Recipe This | Air Fryer Scalloped Potatoes (2024)

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Have you made scalloped potatoes in the air fryer yet from leftover cheese sauce and air fryer crispy sliced potatoes? In this air fryer scalloped potatoes recipe, we will be showing you some delicious shortcuts for the best air fryer potato side dish.

Whether you call them scalloped potatoes, potatoes au gratin, or like us Brits a potato bake, its amazing for cooking in the air fryer.

This leftover potato gratin recipe was originally shared back in 2015 updated in 2020 and updating today with new photos and better tips and tricks for making the best scalloped potatoes in the air fryer.

Recipe This | Air Fryer Scalloped Potatoes (1)

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Scalloped Potatoes In Air Fryer

I was a vegetarian as a teenager and the food that I loved time and time again was veggies or potatoes in a creamy cheese sauce.

I could eat it all day, everyday given the chance and it was a true favourite of mine.

It was also the first thing, beyond making a delicious cheese and tomato quiche, that I learnt to make myself.

I would make a cheese sauce, boil the veggies and potatoes and then when done, the cheese sauce would be poured over the veggies.

Kind of like mac and cheese but swapping the macaroni for root veggies.

But I remember once having no veggies and using just potatoes and thinking it was the best thing ever and calling it my potato bake.

Of course, this is long before the air fryer became the best kitchen gadget ever and in todays recipe for air fryer scalloped potatoes we are showing you a very quick prep method and then using the air fryer to make everything nice and crispy.

Are You New To The Air Fryer?

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Can You Make Scalloped Potatoes In An Air Fryer?

Yes, you can air fry scalloped potatoes and you will love them. You see, you can use the air fryer to air fry the sliced potatoes and then use the air fryer to add a crispy topping, in a similar way to how you would use the oven. Only difference, is that the air fryer is much quicker and doesn’t need a preheat.

Do Scalloped Potatoes Cook Faster Covered Or Uncovered?

Scalloped potatoes cook much faster uncovered than covered. But if you are adding loads of cheese to the top of your scalloped potatoes (or bacon) expect that it will go darker because of the way the air fryer cooks from above.

What is The Difference Between Scalloped and Au Gratin Potatoes?

I am British and this means until I started reading food blogs back in 2012 and dreaming about having my own food blog, that I had never heard of scalloped potatoes.

I thought maybe they had fish in as being British that is how we describe a type of fish cake.

Turns out that scalloped potatoes are another name for potatoes au gratin.

If you live in Europe chances are, you call it au gratin and if you live in America the name would be scalloped potatoes.

Or to complicate it further, in some locations people call it cheesy potatoes.

What Is A Potato Au Gratin?

Au gratin is a French food and can be many different foods such as cauliflower au gratin or vegetable au gratin. Its all about potatoes that are topped with a creamy sauce and a crusty topping.

This might be with butter, cheese, cream, eggs, breadcrumbs, or all those ingredients.

Best Potatoes To Use For Au Gratin?

The best potatoes to use for au gratin are those that are:

  • Small to Medium – Any bigger or smaller and the sliced potato size will be too big or too small.
  • Good condition – Ones with eyes growing are not good when you are eating the skin on the potatoes.
  • Clean – You will want to give them a quick scrub before you use them.

You don’t need to use a specific type of potatoes. Whatever potatoes you have available will be perfect.

Should You Boil Potatoes Before Air Frying?

There is no need to boil potatoes before air frying because the air fryer cooks the potatoes much faster compared to the oven.

Also, when you boil potatoes first, you lose the nutritional values of them, and they taste rather bland.

If you check out our air fryer potato wedges, air fryer baked potatoes, air fryer chips, or air fryer baby potatoes, you will see that the potatoes are loaded straight into the air fryer without boiling first.

Air Fryer Sliced Potatoes

This recipe for air fryer au gratin potatoes is all about the air fryer sliced potatoes. What we do first is slice the potatoes, air fry until cooked and crispy and then load them up with cheese sauce.

I recommend that if you are new to the air fryer, that you check out our air fryer sliced potatoes recipe first.

Would you like easy & amazing air fryer recipes from air fryer experts? Click here and join the Recipe This Newsletter. We will then send you the BEST air fryer beginner recipes direct to your email inbox along with other useful air fryer resources.

Scalloped Potatoes Air Fryer Ingredients

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Potatoes – I recommend 5 medium potatoes not large as you don’t want the slices to be too big. I also recommend ones that have not been sat around for ages as you want great air fryer potato skin.

