Air-fried fingerling potatoes are a delicious alternative to homemade French fries that you can enjoy as the perfect side dish alongside brussels sprouts and other side dishes for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
This air fryer fingerling potatoes recipe can also be used for a midweek family dinner alongside chicken breast, chicken drumsticks, or pork tenderloin.
The thin skin of each potato is fried to a golden brown and seasoned with simple ingredients and Parmesan cheese. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and freshly chopped herbs.
Air fryer is the best thing in cooking, honestly! I use my Cosori for anything from reheating food, baking, and making dinners that take only half time to make.
Table Of Contents
Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
- Potatoes - Baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes are suitable for this recipe. Russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes can also be used in this recipe. You don’t need to peel the potato skin, as this adds extra crunch.
- Olive oil - I’ve used olive oil to coat the small potatoes with seasoning as I enjoy the taste. You could also use avocado oil, vegetable oil, or even unscented coconut oil if you wish. Add more if needed. The oil helps the spices stick to the potatoes and crisps them while cooking. Olive oil spray is a great way to coat any size of your air fryer basket so that the air-fried potatoes don’t stick to the basket during the cooking time.
- Garlic - I’ve used garlic powder, but you can mince 1 medium garlic clove for a deeper flavor.
- Onion powder - For flavoring.
- Salt and pepper - I like to season with kosher salt and black pepper before and after so that the salt is better absorbed into the potatoes. You can also experiment with Italian seasoning.
- Parmesan - Always grate your cheese yourself from a fresh block instead of pre-shredded cheese for the best taste.
Instructions
Preheat the air fryer to 375 F according to manufacturer instructions. (Mine was 375 F for 5 minutes) Cosori 5.8 quart. You could also use something like a Ninja Foodi air fryer.)
Give the potatoes a good scrub and wash. Cut them in half, leave the skins on.
Place potato halves in a large bowl and season the potatoes with garlic, onion powder and salt, pepper and drizzle with oil.
Spray the air fryer tray lightly with oil before adding the potatoes.
Air fry potatoes at 375 F for 15 minutes, turning the potatoes halfway through. Within the last 5 minutes pause the air fryer and add parmesan cheese on top of each potato. Continue to air fry.
Add more parmesan cheese and fresh herbs (parsley and thyme work the best!) on top before serving.
JULIA'S TIP For an extra hearty meal, we like to serve potato dishes with lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole or my unstuffed Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls recipes.
Tips
- The parmesan cheese will melt in the air fryer, but you won’t get a crispy texture from it. If you’d prefer crispy cheese, add a few minutes to the cooking time.
- The great thing about cooking in an air fryer is that you don’t need a lot of oil. That said, I still prefer coating the potatoes with olive oil for a slightly crispier finish. You can use less than what I have in this recipe.
- It’s good to season these air fryer baby potatoes with salt before frying them, but you should also season them with salt (preferably sea salt) after frying, as this will help the potatoes to soak up even more flavor.
While traditional fried food doesn’t reheat well, you can salvage leftover fried food by reheating it in an air fryer the same day once the food has become cold.
Reheat it in a preheated air fryer for 3-5 minutes at 400 degrees F. This being said, I don't recommend reheating these potatoes more than once.
- To ensure that you get crispy potatoes, you can take an extra step and soak the raw cut potatoes in cold water before patting them dry with a paper towel to season and air fry. In addition, make sure that the potatoes are evenly spaced in the basket of the air fryer and fry them in batches if needed so that they aren’t overcrowded.
- You can use any type and size of air fryer for making these potatoes but make sure that you don’t overcrowd the potatoes in the air fryer basket. Instead, fry in batches to ensure proper air circulation for crispy roasted potatoes. The cook times may differ depending on the size and type of air fryer used.
- If you need to make your air fryer roasted potatoes in batches, keep the cooked potatoes warm in the oven while the other batches are air fried to prevent them from going cold and losing some crispiness.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
Store the air fryer fingerling potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days max.
Reheat in oven or air fryer at temperature - 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
I don’t recommend freezing these.
FAQ
Excess starch is a contributing factor for smaller potatoes to come out of the air fryer soft instead of crispy. For crispy air-fried potatoes, wash the cut potatoes, or soak them in water before frying them in an air fryer.
It can take up to an hour to cook these potatoes in the air fryer, depending on how many batches you make. The fewer batches, the less total time required. Each batch in this recipe, using a Cosori 5.8-quart air fryer, takes about 15 minutes to cook. This cooking time will depend on the make of the air fryer, the temperature you’ve set the air fryer to, and the size of the air fryer basket.
While it’s not necessary to boil potatoes before frying them, it is a helpful trick to ensure that each potato is cooked through by the time the exterior of the potato is crispy.
If you decide to boil your potatoes before frying them, only par-boil them.
This depends on personal preference. When comparing a traditional baked potato and an air-fried potato, the air fryer method seems to yield a crispier exterior and evenly cooked inside.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Air fryer is my favorite thing lately, from my guest favorite Air Fryer Nachos, Peanut Butter Cookies to Jalapeno Poppers and Air Fryer Cabbage. Anything can be done in air fryer, plus it reheats beautifully and tastes and looks like freshly made!
ALL AIR FRYER recipes.
Easy Side Dish Recipes
ALL SIDE DISH recipes.
I hope you'll enjoy this air fryer fingerling potatoes recipe, please leave a rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo of your food and tag me on Instagram @theyummy_bowl. I love seeing your creations!
Thank you for reading,
Love,
Julia
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Recipe
Air Fryer Fingerling Potatoes With Parmesan
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes (unpeeled)
- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (or more if needed)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (for deeper flavor, use 1 medium garlic clove, minced)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1-2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- black pepper ( to taste)
- ¾ cup parmesan (grated)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 F according to manufacturer instructions. (Mine was 375 F for 5 minutes) Cosori 5.8 quart. You could also use something like a Ninja Foodi air fryer. ) Cosori 5.8 quart
- Give the potatoes a good scrub and wash. Cut them in half, leave the skins on.
- Place potato halves in a large bowl and season the potatoes with garlic, onion powder and salt, pepper and drizzle with oil. Spray the air fryer tray lightly with oil before adding the potatoes.
- Air fry potatoes at 375 F for 15 minutes, turning the potatoes half way through. Within the last 5 minutes pause the air fryer and add parmesan cheese on each potato. Continue to air fry.
- Add more parmesan cheese and fresh herbs (parsley and thyme work the best!) on top before serving.
Video
PRIVATE NOTES
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
If you are not using air fryer for your meals, you are losing out! The potatoes and any veggies come out crisp and ready in minutes. These came out so good!