These air fryer breakfast potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Cook these seasoned potatoes in your air fryer for 15 mins! There's a secret ingredient that gives them a tasty flavour you won't find in any other recipe! (see recipe card below)
Most of you know by now that I love two things
- breakfast and
- my air fryer
So it should come as no surprise to you that I've started to combine my love and made breakfast potatoes in my air fryer!
And when I tell you that I nailed this recipe I really did!
It all comes down to one technique and one ingredient that I haven't really seen any other food blogger use and will talk more about in the next section.
How to make crispy breakfast potatoes in air fryer?
Most restaurants deep fry their breakfast potatoes which gives them that crisp exterior but keeps the inside nice and tender, so it's very difficult to recreate at home without a deep fryer.
However, I discovered how to make crispy breakfast potatoes in an air fryer that gives you that crunchy exterior with a fraction of the oil!
Ingredients for Breakfast Potatoes
- Potatoes
- Olive Oil
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Paprika
- Liquid Smoke (optional)
Airfryer I used for recipe:
- Ninja Foodie 9-1 Air Fryer Unit – This is the air fryer unit I use and it’s unreal because it comes with an instant pot, steamer, dehydrator, sautee, and more all in one unit! It comes in a couple of different sizes (I got the 8 quarts and it’s huge but I love it).
How To Make Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
The technique I used with the potatoes with the secret ingredient are completely optional but highly encouraged as they turned out to be the best potatoes ever.
First, after I cubed my potatoes I let them soak in cold water for 30 minutes to help get rid of the excess starch. Then I drained, rinsed, and dried them off before preparing them. This step is optional although you will notice a difference in crispiness if you do this step!
The *secret ingredient*... liquid smoke. This small but mighty ingredient is used in many cuisines but mainly in meats and chili's/stews. That didn't stop us from using a bit in our recipe to impart a slight hickory smokey flavour!
1. Cube your potatoes, rinse under cold water.
*optional* fill the bowl with cold water and let sit for 30 min. Dry off your potatoes with a paper towel and place them in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix in your olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and liquid smoke.
3. Place in your air fryer basket and turn on to 400 degrees.
Depending on how many potatoes you used will change the amount of time needed. For this recipe and how big my basket is I put them in for 15 minutes, stirring them at the 10 min mark, and they turned out amazing. But depending on your air fryer and basket size you may need more or less time.
4. Plate, top with salt and parsley, mix in your favourite toppings and serve immediately.
Toppings for Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
- Green/Red/Yellow Peppers
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Plant-Based Cheese
- Green Onions
- Vegan Sausage Crumble
Commonly Asked Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes Questions
*fun fact of the recipe, France actually made potatoes illegal in 1748 for almost 30 years over concerns that they spread disease. Potatoes are native to the South Americas so when Europe was first introduced to them they weren't sure what to think.
Should you soak potatoes in saltwater before frying?
If you like your potatoes to be extra crispy then I definitely recommend soaking potatoes in saltwater before frying. By doing this it removes any excess starch and helps the potatoes get nice and crispy!
Why are my breakfast potatoes mushy?
There may be a few reasons as to why your breakfast potatoes are coming out mushy. The first reason is you may not be cooking them at a high enough temperature or for a long enough time. Increasing both of those should help. Another way to add crispiness is to soak the potatoes in cold salt water before cooking them, and lastly coating them in cornstarch can help make your breakfast potatoes extra crispy!
Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium Potatoes white or yellow
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke optional, but recommended!
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 teaspoon Parsley dried (optional)
Instructions
- Cube your potatoes, rinse under cold water. Dry off your potatoes with a paper towel and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in your olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and liquid smoke. Place in your air fryer basket and turn on to 400 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring them at the 10 min mark. You may need more time depending on how many potatoes you use and your basket size.
- Plate, to with salt and parsley, mix in your favourite toppings and serve immediately.
If you try this recipe, please leave it a 5-star review in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you! You can rate it, comment about it, send us pictures about it on Instagram @RescueDogKitchen.
Nutrition Facts for Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
The nutrition information presented here is for all of the ingredients. I take all of the nutritional information from Cronometer a nutritional tracker website that provides you with a lot of great information, especially regarding micronutrients!
Nutrition Facts
3 servings per container
Serving Size1 g
- Amount Per ServingCalories260
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
5g
8%
- Saturated Fat 1g 5%
- Sodium 852mg 36%
- Potassium 1248mg 36%
- Total Carbohydrate
50g
17%
- Dietary Fiber 8g 32%
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 6g 12%
- Vitamin A 14%
- Vitamin C 30%
- Calcium 5%
- Iron 26%
- Vitamin E 7%
- Vitamin K 13%
- Thiamin 19%
- Riboflavin 10%
- Niacin 20%
- Vitamin B6 52%
- Folate 14%
- Pantothenic Acid 17%
- Phosphorus 30%
- Magnesium 17%
- Zinc 10%
- Selenium 4%
- Copper 41%
- Manganese 23%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Potatoes get a terrible reputation from the amount of misinformation there is out there about them. I've talked about the health benefits of potatoes before but they are a powerhouse of nutrition!
You can plainly see that in one serving of this air fryer breakfast potatoes recipe you get 6 g of protein 8 g of fibre, 30% of your vitamin C, 26% of your daily iron
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Kelly
OMG! These breakfast potatoes were so easy to make and so crispy! We used seasoning salt instead but the liquid smoke is really a gamechanger!
John
Amazing! Seasoning salt is also a great choice!
Meaghan
Can’t wait to try!
Do you preheat your air fryer to 400 on just put them in and turn it on?
John
No need to preheat the air fryer for this recipe, but you can if you'd like. It will shorten the cook time if you do so just adjust for that 🙂
Holly
I love making these in the air fryer - so much less oil used but all the extra crunch. Just pair it with a Just Egg omelette and it’s the perfect Sunday morning breakfast!
John
We love to hear it Holly!