Side dish

Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Potatoes

Name: Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Potatoes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 43 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 800g baby potatoes; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp garlic granules; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 30g finely grated parmesan; 1 tbsp chopped parsley; 1 clove fresh garlic, minced (optional, added late)

Crushed, so every crack becomes a crisp edge.

43 mins total
Serves 4
Easy
European

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By Lush Editorial Team · Updated Sep 19, 2026

Good Food,
Happier You!

Ingredients

Scale

800g baby potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
30g finely grated parmesan
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 clove fresh garlic, minced (optional, added late)

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Quick Info

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time18 mins

Total Time43 mins

Servings4

DifficultyEasy

Temperature400°F

We do not publish calorie or nutrition figures. Doing that properly needs lab analysis, and an estimate dressed up as data is worse than none.

Tips

Crush each potato until it cracks but still holds together. Every crack becomes a crisp edge.
Parmesan goes on for the last 3 minutes only. Added earlier it burns onto the basket.
Raw garlic turns bitter at 400°F, so use granules from the start or stir fresh garlic in at the end.
Potatoes over 4cm should be halved or parboiled for 6 minutes first.

Step by Step Instructions

1 Par-boil the Potatoes 15 mins
Put the potatoes in salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain and leave them to steam dry for 5 minutes. Raw potatoes will not crush, and they will not cook through in the basket.
2 Crush Each One 4 mins
Press each potato gently with the base of a glass until it cracks open but still holds together. Every crack is a future crisp edge.
3 Season 1 min
Toss with the oil, garlic granules, salt and pepper, keeping the crushed pieces intact.
4 Preheat and Cook 15 mins
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes, then cook the potatoes in one layer for 12 minutes.
5 Shake and Crisp 3 mins
Shake the basket and cook a further 3 minutes.
6 Add Parmesan and Finish 3 mins
Scatter over the parmesan and the fresh garlic if using, cook 3 minutes more, then finish with parsley.

Storing and reheating. Keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat at 400°F for 5 minutes to bring the edges back.

Why this works

Parboil or not

You can skip it, and most weeknights you should. Baby potatoes under about 4cm cook through in the air fryer without help. Anything bigger, halve it or give it six minutes in boiling water first, then drain and dry thoroughly.

Crush them

Press each potato gently with the base of a glass until it cracks but holds together. Every crack becomes a crisp edge, and that surface area is the entire point of the dish.

Parmesan goes on late

Cheese added at the start burns onto the basket. Add it for the final three minutes, when the potatoes are already golden and there is enough residual fat for it to cling to.

Garlic burns

Raw minced garlic at 400°F turns bitter in under five minutes. Either use granulated garlic from the start, or stir fresh garlic through in the last two minutes.