The air fryer smashed potatoes are an easy and delicious recipe, perfect for serving crispy and golden potatoes with a twist. In recent months, smashed potatoes have taken over the internet: easy to make and irresistible for their texture, they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, a side dish that everyone will love.
To make them, simply boil the whole potatoes with the skin on, then smash them with a glass or meat tenderizer, season with oil, salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice, and finally cook them in an air fryer or in a convection oven. I’ll show you both methods to achieve perfectly golden and crispy potatoes, as they’re known in the USA.
If you love potato side dishes, don’t miss the classic air fryer roasted potatoes, oven-roasted new potatoes, or crispy skillet potatoes: three simple and delicious alternatives to this recipe.
Get ready to fall in love with these crispy smashed potatoes: easy, impressive, and perfect for sharing at the table!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Air Frying, Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 233.29 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 43.91 (g) of which sugars 2.07 (g)
- Proteins 5.16 (g)
- Fat 4.90 (g) of which saturated 0.73 (g)of which unsaturated 0.12 (g)
- Fibers 5.33 (g)
- Sodium 209.64 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Smashed Potatoes
- 2.2 lbs potatoes (small to medium, about 5 oz each)
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil (approx.)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1 sprig rosemary (or thyme, sage, marjoram…)
Tools
- 1 Brush for vegetables
- 1 Pot
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Meat Tenderizer
- 1 Air Fryer
- 1 Oil Sprayer
How to Prepare Crispy Smashed Potatoes in the Air Fryer or Oven
To prepare the crispy smashed potatoes, start by thoroughly washing the potatoes under running water. Since the skin will be eaten, it must be perfectly clean: you can use a vegetable brush (1) or scrubbing them with a clean sponge. Place them whole with the skin on in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender (about 30-35 minutes for potatoes around 5 oz each). If you want to use a pressure cooker, count 12 minutes from the whistle. If you have a microwave, you can boil them without water by following the tutorial you find here. Drain them and let them cool slightly (2).
Transfer them to a cutting board and, using a meat tenderizer or the bottom of a glass, smash them until about ¾ inch thick (3). Season with salt and pepper, and spray with some oil (4). If you don’t have an oil sprayer, you can brush them with a kitchen brush.
Place the potatoes side by side on the rack of the air fryer, with the seasoned side facing down. Season with oil, salt, and pepper on the other side as well (5). Cook the smashed potatoes in the preheated air fryer at 392°F (200°C) for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip them to the other side. Once they are crispy and golden, remove them from the air fryer (6) and garnish with freshly chopped rosemary.
Place the potatoes side by side on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, placing the seasoned side in contact with the paper. Season them on the other side as well and bake in the preheated convection oven at 428°F (220°C) for 30-35 minutes, turning them halfway through. Once ready, garnish with freshly chopped rosemary.
Serve the crispy smashed potatoes while still hot to enjoy their aroma at its best. They pair perfectly with both meat and fish mains.
Storage
Smashed potatoes are best consumed fresh, but if any are left over, you can store them in the refrigerator for a day and “revive” them for a few minutes in the oven or air fryer at high temperature.
Tips and Variations
I prefer adding rosemary or other herbs at the end of cooking because the high temperature of the oven or air fryer tends to burn them. If you want to use spices like paprika, chili, garlic powder, etc., you can add them along with the salt and oil before cooking the potatoes.
