Air Fryer Flower Fries

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Level: Easy

Total: 30 min
Active: 15 min

Yield: 12 potato flowers

Made with a thin apple slicer and a melon baller, these cutie flower-shaped potatoes – perfect for kids – cook entirely in the air fryer until they’re tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. For best results, use potatoes that are similar in size, at least 1 1/4 inches wide. Once they’re done cooking, fill each flower with ranch dressing and a cherry tomato half. Or mix things up and add a different dip, like hummus or guacamole.

Level: Easy

Total: 30 min
Active: 15 min

Yield: 12 potato flowers

Ingredients

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12 small yellow potatoes, such as baby gold (about 1 pound)

Olive oil spray

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 teaspoons ranch dressing, plus more for serving

6 red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

Baby arugula, for serving

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Special equipment:

a 16-slice thin apple slicer, a melon baller, a 6-quart air fryer

Line up the potatoes and slice one end from each, taking off more or less to ensure that all the potatoes are the same length. (Reserve all the potato scraps: you can toss them with salt and oil to air fry later.)
Stand up each potato on its flat side. Working with 1 potato at a time, place a 16-slice thin apple slicer over the center of the rounded end. Carefully push the slicer down using a see-sawing motion until the blades are 1/4 inch from the bottom of the potato. Don’t push firmly straight down or you could accidentally slice through the entire potato. Remove the slicer by grasping the sides with both hands and firmly pushing your thumbs into the center of the potato. Use a melon baller to scoop out three-fourths of that center.
Thoroughly coat the potatoes all over with olive oil spray and season with the salt. Add them flat-sides down to a 6-quart air fryer. Cook at 380 degrees F until the petals are crispy and golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes (see Cook’s Note). Remove the air fryer basket, wait until the potatoes are cool enough to handle (about 1 minute) and gently pluck them out of the basket with your hands. Fill each center with 1/2 teaspoon ranch dressing and nestle half a cherry tomato on top, dome-side up. Arrange the potato flowers on a bed of baby arugula and serve with more ranch for dipping.