Sauce – Its all about the cheese sauce over the potatoes and layering them up like we do with our air fryer lasagna recipe. You can either go healthy with our soup maker cheese sauce or make a classic cheese sauce like our Thermomix cheese sauce.

Cheese – Don’t be shy, add plenty of cheese to the top of your air fryer cheesy potatoes.

Breadcrumbs – I recommend adding some breadcrumbs that you can then sprinkle on top. I have a big bowl of them (see pic above), and this was then also used for our air fryer KFC chicken, air fryer potato cakes and a few other recipes and then the rest was loaded into the freezer.

Seasonings – I prefer to keep things simple with salt, pepper, and some dried chives but you can add in extra seasonings too if you want a different flavour.

Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this au gratin potatoes in air fryer it has just been our Cosori air fryer. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of air fryer recipes.

Plus, we recommend you head over to our air fryer recipes category as we have more than 500 tried and tested air fryer recipes and have been air frying for 10 years.

How To Make Scalloped Potatoes In Air Fryer?

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  • Bowl. Slice your potatoes with skin on into thinly sliced potatoes. Load into a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and your seasonings. Mix well with your hands until the potatoes are well coated.
  • Cook. Next load the sliced potatoes into the air fryer basket and cook for 15 minutes at 180c/360f, shake the air fryer, then air fry for a further 8 minutes at 160c/320f, shake and spray with extra virgin olive oil and then air fry for a further 4 minutes at 200c/400f.
  • Layer. Then add a layer of potatoes to an air fryer cake pan, then add a layer of the cheese sauce, then a layer of potatoes and continue like this until you are out of potatoes and have a final layer of cheese sauce on top.
  • Sprinkle. Then sprinkle with breadcrumbs and grated cheese, then air fry for 10 minutes at 180c/360f.

And I am sure you can see now how easy it is to make air fryer scalloped potatoes from leftovers and how you can do the same.

Ninja Foodi Scalloped Potatoes

You can also make scalloped potatoes in Ninja Foodi. Simply use the air fryer crisplid on the Ninja. Or you could also use the Ninja Foodi to make yourself a cheese sauce with instead.

Air Fryer Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

You can also make scalloped potatoes with cheese and ham. Simply add loads of diced ham to your cheese sauce and then it will create a ham and cheese sauce and will taste even better.

Or another option is for the last few minutes of cook time that you sprinkle the top with bacon bits like we do in our air fryer green bean casserole.

More Air Fryer Leftover Ideas

  • Air Fryer Leftover Turkey Pie
  • Air Fryer Leftover Turkey Calzone
  • Air Fryer Leftover Turkey Burgers
  • Air Fryer Leftover Stuffing Muffins
  • Air Fryer Prime Rib Hash
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Your scalloped potatoes air fryer recipe is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Air Fryer Scalloped Potatoes

Have you made scalloped potatoes in the air fryer yet from leftover cheese sauce and air fryer crispy sliced potatoes? In this air fryer scalloped potatoes recipe, we will be showing you some delicious shortcuts for the best air fryer potato side dish.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time27 minutes mins

Total Time37 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Air Fryer

Servings: 4

Calories: 766kcal

Author: RecipeThis.com

Ingredients

MetricImperial

Instructions

  • Clean the potatoes and then thinly slice and discard the ends.

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  • Load the sliced potatoes into a mixing bowl and add the oil and seasonings and mix well with your hands.

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  • Load the potatoes into the air fryer basket and air fry for 15 minutes at 180c/360f, shake the potatoes, air fry for 8 minutes at 160c/320f, shake and then spray with extra virgin olive oil spray. Air fry for a further 4 minutes at 200c/400f.

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  • Load the sliced potatoes into your air fryer cake pan adding a single layer, pour over cheese sauce, and then repeat again 3 more times. Then sprinkle the top of the cheese sauce with breadcrumbs followed by grated cheese.

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  • Then air fry for 10 minutes at 180c/360f before serving.

    Recipe This | Air Fryer Scalloped Potatoes (13)

Notes

Size. I recommend that you use medium potatoes and not large, because you want a medium cut of potato slices, and you don’t want them too big.

Thanks for reading our air fryer scalloped potatoes recipe on Recipe This. We have many more air fryer recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like to try more delicious potato recipes in the air fryer, then do check out our air fryer breakfast potatoes recipe next.

Nutrition

Calories: 766kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 2235mg | Potassium: 1138mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1339IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 370mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

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FAQs

Why won't my scalloped potatoes get soft? ›

Potatoes or rice can remain rock-hard after prolonged cooking. Starch will not swell if it is acidic. If you have a lot of sour cream in your scalloped potatoes or add something acidic, your potatoes may not soften. You can cook the potatoes with heavy cream or milk and then, after they soften, stir in sour cream.

