exterior to get crispy. Also, make sure the air fryer is properly preheated before adding the potatoes. It generally takes 15-20 minutes at 400F to get crispy chopped potatoes.
Over cooked potatoes tend to dry out. Using a high moisture potatoes like red, purple or gold potatoes will help prevent the air fried potatoes from getting dried. Also, be sure not to chop the potatoes into too small of pieces. Keep them bite-sized to ensure there is enough creamy interior.
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Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: About 4 cups 1x
Description
Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes are a delicious side dish, ideal for a busy weeknight dinner as they take about 30 minutes to prepare and most of the time is hands-off. This versatile recipe makes crispy bites of red potatoes with creamy interiors, seasoned simply with fresh herbs and garlic.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. red potatoes (baby or regular size), scrubbed and dried well
- 1 ½ Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. table salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp. black pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat an air fryer to 400F. Be sure to scrub the potatoes and dry well. Leave the skins on.
- Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces or cut into wedges, depending on their size. Place in a medium mixing bowl and drizzle with oil. Toss well to coat. Sprinkle with fresh thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss well to coat.
- Once the air fryer is preheated, add the seasoned potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Shake the potatoes in the basket then continue cooking until the exterior of the potatoes are golden brown and crispy and the interiors are tender and creamy, another 6-10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the potatoes from the basket and serve immediately. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper and garnish with more thyme. You can also leave the potatoes in the basket for up to 30 minutes while preparing other components of dinner. Simply reheat in a 400F air fryer for a couple minutes (until sizzling) to ensure the potatoes are crispy.
Notes
- You can swap in baby potatoes, yellow potatoes or Yukon golds.
- If you prefer dried herbs, use half as much (1 tsp.) compared to fresh.
- Don't like thyme? Try using rosemary or sage. You can also use dried oregano, Italian seasoning or an assortment of spices like chili powder, cumin, coriander or even taco seasoning.
- Store leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat the potatoes in a 400F air fryer for 4-6 minutes to get them crispy again.
- You can make this recipe ahead up to step 2, then cover the seasoned potatoes with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator up to 24 hours.
- Use olive, vegetable, corn or canola oil.
- You can make this recipe using fresh garlic cloves, but note that minced garlic may burn when cooked in the air fryer this long.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Sides
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
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