Simple is sexy, if you ask me. And these air fryer carrots and potatoes are a prime example of how two simple ingredients can be spiced up into something really delicious with minimal effort. This combo would be perfect as a healthy side dish for your next chicken dinner or any protein that needs something warm and savory on the side.
How to Make Roasted Carrots and Potatoes in an Air Fryer
This is a super easy recipe. You’ll only need a pound of red potatoes, a pound of carrots, some olive oil, and a handful of spices. I’ll run you through it below and cover a few ingredient modification notes as we go. You’ll find a full recipe card at the bottom of the post if you want to jump ahead.
Toss sliced carrots and diced red potatoes in a tablespoon of olive oil and air fry for 15 minutes at 400ºF.
In case you can’t tell from the photo above, you can get away with imperfectly sliced carrots and potatoes here. Aim to keep the potato slices around the same size as the potatoes, and you’ll be perfectly fine.
As a quick air fryer note, I use a 301 model Ninja Foodi (6.5-quart) for air frying. If you’re using a smaller or larger air fryer, you’ll probably need to slightly adjust the cook times.
Use the photo below to get an idea of what your potatoes and carrots should look like after air frying the first time. You’re looking for some wrinkling on the potato skins and some browning around the edges.
You want your veggies to be mostly cooked and fork tender before adding a little extra olive oil and the seasoning blend. There’s no harm in extending the time in the air fryer by a few minutes in this step if you’re unsure about them being done.
Mix smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, dried oregano, ground thyme, and sugar together in a small bowl.
This is a similar spice blend to the one I used for my cajun seasoned Ninja Foodi sweet potato fries with a few minor tweaks. Smoked paprika is not very spicy, in my opinion. But if you wanted a more mellow flavor, you could cut the amount in half.
Another option might be something like the garlic parmesan route I took with my air fryer carrot fries or air fryer red potatoes. The seasoning blend is really your oyster—get creative!
Toss the air fried potatoes and carrots in another tablespoon of olive oil and coat in the seasoning blend. Air fry for an additional 10-12 minutes at 400ºF.
Be sure to get all the goodies left in the bowl on top of the potatoes and carrots once you put them back in the air fryer basket. After the 10-12 minutes back in the air fryer, you’re looking for some caramelization on the carrots and crispy edges on the potatoes.
As long as you avoid burning the seasoning blend and sugar, you could extend the air fryer time by a few minutes. Or if you’re using a Foodi—broil for a few minutes for extra crispy carrots and potatoes.
Once you get them just right, toss with a bit of parsley and serve them up!
What to Serve with Your Air Fryer Potatoes and Carrots
It’s hard to go wrong with this one, but here’s a handful of main dishes that came to mind as pairings:
- Crispy Pan Fried Chicken Breast
- Spicy BBQ Pulled Pork
- Hamburger Steaks with Mushroom and Onion Gravy
- Pan Fried Chicken Tenderloins
- Mustard Balsamic Ninja Foodi Chicken Thighs
- Spicy Buttermilk Baked Chicken Tenderloins
I’d love to hear about how you serve your potatoes and carrots. Come on back and let me know in the comments at the bottom of this post. And if you have any questions about these air fryer potatoes and carrots, you can drop those in the comments as well. Have fun!
Air Fryer Roasted Carrots and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb Red Potatoes, diced
- 1 lb Carrots, sliced
- 2 Tbsp 32g Olive Oil, divided
- 1 Tbsp 12g Sugar
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/4 tsp Ground Thyme
Instructions
- Toss the potatoes and carrots in 1 Tbsp (16g) olive oil and air fry for 15 minutes at 400ºF.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl while the potatoes and carrots cook.
- After 15 minutes, transfer the potatoes and carrots back to the mixing bowl and toss in an additional 1 Tbsp (16g) of olive oil before adding the seasoning. Toss/stir until evenly coated.
- Air fry for an additional 10-12 minutes at 400ºF until the carrots are fork tender and potatoes are crisp. Feel free to shake and continue cooking in short intervals for more caramelization on the carrots.
I made this since I had lots of carrots to use up. It is super easy to whip up. The flavors are interesting, but delicious. The sweetness of the sugar with the smoky paprika was a nice combo. Will definitely make again.
I have 3 picky eaters in my house & everyone loved these! They were fantastic! The only change I made was substituting parsley for oregano because I don’t like oregano.
This recipe looks great!
Thank you.
The BEST RECIPE using the AIRFRYER. This was the first recipe popped on the search and glad I went with this recipe. Love the nice little kick to the flavor……only used 1/2 the amount of the smoked paprika not knowing if I would love (it didn’t disappoint) next try… I will use the full amount. Thanks for sharing…it was very tasty….Highly recommend. 🙂
Thanks so much, Martha!
This was absolutely delish! Will be making it again. Plus it included WW points. Thank you!
I served them with Korean BBQ beef short ribs and sauteed lemon pepper green beans. I omitted the carrots and added Vidalia onions. It was delicious!
That sounds amazing! I have a little dinner envy.
As a kid, my mom cooked unappetizing, tasteless, crunchy carrots twice a year. Given that, I really had an aversion for carrots until one year ago. I’m now on a carrot kick.
This was my first time air frying carrots. Seriously, I’ve made this three times in over one month. My fourth time I came up with an idea because I needed to cook up some chicken. I cubed chicken breasts (close to same size as the carrots and potatoes) and air fried the chicken for 7 minutes then let it cool a bit. Mixed chicken in with the veggies, with a good spritz of evoo, and cooked per your recipe. Absolutely delicious. Your recipe has so many options and I thank you for giving me another reason to enjoy cooked carrots.
That’s awesome to hear. And the chicken addition is a great idea. Thanks, Clancy!
This was really good and I would make again. A nice change from the usual herbs and parm.
I was tempted to omit the sugar but it really balances the smoky paprika.
Thanks, Suzanne!
Made this tonight following directions. I would recommend cutting the spice mixture in half. For one pound of potatos and one pound of carrots, the spices seemed to overwhelm the taste of the vegetables. Other than that, i would make this again. Thanks for the idea.
This is the perfect pair for Turkey breast, We really love the flavor🥰