Skillet Potatoes
Skillet Potatoes are the perfect breakfast side dish to plate next to your bacon and eggs in the morning! Tender seasoned potatoes are cooked in butter to golden brown perfection. Crispy edges and fluffy, soft middles make for the best bite every time!
Have any leftover potatoes just hanging around your kitchen? Use them in the best ways with these easy recipes – Brie Mashed Potatoes, Baked Potatoes or Roasted Potatoes.
Skillet Potatoes
All too often, potatoes aren’t seen as one of the more important breakfast items. We all focus on the pancakes, eggs, and bacon so much, the potatoes are pushed to the side. Skillet Potatoes are here to change all of that!
Seriously, you’ve probably never had a breakfast side dish this delicious before. The potatoes are so tender and soft on the inside, but the hot, buttery skillet makes them pretty perfect and crispy on the outside.
Oh, and the medley of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt that make every bite better than the last? Yeah, this is a breakfast recipe you won’t soon forget about.
How to Make Potatoes in a Skillet
You know that when a recipe requires hot butter in a skillet that it’s gotta be good!
- Dice the potatoes and place them in a cold pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes before draining.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt some butter and oil in it. Spread the potatoes in an even layer in the butter.
- Sprinkle the seasonings on the potatoes.
- Turn the potatoes as they cook every 3-5 minutes until all sides are brown and crispy.
Tips and Variations
- Skillet potatoes have a softer exterior than deep fried home fried potatoes or oven baked potatoes. They cook crispy but lose the texture as they cool. Enjoy them immediately for the best texture and flavor.
- Play around with the seasonings! You can add dried herbs, cayenne pepper, dried minced onion, or whatever else your heart desires. Potatoes are famous for being delicious blank slates, so have fun with how you flavor them if you’d like.
- Don’t boil them for too long. Otherwise, they’ll be too mushy and not hold their shape well in the skillet. A fork should be able to pierce them, but just barely!
- Feel free to use all butter or all oil when cooking the potatoes in skillet. One or the other will change the taste and texture slightly, but they’re both great!
- Cook the breakfast potatoes in the hot skillet as much or as little as you like. A shorter cook time will yield a softer less crispy exterior. A longer exterior will yield a darker, crispier exterior.
Storage
Here’s the deal. These Skillet Potatoes are best when served hot and fresh! Sadly, they don’t make great leftovers. The crispy exteriors go away pretty quickly if kept in the fridge.
What kind of potatoes do I need?
Russet potatoes are always my go to! If you need to switch it up, you can use yukon gold potatoes. Just note that those tend to be softer so you won’t need to boil them for quite as long.
How big should the potato cubes be?
When you chop up your potatoes, try to keep them in ½ inch pieces. If one cube is way too big or way too small than the others, it won’t cook evenly.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes:
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil, neutral tasting (canola, vegetable, avocado, etc.)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Optional: Italian seasonings, rosemary or thyme
Instructions
- Place the diced potatoes into a pot of salted, cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until they can just barely be pierced with a fork but aren’t too soft. Drain, and transfer the potatoes to a large sheet pan lined with aluminum foil or a large bowl.1 ½ pounds russet potatoes
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Place the potatoes in the pan in an even layer, and sprinkle with the seasonings.2 tablespoons unsalted butter1 tablespoon cooking oil½ teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon onion powder½ teaspoon paprika½ teaspoon saltOptional: Italian seasonings
- Turn the potatoes every 3-5 minutes, or when they’re nicely browned each on each side. Continue cooking until all sides are browned and crispy.
- Serve warm with your favorite breakfast entree. See post for tips and storage options.