Diced Potatoes in Air Fryer

From crispy home fries to a delicious dinner accompaniment, make the perfect potatoes quick and easy!

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The Irish potato famine (called simply “the great famine” at the time) was a shortage of Ireland’s primary crop in 1845. For seven years, the potato monoculture crop (that is, the mass cultivation of a single kind of crop) suffered a blight that swept through Europe in the 1800s, leaving people without a food staple and many without a means of making the money that surrounded the growth, cultivation, and export of spuds. The Irish language has a word for the span between 1845 and 1852: “an Drochshaol”, meaning “the bad life”.

It’s hard to think about the potato famine outside of the occasional joke about potatoes and contextualizing it only brings to mind the poverty and hunger that could justify a name like “the bad life”. When I consider the potato famine, I always reconsider how I’ve taken potatoes for granted – dolling them up with cheeses and fanciful preparations – and never thought to savor those spectacular spuds for how they are! Potatoes are, on their own, excellent! One potato can go a long way to making a delicious baked potato for lunch, a fluffy mash for dinner, or even shred into griddle-style (or even air-fried!) hashed browns for breakfast.

One recipe that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, is our recipe for air fried diced potatoes! With a sparse handful of ingredients and simple cooking technique, these deliciously seasoned diced potatoes will stand on their own alongside any dish and remind you just what you might be taking for granted!

are Diced Potatoes Healthy?

You may have heard that potatoes aren’t very healthy. While there may be a little bit of truth to that statement (they certainly aren’t keto!), that doesn’t mean they can’t be made healthy! For starters, our air fried diced potatoes use just enough oil to get them crispy and not a drop more; but, if you’re still worried about it, you can opt out of olive oil for a high-smoke temp, lower fat alternative. Air fryer diced potatoes are the perfect pair for vegan dinners and accommodate well for those with gluten and lactose intolerance; though, potatoes are notoriously not on the keto-friendly list for its carb count. Try butternut squash or sweet potatoes for keto-diet friendly gourds and spuds that crisp up delightfully!

So, if potatoes were suffering from blight, how do we have potatoes today?

Much like the plague that took the Gros Michel banana from Central America, the potatoes that left Ireland in its historical famine fell victim to monoculture farming and a host of other factors. At the time, Ireland’s farmers worked under a painful and deeply unpopular absentee-landlordism from the British. The Brits’ economic belief of hands-off regulation and the exploitation of “amoral” Irish lead to single-crop reliance for the sake of profitability – even if it lead to ecological vulnerability. The farms that couldn’t produce risked (and eventually underwent) eviction from those absentee landlords, sending families into poverty and starvation – this would further sew the seeds of dissent amongst the Irish populous for independence from Great Britain.

As significant as the potato famine was towards Irish independence, you might be surprised to learn that potatoes were brought to Ireland from colonies in South America! The tubers have grown over the globe ever since and, as such, no extinction (as was the case of the Gros Michel banana in Panama) was to result from the blight that plagued Europe in the mid-1800s.

INGREDIENTS

8 oz diced potato cubes cut ½ inch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon of dried thyme or your seasoning of choice
¼ teaspoon salt
Air fryer safe cooking spray optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep

Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Preheat

Warm up the air fryer to 400°F for optimal cooking.

Season

Mix the potatoes with olive oil and seasonings for flavor.

Arrange

Place potatoes in a single layer in the basket for even cooking.

Cook

Air fry for 8-10 minutes, shaking halfway for even crispness.

Finish

Check crispiness and cook a minute more if needed.

Enjoy

Serve the crispy potatoes.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store?

Because air fried diced potatoes are so easy to prepare, why not make them ahead and prepare them for later? Refrigerate your air fried potatoes shortly after making them and, when needed, microwave them for a minute to put life back into them! If you want a more enthusiastic revival of your air fried potatoes, give them a toast in a toaster oven or air fryer to keep that crispy exterior!

What If I’m out of thyme?

I assure you, these air fried diced potatoes don’t take long to make at all- oh! You mean the herb! Thyme is the recommended herb for this recipe but an excellent herb to pair with air fried potatoes is rosemary! Dried rosemary will fill your kitchen with delicious scents and your mouth with a perfect potato pairing!

Can I fry my potatoes without oil?

The olive oil we recommended in this recipe is mostly to help crisp the outside of your diced potatoes; as such, if you’re not worried about sacrificing a little texture, you can cut back or even totally skip the oil!

How will I know if I’m overcooking my potatoes?

Potatoes show they’re overcooked by turning fluffier and fluffier until they, eventually, have no structural integrity at all! If you’re not sure your potatoes are cooked through, try sticking them with a fork or a toothpick to determine how easily they break apart – you want a fluffy interior, not too stiff but not spineless!

Serving Suggestions

Air fryer diced potatoes are a perfect accompaniment to any meal! Be it an air-fryer breakfast with sausages or a surprisingly healthy lunch with broccoli salad, with the ease and speed at which air fryer diced potatoes can be made, have them anytime with almost anything!