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This tutorial will give you the best directions for cooking Air Fryer Hash Browns from frozen to crispy. From southern style diced potatoes to traditional patties, this is one of the best ways to reheat hash browns with minimal time and effort.
Most hash brown directions have you reheat on the stovetop or in the oven which lead to a few drawbacks. Pan-frying hash browns from frozen requires some skill, because it’s really easy to overcook them on one side while trying to defrost all the way through. This can lead to uneven cooking. With the air fryer – everything gets crispy!
Serve these with cottage cheese egg bites, cinnamon milk, and banana applesauce muffins for a great breakfast spread.
Table of Contents
Why Make Hash Browns in an Air Fryer?
With the traditional oven method, it requires a lot more time to heat up the oven and cook the potatoes all the way through, adding at least 15-20 minutes to the overall cooking time.
Air frying is the absolute best way to do this because:
- It only takes about 2 minutes to heat up the air fryer to the perfect temperature.
- The circulating air cooks hash browns evenly, getting them nice and crispy all the way through.
- It’s fast. This cuts down the cooking time by at least half.
What Air Fryer is Best?
Choosing an air fryer depends on the size of your family and how many people you typically cook for. Here are a few options that may work for you.
Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid – This is helpful for a family of 1-2 people who are looking to save space in the kitchen without adding a whole separate appliance. While the air fryer lid is still large, it fits on top of an instant pot, and you can usually store it this way as well. Overall this saves space more than a separate air fryer would. The downside is it’s challenging to cook food for a large amount of people. I also notice that the lower basket does not cook as well as the top basket. However, it is the least expensive at roughly $60-70.
Ninja – One of the most popular air fryers, this comes in 4 quart or a dual, which cooks in two separate baskets at the same time. The XL version comes with a 5.5 quart basket, which would be best for a large family. A 4 quart costs about $99.
Philips – Philips air fryers also come in a range of sizes and are better for a larger family as well. They tend to have the best reviews as far as reliability, but are more expensive. A 4 quart air fryer costs about $150.
Types of Frozen Hash Browns
There are many different types of frozen hash browns, so I pulled a few brands to test multiple cooking times depending on what you buy.
- Shredded Potato Hash Browns – These are a little bit more difficult when it comes to cooking in the air fryer, but they take roughly the same time as the patties.
- Hash Brown Patties (Trader Joe’s) – These are more like the traditional patties you would get at McDonalds. Rectangular, larger patties have a strong potato flavor with a super crispy outside and soft potato inside.
- Southern Style Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes (Mr Dell’s) – These are the southern style potatoes, chopped small, and would be great as a side dish or mixed with shallots and peppers. Since the only ingredient in these is potatoes, I recommend adding garlic powder and paprika to add a little extra flavor.
- Cauliflower Hash Browns (Strong Roots) – These hash brown patties mix potatoes and cauliflower but also have a few minimal spices. This is a great product if reintroducing onion powder for those on a migraine diet.
Additional Ingredients
Olive Oil Spray – This can be found widely available at most grocery stores and I love to use it for air frying. It lightly coats the inner basket as well as the food so it’s just crispy and golden brown without being weighed down with oil.
Spices – I recommend adding a pinch of paprika, smoked paprika, garlic, or rosemary to take your air fryer frozen hash browns to the next level! Use this as a side dish or in casseroles. Toss the frozen hash browns with seasonings while still frozen, before placing in the air fryer.
Cooking Method
Traditional frozen hash browns have a different cooking time than the southern style diced potato hash browns. I’ve tested the cooking times for any type you want to make.
A note – I like my hash browns super crispy on the outside and a darker golden brown. Cut down on the cooking times by about 5-7 minutes total if you prefer yours to be lighter.
Air Fryer Diced Potatoes
Step 1: Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F. When ready, spray the inner basket with olive oil. Toss the frozen potatoes with garlic paprika, and a spritz of olive oil. Place them in the basket, making sure they’re in a single layer, but these can be closer than the patties.
