Air fryer canned potatoes
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These air fryer canned potatoes are the perfect frugal recipe. Ideal if you're perhaps not up for peeling fresh potatoes and prepping them yourself, or even just want a super fast potato side dish to prepare in just a few seconds. Just a little warning that the odd canned potato is prone to going pop in the air fryer so keep that in mind!
Using canned potatoes is a great convenience hack for people with disabilities, those on a low budget or even just people who are low on time. For around 37p you can purchase a can of tinned potatoes, already peeled, in water, ready to use in your recipes.
You can use any canned potatoes for this recipe, baby potatoes or anything similar. The idea is that this is a quick and simple air fried canned potatoes recipe. Served as is these are gluten free which is fab too.
My air fryer, well, my Ninja Foodi OL750UK to be more specific, has to be my favourite EVER kitchen gadget! I use it just about daily for air frying, sometimes more, and I love how easy it is to just use my air fryer to cook whole meals, air fryer side dishes, air fryer desserts and MUCH more.
This particular recipe takes just seconds to prepare for and you'll be shocked at the results you can achieve too, as you can see from the photo on this post!
Nothing brings me more joy at family meal times than serving up food that my children will eat, and these air fryer tinned potatoes are the perfect example. They are always a hit, taste delicious and leftovers can be used in other recipes too with ease.
While you’re here be sure to check out my air fryer tips and tricks. Whether you’re a total newbie to using an air fryer, or just looking to get more from it, this is sure to help! Why not check out some of my other air fryer potato recipes too?
These air fryer canned potatoes work so well as part of a main meal, and are the perfect easy side dish. They'd also work great as air fryer smashed potatoes.
I am something of an air fryer cook these days as it is just so simple, quick and I'm yet to find a single recipe that isn't faster when made in the air fryer!
You may have seen the air fryer canned potatoes TikTok videos, which show just how easy these are to make, and with my recipe you can make them a little more special with a very small amount of effort.
Ingredients for air fry canned potatoes:
1 tin of canned potatoes - I tend to purchase the baby potatoes to make air fryer baby potatoes (these ones) they are around 300-350g once drained. Any similar quantity will be fine!
Salt and pepper
Vegetable spray oil or one teaspoon of vegetable oil
Dried parsley
Garlic powder
Optional – paprika and rosemary or cajun seasoning for a spicy potato
Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!
If you’ve followed the cooking time and your potatoes are not quite ready then just use the air fryer for a few more minutes at a time, checking back frequently to avoid burning them!
How to cook canned potatoes in air fryer:
Drain and rinse the potatoes. I like to rinse several times, just to remove any residue from the products they use to keep the potatoes fresh while canned.
Cut any larger potatoes in half or third as appropriate.
Then I dry them using a clean kitchen towel, but you can skip this step if you really want to save some effort.
Use a little spray oil on the potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Air fry at 180C (360F) for 12 minutes.
Add ¼ teaspoon of dried parsley, garlic powder and if you'd like then also add ¼ teaspoon of paprika and dried rosemary (or fresh).
Add a little more spray vegetable oil if needed.
Shake up.
Air fry at 200C (390F) for 10 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Which potatoes to use for canned potatoes:
You can use any canned potatoes. I bought the new potatoes in water, just because they were the cheapest option. UK supermarkets have these, sometimes in the World food aisle, sometimes in the first canned items aisle.
These canned potatoes are very simple to use, and an electric can opener makes these even easier to use.
There are a variety of canned potatoes available, and any will work well for this recipe. I've seen slices of potato and tinned sweet potatoes which would both work great too, though you may need to adjust the cooking times a little.
Canned sliced potatoes would be great for cooking up for placed on the top of a beef hotpot. Crispy air fryer potato slices are stunning for a hotpot and a great accompaniment. You could spray with a little olive oil to help them crisp up in the oven too.
Do you need to soak canned potatoes before they're cooked?
No, absolutely not. These have been in cold water since they were canned, sometimes for weeks or even months! No prep time is needed besides washing them and drying before coating with the spray oil.
Do canned potatoes go crispy?
Yes, they are SO crispy on the outside, almost as good as ‘proper’ roasted potatoes made from fresh potatoes! I love the crisp outer edge and the soft fluffy potato inside too.
Want to know how to make canned potatoes crispy?
The trick is to shake regularly and then add a little more spray oil. This will help them be extra crispy.
Want to make air fryer tinned potatoes with parmesan?
When you remove these tinned potatoes from the air fryer just sprinkle over either finely grated parmesan OR finely sliced parmesan. It’ll melt on and go all cheesy and delicious! No other effort required at all.
If you want it extra crispy then pop them back in the air fryer basket and cook for a further minute.
What to serve with air fryer tinned potatoes?
We personally love to enjoy these tinned potatoes as part of a main meal. In the past I have served with air fryer BBQ chicken breast, air fryer cajun chicken, air fryer peri peri chicken, air fryer chicken wings, air fryer pigs in blankets, baked beans or air fryer green beans and lots of brown sugar BBQ sauce.
