These Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes are so versatile. With the infusion of rosemary and garlic, the comforting flavor and incredible aromatics have made this one of my most popular recipes. I've served them with homemade corned beef hash, smoked whole turkey, smoked pulled pork, and brisket. On the other hand, I've served them right alongside a nice juicy seared steak. These are my go-to potatoes whenever I need an easy dish that will impress! If you still need some serving ideas, pair these rosemary potatoes with the Ultimate Breakfast Brioche Sandwich!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
These Airee Fryer Breakfast Potatoes are easy and versatile enough to make them a go-to recipe whenever you need some Cripsy Potatoes. I also set aside these Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes and add them to whatever I'm cooking. Typically, for slow cooker corned beef hash, serving them with a steak is another great reason to make this side dish.
Ingredients
Potatoes: Russet potatoes are the way to go with these air fryer potatoes. They will hold up well after being parboiled and have a nice earthy flavor when combined with the other ingredients. (See expert tips)
Liquids: Water for boiling and olive oil for tossing will get you all taken care of on this one.
Herbs and Spices: The only herbs and spices you'll need are fresh rosemary, kosher salt, and fresh minced garlic. (See expert tips)
Extras: You'll need baking soda in the water for boiling. (See expert tips)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Parboil
When I'm making these potatoes, I start with a parboil. In case you're unaware, parboiling is partially cooking a food in boiling water, but not allowing it to cook all the way through. The goal is to get the outside soft and leave the inside partially uncooked. When I check these for "fork tenderness," that means the fork should easily go in and maybe need a gentle shake to get the potato off the fork. I boil these potatoes for about 10 minutes or until "Fork Tender"
Alkaline Water
This is the most important part of this recipe. It's literally just a matter of adding ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda to 2 liters of water. This is the water that I boil the potatoes in. I also add 2 tablespoon salt, which is highly absorbed when the water breaks down the outside of these potatoes. Be careful not to over-salt. They can easily become over-salted.
Roughing and Tossing
Roughing up the potatoes refers to tossing or stirring them in a bowl. It's extremely simple. The best way I have found to explain this is that you want the outside to look like mashed potatoes. It adds an incredible crispy texture while cooking. I toss these in Rosemary and garlic-infused olive oil. Heat Olive Oil in a Cast Iron Skillet over medium-low heat. Add rosemary and cook until it becomes fragrant. Add the Garlic and cook until golden brown. Do not burn. Strain the oil and toss the potatoes in the oil.
Air Frying
Air Fryers are one of the greatest kitchen gadgets ever made. That is my opinion, of course, but probably the closest opinion I have to being fact! Hang around Chicken Fried Kitchen for a minute, and I trust you'll agree. I'm not going into much detail, but the air fryer works as a convection oven but is much faster. Because it's smaller and keeps really hot, it cooks really fast. I dump the potatoes in, set it to 400°, and cook them for about 45 minutes. I open the basket about every 10-15 minutes and shake them. That's it for the potatoes themselves!
Expert Tips
- If you're in a pinch and don't have russet potatoes, that's okay. Yukon gold and red potatoes will work fine. You may have to air fry them a little longer until they break up a bit into separate pieces.
- The baking soda creates an alkaline water that breaks down the outside of the potato a bit more than just boiling in water. This helps to create an exterior on the potatoes that becomes extra crispy while in the air fryer.
- Be sure not to oversalt your alkaline water. The baking soda will help the potatoes soak up much of the salt, and you don't want them to be over-salted. In fact, I don't personally salt them after the parboiling phase. But salt to taste.
Recipe FAQs
If your air fryer potatoes aren't getting crispy, they either have too much starch, haven't been air frying long enough, or the air fryer is overloaded. Be sure to soak, blanch, or boil your potatoes to remove starch. Air fry potatoes at 400°f, and work in batches if you're cooking a large amount.
The secret to crispy air fryer potatoes is to parboil them in alkaline water made with baking soda and salt. Just until they are barely fork tender, toss them in olive oil and air fry at 400°f until golden brown and crispy.
Yes. Raw potatoes can be cooked in an air fryer but will not come out near as crispy and airy as most would like. In fact, they will have a very potatoey starchy texture.
Russet potatoes are the best for air frying because they are sturdy and typically will not clump like yellow or red potatoes.
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📖 Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 Russet Potatoes, Cubed
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Fresh Rosemary Sprig
- 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
- ½ Cup Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Boil 2 Liters of water over high heat.
- Stir in baking soda and salt to dissolve.
- Add cubed potatoes, return to boil, and simmer until potatoes become fork tender.
- Heat Olive oil on medium low heat.
- Add rosemary to oil and cook until it becomes aromatic.
- Add garlic to the olive oil and cook until light brown and aromatic. DO not burn the garlic. Season with pepper and stir.
- Using a fine strainer over a large mixing bowl, strain the oil and set aside both the oil and rosemary/garlic blend, separately.
- Once potatoes are done par boiling add to the mixing bowl that contains the Olive oil and begin to Toss/Stir to rough up the outside and create texture.
- Place the potatoes in the air fryer and cook for about 45 minutes at 400° F tossing about every 10 minutes. Time is not exact but just watch them and pull when they reach the desired crispiness.
Video
Notes
- If you're in a pinch and don't have russet potatoes, that's okay. Yukon gold and red potatoes will work fine. You may have to air fry them a little longer until they break up into separate pieces.
- The baking soda creates an alkaline water that breaks down the outside of the potato a bit more than just boiling in water. This helps to create an exterior on the potatoes that becomes extra crispy while in the air fryer.
- Be sure not to oversalt your alkaline water. The baking soda will help the potatoes soak up much of the salt, and you don't want them to be over-salted. In fact, I don't personally salt them after the parboiling phase. But salt to taste.
Megan says
So delicious!
Jeremy Klae says
Aren't they!? They are perfect by themselves but I love them in any sort of breakfast hash. They also pair really well with steak if you haven't tried that yet.