Mashed Potatoes air fryer recipe

Mashed potatoes done in the air fryer whilst easy enough to do, it does take some time to air fry a large potato, much like you would when cooking any potato.

Recipe consists of a large baked potato only, which must be mashed into butter, which can be melted prior in a saucepan - which is where the potato will end up - when it comes time to mash thoroughly.

Instructions calls for air frying the potato to produce a soft centre, then the cooking process moves over to your hob, which is used to melt the butter and mash the potatoes at the same time. Hard butter can be mashed into potatoes with no melting required.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, as I could of melted the butter in the air fryer alongside the potato, for the final minute or so.

If needed, milk can be added to this mixture so a thick, hard and/or doughy mash can be made a little runnier, a bit like a paste texture.

Air fried mashed potato will be a buttery mash with a little seasoning needed.

Air frying a single potato like this will take a whole hour, and in that time potato juice will run out, which is why its important to line the basket in parchment paper.

Mashed potato recipe is boil-free with no water required. Hot saucepan on the hob can be avoided with mash potato, butter and a little milk mashed in a cold saucepan. Saucepan is 100% required regardless, to thoroughly mash the potatoes.

About the ingredients

With only a couple of ingredients needed to make this simple mashed potato recipe in your air fryer, let's reassure ourselves we are using the same food items.

Large Potato

Large potato is what I picked up in TESCO which was sold loose, and labelled as a large baking potato. Potato sold loose allowed me to pick out the best shape potato, which was blemish-free and clean.

Potato you pick up loose or in a pack won't really matter what its called. Potatoes of all kind can be made into mashed potatoes, with little effect on quality and texture.

Potatoes will mash into various textures to be fair, but there's nothing a little melted butter and heated milk can't put right.

Butter

What can I say about butter to melt other than it was actually margarine I used, which is commonly confused with butter.

Of course margarine can be used which looks and tastes like real butter. Real butter will provide a more buttery taste, and should be used in moderation.

Hard or soft butter/margarine, you will melt a tablespoon of two into a saucepan prior to add the potatoes, so there's no problem about mashing hard to melt butter. Melting better prior is easier to mash into potatoes, but is an optional step when cold better can be mashed into the spuds, whilst using the heat to melt the butter naturally.

Serving Suggestions

What you normally would serve your side of mashed potatoes with goes for this air fried mash potato, which can include freshly prepared or frozen ready meals.

Mashed potatoes I make in the air fryer will normally be paired with either breaded fish, and what is occasionally breaded chicken. Vegetables must be served with mashed potato, and so should a generous pouring of gravy.

Fresh white fish like Sea Bass can actually be air fried along with a single potato, plus breaded and battered fish for the remaining 15 or so minutes of the potato cooking time, so it all comes together at the same time.

In addition, air frying a quick and easy ready meal can be cooked along with a potato, which will be a ready meal that doesn't come with mash potato.

Recipe PROS & CONS

What can possibly go wrong when basically making a jacket potato in an air fryer, of which you only need the soft centre to make mashed potatoes. With positives certainly outweighing the few negatives.

PROS:

Hugh benefit to making mashed potatoes in an air fryer which consists of a single potato only, is that there's no need to boil water whilst draining water away. Mashed potato calls for making a baked potato, whilst taking out the soft centre to mash.

In addition, the leftover potato skins mustn't go to waste when they can be added to your plate to serve as a side with your mashed potatoes - along with an option to freeze the potato skins to use for another time.

CONS:

OK so the only disadvantage I can think of at this time when it comes to any negatives of making this simple mashed potato recipe, is the waiting time.

Of course, there is a one hour cooking time to air fry the potato until its cooked through, yet with plenty of planning ahead of time, this hour long wait should soon come and go.

In Pictures: How to make Mashed Potato in air fryer

Know how to prepare and air fry mash potatoes with this step by step guide in pictures, providing you a visual guide to make this easy mashed potato recipe.

STEP 1: Preheat air fryer: 5 Minutes

Get the air fryer nice and hot by setting the preheat function, which should give you 5 minutes with a 400°F/205°C temperature.

STEP 2: Sit Large Potato on parchment paper

Position a single large yet clean and dry potato on a cut to size sheet of parchment paper, which will see any potato juice bake onto the lining, rather than your air fryer basket or crisper plate.

STEP 3: Air fry at 400°F / 205°C for 60 Minutes

Air frying a single baking potato will always take about an hour to cook, until you reach a soft enough centre, where it can be spooned out with ease.

STEP 4: Melt 1 tbsp. of Butter in Saucepan

In hindsight, the same tablespoon of melted butter could of been melted in a ramekin, inside your air fryer for just one minute. Regardless, melting butter in the same saucepan used to mash the potato, will at least heat up the saucepan in the process.

STEP 5: Remove potato; cut in half sideways

With the hour up and the potato soft enough you can poke it with a butter knife with ease, its time to take the potato out of the air fryer and cut it in half.

STEP 6: Empty Soft Potato centre into heated saucepan; placed off the hob

Scoop as much soft potato flesh as you can into the recently melted saucepan of butter, which may not need additional heating time unless you need to heat up a little milk.

STEP 7: Pour in 50ml of Milk to thin tough dough-like texture

Only if the mashed potato is a little doughy and hard to mash, should you add milk into the saucepan to turn the mashed potato into a more runny, paste-like texture. Milk will need to be heated up for 20-30 seconds inside saucepan, and not a second longer.

STEP 8: Season mash in freshly ground Salt & Pepper

Can't eat mashed potatoes without plenty of freshly ground black pepper and salt, which will be less bland and become more flavourful potatoes.

STEP 9: Mash potato until smooth and creamy

With the fully scooped out potato sitting in a saucepan of melted butter and milk, mashed it all together until you create a smooth, paste-like texture. Continue to stir and mash the potato where the hob is set to a very low heat.

STEP 10: Serve Mashed Potatoes immediately

Mashed potatoes is a side dish which goes great with a gravy dinner, breaded and battered fish and chicken. On this day, I served the air fryer mashed potatoes with a portion of garden peas and a handful of breaded fish fingers.

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