Air Fryer Home Fries

With a little help of an air fryer, you can have perfect diner-style home fries at home!

What Kind Of Potatoes Make The Best Home Fries?

I use Russet potatoes for these Air Fryer Home Fries. Russets are a starchy potato that get soft and fluffy when cooked. Waxy potatoes like red potatoes or new potatoes are great when you want a variety that will hold up their shape like for potato salad, but won’t give you the tender result you want here.

Yukon gold potatoes are kind of in between starchy and waxy and could be used in a pinch if you don’t have Russets.

Making Air Fryer Home Fries

Making home fries in the air fryer gives them the best texture. They’re super crispy and golden brown outside, but warm and fluffy inside, just like my favorite restaurant order. Plus since you use minimal oil, these home fries aren’t greasy at all.

To make them, you’ll prepare your potatoes and then cook them at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, shaking the air fryer basket every 5 minutes or so. They won’t look like they’re getting that much color at first, but by the time they’re done, they’ll be perfectly golden.

I usually end up eating a full portion standing over the counter, before they even make it to the table. They’re just that good.

How To Season Home Fries?

The best home fries let the flavor of the potato shine through, so you don’t need a ton of seasoning here. I like to use just salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

If you want to mix things up, seasoning salt is a great way to flavor them! If you really insist on getting fancy with it, you can make it the base of a hash by tossing in diced onions and peppers for the last 5 minutes. Maybe add a bit of paprika and parsley. An egg on top of that would be pretty delicious actually!

Do I Have To Soak The Potatoes? 

A lot of home fry recipes call for soaking the potatoes before you cook them. Do you have to? I did some experimenting, and found that it’s up to you!

Soaking the potatoes draws some of the starch out of them, helping them crisp up. Un-soaked potatoes also crisp up nicely in the air fryer, though I’ve found soaking them helps them stay crispy longer. If you’re planning to eat them right away, it doesn’t make a huge difference, but if you want to make home fries ahead of time, soaking the potatoes in cold water for 15 minutes definitely makes a difference.

The soaked potatoes also brown more evenly. Just be sure to drain them carefully and blot the potatoes dry before cooking them so they don’t steam.

This post originally appeared in July 2020 and was revised and republished in January 2024.