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Skip the frozen breakfast potatoes, because these crispy, triple-cooked homemade breakfast potatoes are a million times better! Nothing compares to their fluffy, buttery insides and crunchy, golden-brown edges seasoned with paprika and cayenne.
I’ll show you how to prepare the best-tasting breakfast potatoes using my triple-cooked method! First, I boil russet potatoes, then pan-fry them with brown butter, diced onion, and a simple breakfast potatoes seasoning. Afterward, I finish them in the oven so they’re crispy. It’s the secret to perfect potatoes that are packed with flavor. Plus, there’s enough time to prepare some boiled eggs or a side of crispy bacon in the air fryer.
All About This Breakfast Potatoes Recipe
- Crunchy outside, fluffy inside. These breakfast potatoes are chunky, golden-brown slabs that fall somewhere between diner-style homefries and smashed potatoes.
- Cooked three times. The potatoes are boiled, fried, and roasted, building layers of texture and flavor that you won’t get from cooking them once.
- Made in one skillet. Cooking in one pan makes it worth the extra steps, and clean-up is easy!
- Perfectly seasoned. All you need is paprika and a little cayenne pepper to bring out so much flavor in your breakfast potatoes. The trick is to bloom the spices in browned butter first.
Grab Your Ingredients
With only 3 ingredients, plus simple seasonings from the spice rack, this breakfast potatoes recipe is easy to throw together on a weekend morning.
Round up the ingredients below, and refer to the recipe card for the printable ingredients list, amounts, and instructions.
- Potatoes – Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes make great breakfast potatoes. These types of potatoes are versatile, so they’re suitable for boiling and/or roasting. You could also make red breakfast potatoes, fingerlings, or baby potatoes. Peel and chop larger potatoes into quarters. Smaller potatoes can be left unpeeled and sliced in half.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter. You can make this potato recipe with olive oil or a combination of butter and oil, but the flavor is much richer if you make it with butter, especially when you brown the butter first!
- Seasoning – My favorite seasoning for breakfast potatoes includes an easy mix of smoky paprika, cayenne, salt, and freshly ground pepper. You can omit the cayenne pepper or opt for a milder seasoning, like Italian seasoning or Herbes de Provence, if you’re sensitive to spice.
- Onion – Yellow or white onion, diced.
Breakfast Potatoes vs. Hash Browns
While hash browns are shredded potatoes either fried or baked in a cluster, or diced and cooked in uniform sizes (like you’ll find in corned beef and hash), these breakfast potatoes are larger with more crunch, for a delicious balance of textures.
What to Serve With Crispy Breakfast Potatoes
Serve these breakfast potatoes with sheet pan eggs and bacon or a breakfast casserole that combines everything into one! Add a side of fresh fruit and toast with jam, or avocado toast.
Otherwise, enjoy crispy potatoes alongside a Western omelette. Or, make a breakfast burrito with potatoes, black beans, sweet corn, rice, and salsa. In this case, I like to swap my usual potato seasoning for taco seasoning instead!
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Breakfast Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters (about 2 pounds)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch for the boiling pot
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 large onion, diced
Instructions
Boil the Potatoes
- Prepare the potatoes. Peel the potatoes and quarter them. Place the potatoes into a large pot and add enough cold water to cover them. Add a pinch of salt to the pot, then cover the pot and place it over high heat to bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, remove the cover and reduce the heat to medium. Let the potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. The potatoes should be soft but not yet falling apart. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon or drain in a colander and set them aside.
- Prep the oven. Preheat the oven to 500˚F.
Cook the Onions and Potatoes
- Melt the butter. In a 12" or larger, oven-proof skillet (cast iron or non-stick is fine), melt the butter over medium-high heat until the bubbles subside and the butter turns a very light brown with a nutty aroma.
- Cook the spices. Reduce the heat to medium and add the paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir for 15-20 seconds.
- Cook the onions. Add the onions to the pan. Give them a quick stir to coat them with the butter and spices, and then let them sit for 1 minute before stirring. Cook them for 4 more minutes, stirring regularly, before adding the potatoes.
- Cook the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the pan and stir everything together well to make sure the potatoes soak in all of the spices. Gently break the potato quarters into several large pieces using the spatula. Stir everything well again and cook for 4-5 more minutes, stirring every minute or so to prevent the onions from burning.
- Crisp in the oven. Give everything a final good stir, then place the hot pan into the preheated oven. Let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes or until they reach the desired crispiness. This is the perfect time to cook some eggs or finish prepping breakfast.
- Serve. Remove the breakfast potatoes from the oven and let them rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Cook Breakfast Potatoes
For this recipe, you’ll want to use a large (at least 12-inch) skillet that can safely go from the stovetop to the oven. I love my cast-iron skillet for this! If your skillet isn’t oven-safe, you’ll simply need to transfer the potatoes from the skillet to a baking dish or similar for the final step.
- First, boil the potatoes. Peel and quarter the potatoes, then add them to a large pot with COLD, salted water. Cover and bring the pot to a boil, then remove the lid and cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes. Starting potatoes in cold water allows them to heat gradually, for even cooking.
- Drain. The exact cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes, but you want them to be fork-tender, and not falling apart. Once the potatoes are boiled, drain the water or scoop the potatoes out with a slotted spoon.
- Brown the butter on the stovetop. Now, melt butter in a large, oven-proof skillet on the stovetop. As it melts, the butter will bubble and foam. Keep cooking until the bubbles subside and the butter turns light brown and starts to smell nutty.
- Add the seasoning and onions. Next, stir in the seasonings. After 15-20 seconds, add the onions. Stir to coat and let the onions brown in the pan for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes. Stir in the boiled potatoes, and use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently break up the potatoes while they soak up the butter and seasonings. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Crisp everything in the oven. Last but not least, transfer the pan of potatoes to a preheated 500ºF oven. Roast for 10 minutes, or until they’ve browned to your liking. I often use this time to finish up any other breakfast sides. See above for serving ideas.
Try These Recipe Variations
- Spice it up. Make the potatoes spicier with extra cayenne, or try another blend, like Cajun seasoning.
- Cheesy breakfast potatoes. Freshly grate cheddar cheese or Parmesan over the potatoes before you place them in the oven.
- More veggies. In addition to the onions in this recipe, add extra vegetables like diced bell peppers, spinach, and mushrooms.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerate leftovers. Store your breakfast potatoes in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat potatoes so they’re crispy. Warm these potatoes in the oven, or you can use the air fryer if you have one. This way, they’ll crisp up again.
