Breakfast · Air fryer

Air Fryer McDonald's Hash Browns (Copycat Recipe)

McDonald's hash browns are famously oily and salty, but what if you could get that crispy exterior without the grease? The Air Fryer Geek soaked grated potatoes in salted water, squeezed them dry, then air-fried them to nail McDonald's iconic shape at home, only better.

R By Richard · Adapted from The Air Fryer Geek · Published 10 June 2026
👁 41.1k source views ❤️ 538 source likes
⏱Prep 20 min
🌡Temp 200°C
⏲Air fry 6 min
🍽Serves 3
Making McDonald's Breakfast Hash Browns At Home, But Air Fried

Source video by The Air Fryer Geek on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This air fryer copycat recreates the iconic McDonald's breakfast hash brown at home with a fraction of the oil. Grated potato is soaked in salted water, squeezed dry, par-cooked, shaped into the classic oval, frozen to hold its form, then finished in a hot air fryer until crisp. The result is salty, crunchy and noticeably less greasy than the drive-thru version. Make a batch and stash them in the freezer for quick breakfasts.

Ingredients

Main
  • 500 gIdaho potatoes, peeled and grated
  • sea salt, for the soaking water
  • 2 tbspextra virgin olive oil
  • 5 gcornflour (cornstarch) (add late)
To finish
  • extra virgin olive oil, for brushing (add late)

Method

  1. Peel and grate the Idaho potatoes into a bowl of heavily salted cold water. Leave to soak for 2 hours so the potato absorbs the salt.

    ~120 min

  2. Drain the potato, then tip it onto a clean tea towel. Gather the towel and squeeze hard to wring out as much water as possible. Dry potato is essential for crispness.

    ~5 min

  3. Tip the squeezed potato into a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

    ~2 min

  4. Preheat the air fryer to 190°C (375°F). Brush a little oil on the base of the basket, add the grated potato, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.

    ~10 min

  5. Transfer the par-cooked potato to a clean bowl and mix in about 5g (1 tablespoon) of cornflour to help bind.

    ~2 min

  6. Set a biscuit cutter on a tray. Pack roughly 70g of the potato mixture into the cutter and press down firmly to compact it into the classic oval hash brown shape. Repeat to make 3 hash browns.

    ~5 min

  7. Freeze the shaped hash browns for around 2 hours until firm. At this point they can be bagged and kept frozen for up to a couple of months.

    ~120 min

  8. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes. You want it properly hot.

    ~10 min

  9. Brush both sides of the frozen hash browns with olive oil, place in the hot basket and cook for around 5 to 6 minutes, checking every couple of minutes, until golden and crisp.

    ~6 min

Frequently asked

Why do I need to soak the grated potato in salted water?
The soak seasons the potato all the way through and helps draw out excess starch. Combined with a thorough squeeze in a tea towel afterwards, it is what gives you a properly crisp hash brown rather than a soggy one.
Do I have to freeze them before the final cook?
Yes, freezing is what locks the shape in. Freshly shaped hash browns will fall apart in the basket. A couple of hours in the freezer firms them up enough to handle and brush with oil.
Can I cook them straight from frozen another day?
Yes. Bag the frozen hash browns and they will keep for a couple of months. Cook from frozen in a preheated 200°C air fryer, brushing with oil first, and check after 5 to 6 minutes.
Do I need to preheat my air fryer?
For these, yes. A properly hot basket (around 200°C for 10 minutes) is what sets the outside quickly and gives you the crunch. A cold start tends to dry them out before they colour.
Why use cornflour in the mix?
A small amount of cornflour helps the par-cooked potato strands bind together when pressed into shape, so the hash browns hold their form during freezing and cooking.
Extraction notes (transparency): Temperatures converted from Fahrenheit: 375°F ≈ 190°C for the par-cook and 400°F ≈ 200°C for the final cook. The transcript is inconsistent on the par-cook temperature (mentions both 400°F/15 min preheat and 375°F/8-10 min cook) and on yield (shaped 3 hash browns, said not enough mix for 4). Salt quantity for the soak is not given (described as 'a lot' of sea salt). Number of potatoes not specified; quantity estimated from the three 70g shaped portions plus shrinkage. Soaking time (2 hours) and freezing time (around 2 hours) are explicit. | Second-pass critique flagged 2 fabricated and 3 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.