Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Wonderfully crisp on the outside and soft within, these Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes are incredibly delicious. A simple and tasty side dish that makes the perfect accompaniment to so many meals.

WHY USE AN AIR FRYER AND NOT AN OVEN?

Air fryers cook food quicker than a standard convection oven which is great for saving energy and pennies but also for busy families that want to be able to cook food quickly.

Another advantage is that air fryers are smaller than ovens and grills so you’re not heating up a full-sized oven and instead a smaller air fryer. This means you’re using less energy because you’re heating up a smaller appliance as well as cooking the food faster.

Combining your microwave and air fryer provides an energy efficient way of cooking as well as producing really delicious smashed potatoes.

Which potatoes are best to use for smashed potatoes?

The best potatoes to use for smashed potatoes are new potatoes. I like to pick a waxy variety such as Charlotte or Alexandra potatoes which are commonly sold as salad potatoes.

Keep a look out for baby, salad and miniature potatoes as generic terms for what are new potatoes. These are potatoes which have been picked earlier so they are smaller.

Here are some types of new potatoes that would work well for these Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes:

• Jersey Royals – some of the most well known new potatoes in the UK. They are a unique potato with a subtle nutty flavour grown on the Island of Jersey in the English Channel. 
• Charlotte – these are another popular new potato in the UK often used for making potato salad
• Anya – another nutty flavoured potato with a longer, more knobbly appearance 
• Baby – this is a generic name given to small new potatoes. As the name suggests these are quite small so you may decide to leave them whole
• Salad – another generic term for new potatoes. Charlotte potatoes are often labelled as salad potatoes 
• Fingerling – these are varieties of potatoes more commonly found in the US. They are longer and knobbly similar to Anya potatoes

why microwave the potatoes first?

Before air frying the potatoes, you need to cook them enough so you can smash them. Many recipes will recommend parboiling the potatoes but I prefer microwaving them.

Imagine they are small baked potatoes and microwaving them might not seem unusual. It is also quicker and you don’t have to dirty an extra pan.

Put the potatoes on a plate and stab each potato once or twice with a sharp knife. Cook them in the microwave for 8 minutes. If you have significantly smaller potatoes or a low wattage microwave, you might need to adjust the timings.

You aren’t looking for the potatoes to be fully cooked, just cooked enough so you can smash them slightly.

How to smash the potatoes

Smashing or crushing the potatoes couldn’t be easier. Once the potatoes are microwaved so they have started to soften, transfer them to a chopping board.

You can then use whatever you have to hand to crush them. The bottom of a clean pan or saucepan is a great potato smasher. You could also use a ramekin or a meat mallet; anything sturdy and flat.

You’re not looking to squash the potatoes until they are completely flat, just so they are approximately 1cm thick. This will get them crisp on the outsides and still fluffy within.

Adding exta flavours to your potatoes

I have deliberately kept the flavours really simple for these smashed potatoes. This is so they can be eaten with practically anything without having to worry about the flavours clashing.

You could absolutely add different flavours depending on what you were serving them with.

Some of my favourite flavour options for any potatoes are:

• Herby potato seasoning
• Cajun seasoning
• Potato seasoning
• Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• Chinese salt & pepper
• Lightly spiced potato seasoning

do you need to preheat an air fryer?

That depends on your air fryer, some require preheating whilst others don’t. I have a Ninja 7-in-1 multicooker and I have never preheated mine.

If your air fryer does require preheating, check the potatoes a few minutes sooner than the recipe states. If your air fryer is warm, food is likely to cook a few minutes faster.

can you use an air fryer liner?

Air fryer liners are a great time saving addition because they are usually easier to wash than the basket of your air fryer.

Most reusable air fryer liners are silicone and although they are handy to have, I wouldn’t recommend using them for all recipes.

These smashed potatoes would take longer to crisp up if you use a liner but you could use one if you really wanted.

I’ve written a whole post on whether you should use an air fryer liner, check it out for more information.

How to serve Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Due to their simple flavours, these smashed potatoes will make the perfect side dish for most meals.

These smashed potatoes would make a great alternative to roast potatoes with a roast chicken. Instead of serving it as a traditional roast you could serve the smashed potatoes, chicken and coleslaw or crunchy Asian slaw.

They would also make a great side to my chicken & ham hock or chicken & chorizo filo pies.

There are countless ways to serve and enjoy these Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes, how will you serve yours first?

other recipes you might like

• Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
• Air Fryer Potato Wedges
• Simple Air Fryer Roast Potatoes
• Air Fryer Hasselback Potatoes
• Air Fryer Potato Recipes

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