How to make Roast Potatoes in air fryer

Air fried roast potatoes are probably  the best things I've ever made in an air fryer, of which I ensure you, I've had lots of practice before showing you how to do the same.

Make the best homemade roast potatoes you are ever likely to, in an air fryer which must have a compatible baking tray. Prepare potatoes by cutting into shape and parboil; allow to dry; rough up the potatoes for a crispy coating; proceed to air fry roasters in a preheated air fry with HOT OIL for 32 minutes.

Initially, I never thought roast potatoes can be made from scratch in an air fryer, because I've tried it a few times, which rendered poor quality potatoes that only imitated roasters.

Finally, I got hold of a small TESCO baking tray which was compatible with my air fryer, which of course meant I could attempt to make proper homemade roasters again.

Don't despair at the thought of investing in a baking tray you won't use often, as these air fried roast potatoes can be made in any foil tray, and what can be a foil lining.

Well, let me tell you, with a little practice in terms of preparation and timing, I have officially made the best roast potatoes I've ever had in my life. Air fried roast potatoes were sensational - with a melt in your mouth buttery centre - along with a light crispy coating, which is hard to achieve in the oven.

Air fryer will provide you an opportunity to conveniently open and close the air fryer multiple times to turnover the roasters to baste in oil, which is a pain in an oven, which is often skipped due to the inconvenience.

I promise you, these homemade air fried roast potatoes will be far better than those done in the big oven, and a heck of a lot better than most frozen roast potatoes - Air fried OR Not - which usually relies on a sneaky batter to improve the taste.

Expect air fried roaster potatoes to shrink a little over the course of 32 minutes, so bear that in mind as your roast potato portion will get smaller in volume.

Key to making quality crispy golden roast potatoes at home is in the preparation.

Begin by cutting up three medium size potatoes  - about 240g each - into roaster-shaped wedges, which should render about 12-14 roasters. Parboil them for 15 minutes to get the centre soft, before cooling them down on a tea towel so each spud can be poked and prodded multiple times - to develop a rustic, crispy coating on the roasters.

Now its a matter of adding 6-7 tablespoons worth of Olive oil into your air fryer compatible baking tray, which must preheat for 15 minutes. Once the preheat is done, its a matter of popping in the potatoes one at a time into the pool of oil.

Lean the air fryer basket to one side to create this pool of hot oil, which you will hear a lovely sizzle sound every time a roaster is dipped in. You will only get about 20-30 seconds of sizzling oil before it cools a little... so be quick to get it done.

Air fry your roasters for 10 minutes without opening the drawer, then turn each spud over whilst basting in oil again. If the oil has dried up, spray the partially cooked roasters in oil if you wish - but DON'T ADD ANY MORE COLD OIL to the baking tray thereafter.

I believe there's a better way to make roast potatoes in an air fryer, which involves following all these instructions precisely - whilst substituting Olive oil for what must be Duck Fat - with an option to use Goose Fat, which is recommended less and less these days.

What you will need

Unfortunately, its not a matter of peeling a bunch of spuds; throwing them in the air fryer for an hour; and A Presto... you made perfect roast potatoes.

Homemade roast potatoes need a lot of care and attention in both preparation and cooking - which will not only give them that roast potato look - but a taste that can only be achieved when genuinely roasting potatoes in an air fryer.

Which means you need an air fryer-compatible baking tray, much like you would use one to roast potatoes in the oven, only its made in smaller scale, to fit in an air fryer.

Baking tray will need high sides and a wide base to air fry as many roast potatoes as you like. Roasting potatoes in an air fryer applies largely to a large to extra large air fryer only - one with a wide basket to air fry at least 2-3 portions of roasters.

With a baking tray 100% essential for air frying homemade roast potatoes, ensure you use Olive oil to cook roasters in, which will provide a crispy yet dry texture.

Additional cooking oil can be used, only there's no guarantee vegetable oil to Sunflower oil will crisp up the roast potatoes, like I have demonstrated here.

Final food item you will need, is fine table salt to sprinkle on the basted in oil roasters before you begin to air fry, so the salt adheres to the oil.

In regards to what tools you will need to successfully air fry quality homemade roast potatoes, have a fork available with fine fork tips to be able to stab the soft boiled potatoes dozens upon dozens of time - all in an effort to crisp up the roasters to how they should be.

You will need a silicone-tipped tong to turn over the roasters several times in the 32 minute cook time, along with a medium size saucepan to parboil your roasters.

On the topic of parboiling roasters prior to air frying, I have tested boil versus microwave potatoes multiple times; with parboiled potatoes by far rendering the best results. Softening roast potatoes in the microwave is quick and hassle free, yet the surface of the potato becomes too tough and rubbery, to roughen up with a fork.

How long to cook Roast Potatoes in air fryer

While I recommend you air fry your homemade roast potatoes for 32 minutes exactly, roasters can be pulled out of the air fryer earlier if a lighter crisp is what you prefer.

I like extra crispy golden roast potatoes of which, this process will ensure they're air fried to their full potential. Pulling the roasters out of the air fryer earlier will guarantee a softer coating, with a little crisp remaining.

I have tested these air fried roast potatoes many times prior to photographing them for the PURPOSE OF THIS HOW-TO - which calls for 32 minutes exactly, every time.

Few minutes earlier, and the roasters will be just a little too soft for me, where an added -2-3 minutes will ensure they air fry to an even crispier and golden texture.

