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These easy roasted heart potatoes are the perfect side dish to serve at your Valentine’s Day dinner! Thin slices of potato are trimmed into perfect little hearts using cookie cutters, then seasoned and air-fried or baked for a crispy, savory treat. They’re so simple, the kids can make them too!
Easy Heart Potatoes for Kids
Have you noticed that most kids tend to love potatoes served up in different forms? From French fries and tater tots to creamy mashed potatoes and potato chips, the humble potato is definitely a popular option!
However, most of those dishes are highly processed or deep fried at least once to get that classic crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside texture. While delicious, it’s always best if you can make your own healthier version whenever possible!
These roasted heart potatoes are incredibly easy to make in the oven or air fryer and are such a fun and tasty option for the whole family!
heart shaped potatoes
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Why We Love These Potato Hearts
- Great alternative to fries: Since these potato slices are baked in the air fryer or oven, they crisp up on the outside for a nice bite with tender, fluffy potato on the inside. They’re fun to dip into sauces, too!
- Incredibly easy to make: The best thing about these heart shaped roasted potatoes is how easy they are to make. Cut the potatoes into thin slices, press them with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, then toss in the seasoning and air fry or quickly parboil then bake! The kids can help you make them, too, which is a great way to teach them some real-life cooking skills.
- Perfect for a special occasion: Although you can easily follow this method with regular sliced potatoes, it’s so much more fun to cut them into little hearts! They’re just the thing for a sweet dinner with your family, whether that’s for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, a birthday, etc.
Ingredient Notes
- Russet potatoes: These are the most classic all purpose potatoes because they’re high in starch and crisp up really nicely.
- Olive oil: This will help the herb potatoes crisp up in the air fryer and help get the seasonings to stick.
- Seasonings: Keep it simple with garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and black pepper.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Oven Method:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and either spray it with cooking spray or brush it with oil.
- Start by washing the potatoes, patting them dry, and slicing them into 1/4-inch thick slices.
- Using a metal cookie cutter, cut as many heart shapes as possible from each potato slice. Reserve the leftover pieces for making mashed potatoes.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the potato hearts.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for approximately 3 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and let them cool.
- Place the potato hearts in a bowl and toss them with the olive oil and seasonings.
- Roast the heart-shaped potatoes in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until they turn crispy and golden brown. Remember to flip the potatoes and rotate the pan halfway through the roasting process.
Air Fryer Method:
- Start by cleaning the potatoes, drying them, and then slicing them into 1/4-inch thick slices.
- Utilize a small metal cookie cutter to create heart shapes from each potato slice, and set aside the remaining scraps for making mashed potatoes.
- Put the potato hearts in a bowl and toss with olive oil and seasonings.
- Preheat the Air Fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Arrange the heart-shaped potato slices in the Air Fryer basket, ensuring there is some space between them.
- Air fry the potatoes for 13-15 minutes, shaking the basket occasionally until they become crispy and golden brown.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
RECIPE TIPS
- You’ll get about 3 servings out of this recipe, depending on the size of your potatoes. Feel free to double the recipe if you need more!
- I used a 1 1/2 inch heart cookie cutter, and was able to get 1 heart per potato slice. You can easily use a smaller cookie cutter for bite-sized potato hearts.
- Save the potato scraps to make mashed potatoes! Boil them in the water you used to parboil them (oven method) and then mash them for a quick side for another meal later in the week.
Recipe FAQs
If your baby has started eating solid foods, they can definitely eat these crispy potatoes! Just remember that babies need very little sodium and can easily consume too much. Consider making two separate batches: one with salt and one without.
Yes! You can make heart shaped potatoes with other types of potatoes. For the best, crispiest results, you always want to use a potato that’s naturally starchy, like russets, other white potatoes, and gold or yellow potatoes.
Red potatoes, fingerlings, and purple potatoes are generally too low in starch to get quite the same texture.
If you’d like to use sweet potatoes or yams instead, follow the same steps, but consider slicing the potatoes slightly thicker. Sweet potatoes cook faster than regular white potatoes and make become too soft if the slices are too thin.
You’ll also want to skip the parboiling step for the oven method and reduce the baking time by a couple of minutes. Just keep an eye on them. If they’re crispy on the outside and fork-tender, they’re done.
Storage Guidelines
- Cool the leftover potatoes, then refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat at 350°F to crisp them up before serving.
Serving Suggestions
These heart potatoes can actually be served at any meal of the day! They’re delicious served instead of hashbrowns or home fries with these Zucchini Frittata Muffins or Fluffy Scrambled Eggs and a side of these Valentine’s Fruit Kabobs.
For a kid-friendly Valentine’s Day dinner, try pairing them with this Mini Meatloaf Recipe, these flavorful Pesto Chicken Bites, or these Easy Turkey Burger Sliders with a side of Cheesy Zucchini Fritters or 4-Ingredient Pasta Salad. They all taste great together!
Recipe Variations
- Make them smaller: If you have a tiny heart cookie cutter, you can make little one-bite heart potatoes!
- Adjust the seasonings: Babies and toddlers do not need much sodium at all, so consider skipping the salt for their potatoes. You can also adjust the herbs and spices however you’d like!
- Try different potatoes: This method works great with other varieties, like Yukon Gold potatoes and even sweet potatoes!
- Change the shape: Use a different cookie cutter to make star potatoes, flower potatoes, etc. Have fun with it!
More Similar Recipes
- Homemade Veggie Tots In Air Fryer
- How To Make Zucchini Fries In Air Fryer
- Healthy Corn Fritters Recipe
- Baked Quinoa Veggie Bites Recipe
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Roasted Heart Shaped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3-4 large russet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting the water (optional)
- Dash of black pepper
Instructions
Air Fryer Method
- Wash potatoes, pat dry and slice them into 1/4 inch slices.
- Use a metal cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts as you can from each slice. Reserve the scraps to make mashed potatoes.
- Place potatoes in a bowl and toss with olive oil, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper.
- Preheat Air Fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Place potato hearts in the air fryer basket, making sure there is space between them.
- Air fry for 13-15 minutes, shaking the basket a few times during cooking, until crispy and golden brown.
Oven Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray or brush with oil.
- Wash potatoes, pat dry and slice them into 1/4 inch slices.
- Using a metal cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as you can from each slice. Reserve the scraps to make mashed potatoes.
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add in the potatoes.
- Reduce heat and simmer potatoes for about 3 minutes. Drain potatoes thoroughly and let cool.
- Place potato hearts in a bowl and toss with olive oil, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper.
- Roast heart shaped potatoes for 25-30 minutes, or until they are crispy and golden brown, flipping the potatoes and rotating the pan half way through.
Notes
- You’ll get about 3 servings out of this recipe, depending on the size of your potatoes. Feel free to double the recipe if you need more!
- I used a 1 1/2 inch heart cookie cutter, and was able to get 1 heart per potato slice. You can easily use a smaller cookie cutter for bite-sized potato hearts.
- Save the potato scraps to make mashed potatoes! Boil them in the water you used to parboil them (oven method) and then mash them for a quick side for another meal later in the week.
