Air Fryer Crispy Smashed Potatoes

These air fryer crispy smashed potatoes are one of my favorite side dishes to make. They’re golden and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and so easy to put together.

You just boil some baby potatoes, smash them flat, season them up, and let the air fryer do the rest. The whole thing takes very little time and the result is honestly better than most restaurant sides.

All you need are baby yellow potatoes, a bit of olive oil, and some simple seasonings. Then finish them off with parmesan and fresh parsley for that extra touch.

They go with pretty much anything – chicken, steak, fish, you name it. Or honestly, they’re good enough to just snack on by themselves.

If you’ve never tried smashed potatoes before, this is a great place to start. Once you make them, they’ll probably become a regular in your kitchen.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Crispy Outside, Creamy Inside – Smashing the potatoes before air frying creates tons of rough edges that get perfectly golden and crunchy, while the inside stays soft and fluffy. It’s the best of both textures in every single bite.

Only 5 Main Ingredients – You just need baby yellow potatoes, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to make the base recipe. The parmesan and parsley topping is the cherry on top, but the potatoes are already amazing on their own.

Way Better Than Oven Smashed Potatoes – The air fryer circulates hot air all around the smashed potatoes, which means you get a crispier result in less time. Once you try the air fryer version, you honestly won’t want to go back to the oven method.

The Parmesan Topping Takes It to Another Level – That grated parmesan melts into the crispy edges of the potatoes and gets all golden and nutty. Combined with the fresh parsley, it turns a simple side dish into something that feels really special.

Ingredients

For the Potatoes

• 1.5 lb Baby Yellow Potatoes
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

For the Topping

• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley

How to Make

Step 1

Boil the baby potatoes in a pot of salted water for about 15 minutes until fork-tender, then drain and let them dry slightly.

Step 2

Place the potatoes on a cutting board and gently press down on each one using the bottom of a heavy glass until flattened but still intact.

Step 3

Drizzle the smashed potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle evenly with garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.

Step 4

Transfer the potatoes to the air fryer basket in a single layer and cook at 400F for 10 minutes until they begin to crisp.

Step 5

Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the potatoes and air fry for an additional 3 minutes until the cheese is golden and crispy.

Step 6

Remove carefully from the basket, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve hot.

Tips

Pick Potatoes That Are the Same Size

Try to choose baby potatoes that are roughly the same size so they all cook at the same rate in the boiling water. If you have a mix of big and small ones, the small ones will get mushy before the big ones are even done.

If your potatoes are different sizes, you can pull the smaller ones out of the water a minute or two early and let the bigger ones keep going. That way everything ends up fork-tender without any of them falling apart.

Don’t Overboil the Potatoes

You want the potatoes to be fork-tender but not falling apart. Start checking them around the 12-minute mark by poking one with a fork. If the fork slides in with just a little resistance, they’re ready.

If you boil them too long, they’ll turn to mush when you try to smash them and you won’t get nice flat pieces that hold together. Slightly underdone is better than overdone here because they’ll keep cooking in the air fryer.

Let the Potatoes Dry Before Smashing

After you drain the potatoes, let them sit for about 5 minutes so the surface moisture evaporates. You can even pat them gently with a paper towel if you want to speed things up.

This step matters a lot for getting them crispy in the air fryer. If the potatoes are still wet when they go in, they’ll steam instead of crisping up and you’ll end up with soft edges instead of crunchy ones.

Related Recipes

• Air Fryer Crispy Breakfast Potatoes with Peppers
• Air Fryer Loaded Hasselback Potatoes
• Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
• Air Fryer Steak Bites with Garlic Butter
• Air Fryer Blooming Onion Bites

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to boil the potatoes before smashing them?

Yes, you need to boil the baby yellow potatoes first until they are fork-tender, which usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes. This softens them enough so they smash easily without crumbling into pieces.

Just bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes, and cook until a fork slides in with almost no resistance. Drain them well before moving on to the smashing step.