Do you need to use foil when cooking air fryer tinned potatoes?
No, I almost never use foil in my air fryer! It is unnecessary, as nothing really sticks to the basket anyway, not in most decent models anyway!
Do you need to use an air fryer basket to make canned potatoes?
If the air fryer you use just has a bowl, and no air fryer basket, you can definitely still make these crispy tinned potatoes.
They will crisp up lovely, just ensure that you mix them around at least once during cooking, ideally a couple of times if you have time, and then leave lots of room so they are not sticking together and can cook evenly.
Want to make air fryer canned potatoes and onions?
Prepare your onions by peeling and cutting into quarters and then peel apart the layers. Then you can add the onions into the air fryer for the second part of the cooking process. This will avoid them burning.
How about with bacon?
As air fryer bacon takes around 12 minutes max I'd suggest adding this for the second half of the cooking time, or better yet frying it up separately and then crumbling it over the potatoes when you serve them. Air fryer turkey bacon is my favourite these days as it is a little leaner but you can still get lovely crispy results.
Are canned potatoes already cooked?
Canned potatoes are partially cooked and this means that they will cook nice and fast in the air fryer - with great results. You'll get golden brown results in just over 20 minutes which is significantly faster than roasting potatoes in the oven.
Why not try some of my other fantastic air fryer recipes while you’re here?
- Air fryer crumble topping
- Air fryer cheese scones
- Air fryer frozen chicken burger
- Air fryer frozen salmon
- Air fryer chips recipe
- Air fryer french toast sticks
- 14 of the best bratwurst toppings
- Chicken mini fillets in the air fryer
- Air fryer garlic bread
- Air fryer parsnips recipe (honey glazed)
How to make roast tinned potatoes in an air fryer
Air fryer canned potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 tin of canned potatoes - the ones I purchased were new baby potatoes in water 567g in volume, 345g once drained. Any similar quantity will be fine!
- Salt and pepper
- Vegetable spray oil
- Dried parsley
- Garlic powder
- Optional – paprika and rosemary
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the potatoes. I like to rinse several times, just to remove any residue from the products they use to keep the potatoes fresh while canned.
- Cut any larger potatoes in half or third as appropriate.
- Then I dry them using a clean kitchen towel, but you can skip this step if you really want to save some effort.
- Use a little spray oil on the potatoes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Air fry at 180C (360F) for 12 minutes.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of dried parsley, garlic powder and if you'd like then also add ¼ teaspoon of paprika and rosemary.
- Add a little more spray vegetable oil if needed.
- Shake up.
- Air fry at 200C (390F) for 10 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.
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I’m a sucker for garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary & thyme on mine. Thank you for sharing that you put the seasoning on towards the end it’s a game changer, no more burnt seasonings 🙏🏼
Do you have any recommendations on how to stop them from exploding in the air fryer?
I’ve tried squeezing as much liquid out as possible, piercing them with a tiny hole, leaving them to sit on paper towels & I’ve put them on an oven rack after the paper towels too.
I just can’t get them to not explode 🤯. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.
I do have the odd one explode, which is a tad annoying, but I figure they're contained within the air fryer so it's not so bad!
What I have found helpful is to cook very gently for a couple of minutes at a super low temperature first, as this seems to remove some of the excess moisture which I believe leads to them exploding.
Thanks so much for stopping by! x
@katykicker, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I will definitely give it a go the next time I do a canned potato cook. You haven’t steered me in the wrong direction yet so I’m sure it will work!
Thank you for the great advice & for sharing it with everyone. You are very much appreciated
That's so kind of you to comment, thank you! x
Hi do you have a free daily / weekly newsletter that you could send us for tips ,info and everyday recipes ,love recipes I have read so far .
Hi Pat, thanks for your comment. I do have a newsletter, you should see the box on all the posts here, which you can sign up to and it sends out a little round up of recent and older recipes. I'm working on a better newsletter for later in the year, so thank yoU!
This is so convenient! I keep several cans in my pantry for when I need a quick side dish and this recipe is perfect to dress them up and make them really tasty. Everyone loved it. Thanks!
Quick, easy, and crispy perfection with just a few simple ingredients. Perfect for a hassle-free side dish.
Made this exactly as stated and it turned out great
Such an easy and delicious recipe.
These potatoes could not have been easier to make, thanks so much!
Great recipe thanks!
So yum and very easy to make!
So easy to make and was a hit with everyone!
This was so good!
We love using our air fryer for potatoes and this was right up our alley! Love the addition of paprika and rosemary.
I have had similar success with those ALDI/LIDL chilled premade 'sides' - Sliced Potato with Bacon and Onion, Baby Jacket Potatoes, etc.
They might take a while in mine (ASDA Air Fryer, it seems slower than any other!) but do become really crispy if you spend the time 30-45 mins, Baby Jackets are faster.
Again love to add garlic powder, rosemary, olive oil. salt and pepper and paprika to all my potato recipes - from scratch or these premade ones, both work well.
These are some great tips, thank you for sharing!