Air Fried Old Bay Potatoes

I’m in love with my air fryer. We have the Insignia 3.4 qt Air Fryer. I definitely have not taken full advantage of the many, many uses of an air fryer and the multitude of ways that it can improve a dinner or a food (like air fried broccoli, haven’t tried it yet, but plan to!). There is a whole host of benefits to Air Frying vs traditional deep frying but on top of the health benefits, a fear of popping oil is enough for me to be thankful for the air fryer, haha. Cook and Brown wrote a wonderful article about the differences between Air Frying and Deep Frying as well as the history and pros/cons to both. Worth checking out if you are curious.

So, I have been making Air Fried Old Bay Potatoes for a couple months now. It’s taken me forever to get this post up between my husband’s work hours, a 3 year old who has completely stopped napping or even doing quiet time alone, a 9 month old who never stops moving, and trying to fit in some kind of exercise, my ability to get posts up has taken a back seat to just cooking and getting dinner on the table as quickly as possible.

Husband went in late today so I actually had the opportunity to type something up. As we had these last night with dinner these were at the top of the list. They are so good and so simple and make you feel like you are eating a deep fried food without the hassle of splattering oil. We made ours with Old Bay because it’s delicious but also nostalgic for my husband and I.

We went to Penn State and there is a restaurant up there that serves Old Bay fries. We used to walk from our apartment to there on dates. Frankly, our new date spot isn’t much different (See Veggie Reubens) . Since we made these to share with the kids, we didn’t go overly heavy with the seasoning. If you want it heavier, just add a bit more by like 1/2 tsp until it’s where you want it. Alternatively, if you aren’t an Old Bay fan, feel free to change the seasoning to rosemary, Italian seasoning, cumin, just salt and pepper.

Start by dicing up 4 red potatoes (washed and scrubbed). I’ve also done these with russet and they turned out just fine. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and pour 2 tsp of olive oil over them. Add 2 tsp of Old Bay seasoning and stir well until all the potato pieces are coated. Place about half of the potatoes in the air frying basket.

Personally I never bother with the preheating and do not feel that these need preheated. So place the basket into the air fryer. Set the temperature to 375 and time to 16 minutes. After the first 8 minutes, from the basket and give them a shake before replacing them for the remaining 8 minutes. Repeat with the second half of the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and try not to munch on the cooked ones while waiting for the second batch.