This Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes recipe makes crispy and flavorful home fries, but with a lot less oil. The potatoes are seasoned with a simple blend of spices—and a "secret" ingredient that takes them over the top!
Make these diner-style home fries for your next weekend breakfast. The air fryer cooks them fast, frees up the oven, and there's no preheating involved. We love to serve a homemade sauce for breakfast potatoes—like Vegan Dijon Aioli, Sriracha Aioli, Chipotle Mayo, or Peri Peri Sauce...but ketchup works too!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Secret ingredient for the best breakfast potatoes: Dijon mustard and potatoes might sound like an odd pairing, but it's utterly delicious. And, nobody will ever guess there's mustard in the recipe. Once you try it, you'll never want to make potatoes any other way!
- Fast to make: The air fryer makes crispy breakfast potatoes in a fraction of the time. And, there's no need to preheat your oven for this recipe.
- Light on oil: Diner-style breakfast potatoes are usually deep-fried. Even store-bought home fries are fried before being frozen! However, this recipe uses much less oil. And thanks to the air fryer, they still turn out crispy and delicious.
What potatoes are best for home fries?
We recommend Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes for breakfast potatoes or home fries. Here's how they compare:
Russet potatoes are considered a "starchy" (or "floury") potato. They get crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside when baked, due to their low moisture content. However, because of this, russet potatoes are also more likely to fall apart when cooked. Russet potatoes have a thick skin, so you may prefer to peel them. But, while peeling can help with texture, you do lose some of the potato flavor in the skin.
Yukon Gold potatoes are in between a "starchy" and "waxy" potato. For this reason, they are often considered an all-purpose potato. Yukon Golds have a rich almost buttery flavor, and because the skin is thin, peeling is usually unnecessary. They have a medium starch and moisture content, so the inside will be creamier and not quite as dry/crisp as home fries made with Russets. But, they are extremely flavorful and hold their shape.
Pro tip: Choose Yukon Gold potatoes for flavorful buttery-tasting home fries that definitely don't need to be peeled. Choose Russet potatoes for the crispiest air fryer breakfast potatoes.
Ingredients (and substitutes)
These air fryer breakfast potatoes take only 6 ingredients to make—plus salt and pepper! Here are the ingredients you need for this home fries recipe:
- Potatoes: We prefer the flavor of Yukon Gold potatoes. They also have more tender skin, so we almost always skip peeling them. But, Russet potatoes yield slightly drier/crisper breakfast potatoes. Either variety works in this recipe.
- Olive oil: The air fryer makes crispy home fries without deep frying! But, don't skip the oil altogether because it makes the potatoes crisp and flavorful.
- Dijon Mustard: Roasting potatoes in mustard is a trick we learned from Ina Garten. It adds amazing depth of flavor, but nobody will ever guess there's mustard in the recipe. Even self proclaimed "mustard haters" love these potatoes! If you don't have dijon mustard, you can use a whole grain mustard instead.
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
Love potatoes? Check out these other potato recipes: Vegan Potato Leek Soup, Grilled Potato Salad, Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie, and Veggie Pot Pies with Crispy Potatoes.
How to make (step-by-step photos)
It's easy to make these crispy and delicious breakfast potatoes. Thanks to the air fryer, you don't even need to preheat your oven! Here's how to make them:
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
Recipe FAQs
You can add onion or other veggies, but keep in mind they'd add moisture, so your breakfast potatoes won't be quite as crisp.
For this air fryer breakfast potatoes recipe, you can add up to 1.5 cups of diced onion and/or bell peppers for every 1.5 lb of russet potatoes. (Choose Russet if adding veggies, since they are less starchy). Bake the seasoned potatoes on their own (without veggies) for 10 minutes, then shake the basket and add the lightly oiled veggies. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
Grainy (old-fashioned) mustard is the next best substitute in this recipe. Otherwise, you can use regular yellow mustard instead.
To reheat the breakfast potatoes, warm them in the air fryer at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review below!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes (Home Fries)
Ingredients
- 1½ lb potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russet, see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard (or grainy mustard)
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prep potatoes: Dice potatoes into ½-inch cubes (1.3 cm). Add potatoes to a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss until well coated.
- Season: Add dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Toss until evenly mixed.
- Bake: Spread seasoned potatoes into a single layer in an air fryer basket (see note 2). Bake in an air fryer (no need to preheat) at 400°F (200°C), until golden brown, about 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. (Cooking time varies based on the size of the potatoes).
- Serve: Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot, with sauce, if desired (see note 3).
Notes
- Potatoes: About 5 cups diced. Yukon Gold will yield flavorful, almost buttery tasting home fries that definitely don't need to be peeled (the skin has flavor too!). But if you want the crispiest home fries, choose Russet potatoes. See the post for a detailed comparison of these two potatoes.
- Don't overcrowd basket: If there's some potatoes overlapping, that's okay, just make sure to vigorously shake the basket halfway through. If doubling the recipe, bake in two batches.
- Sauce (optional): These potatoes are delicious served with a creamy sauce, such as Easy Dijon Aioli, 2 Ingredient Chipotle Mayo, or Sriracha Aioli. Or, serve with ketchup and/or hot sauce.
- Vegetable variation: You can add up to 1.5 cups of diced onion and/or bell pepper, but be aware they introduce moisture, so the potatoes won't be as crisp. If adding vegetables, let the potatoes bake in the air fryer alone for 10 minutes. Toss the diced vegetables with a bit of oil (about 1 teaspoon), add them to the basket, shake to mix, then air fry for another 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and golden brown.
- Storage & reheating tips: Refrigerate extra breakfast potatoes in a resealable container. Reheat in an air fryer at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes or until heated through.
David F says
My family is obsessed with these! The dijon mustard is a clever touch.
bri says
So glad to hear that David! Thank you for taking the time to write in - we really appreciate it!
Amber says
wow, wow, wow! dijon was a game changer. these potatoes came out so good!!! a perfectly crisped outside and soft on the inside. 10/10
bri says
Hi Amber! So glad you enjoyed these breakfast potatoes:) And yes, we agree - dijon is a game changer for sure. Hope you have a lovely week ahead!
Betty says
I just got an air fryer (early gift to myself for the holidays!) and took it for a spin with these breakfast potatoes. They turned out great! I loved that I didn't need to turn on my oven. And the flavour was fabulous!! 5 stars
bri says
What a great gift Betty! Happy to hear you enjoyed these home fries! Thank you so much for taking the time to write in.
Judy says
These were delicious. I was initially worried about the Dijon but in the end you couldn't even taste it. Thank you so much for posting.
bri says
Hi Judy! Yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! We find the Dijon helps to add a bit of flavor, without being overly "mustardy". We use it on potatoes often, and even non-mustard lovers enjoy them! Have a great week ahead.
Lianne says
I will never make breakfast potatoes any other way.
bri says
What a compliment!!! Thank you so much Lianne! Hope you have a lovely rest of your day:)
Kira P says
This recipe is so easy and soooo tasty. Will definitely be making again. THANK YOU!
bri says
Glad you enjoyed making these air fryer potatoes Kira! Thank YOU for taking the time to write a review. It means a lot!
Suzanne says
Loved these! With the summer heat these days, I especially appreciated not having to turn the oven on. Air fryer for the win!
bri says
Hi Suzanne! Thanks for writing in:) Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Katie M says
Made these for family breakfast this morning. Kids requested them again tomorrow. Thank you for this fab recipe!
bri says
Hi Katie! So glad to hear they were a hit with the family! Thanks for sharing!
Haley says
How are there no reviews on this recipe yet?! We just made them (for dinner, don't judge...) and they were DELISH!