Easy Skillet Breakfast Potatoes
Homemade diner-style skillet breakfast potatoes are perfect to whip up for breakfast. You can prep these from the night before, so they take less time to serve up in the morning. These taste just like home fries from your favorite breakfast place!

Take it from someone who’s always had a love-hate relationship with potatoes; these are the BEST breakfast potatoes of LIFE. Golden brown on the outside and deliciously tender on the inside.
I’m so excited to be bringing you one of my family’s favorite breakfast items. They’re easy to whip up, can be prepped ahead of time, so they take less time in the morning, and are perfect with a side of eggs or wrapped inside breakfast burritos. And it sure beats the basic breakfast staple of potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper. Serve them up with pancakes, crispy turkey bacon, sausage, and lots of ketchup to dip them in!
The list of ingredients on this recipe isn’t big and once you cook them up in a skillet, these breakfast potatoes developed the most delicious outer crust that’s delicately crispy and dusted with things like garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and a hint of cayenne.
Take a closer look at ’em with me.
Skillet Breakfast Potatoes Video:


See all those little brown bits, that’s all butter mingling with spices and crisping up the outside of your breakfast potatoes.
I wanted to share these skillet potatoes with ASAP, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get that same taste and texture that they do when you order them at your favorite breakfast joint. I tried parboiling the potatoes first, then roasting them in the oven. Don’t get me wrong, they were decent, but they were missing that golden outer layer that gives skillet potatoes their umph. Not to mention, I couldn’t call them skillet potatoes if they weren’t prepared in a *hint hint* skillet.
So then I tried dicing the potatoes and coating them in a little cornstarch, you know, cornstarch on tofu worked out pretty well, plus it dries up all that excess moisture. GENIUS, right? Wrong. They were meh. You know how diner-style breakfast potatoes are always that ideal balance of crisp, well-seasoned, and tender? These certainly were not.
Back to the drawing board!

The winning combination? Steam the potatoes, dice them, and cooking them up in a skillet.
Ingredients for homemade breakfast potatoes:
- Potatoes: I like to use russet potatoes for this recipe as they have the best texture for skillet potatoes. You can use other potatoes as well, such as red potatoes, if that’s what you prefer.
- Butter + Oil: You’ll want a couple tablespoon of butter and olive oil to help fry the potatoes.
- Seasonings: I use a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat, a ½ teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. The smokiness help give these potatoes the most amazing flavor! You’ll also need kosher salt and black pepper.
- Fresh herbs: these are optional, I like to have a stem of rosemary, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and a smashed clove of garlic if time permits. This helps infuse the flavors into the oil before you fry up the potatoes.
How to steam potatoes when you’re making breakfast potatoes:
Peel potatoes and quarter them first. Then use a steamer basket! You know that weird-looking metal basket with a bunch of holes in it? The one that sits way in the back of all of our pots and pans cabinet. Just fill a pot with a couple of inches of water, bring it to a rolling boil, toss peeled and quartered potatoes on top and let steam for 6-10 minutes. The potatoes are done when the knife goes through them with just a little resistance. I have to be honest, before this recipe, I had never steamed potatoes. And for those of us that refuse to get out a pot and a steamer basket just to steam potatoes: this can also be done in the microwave. Just a few minutes on high.
How to prep easy breakfast potatoes ahead of time:
Let the potatoes cool after steaming them; at least one hour at room temperature. That’s the part that makes this the BEST breakfast potatoes recipe ever. Because this allows you to do some of that prep work ahead of time. I usually do this part the day before. Steam the potatoes, let them come to room temperature, dice them, and place potatoes in the fridge overnight.
Then, it takes 10 or 15 minutes tops to get these on the table. How perfect is this side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast and also for every brunch you ever plan on hosting.

How to make the best crispy breakfast potatoes:
- Infuse the oil. Heating the oil and butter up with a smashed clove of garlic, a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary. That one minute of time when the oil heats up and the herbs start sizzling and frying is just enough to flavor these breakfast potatoes. I don’t do this all the time. But whenever I’ve got fresh herbs around the house for other meals, I sneak a few sprigs into my skillet to really make these breakfast potatoes a little more special.
- Ensure there’s plenty of space. Make sure to use at least a 12-inch skillet if you’re making the full recipe for these potatoes. You want them to sauté in a single layer so they have enough room to move around and crisp up.
Lazy Autumn Saturday morning breakfast wouldn’t be complete without a stack of homemade pumpkin waffles and these hearty skillet potatoes. And it sure beats the hockey puck hash browns from the grocery store! If you’ve got leftovers, you can pop them into an airtight container and and store them in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a skillet, air fry them, or heat them in a toaster oven for a few minutes.
Eat until your fall heart’s content.

Easy Skillet Breakfast Potatoes
Homemade diner-style skillet breakfast potatoes are perfect to whip up for breakfast. You can prep these from the night before, so they take less time to serve up in the morning.

