Beginner's Guide: Air Fryer Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes (2024)

This quick start guide to air fryer potatoes teaches you how to cook white and sweet potatoes in the air fryer in several ways – baked, fries, or chips!

In this useful guide, I teach you how to cook with several different types of potatoes in the air fryer, including regular potatoes like Russet potatoes, baby potatoes, and red potatoes, as well as sweet potatoes!

Follow these instructions at home to make tender baked potatoes, crispy homemade French fries and sweet potato fries, or crunchy homemade potato chips. With the help of the air fryer, all recipes are ready within 30 minutes or less!

For the unfamiliar, air frying is a healthier way of cooking where hot air creates the crispy feeling of fried food (without having to use loads of oil). This countertop appliance cooks just about everything, including just about every vegetable you could think. Be sure to check out all of our favorite air fryer recipes, to include air fryer chickpeas and kale chips!

So today we’re talking all things air fried potatoes, using both sweet potatoes and white potatoes! Click the links below to jump around the post:

1. Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
2. Air Fryer French Fries
3. Air Fryer Potato Chips

I used a Philips Air Fryer (affiliate link) to make all of these air fryer potato recipes and absolutely love it, though any air fryer should do the job!

How to Make Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

Air fryer baked potato has such a wonderful texture: a bit crispy on the outside and perfectly tender and delicious on the inside. Here’s how to bake both white and sweet potatoes in an air fryer. Use virtually any type of potato (sweet potatoes, Russet, baby, red, take your pick!)

Step 1: Preheat air fryer to 390°F (200°C). Rub potatoes in a little vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt.

Step 2: Set potatoes in the air fryer in a single layer. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes, or until fork-tender, turning them over once during baking to evenly cook.

How to Make Air Fryer French Fries

If I’m being honest, French fries are the food most familiar to my air fryer. It’s just so easy for when you’re craving “fast food”! You can easily throw frozen fries in an air fryer, but today we’re making them homemade. Here’s how to make air fryer sweet potato fries and French fries! Use sweet potatoes or large white potatoes, like Russets.

Step 1: Cut potatoes into matchsticks using either a knife or a mandoline slicer.

Step 2: Soak sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 1 to 2 hours. This removes starch to give them that perfectly crispy texture!

Step 3: Preheat air fryer to 390°F (200°C). Drain and pat dry potatoes. Add to a bowl, then drizzle with vegetable oil (about 1 teaspoon per potato) and a pinch of salt.

Step 4: Add fries to your air fryer, spread out in as single of a layer as possible. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the basket a few times during cooking to evenly cook.

How to Make Air Fryer Potato Chips

Air fryer sweet potato chips (and any vegetable chip for that matter) are so fun to make! Where traditional oven baking is difficult for perfectly crunchy chips, the air fryer makes your chips ultra-crispy and light. Here’s how to make potato chips in an air fryer! Use virtually any potato or root vegetable.

Step 1: Cut potatoes into thin rounds using either a knife or a mandoline slicer.

Step 2: Soak sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 1 to 2 hours. Just like with the air fryer potato fries, this removes starch to make them perfectly crispy.

Step 3: Preheat air fryer to 300°F (150°C). Drain and pat dry potatoes. Add to a bowl, then drizzle with vegetable oil (about 1 teaspoon per potato) and a pinch of salt.

Step 4: Add potatoes to your air fryer, spread out in as single of a layer as possible. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, shaking the basket a few times during cooking to evenly cook.

I used a Philips Air Fryer to make all of these air fryer potato recipes and absolutely love it! You can get a bunch of handy accessories like a baking pan or grill skewers (though I just used the basics to make these potato recipes). Enjoy!