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Air Fryer Roast Potatoes

Air fryer Roast Potatoes

No par-boiling required for these quick, crisp air fryer roast potatoes. Only 5 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking time.

 
Prep Time: 00:05
Cook Time: 00:20
Total Time: 00:25
What do we need?:

Air Fryer

Shallow insert tray for air fryer (I use the 8" pizza pan)

Ingredients:

  • 700 g (1 1/2 lbs) floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or red-skinned Rooster potatoes
  •     2 tbsp neutral oil such as rapeseed, avocado or sunflower
  •     1 tsp Maldon salt
  •     1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Optional for extra crunch:

    1 tbsp neutral oil such as rapeseed, avocado or sunflower

Method:

  1. Peel and chop potatoes into bite-size chunks – about 3-3.5cm (approx. 1+1/4 to 1+1/3 inches). Rinse under cold water and pat dry.
        700 g (1 1/2 lbs) floury potatoes
  2.     Place a shallow tray insert into your air fryer basket. *see note 1
  3.     Add the potatoes to the tray. Drizzle on the oil and give a good shake or stir – so the potatoes are fully covered in oil.
        2 tbsp neutral oil
  4.     Cook for 5 minutes in the air fryer at 200C/400F, then turn or shake the potatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  5.     Turn or shake the potatoes again and give them a bit of a bash with the back of a spoon – to ruffle the edges slightly. Drizzle on a further tbsp of oil.
        1 tbsp neutral oil
  6.     Cook for another 10 minutes (so it will be 20 minutes cooking time altogether), until the potatoes are crisp and golden.
  7.     Sprinkle with salt and thyme before serving.
        1 tsp Maldon salt, 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Notes

Note 1: Why use a tray insert for air fryer roast potatoes?

Roasting potatoes in the oven requires you to roast the potatoes in a roasting tray with fat in. The potatoes are sitting in the hot fat. This is what helps to give the potatoes that ‘crunchy shell’.
If you try to roast potatoes in an air fryer in the regular basket (with holes in) any excess fat you add will drain through the holes, so the potatoes aren’t in contact with the hot fat. They’ll only have the small amount of fat you poured on coating the skin.
This will result in roast potatoes that are browned, with only a very thin skin of crispness that’s also a little chewy.
If they’re sitting in the hot fat, you’ll get a thicker skin of crunch, as the hot oil absorbs deeper into the skin.

Can I skip the tray insert and add directly to the air fryer basket?

Yes, of course. The skin will be less crunchy, but the potatoes will be browned. They will also have absorbed less fat, so they’ll be lower in calories and fat content.

Shouldn’t you par-boil the potatoes first?

  • Par-boil the peeled and chopped  potatoes for 8-9 minutes – until softened at the edges.
  • Drain and give good shake to fluff up the edges further.
  • Add to the air fryer tray insert and place in the air fryer with the oil. Cook as per the recipe above, but reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.
Source: https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/air-fryer-roast-potatoes/

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