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- pinch of cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- optional: rosemary, thyme, garlic clove
Instructions
- POTATOES: Peel and quarter the potatoes. Place prepared quartered potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and zap for 3 1/2-4 1/2 minutes covered with a microwave lid. Insert a knife into the thickest part of the potato, the knife should go through with some resistance. Let potatoes cool to room temperature. You can also refrigerate the potatoes once cooled and use the next day. Just dice the potatoes up into roughly 1/2 inch pieces before you add them to the skillet. They chop up easier if they've had a chance to hang out in the refrigerator.
- COOK: Using a 12-inch skillet or larger, place the butter, olive oil, and if using the rosemary, thyme, and 1 smashed garlic clove into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Allow the butter to melt and the olive oil to heat through. When the herbs start popping and sizzling, remove them and the garlic clove, discard. Add the potatoes in a single layer, season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika, toss to coat evenly. Cook the potatoes for a total of 8-10 minute, flipping and tossing them every 2-3 minutes to ensure even browning. Taste for seasonings and adjust to preference. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To use steamer basket: bring 2-3 inches of water to a rolling boil, add the potatoes to the basket and let cook for 6-10 minutes or until they're almost cooked through. You should feel a little resistance when pierced with a knife, you don't want potatoes to cook all the way through.
- Here's the Lodge 12-inch skillet I own and love.
Will this be just as good with red potatoes?
Hey I’m wondering if I can boil the potatos in water the night before instead of microwaving?
Used it. Loved it. 10 out of 10.
These are so good and tasty! I love that they are simple ingredients that most would have on hand and voila! Easy breakfast! I added two fried eggs with cheese on the side and arugula 🙂
One more thing! I boiled the potatoes because I don’t have a microwave (I saw a comment asking about boiling potatoes), I boiled for about 4ish minutes and it worked just fine — I would say just monitor them so they don’t overcook.
this sounds very much like my husband prepares his potatoes for corned beef hash.
BUT we cut the raw potato into cubes and then steam them in the microwave. after that we add to the pan with onions that have cooked a few min in the butter.
SO I was wondering Is there a reason you cube the potato AFTER you steam the wedges? would it change the outcome of the potatoes? Just curious if maybe you tried it that way and they didn’t come out as crispy? I want them as crispy as possible because I have to transport them somewhere and then re warm them. also have to increase recipe to make enough for 18 people. so I plan to put them in oven on sheet pans at 400-425* for 20 minutes or more.
How did that turn out? Next week, we will be making them for 50-60 people….
They’re amazing but it takes a long time to cook I don’t know I feel like they taste delicious the best potatoes I’ve ever ate
This recipe works perfect! I have tried to make breakfast potatoes so many different ways and it never worked out correctly, usually either the potatoes are undercooked or too mushy. I used yellow potatoes, put them in the microwave for 4 1/2 minutes and then let them cool in the fridge for an hour. Worked very well with my vegan butter , and my boyfriend was in love. Thank you!
These came out absolutely amazing!!!
These turned out absolutely perfect, then I cooked them into a classic French omelet with chives, bacon, and eggs. Thanks for sharing!
These are perfect. Thank you for the great recipe!
It is a wonderful recipe I tried this recipe at home in the evening and it was very delicious and it also reminded me of nusr-et
I love breakfast potatoes! I add herbs de provence on mine & they turn out amazing! I will try with maple syrup!
Perfect. So many complements. So good.
Forgot to rate!
Love this recipe! Potatoes come out perfectly cooked, crispy and so well seasoned every time! Super easy too!
Hi! I’ve been trying to find a very simple recipe for fried potatoes to use for freezer-prep breakfast burritos. Do you think that these potatoes with reheat well in burritos?
I love breakfast potatoes! I add herbs, de Provence, on mine & they turn out amazing! I will try with maple syrup!
New family favorite! Kids couldn’t get enough!
I gotta say, I feel like I’ve unlocked a secret! The steaming is the perfect thing and works so well. The potatoes turned out PERFECT….best breakfast potatoes EVER.
This recipe could not have been easier or more delicious! I ended up cutting mine into the smaller pieces first then microwaving for 4.5 minutes and that worked really well. I served with a little parmesan and parsley to garnish. Definitely recommend!!!
This is my life. I hate fighting with potatoes. My brood loves this recipe thank you!
Thank youuuuu <3
I made these last week and oh my goodness they were so good my boyfriend loved them too!! They pretty quick and easy to make so no complaints there!
Am I reading correctly to remove the rosemary, thyme and garlic clove?
THis was the perfect recipe, I made the best potatoes this morning for breakfast and it didn’t take long at all! Thank you and looking forward to making more dishes with you all 🙂
Looks so delicious, My daughters love this, I will definitely try it your way, thank you for sharing. Looking forward to seeing more recipes. I’ll be back.
Looks yummy & easy to do with a crispy crunchy outcome.
I make these potaoes all the time and have been for a few years absolutely delicious thank you
You mention to options for steaming the potatoes … with a steamer basket and with a microwave. Do you feel that one turns out better than the other? If the choice is an option, which would be your go to for steaming them? I am so excited about trying these this week! 🙂
I haven’t tried the microwave way, but I jst made by steaming & it was amazing!!