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Crispy air fryer hash browns come together in a flash with this simple-to-follow recipe. Golden-brown potato patties make the perfect breakfast to pair with all your favorite sauces!
Table of Contents
💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
Quick & easy — Similar to stewed potatoes, air fryer hash browns require only a few ingredients and are ready in less than 30 minutes.
Customizable — Add your favorite herbs and spices, opt for different potatoes, or make it oil-free. You’ve got options!
Affordable — The ingredients are easily accessible and affordable in most places around the world.
Diet-friendly — Just like our tortitas de papa, his recipe is gluten-free, egg-free, and completely plant-based.
If you love potatoes, you really need to check out our vegan breakfast casserole, air fryer sweet potatoes, and papas a la Mexicana.
📖 What are air fryer hash browns?
Air fryer hash browns make up a simple recipe that’s designed to speed up the cooking process of regular homemade hash browns. As an added bonus, they taste just as crispy yet require less oil!
All you have to do is shred a couple of potatoes, soak them, then form them into patties — it’s that easy!
Pop the patties in your air fryer, and 12-15 minutes later you’ll be enjoying perfectly golden-brown hash browns. They’re light, healthy, and full of flavor, making them the perfect option for breakfast or brunch.
🥔 What are the best potatoes to use?
Since there are so few ingredients in this recipe, it’s important to think about what each type of potato brings to the table.
For these air fryer hash brown patties, waxy potatoes help keep everything stuck together. A few examples are Yukon, Fingerling, French, or New potatoes.
If you’re looking for the best crisp and won’t be making patties, starchy varieties, like Russet potatoes, are a better option.
🌱 Are hash browns vegan?
Typically, hash brown patties are made with eggs. While it acts as a binder, we don’t find eggs necessary in this recipe.
If you are having problems with yours falling apart, add a few tablespoons of aquafaba and some all-purpose flour. These should help!
🔥 Benefits of an air fryer
Saves time — You don’t have to remember to preheat your oven because an air fryer heats up so quickly. You’ll have hash browns on the table in no time!
Crisps better — An air fryer crisps up foods like hash browns just as well as frying them (and even better in some cases).
Easy cleanup — Air fryers are extremely simple to clean, and most models are even dishwasher-safe.
Healthier than frying — Air frying is a healthier option compared to frying or deep frying. It reduces calorie intake due to the limited amount of oil required.
🛒 Ingredients & substitutions
Potatoes — As we mentioned, the high starch and low moisture content of Russet potatoes make them a top choice for crispy hash browns, but they don’t do the best job of sticking together! So for these air fryer hash brown patties, we recommend Yukon Gold, white, or red.
Oil — We tend to reach for extra virgin olive oil, but you can use avocado, sunflower, safflower, canola, or peanut oil as well. The reason we love olive oil is that it’s packed with monounsaturated fats like oleic acid, which is anti-inflammatory.
Garlic powder — Whenever we have the chance to throw garlic into a recipe, we take it! It adds just the right amount of savory, toasty, and hearty taste.
Sea salt & pepper — To enhance the flavor of the potatoes and add the perfect savory kick. Potatoes need a fair bit of salt, so be generous!
For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.
📝 Instructions
Step 1 — First, preheat your air fryer to 370 degrees F for about 4-5 minutes while you prep the potatoes. Preheating isn’t absolutely necessary, but we find a few minutes helps to kick start the cooking process.
Step 2 — Wash and scrub the potatoes, then grate each one on the large side of a box grater. Place the shredded potatoes in a colander and rinse them well. Transfer them to a container of cold water to soak for a few minutes.
Step 3 — Drain the water and squeeze the potatoes as thoroughly as you can (a cheesecloth works well for this step). Combine potatoes, a tablespoon of oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Step 4 — Grease the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Add small mounds of potatoes to the basket, being careful not to stack the hash browns on top of one other. Press them into patties, then brush the top of each hash brown with a little more oil.
Step 5 — Air fry the hash browns for around 6-9 minutes, then carefully flip each one and brush with more oil. Fry them for another 6-9 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
Step 6 — Enjoy these patties while warm with the rest of your breakfast or brunch spread. Happy eating!
If you have questions about making these air fryer hash brown patties, check out our FAQs or leave a comment down below!
🍟 Dips for hash browns
If you love dips and sauces as much as we do, you should really give a few of these vegan options a try:
Garlic aioli — Creamy vegan aioli with a touch of heat.