Why won t my potatoes cook in the air fryer? ›

If you're consistently stumped with why your potatoes aren't crisping up, there's a good chance that you're overfilling your air fryer. There's a reason people say “less is more”. Overfilling your air fryer can stop the air from circulating properly and can cause the potatoes to cook unevenly.

Why does my sauce break in scalloped potatoes? ›

The curdling is caused by high heat, which is hard to avoid in an oven. So to keep the sauce together, tackle it before the dish goes in the oven.

How to thicken runny scalloped potatoes? ›

runny scalloped potatoes. If you find yourself faced with a soupy pan of potatoes, shake a few tablespoons of flakes into the sauce and mix them around with a fork or a small whisk. The flakes will soak up the extra liquid in a flash, and you can keep adding them until the sauce is at the proper thickness.

How to keep potatoes from turning brown when making scalloped potatoes? ›

Do I have to blanch my potatoes, to make scalloped potatoes ahead of time? A: The short answer I recommend is yes, almost always. If sliced and then placed into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes till the slices have a rubbery consistency, this blanching will help stop the oxidation process.

What is the difference between all gratin potatoes and scalloped potatoes? ›

The difference comes down to cheese. Scalloped potato recipes are usually baked in a basic cream sauce until soft and tender, with no cheese topping. Potatoes au gratin are a bit more decadent. They are made with lots of cheese sprinkled in between the layers of potatoes and also on top of the casserole.

Why are my scalloped potatoes soupy? ›

Watery scalloped potatoes are not good, and is often caused by using the wrong type of potato. This recipe requires starchy potatoes, such as russets or Yukon golds, not waxy potatoes. Another cause is washing or holding the sliced potatoes in water (as outlined in the question above).

What is the best way to slice potatoes for scalloped potatoes? ›

Once you've chosen the right potatoes, grab a sharp chef's knife (or a mandoline, if you have one) and carefully slice them as thinly and evenly as possible—ideally one-fourth to one-eighth-inch thick. Potatoes that are too thick or thin will bake up unevenly, and you want the layers to cook up tender.

Are potatoes better in oven or air fryer? ›

Crisper skin: The skin of the air fryer baked potato became considerably crispier. I also noticed that the skin stayed crisp longer than the oven-baked potato. Fluffier interior: The interior of the air fryer baked potato was fluffier and lighter.

What happens if you don t soak potatoes before air frying? ›

I wouldn't bother doing potatoes from the raw state, without soaking. It will take about a half an hour and the texture won't be nearly as rewarding. They just don't get very crispy without that cold soak.

Why no foil in air fryer? ›

Air fryers work by circulating hot air, which originates at the bottom of the fryer. Lining it with foil can constrict the air flow and your food won't cook properly. If you are going to use aluminum foil in an air fryer, use a small amount in the bottom of the basket, making sure not to cover the food.

How to stop milk from curdling in scalloped potatoes? ›

To further lower the risk of curdling, you can add extra starch in the form of flour or cornstarch. Just a teaspoon or two is enough to stabilize the dairy, as well as to give you a lusciously thick sauce. Of course, another highly important ingredient is cheese.

Why are my scalloped potatoes so greasy? ›

Too much cheese will break and become greasy, but a small amount of Parmesan adds a salty tang, while some Gruyere puts nuttiness into play. More importantly, the cheese forms a crunchy-chewy crust along the bottom and sides of the dish, wrapping the gratin in a savory frico—a crispy cheese cracker.

Why are my potatoes not getting soft in the oven? ›

Old Potatoes: Very old or stored potatoes can become starchy and may not soften as well during cooking. It's best to use fresh, firm potatoes. Acidic Ingredients: If your soup contained highly acidic ingredients (e.g., tomatoes), it could have affected the texture of the potatoes.

Why are my potatoes always hard? ›

In the anomaly, very-high solid potato little water resides within, hence nothing to permeate around or within the solids' cells to cook the potato, no matter how long exposed to surrounding, external heat medium such as baking or boiling - explaining the hard or crunchy potatoes texture described.

Why are my potatoes mushy after cooking? ›

The starch in potatoes is held together by pectin. When that pectin breaks down too quickly in the boiling process, mushy potatoes result.

How do you make potatoes softer? ›

One way is to add a little bit of baking soda to the water before boiling the potatoes. The baking soda will help soften them up. Another way is to wait until they're cooled down and then mash them. To make boiled potatoes taste better, you can add butter, salt, or other seasonings after they're cooked.

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