I love potato home fries for breakfast and I am amazed they are so easy to make in an air fryer. I’m a newbie air fryer user and I think an air fryer is easy to use and saves me time and energy. If you are new to using an air fryer, this recipe is easy to make using simple and inexpensive ingredients.
UPDATE: This post was originally a review of an air fryer made by a company that is now out of business. I’m disappointed for them but decided to see this as an opportunity to pick out an air fryer and I wrote a review about the Instant Vortex Plus 4QT Air Fryer which I will be using for other air fryer recipes.
Jump to RecipeI Made A Lot of Home Fries…
When I go out for breakfast, I love orders with some garlic potato home fries. But they’re often too oily for me and since eating out is so expensive, I am motivated to learn how to make them at home. And if you know me, everything about Breakfast.Must.Be.Easy. I am not a morning person and tested my recipe mid-day.
I referred to other air fryer home fries recipes and tried cooking them at 400°F for 20 minutes and when I checked them at 10 minutes they were way too brown. They were cooked through and borderline burnt but not tasty enough to enjoy.
In my next attempt, I cooked them at 350°F for 10 minutes. They looked good at the halfway point and this batch of home fries were cooked through, soft, but a little bland, without the crispy texture here and there.
My favorite batch were cooked at 375°F for 12 minutes. They had a little bit of crispiness at the edges, looked good with a golden brown color, fluffy on the inside like a baked potato but slightly crispy on the outside and not oily.
No Need to Use Foil
But I didn’t stop there. I made a batch with chopped onions because I like carmelized onions with my home fries. However, the chopped onions can fall through the holes in the air-fryer’s perforated non-stick plate, I added foil to line the plate.
Apparently the foil either insulates the potatoes from the heat or it blocks the air flow because it took a long time to cook the potatoes. The potatoes were edible after 18 minutes of cooking time and were better after 2 additional minutes. It’s good except when I want to prioritize my time and need to reduce energy use.
How Can an Air Fryer Help Save Time and Cost?
Using an air fryer saves time because it’s much less work than my usual method of parboiling some potatoes in a pot and then frying them in a frying pan. We save time on hands-on cooking time, wash fewer pots and pans, and free up precious minutes to make or drink coffee.
An air fryer is basically a counter top convection oven, with a heating element and a fan to help circulate the hot air for maximum efficiency. I had to consider whether using an air fryer can also help me save money by reducing our energy usage because we pay premium electricity rates between 4 pm to 9 pm everyday.
We can convert most recipes that go in the oven into to air fryer recipe by 1) lowering the temperture by 20-25°F and 2) reducing the cooking time by 20%. Most air fryer models use about 1.4 kwh and preheating takes about 3 minutes, and cooks at a reduced cooking temperature over a shorter duration. In contrast, an oven uses 2.3 kwh, preheating an oven takes 10 minutes or more.
Using an air fryer seems to use less energy than an oven over less time, so it might be a great alternative to using an oven in some situations. The main limitation of an air fryer is capacity. For me, if I can cook something in an air fryer in 1 or 2 batches, then it’s worth it. If you want more ideas on how to save energy costs, the US goverment has some great energy-saving tips.
Is Cooking with an Air Fryer Healthy?
I can hear all the Chinese moms and aunties tsk-tsking and saying “yeet hay,” which refers to a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concept of building up “heat internally. When people say they are ‘Yeet Hay’, it typically means they are experiencing symptoms such as sore throat, canker sores, acne, fatigue.”
Balanced meals. I’m not a TCM expert but I think that we can enjoy moderate amounts of crispy crunchy or other “yeet hay” foods in moderation and balance our meals with lots of other healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, soup, and drinking enough fluids.
Eat in moderation. Due to the size of an air fryer, you’re limited to whatever amount you can fit in the basket in one layer, which is approximately the size of a salad plate for this 4.3 quart air fryer. It’s the perfect size for 2-4 servings depending on what you’re cooking.
Add variety safely. Using an air fryer is an opportunity to add a variety of options when we usually have too many food allergy restrictions. Plus people with food allergies (or other dietary restrictions) appreciate knowing exactly what is in our food.
Allergy Aware Air Fryer Potato Home Fries
This recipe is free of the top 9 allergens plus sesame as written. Adjust or omit the seasonings to suit your tastes and allergies.
I recently bought a new Instant Vortex Plus air fryer and re-tested this recipe to check the timing and temperature, except I used yukon gold potatoes instead of russets. The results were wonderful.
Make Potato Home Fries in an Air Fryer to Save Time and Energy
I love potato home fries for breakfast and they are so easy to make in an air fryer. I love that air fryers are easy to use and save time and energy. If you are new to using an air fryer, this home fries recipe is easy to make for breakfast using simple and inexpensive ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 cups russet potatoes cubed (approximately 10 ounces, 2 large, or 3 medium)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or other neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer (400°F for 3 minutes (or per manufacturer’s instructions).
- Combine the cubed potatoes, garlic powder, paprika, and olive oil in a medium sized bowl until thoroughly mixed.
- Add the potatoes to the air fryer basket, return to the base, and program the air fryer to cook at 375°F for 12 minutes and set a separate timer for 6 minutes.
- When the timer chimes, use a heat resistant spatula to stir the potatoes, and continue to air fry for the remaining time.
- At the end of 12 minutes total, check that they are golden brown and cook an extra minute as needed. Sprinkle with salt, toss, and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
This recipe is easy to double to make 4 servings. However, air fry only 2 cups of cubed potatoes at a time until they’re done and air fry a second batch.
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Looking forward to trying this! Do you know if it makes much difference to:
• Use a silicon basket- I also am all about ease and less cleanup
• Rinse the potatoes after cubing to reduce amount of starch
Hi Eugene, I haven’t tried using a silicon basket but generally that might impede air flow. I use parchment paper liners that are easy to clean up.
Also rinsing or soaking the potatoes after cubing is a great idea, thanks for the suggestion.