Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

These crispy air fryer smashed potatoes are delicious and make a tasty side dish. The potatoes get cooked and smashed, then crisped up perfectly in the air fryer.

Whenever I find myself with a lot of potatoes, I know that I'll be making smashed potatoes soon. They are just one of my favorite things!

The fluffiness of the potatoes still come through, while the outside gets super crispy in the air fryer. I just love making these whenever I get a chance.

For this version of the smashed potatoes, I seasoned with smoked paprika and garlic powder, but it's so easy to use other seasonings and spices depending what you're in the mood for or what you're serving the air fried smashed potatoes with!

Ingredients

• Baby potatoes - I used some that were a little larger than golf ball size. You can use small or medium potatoes, just make sure that they are tender before smashing. I would not recommend large potatoes or russet potatoes. You want smaller Yukon gold or smaller red potatoes.
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Smoked paprika
• Garlic powder

Customization ideas

While I seasoned my potatoes with smoked paprika and garlic powder, you can absolutely customize the seasonings based on what you want. Here's a few ideas:

• Cumin and a little chili powder
• Harissa seasoning
• Curry powder or Garam Masala

What to serve with the smashed potatoes

I love eating my smashed potatoes topped with some fresh herbs or a squeeze of lemon juice for brightness. However, you can also serve with a variety of sauces for drizzling or dipping.

Preserved lemon vinaigrette would be delicious with these. I also love chipotle mayo and bang bang sauce.

These air fryer smashed potatoes pair perfectly with air fryer honey mustard salmon, air fryer bbq chicken thighs, air fryer chicken cutlet, baked panko parmesan cod, chili lime shrimp, or honey sriracha chicken.

Recipe notes

• I boiled my potatoes first in a large pot with water, but you can also air fry them until fork tender if you prefer. Cook time may vary based on the size of your potatoes.
• All air fryers cook differently. Adjust cooking times as needed.
• If you're using both red and gold potatoes, like I did, note that they may not soften at the same time. I find that red potatoes take a a little longer to boil and get soft.

How to make smashed potatoes in the air fryer

Scrub your potatoes with a brush. Then add to a pot. Cover the potatoes with water.

(Note: You can also air fry the potatoes to soften them up.)

Heat to boiling, then cook until fork-tender, about 25 minutes.

Remove potatoes from the water, then place on a cutting board or baking sheet.

Smash gently by pressing down on the potatoes. You can do this with a fork (for more texture) or the bottom of a drinking glass.

I personally like to smash with a drinking glass, then a little more with a fork to give the potatoes more texture.

Note: if you get a little overzealous and potato pieces start falling off, jut press them back into the potato.

Mix together olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.

Brush the potatoes with the olive oil mixture, then flip and brush the other side with the mixture. (Note - if you run out of mixture, just brush more olive oil on your potatoes).

Add to the air fryer basket in a single layer (you may need to do multiple batches) and air fry for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Serve as desired and enjoy!

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