Dairy-free sour cream — Thick and creamy nut-based sour cream.
Salsa ranchera — Roasted, chunky, and hearty salsa perfect for hash browns.
🌡️ Storage & reheating
When it comes to air fryer hash browns, you’ve got quite a few options for storage and reheating. Just following these tips:
Fridge — Air fryer hash brown patties are best eaten right away when they’re nice and crispy, but you can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just keep them in an airtight container.
Freezer — Freeze hash browns in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. You can air fry them again immediately without thawing.
Reheating — Cook these hash browns again in a preheated air fryer for 1-2 minutes, or until heated all the way through. Additionally, you can fry them in a bit of oil over medium heat for 30-45 seconds per side. The quickest, yet least effective way is the microwave as they won’t stay crispy.
♻️ Variations
Spicy — For an extra spicy version, add cayenne, paprika, or ancho chile powder to the seasoning list.
Herbs — Switch up the flavors by using herbs like oregano, dill, chives, and parsley.
Oil-free — If you’re oil-free, don’t add any oil to the air fryer. However, the potatoes will stick more.
Sweet potatoes — Try sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes for a sweeter taste.
🧑🍳 Top tips
Soak the potatoes — This helps remove the starch, resulting in crispier hash browns. Make sure to rinse them before and after soaking as well.
Dry the potatoes — After soaking and rinsing, you really need to dry the potato shreds thoroughly for a crispy texture. We recommend using a cheesecloth or just squeezing them really well (hello arm workout)!
Maintain the same thickness — For even cooking and proper browning, ensure your potato patties are pressed to the same height.
Flip halfway — For the best texture, make sure you don’t skip flipping the hash browns at the halfway point!
💬 FAQ
If your hash browns are not crispy, you either didn’t remove the moisture prior to cooking, or you need to cook them longer.
It depends on the air fryer, but most baskets will be fine with a little oil sprayed on them. A light spray canola oil works well, but any oil should do the trick.
If you want to prep the hash browns in advance, our advice would be to make the patties, then freeze them (uncooked) in a lined freezer-safe container until you’re ready to air fry them, or up to 3 months.
🍴 More potato recipes
If you enjoyed these air fryer hash brown patties, be sure to check out these other potato-packed recipes:
- 4-Ingredient potato soup: A quick and easy potato soup perfect for busy weekdays.
- Papas a la Mexicana: Mexican-style potatoes that are great for tacos.
- Pambazos: Chile-dipped bread stuffed with vegan chorizo and potatoes.
- Mexican potato salad: Classic potato salad with a spicy, zesty twist!
- Red skin mashed potatoes: Rich, hearty, and satisfying vegan mashed potatoes.
Crispy Air Fryer Hash Browns
Equipment
- Grater
- Colander
Ingredients
- 3 large white or yellow potatoes (0.80)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder (0.03)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt (0.01)
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper (0.01)
- 3 tablespoons olive or avocado oil, divided (0.33)
For serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 370°F for 4-5 minutes while you prep the potatoes.
- Wash and scrub the potatoes, then grate each one on the large side of a box grater. Place the shredded potatoes in a colander and rinse them well. Transfer to a bowl of cold water to soak for 5 minutes.
- Drain the water and squeeze the potatoes as thoroughly as you can (a cheesecloth works well for this step). Combine potatoes, 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Grease the air fryer basket with oil or cooking spray. Add mounds of potatoes to the basket, being careful not to stack any on top of each other. Press the mounds into patty shapes, then brush the top of each one with a little more oil.
- Air fry the hash browns for 6-9 minutes, then carefully flip and brush with more oil. Fry for another 6-9 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Enjoy while warm with ketchup, dairy-free sour cream, or spicy aioli. Happy eating!
Notes
- Soak the potatoes — This helps remove the starch, resulting in crispier hash browns. Make sure to rinse them before and after soaking as well.
- Dry the potatoes — After soaking and rinsing, you really need to dry the potato shreds thoroughly for a crispy texture. We recommend using a cheesecloth or just squeezing them really well (hello arm workout)!
- Maintain the same thickness — For even cooking and proper browning, ensure your potato patties are pressed to the same height.
- Flip halfway — For the best texture, make sure you don’t skip flipping the hash browns at the halfway point!
- If the patties are falling apart, try adding a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the mixture.
- We calculate nutritional information for our recipes with Cronometer.
- Recipe cost calculations are based on ingredients local to us and may vary from recipe to recipe. All prices are in USD.
