No photo description available.

Air Fryer Crispy Garlic Herb Baby Potatoes

Few side dishes manage to be as simple and satisfying as crispy roasted potatoes. These Air Fryer Crispy Garlic Herb Baby Potatoes take that classic comfort-food combination and make it faster, easier, and wonderfully crisp. The outside develops a golden, lightly crunchy crust while the inside stays soft, fluffy, and tender.

Fresh garlic, dried herbs, olive oil, and a little seasoning coat every potato, creating a savory flavor that pairs beautifully with almost any main dish. Best of all, the air fryer does most of the work, so you can have a delicious potato side on the table without heating up the entire kitchen.

Why You’ll Love These Air Fryer Baby Potatoes

Baby potatoes are especially well suited to air frying because their thin skins become beautifully crisp while their centers turn creamy. Cutting them in half also creates more surface area for the garlic and herbs to cling to.

There are several reasons this recipe is worth adding to your regular dinner rotation:

Crispy without deep frying: A modest amount of oil is enough to encourage browning.
Tender in the middle: Baby potatoes naturally become soft and creamy as they cook.
Big flavor from simple ingredients: Garlic and herbs make the potatoes taste much more elaborate than they actually are.
Quick preparation: There is no complicated sauce or lengthy cooking process.
Versatile: Serve them with chicken, fish, eggs, burgers, steak, or roasted vegetables.
Easy to customize: You can change the herbs and seasonings according to what you have available.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For approximately 4 servings:

1½ pounds baby potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley, for finishing
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese, optional
A small squeeze of fresh lemon juice, optional

Choosing the Potatoes

Look for small potatoes that are similar in size so they cook at roughly the same rate. Baby Yukon Gold, red potatoes, or mixed-color baby potatoes all work well.

If some potatoes are noticeably larger than the others, cut them into quarters while leaving the smallest ones halved. The goal is to create pieces of approximately the same size.

Step-by-Step Method

Step 1: Prepare the Baby Potatoes

Start by washing the potatoes thoroughly under cool running water. Because the skins are thin and delicious when crisped, there is usually no need to peel them.

Pat the potatoes completely dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.

This drying step is more important than it might seem. Excess moisture can create steam in the air fryer, which makes it harder for the potatoes to develop that desirable crisp exterior.

Cut each baby potato in half. If you have particularly large baby potatoes, quarter them.

Step 2: Make the Garlic Herb Seasoning

Place the olive oil in a large mixing bowl.

Add:

minced garlic
Italian seasoning
rosemary
thyme
paprika
salt
black pepper

Stir everything together until the garlic and herbs are evenly distributed throughout the oil.

The olive oil acts as a carrier for the seasonings, helping them coat the potatoes while also encouraging browning during air frying.

Tip: If you prefer a milder garlic flavor, use 2 cloves instead of 3. For a stronger garlic-forward version, add another clove.

Step 3: Coat the Potatoes

Add the prepared potatoes to the bowl.

Toss them thoroughly with the seasoned oil until every piece is coated. Pay particular attention to the cut sides, since those exposed surfaces will become beautifully golden and crisp.

Allow the potatoes to sit for about 5 minutes while you preheat the air fryer.