Smashed Potatoes (Air fryer or Oven)

Crispy smashed potatoes with perfectly crunchy exterior and soft fluffy insides are great as appetiser or side dish. They taste so delicious and can be baked in both oven or air fryer.

If you are someone who loves potatoes and wants to try a new recipe with it then these smashed mini potatoes are ideal for you. They can be enjoyed with ketchup, sour cream or mayo. The recipe shared here is:

Vegan
Gluten Free
Kids Friendly
Baked / Air fried
Great to serve as snack or side dish

They are great option for potlucks, family dinner, games day or thanksgiving dinner for sides. I mean I have never seen any adult or kid complaining about potatoes. Whether it is french fries, potato wedges, hasselback potatoes, baked potatoes, in one form or the other they are always a safe bet.

These smashed potatoes can in roasted in oven or airfryer. Both methods are covered in post.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes Ingredients:

Potatoes: Use small yellow or baby potatoes for this crispy smashed potato recipe. Make sure the potatoes are not too big in size as they will take longer to soften up.

Olive Oil: Olive oil helps in making the potatoes crispy. You can even use butter or any other oil of your choice.

Seasoning: I have used salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder & paprika /red chilli powder to flavour these smashed potatoes. I avoid using fresh garlic as it can sometimes burn while baking.

Fresh Herbs: Use any fresh chopped herbs for garnishing like cilantro, coriander, spring onion greens or chives along with some lemon juice for adding freshness & zing to smashpotatoes. However feel free to skip if you don’t have it.

Other seasoning ideas: Italian seasoning, cajun seasoning, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric are few other seasonings that you can use in this recipe.

Optional Ingredients-

Parmesan: You can sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan once the potatoes are out of oven. If you don’t have parmesan, you can use any other meltable cheese and sprinkle over potatoes in last 5 minutes of baking to make cheesy smashed potatoes.

Fresh garlic: If you are a garlic lover & would want to make garlic smashed potatoes, then add some freshly minced garlic along with other spices in olive oil. You can even brush some garlic infused oil once the potatoes are out of oven or air fryer.

Serving Ideas:

These can be served as side dish, in salads like this herby potato salad or as snack / appetisers with dips like:

Ketchup
Sour Cream
Garlic Mayo
Chipotle sauce
Ranch Dressing
Spicy Mayo dip (recipe shared below)

Tips to make perfect smashed potatoes:

1. Make sure not to over boil the potatoes as otherwise they can break into pieces while smashing.

2. Be generous with using oil as it helps in making potatoes crunchy.

Mashed potatoes vs Smashed potatoes

Though both the dishes sounds similar, they are actually quite different. We begin by boiling potatoes in both recipes. For making mashed potatoes, we peel and mash them with cream / milk, butter, black pepper and salt. In smashed potatoes recipe, we leave the peels on, smash and roast them in oven or air fryer till they are golden crispy.

Hope you would like this easy smashed potato recipe. More air fryer recipes:

Ingredients:

Small Potatoes or Baby Potatoes- 1/2 kg (~1 pound)
Salt- 1+1/2 tsp (to taste)
Olive Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp (divided)
Garlic Powder-1/4 tsp
Onion Powder-1/8 tsp
Black Pepper (ground)-1/4 tsp (to taste)
Paprika / Red Chilli Powder- 1/4 tsp
Chopped Cilantro / Chives- For garnishing
For spicy mayo dip (optional)-
- Mayonnaise-4 tbsp
- Sriracha sauce- 1 tsp
- Lemon Juice- 1 tsp
- Ground Black Pepper-1/4 tsp
- Garlic powder-1/8 tsp
- Onion Powder-1/8 tsp
- Oregano-1/8 tsp
- Salt- To taste

Notes:

Instead of olive oil you can use melted butter or a mix of (olive oil + butter).
If you don’t have garlic powder you can use fresh minced garlic cloves.

Directions:

Step 1:
Wash the baby potatoes while scrubbing to get rid of all dirt.

Step 2:
Heat water in a pot or pan. Add 1/2 tsp salt and mini potatoes to it. Cover & let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes till they are fork tender. Once boiled transfer them on a colander to drip all water from them.

Step 3:
Brush 1 to 2 teaspoon oil on a baking tray. Keep aside. In a small bowl, mix remaining olive oil with ground black pepper, onion, garlic powder & paprika / red chilli powder (or any seasoning you like). Keep it aside too.

Step 4:
On the oiled baking tray, arrange boiled potatoes while leaving enough space between them. Smash them with back of a glass or measuring cup. Keep the thickness to roughly 1/4 inch. If the potatoes are still hot (or breaking while smashing), let them cool down for 5 minutes to let the steam escape.

Step 5:
Brush these smashed potatoes generously with olive oil & spice mixture. Sprinkle little bit salt on each piece.

Step 6:
Preheat the oven at 200°C (400°F). Bake these for around 30-40 minutes while rotating the tray after half time (for even cooking) till they are crispy & golden brown from outside.

Once out of the oven, brush them with leftover spiced olive oil / melted butter or sprinkle some sea salt. Garnish with freshly chopped herbs and enjoy with ketchup or dip. Bon Appetit !!

To make spicy mayonnaise dip, take all the ingredients of dip in a bowl and mix well using a fork or whisker. You can also add some chopped fresh herbs like cilantro or chives to it.

Air fryer Smashed Potatoes

The recipe will remain same till step 5. After that, proceed as explained in steps below:

Step 1:
Preheat the air fryer at 200°C (400°F). Transfer the smashed potatoes in air fryer basket (avoid overlapping) and brush olive oil & spice mixture on them.

Step 2:
Air fry them at 200°C(400°F) for 13 to 15 minutes till they are completely crispy from outside. Once they are air fried, brush them with some more spiced olive oil or melted butter.

(The air frying time can vary slightly depending on the brand and size of air fryer. Adjust it depending on how crispy you like the potatoes to be.)

Storage & Reheating: You can store them in an airtight container in fridge for 2 to 3 days. In order to reheat them, bake or air fry them in a preheated oven / air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes.

More air fried snacks recipes you might like to try:

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If you try this air fryer smashed recipe & share pics on social media, then don’t forget to tag on Facebook, Instagram or use #kuchpakrahahai.

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