Air fry homemade roast potatoes for a 32 minutes exactly, which is in accordance with a temperature of 400°F/205°C; whilst a 15 minute parboil will ensure the centre of the roasters, are always going to be melt in your mouth buttery soft.

Roast potatoes must be turned over at approximately 10 minutes in, and then allowed to continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. After 15 minutes, you can continue to check on their quality, and decide for yourself when they're ready to be served.

Same roast potatoes can be reheated in your air fryer hours later or the next day, so don't be afraid to cook too many.

Preparation

Its important to spend a lot of time preparing the potatoes to make the best roast potatoes you possibly can, without wasting this great opportunity by putting in little effort in a certain step, or worst yet - skipping a step all together which can ruin your final air fried roast potatoes.

• STEP 1: Peel 3-4 Medium size potatoes; cut each into 4 roaster-shape wedges - Rinse in pan of cold water multiple times to wash away starch
• STEP 2: Boil in pan: 15 Minutes - Bring to boil with potatoes already sat in pan of cold water, which should help to retain plenty of firmness
• STEP 3: Allow to cool in pan of cold water - When time is up, immediately run roasters under cold tap whilst remaining in saucepan

• STEP 4: Sit spuds evenly on dry tea towel - Allow roasters to cool for 30 minutes; rolling over individual spud to dry all sides once in a while
• STEP 5: Add 5-6 tablespoons of Olive oil to pan - Preheat cooking oil in an air fryer-compatible baking tray, for a full 15 Minutes of the final 30 minute wait
• STEP 6: Stab spuds 3-4mm deep multiple times on all sides with fork - Really rough up all sides of the potatoes, to help produce an unreal crispy coating

NOTE: Hold each potato wedge in the palm of your hand when stabbing it dozens of times, while bearing in mind, your hand can get a little achy in the process.

How to cook roasters in air fryer

Focus of air frying homemade roast potatoes will be following the exact process of basting the uncooked roasters in oil, before pressing START on the air frying. More oil coverage you have, the better the quality roast potatoes you will get.

• STEP 1: Pick up individual roasters with tongs, dip each in pool of HOT OIL - With use of a silicone tong and the pan of oil leaning into the corner to produce a pool of oil, dunk each roaster into oil for a proper coating
• STEP 2: Sprinkle a little course salt over the oil topped roasters - To improve upon an amazing crispy coating for the roasters, sprinkle over fine salt
• STEP 3: Set temp to 400°F / 205°C; time to 32 minutes - Waste NO TIME in setting the temp and time, which must quickly be set whilst the oil remains hot

• STEP 4: Allow 10 Minutes to elapse - No need to disturb the roasters for the first 10 minutes, where a little golden crisp will begin to develop
• STEP 5: Turn each roaster over with a dip in HOT Oil in the process - Homemade roasters must be basted frequently in oil to retain a genuine roaster flavour and texture
• STEP 6: Continue to turn roasters every 5-6 minutes until full time - In the meantime, turn roasters over to the pale sides to golden up evenly

NOTE: If oil dries up in the process of air frying these roasters, you can apply spray oil over the roasters on the 10 minute mark only; applying cold oil of any kind thereafter, risks turning your roasters to a soggy texture.

Air fry vs. oven baked roasters

What can I say other than air fried roast potatoes are the best method for cooking roast potatoes, for quality and taste that is.

Air fryers are limited in their capacity, which means your regular big oven wins hands down in terms of compatibility. Big ovens can cook dozen of roast potatoes for a family of 5-6 - whilst an air fryer is likely to only render 2-3 small portions of roasters.

And believe me, once you get these air fryer roast potatoes spot on, you'll want to eat them like chips, because they really are that good, thus an air fryer should be prioritised whenever you get the chance.

Why air fryer roast potatoes beat other methods is due to how you can spend so much time attending to the potatoes, which is only possible with use of an air fryer.

We all spend less time attending oven-cooked roasters, because its simply too much hassle to keep bending over; pulling out the baking tray; opening/closing the oven door multiple times - so we step back and do it all less in an oven.

Air fryers are right their on our kitchen worktops, where we can open and close the basket whenever we like, which is why we attend to food more in an air fryer versus the oven. Its because of that why your air fried roast potatoes are going to turn out great, as you'll sure to spend more time taking care of them.

Summary

How to make roasters in your air fryer follows instructions for how you would normally cook roast potatoes in your oven.

To air fry roast potatoes, the potato must be cut into reasonable size but classic roast potato shapes, and air fried at 400°F/205°C, for 32 minutes exactly.

Parboil the potatoes for 15 minutes and allow to cool on a dry tea towel; wet potatoes added to an air fryer immediately will result in soggy roasters.

Get 5-6 tablespoons of Olive oil nice and hot in a baking tray which must fit flat in your air fryer basket, with a preheat that will take 15 minutes to heat the oil up enough. When roasters are added to the pool of oil, you'll hear a sizzle sound.

Air fry roasters for 10 minutes initially, turn each potato over whilst making sure they are basted in oil for the final time at least, and continue to air fry for 5 minutes. Now its a matter of turning over the roasters every 5-6 minutes until full time.

Handle roasters with a silicone-tipped tong to avoid damaging your Teflon coated baking tray, whilst its possible to handle the roasters with your bear hands, the longer the time goes one - because the potatoes have now begun to firm up.

Share this article: