Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes Recipe

Whether you prefer them scalloped, baked, or mashed, potatoes are truly the champion of side dishes. True, sometimes they get to be the main course like with the pasta-like potato gnocchi, but they truly shine as the starchy complement to almost everything you can imagine as the main course, from a fancy steak dinner to a more humble hamburger. And now, thanks to recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge, you can give your spuds a new spin that is easy enough to make for a weekday family meal but elegant enough to wow guests at a weekend dinner party.

With just 5 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes to cook, you'll find air frying potatoes so simple that this may become your new go-to side for everything from roasted beef and chicken to some types of baked fish. And if you're a vegetarian or a vegan, Olayinka says this dish also pairs especially well with savory chickpea curry. Best of all, this recipe only requires five simple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen. So, what are you waiting for? Let's get to cooking!

To make this special side dish, Olayinka recommends using medium size white potatoes. "You can definitely do this with Yukon potatoes as well," Olayinka notes. "Any white potatoes would do."

In addition to the potatoes, you'll need some extra virgin olive oil (also known as EVOO, if you like abbreviations), as well as oregano, salt, and black pepper. And if you want to give your air fryer roasted potatoes an extra spicy kick, Olayinka suggests adding in some pepper in a variety of forms. "I would add any type of variety of pepper such as white pepper, more black pepper, chili flakes, or paprika," she says. This dish is especially well suited if you're feeling creative in the spices department, so once you've got the basics down, feel free to experiment.

While potatoes make an excellent side, they do need a little bit of prep before you can even think about air frying them. 

First, unlike a classic baked potato, you'll need to peel them and remove any eyes — that is, those little sprouts that sometimes pop up on a potato. Next, in order to have thoroughly cooked spuds, you need to chop them into approximately 3-inch slices. But no need to get out the ruler and start sweating over the exact dimensions of your spuds. "This doesn't have to be exact," Olayinka explains. "An approximate size is fine." Ultimately, you just want to make sure that the pieces are more or less the same size and small enough to cook in time for dinner.

When you're done chopping up the potatoes, place them in a mixing bowl and add the olive oil, oregano,  salt, and black pepper to the bowl. Mix everything together, being sure to evenly distribute all of the spices over the surface of your potatoes. Remember, you want the potatoes completely coated with oil and spices.

If you would like to make a spicier variation of this recipe, remember that this is where Olayinka recommends adding not just more pepper but also different types of pepper, including white pepper, chili flakes, or paprika. Or, if you don't want to stray too far from this recipe, increasing the amount of black pepper can really give your potatoes a nice kick without completely overloading your taste buds.

Once you finish thoroughly coating your potatoes in oil and spices, it's time to put them into a parchment-lined air fryer basket and then place them into the air fryer itself.

One more note about potato varieties. Although Olayinka says white potatoes work well with this recipe, you can also prepare a wide variety of spuds, like golden Yukon potatoes and even sweet potatoes, this way. However, since all these potatoes have different consistencies, she recommends adjusting the cooking time. Less dense sweet potatoes will likely take less time than denser yellow or white potatoes. That said, it's always a good idea to check in on them during the cooking process to ensure that they don't over or undercook, regardless of the variety.

Cook your potatoes for 20 minutes at 380 F in the air fryer, turning them after 10 minutes to ensure that all sides of the potatoes are evenly cooked. When they are golden brown and crispy, they are ready to serve.

Olayinka recommends eating your roasted potatoes immediately after taking them out of the air fryer. But if you do find yourself with leftovers, you can easily reheat this side. "This dish is definitely served best fresh," Olayinka says, "although you can reheat it and it does reheat best in an air fryer." Luckily, you already have one available, so that's a pretty easy feat to accomplish when the potato cravings hit you.