These Air Fryer Potato Stacks are so much fun to make and to eat. Crispy crunchy edges with a soft fluffy creamy inside. These are potatoes you will love, and they’re surprisingly easy to make.
These are a great addition to breakfast or brunch as well as a nice impressive side dish for dinner.
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Air fryer version of this delicious potato stack recipe
These air fryer stacked potatoes came about after I remade my famous oven roasted potato stacks. I wondered if they would work in the air fryer.
So, I did a little testing for best time, temperature, and the best container to cook them in (because my muffin tin won’t fit in my air fryer!).
These turned out great! So much fun to make and eat. Now, I will say that I could only fit 4 stacks into the air fryer at one time, and I have a large air fryer. So, these are perfect for small batch or a small family who will eat one or two stacks in a meal. The air fryer is faster and more energy efficient than the oven, so this is a great way to go!
If you’re making roasted potato stacks for a big family or want more than 4 stacks, I recommend making these in the oven. Hop over for the oven roasted potato stacks recipe. One or two stacks is usually enough for each person.
Best container to cook them in?
I tried making these stacks in small ramekins, wrapped in aluminum foil, and just directly in the air fryer basket.
Directly in the air fryer basket doesn’t work well. I always preheat my air fryer, and stacking potatoes in a 350° F metal basket is a bit dangerous for my taste. Plus, it lets all the heat out of the air fryer. So that’s out.
My favorite way to make these was wrapped in foil. Simply tear a square off of the foil roll, brush it with oil. Stack the potato slices with salt, pepper, and herbs, then wrap up the sides of the foil loosely around the outside of the potato stack. It gives it enough support that it doesn’t fall over, and enough insulation to help the stack cook properly inside. It’s also easy to peel the foil away from the potato stacks after they have cooked, and no worries about grabbing a hot ceramic ramekin out of the hot air fryer basket.
As for flavor and doneness, the foil and the ramekin both made great potatoes, and there was very little, if any difference.
Disposable aluminum foil muffin tins would work as well. You can cut the muffin cups apart so that the tray fits into the air fryer basket.
How to make these crispy potato stacks
What kind of potato to use?
Use Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes for these stacks; you want a starchy potato for these, so don’t use a waxy red potato here.
How to slice the potato?
Slice the potatoes as evenly as possible. This ensures that the potatoes cook through evenly. I recommend carefully using a mandoline for slicing to ensure that you get nice thin slices, and set your mandoline to cut 2 mm (or about 1/16-inch) slices of potatoes.
When using a mandoline, it’s important to always use the safety guard (or a cut-proof glove), and pay close attention so you don’t cut your fingers.
Tip: slice the potato in half (like you see in the picture, above) so you have a nice flat surface to place on the mandoline blade.
If you don’t have a mandoline, a food processor with a slicing attachment will work to get even slices, though they will probably be thicker than 2mm. You’ll have to measure what thickness you get, as brands will vary, and you may have to add more air frying time to get them to cook though.
You can use a chef’s knife, too; just try to slice as thinly and evenly as you can.
Prepare the container, and arrange the potato slices
Tear off a piece of aluminum foil, about 10 inches long (you don’t really have to measure this, it’s just a rough size to get you a piece you can wrap around the potato slices). Then, tear that in half so you have two 6×10-inch rectangles.
Or use a disposable aluminum muffin pan and cut that to fit in the air fryer basket.
Brush the foil with oil.
I find that a pastry brush is easy to use for this. But, if you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use a wadded-up paper towel instead.
Next, follow the instructions in the recipe card for oiling, and adding salt and pepper to the stacks.
Build the stacks about an inch to 1 & 1/2 -inches high. The potatoes will shrink as they bake, but this is a good height to start with.
After preheating the air fryer, pop 4 stacks into the basket, and cook.
Check on them halfway through, at the shake marker if your air fryer notifies you of that.
If you want to add some Parmesan cheese to the top of the stacks, pull the basket out about 5 minutes before they are done. Top each stack with grated Parmesan cheese, and put them back in the air fryer until they are golden brown and the cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes.
After they are done cooking, Remove the stacks from the baskets, and let them cool for about 5 minutes in the foil or muffin tins. This is also a good time to reshape the stacks if they have fallen over at all. This will let them stick together better and you should then be able to easily remove the entire stack.
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Air Fryer Potato Stacks Recipe
Air Fryer Potato Stacks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound Russet potatoes scrubbed clean
- Salt and pepper
- ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary or thyme leaves chopped
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 330° F. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush 4 foil pieces, muffin tin cups, or ramekins with oil.
- Using a Mandoline, thinly slice the potatoes, about 2 mm (or 1/16 of an inch) thick. Starting with the smaller pieces, lay a potato slice on the oiled foil, and brush each potato slice with a thin layer of oil. Lay another slice of potato on top, and brush with oil. At every third layer, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Repeat stacking, brushing with oil, and seasoning until you have used up the potato slices. At the top of each stack, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. Loosely wrap the foil around the outside of the potato stack.
- Air fry at 330° F for about 35-40 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and cooked through. Remove the potato stacks from the air fryer basket, leaving them in their foil containers. Garnish with additional fresh herb leaves as desired.
- When the potatoes are finished cooking, the stacks might be a little unstable. If you have any that slid sideways, this is the best time to straighten them.
- After straightening, let the stacks cool for about 5 minutes in the foil. This will let them stick together better and you should then be able to easily remove the entire stack by peeling away the foil.