Step 2: Air Fry for 20 minutes, stopping at 10 minutes to toss the potatoes so they get browned on all sides.
Air Fryer Hash Brown Patties
Step 3: Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F. When ready, spray the inner basket with olive oil and lightly coat the hash brown patties. Place them in the basket, making sure they’re spaced out enough they’re not on top of each other.
Step 4: Air fry for 7-8 minutes, then flip the patty to the opposite side and fry another 7-8 minutes till golden brown on both sides.
Cooking Tip
Different air fryers can have a wide range of cooking times. Use these times as a general guide, but I find that my air fryer lid sometimes cooks faster than larger air fryers just because it’s a much smaller space to heat.
This is also why a convection oven is also not as effective as a smaller, individual air fryer. I’ve compared my convection oven to my air fryer lid and it always takes longer to cook, plus doesn’t get quite as crispy.
Storage
Hash browns will store in the fridge up to 3 days. To reheat, simply pop them back in the air fryer for a couple of minutes till they get warm again.
For best results, I recommend making them to order, especially if you’re already using frozen hash browns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reheating hash browns in the air fryer depends on the type of hash brown you are cooking and if it’s frozen. To reheat already cooked hash browns – set temperature to 375 degrees F and cook for about 5 minutes, tossing halfway through. To cook from frozen, see the recipe details below for times.
Frozen hash browns will cook for roughly 15-20 minutes total in an air fryer, cutting down the time you would have to use to thaw them or pan fry them to get them warm all the way through without burning the outer crust.
Yes, frozen shredded hash browns will also work, but they cook much faster than diced or patties. I recommend cooking at 375 degrees F for about 5-7 minutes per side, flipping halfway through. It helps to spread them on an even, thin layer for faster cooking. The more you add, the longer it will take to get them crispy. Be sure to oil the basket to prevent the hash browns from sticking.
I like to serve these with simple scrambled eggs or these air fryer soft boiled eggs would be great. Pair with cream cheese toast and cinnamon milk for the ultimate breakfast.
Air Fryer Recipes
For more recipes like these air fryer hash browns, check out these posts. For another quick recipe, I highly recommend the Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon.
Beef
Air Fryer Flank Steak
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Air Fryer Hash Browns
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen diced potatoes (southern style hash browns) or 4 individual frozen hash brown patties
- olive oil spray
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- To make traditional hash brown patties – Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F. When ready, spray the inner basket with olive oil and lightly coat the hash brown patties. Place them in the basket, making sure they’re spaced out enough they’re not on top of each other. Air fry for 7-8 minutes, then flip the patty to the opposite side and fry another 7-8 minutes till golden brown on both sides.
- To make southern style hash browns (diced potatoes) – Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F. When ready, spray the inner basket with olive oil. Toss the frozen potatoes with garlic, paprika, and a spritz of olive oil. Place them in the basket, making sure they’re in a single layer, but these can be closer than the patties. Air fry for 18-20 minutes, stopping at 10 minutes to toss the potatoes so they get browned on all sides.
Notes
- Air fryer models can vary with cooking times. These were tested with an Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid. For a larger basket, like 5qt it may take the maximum amount of time. For a smaller 4qt basket, go with the lower end of time, checking 2-3 minutes early the first time you cook these.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Are the Trader Joe’s patties safe on HYH?
good recipe. smalle note for anyone taking the bit about the oven style air fryer running less hot than the purpose built air fryers, its simply not true. my oven style air fryer runs for hotter than my old air fryer ever did. you just have to get tonknow your unit and adjust recipe heat accordingly. for mine, it doesnt need to preheat at all and i generally set it 15 lower than the instructions.
Easy! Thank you
Great tutorial! Used for my Pattie’s and turned out crunchy.
Thanks, Annie!
Thanks for all the tips!!
These were so good! I added the spices and it really went well with eggs. Cooking times for me were perfect. I did 18 minutes for the diced potatoes.
can you add onions to the potatoes
One of my favorite recipes to cook in the air fryer! Thanks Alicia!