Potts’ Air Fryer Pastes Review: The Midweek Flavour Shortcut You Don’t Need an Air Fryer For
Air fryer pastes, anyone?
Slight problem. We don’t own an air fryer.
Turns out that doesn’t matter one bit. We used them as marinades, stirred them into sauces and squeezed them into midweek dinners, and they earned their place in the fridge door very quickly.
Think of the tube of tomato purée you squeeze into your spag bol. Same idea, but each one is packed with a whole cuisine’s worth of flavour.
In other words, they are not just for air fryers.
They are a shortcut for anyone who wants to cook with fresh ingredients on a Tuesday night without starting from scratch.
What is Potts’?
Potts’ is a Wiltshire-based family business run by Owen and Michelle Potts, making stocks, sauces and gravies with natural ingredients.
The flavour comes from both sides of the family. Owen grew up in a home where meals mattered, learning from his mum and grandmother, who were both brilliant home cooks. Michelle grew up between Indonesia and Texas, which gave her a taste for big, bold flavours from a young age. Put the two together and you get a brand that’s equally happy making a proper ragù or a fragrant Keralan curry.
Their whole approach rests on one belief: great flavour shouldn’t have to cost you quality, convenience or sustainability. Chef-crafted, made for everyday cooking, and kinder to the planet.
We’re already fans. Their ready-made stocks and cooking sauces come in brightly coloured, fully recyclable aluminium cans, and they’ve been a regular in our kitchen for a while now. The sauces are incredible, and the stock is the closest thing to homemade we’ve found in a can.
So when a box of their new pastes turned up, we couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
Why tubes?
With 65% of UK households now owning an air fryer, Potts’ spotted a gap between proper scratch cooking and foolproof convenience. Their answer is a range of five pastes, each inspired by a different cuisine and packed into a squeezable, resealable aluminium tube that’s 100% recyclable.
It’s a format that makes a lot of sense. You use as much or as little as you need, put the lid back on and keep the rest for next time. And because you can squeeze out every last bit, nothing gets left clinging to the inside of a jar. No half-used jars at the back of the fridge either.
They’re made with what Potts’ calls real food ingredients, and four of the five are vegan.
The five pastes are:
Japanese Miso, Tamari & Ginger Teriyaki Air Fryer & Grilling Paste
South Indian Chilli & Kerala Masala Tandoori Air Fryer & Grilling Paste
Mexican Honey & Chipotle Air Fryer & Grilling Paste
Lebanese Za’atar Spice Air Fryer & Shawarma Paste
Korean Gochujang & Rice Wine Air Fryer & BBQ Paste
How we tried them
We don’t have an air fryer, so we put them to work the way we’d use a good curry paste: as a marinade, and as a flavour boost for sauces. Honestly, that felt like the real test. If a paste only works in one appliance, it’s a gadget. If it works in everything, it’s a shortcut.
The Lebanese Za’atar Spice was the one I loved most, mainly because it’s a flavour I’d never cooked with before. That’s the joy of a paste like this. It lets you try a whole new cuisine on a weeknight without buying a cupboard full of spices you might never use again.
The Mexican Honey & Chipotle was the ultimate midweek shortcut. We didn’t exactly use it as intended: instead of the air fryer, it went straight into a veggie chilli. It did the job brilliantly, adding depth to the whole pot with one squeeze.
The Japanese Miso, Tamari & Ginger Teriyaki and the Korean Gochujang & Rice Wine both went to work as chicken marinades. Squeeze, coat, leave it to do its thing, then cook. Very little effort for a lot of flavour.
The South Indian Chilli & Kerala Masala Tandoori is next on our list. We haven’t cooked with it yet, but it smells great, so it won’t be in the cupboard for long.
A word on heat: it’s pitched just right. There’s enough to know it’s there, but it’s never overpowering. In our family we all tend to add our own extra chilli anyway (I add the least!), and these give you a great base to build on, whatever your tolerance.
Across the range, the main thing we kept noticing was how much flavour comes out of such a small tube. A squeeze is all it takes to turn fresh ingredients into something that tastes like you spent far longer on it.
Should you buy Potts’ Air Fryer Pastes?
Yes, especially if you like cooking with fresh ingredients but need a little help midweek.
We didn’t have a single favourite, and that’s probably the best compliment. Every one we tried, we want to cook with again. The za’atar was the one that got me cooking something new, while the honey and chipotle quietly saved a busy weeknight. And you really don’t need an air fryer. They work just as well as a marinade or stirred into a sauce, in exactly the way you’d use a prepared curry paste.
At around £3 a tube, they’re great value for the number of meals you’ll get out of one. And if you’re already a fan of the stocks and sauces like us, they’ll fit right in.
Small tube, big shortcut.
Potts’ Air Fryer Pastes launch on 26th October, with a recommended price of £3 per 100g tube. Find them, and the rest of the Potts’ range, at pottspartnership.co.uk.
Disclaimer: We were gifted these products in exchange for an honest review.