Our Mashed Potato Tacos are the perfect combination of seasoned, creamy mashed potatoes stuffed inside a crisp corn tortilla. We add a secret ingredient to the potatoes to make them rich and creamy while also packing in some protein! Load these up with your favorite toppings for a simple, tasty meatless meal that’s perfect for taco night!
A potato taco is a delicious Mexican-inspired dish that features a tortilla filled with seasoned potatoes. It is a popular vegetarian option and is loved by many for its simplicity and comforting flavors.
We often eat soft tacos in our house, but when it comes to mashed potato tacos you’re going to LOVE the contrast of the creamy potatoes and crispy shell. The perfect combo, if you ask me – and of course the air fryer makes it a total breeze to crisp those corn tortillas right up.
Similar to our ever popular air fryer tacos, we crisp up the corn tortillas by frying them in our air fryer. This is so much simpler, quicker, and healthier than frying tacos on the stove and the result is quite similar.
The combination of fried crispy tortillas, well-seasoned potatoes, and flavorful toppings creates a unique taco experience that you’ll want again and again. The potatoes provide a hearty and starchy base, while the spices and toppings add depth and freshness to each bite.
Worried about protein? We snuck blended cottage cheese into the mashed potatoes instead of the usual butter and sour cream. It makes for creamy, rich potatoes that are still low in calories and fat, but have some added protein to make them a little more substantial.
You’ll want to serve these with our air fryer street corn for a tasty meal!
Ingredient Notes:
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Potatoes – We need about a pound of potatoes here. If you don’t want to weigh them, just get about 3 medium Russet potatoes. This will work perfectly fine for this recipe.
Dairy- This is a bit of a secret ingredient, but you will need to pick up some cottage cheese from your grocer for the recipe. We need a full cup for the recipe so get an appropriate-sized container.
We’re using blended cottage cheese in the mashed potatoes to add a creamy, rich flavor and protein without adding a ton of calories or fat. The finished product DOES NOT taste like cottage cheese. If you’re adamantly against cottage cheese, you may swap in Greek yogurt (protein) or sour cream (not so much protein, but tasty), but you may need to use a bit less. Highly recommend testing out the cottage cheese though – it’s a game changer, especially when blended until smooth.
Tortillas– We will use 10 corn tortillas, these are usually smaller than normal soft-shell tortillas, and don’t worry about making too many, the leftovers heat up nicely!
Seasonings– Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and chili powder will season your potatoes wonderfully!
Toppings– This part becomes much more optional and impossible to choose wrong. If you don’t know what to add consider lettuce, tomato, avocado, shredded or crumbled cheese, onion, or cilantro!
How to Make Air Fryer Potato Tacos:
- Mash some potatoes– Peel and dice your potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Place these cubes in a pan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and boil your potatoes for about 13 minutes or until very tender. Drain and give the potatoes a rough mash before stirring in all of those spices.
- Cottage Cheese – While your potatoes are boiling, blend your cottage cheese in a blender until smooth and creamy. Stir the cottage cheese into the mashed potatoes and give it a taste. At this point you can add extra seasonings or a splash of milk, if you like a thinner consistency. Just keep in mind that these should be a bit thicker than traditional mashed potatoes as they’re the filling for tacos and we don’t want it ooze out.
- Fill the tortillas– Place the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate and top with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 20 seconds. Next spread half of each tortilla with 3 tablespoons of the potatoes and fold the tortilla to close.
- Air Fry– Spritz your air fryer basket with oil spray. Add your folded tacos in a single layer to your basket and spritz the tacos with oil on both sides. Air fry for six minutes at 400 degrees F. Cook in batches as needed.
- Add your toppings– After cooking, pry apart your tortillas and fill your favorite toppings. Dig in!
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FAQ:
We place our fried tacos in a zip top bag in the refrigerator. They’ll last for 4-5 days this way.
Simply put them back in the air fryer at 300 degrees until warm. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
Yes, there is always a hack! You can buy premade refrigerated mashed potatoes. We usually go with the Bob Evans brand, just because they are good. You can warm them up per the package directions and then stir in the spices along with a cup of your favorite shredded cheese, such as cheddar. Do not add the cottage cheese as the potatoes will be too runny.
Potato Consistency:
These mashed potatoes are a creamy, dreamy consistency that are loaded with spices and flavor. They will turn out a bit thicker than traditional mashed potatoes, but that’s what we’re looking for since we don’t want the potatoes too runny or they’ll ooze out of the tortilla.
If you think your potatoes are a bit too thick for your liking, just stir in a splash of your milk (or extra cottage cheese) until you reach the consistency you prefer.
Need Taco Topping Ideas?
A few of our favorite taco toppings include:
- Shredded Lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Minced Onion
- Fresh Cilantro
- Pico de Gallo
- Homemade Guacamole
- Taco Sauce
- Restaurant Style Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Shredded or Crumbled Cheese
Popular Mexican Inspired Air Fryer Dishes
Air Fryer Mashed Potato Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound Russet potatoes about 3 medium potatoes
- 1 cup cottage cheese see notes
- 1 teaspoon salt see notes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 10 corn tortillas
- Lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheddar, red onion, cilantro for topping
Instructions
- Peel and dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and place in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil.
- Boil the potatoes for about 10-15 minutes, until fork tender and easy to mash.
- While the potatoes are boiling, add the cottage cheese to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Drain the water from the potatoes and add the blended cottage cheese and seasonings to the potatoes. Mash until mostly smooth, a few lumps are ok. The potatoes should be thicker than traditional mashed potatoes so that the filling doesn't ooze out of the tortillas, but you can add additional cottage cheese or a splash of milk if it's too thick for your liking.
- Place the tortillas on a microwave safe plate and top with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 20 seconds.
- Spread half of each tortilla with a few tablespoons of mashed potatoes and fold to close.
- Spritz your air fryer basket with oil spray and place tacos in the basket in a single layer. We’re able to fit 4 tacos in our basket at a time. Spritz with oil spray on both sides.
- Cook at 400 for 6 minutes. Tortillas will crisp further after they are removed from the air fryer.
- Repeat steps 3 through 6 for remaining tacos, keeping tacos warm in the oven while you cook the remaining batches or return all of the tacos to the air fryer for 1 minute to rewarm just before serving.
- Pry apart each tortilla and fill with your preferred toppings. We usually keep it simple with shredded lettuce and cheddar.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
June Leathers says
Can I substitute ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese
Karly says
Sure, that should work fine.