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.
I prefer baking this type of recipe, but I like the idea of microwaving the potatoes first, as they take longer to cook than onions and peppers. Any recommendation on how long to microwave them if the plan is then to bake them for 20-30 minutes?
This was delicious! How many servings does this make and how many calories per serving?
Jst made breakfast taquitos using these potato’s… WOW!! So delish. I steamed the potato’s to soften before finishing in skillet. Made homemade flour tortillas for the tacos. Will def make again!
Amazing Recipe. Will make again.
These were the best and easiest potatoes I’ve made!! Thanks for the amazing recipe.
It’s so ridiculously easy to make and with some really minor changes only because that is what I had available it was perfect. I didn’t have fresh garlic, rosemary or thyme available so that was out. I used slap ya mama seasoning in place of the cayenne and followed the rest of the recipe. The potatoes came out so delicious. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
If you prepare these using the make ahead version, how do the potatoes not turn brown in the fridge overnight? Thanks
I don’t have a microwave but would love to be able to make these. Is there an alternative to the microwave step?
I plan an making tomorrow.. microwaved them
Is it ok if they turned brown?
I made these with fingerling potatoes from the night before. It was quick and easy. The infusing of the oil with garlic created an aromatic touch as well as flavor. My family loved these breakfast potatoes. Thank you
How do you keep the potatoes from turning black when you prep them the night before?
You can store them in water, or once you’re done steaming and cooling them, pat them dry and store in fridge overnight.
Or just say you made “blackened” potatoes and sound fancy.
My “who-cares—about-food” elderly Mom gobbled up half this recipe in one sitting (along with an omelette and cucumber salad).
I started by putting the olive oil and spices on a cookie sheet, then cutting up the butter into little pieces. I melted all these together for about a minute, then mixed in the partially microwaved potatoes.
I cooked these under the broiler, checking them every three minutes for a total of 12 minutes. Potatoes browned beautifully, and I think this is less messy than frying.
Definitely a keeper!
Parents are coming over Sunday morning for breakfast, excited to try this recipe
I am new to using my instant pot – but could you steam them in that?
I could have get diner potatoes right until now. Microwaving and then cooling them (I put them in the freezer for 15 minutes) was the solution. Perfect!
I could NEVER get …
My family loved these potatoes! I served them with slices of warm ham and scrambled eggs. I used Yukon Gold potatoes instead of Russets and left the skin on. Easy recipe to follow. Delicious!
This recipe sounds great, but how many does it serve?
What does steaming it or putting it in the microwave do? It won’t be the same if we just go straight to the skillet?
I made these for brunch today and they were some good! These were the easiest to make potatoes I’ve made yet, and the smoked paprika just took them over the top.
I haven’t made this yet but it looks amazing. I want to make these for breakfast for a group camp out but usually do a lot of my food prep days in advance so I’m not a slave to the kitchen while camping. Any tips on what I could do differently to make them in advance and then reheat them to still be amazing?
Diner vs. Dinner. MASSIVE difference in how these are prepared and what they taste like. Whoa. Glad we got to the bottom of that one.