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Here’s how to make the best fried potatoes, perfectly seasoned and browned to perfection! They’re great as breakfast potatoes or an easy dinner side dish.

Best fried potatoes
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Ever crave a skillet of perfectly browned fried potatoes? It’s easy to wing this recipe and make it on the fly. But why not use a method that works every time? Introducing the perfect fried potatoes!

These thin potato rounds are browned in a skillet until they’re crispy and golden. The seasoning is perfect: just the right amount of smoky, salty, and savory. They work as breakfast potatoes, or an easy side dish for dinner. Here’s how to make them!

Ingredients for fried potatoes

What we love about fried potatoes: they’re simple, humble, and quick! No need to wait for an oven to preheat like with roasted potatoes. We love using them for dinners where you’ve got something roasting in the oven already, or as breakfast potatoes for a fancy brunch. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Yellow or red potatoes: A waxy potato works best here. Avoid russet potatoes (aka starchy potatoes), which are better for mashed potatoes or baked potatoes.
  • Butter and olive oil: Using a combination of fats adds complexity and nuance to the flavor: you can taste the difference! The butter is savory and rich, and the olive oil adds a subtle nuttiness. We started using butter and olive oil in a combination years ago, and we love pulling out this trick to make things taste incredible. For vegan, substitute the butter with more olive oil or vegan butter.
  • Smoked paprika, garlic powder, thyme, and salt: This combination of spices makes a deliciously savory flavor.
Best fried potatoes

Smoked paprika is key

Smoked paprika is a must in these fried potatoes, if you can find it! It’s a Spanish version of paprika that adds a smoky flavor without heat or spice! It’s made up of dried pimiento peppers that that are smoked over a fire, then ground. You can find smoked paprika in the spice aisle in most grocery stores. You can also buy it online here!

  • Smoked paprika may be labeled as any of the following: pimentón, Spanish smoked paprika or sweet smoked paprika.
  • Avoid hot smoked paprika: it’s too spicy and not interchangeable.
  • If you can’t find it, substitute standard paprika, sometimes called sweet paprika or Hungarian paprika.

Use any skillet, like non-stick or cast iron

You can use any type of skillet to make these fried potatoes! It’s easier to use a non-stick skillet, though of course a cast-iron skillet feels more sturdy and rustic. If you’re using cast iron or aluminum, make sure that potatoes are fully browned before you flip them. When they brown, they release better from the pan.

Fried potatoes

Ways to serve fried potatoes

These fried potatoes are so versatile, and work just as well with breakfast and brunch as they do dinner! Here are some of our favorite ways to serve them up:

Dietary notes

This fried potatoes recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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Easy Fried Potatoes

Best fried potatoes
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5 from 8 reviews

Here’s how to make the best fried potatoes: perfectly seasoned and browned to perfection! They’re great as breakfast potatoes or an easy dinner side dish.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3 to 4 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Pan Fried
  • Cuisine: Vegetables
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound yellow or red potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter (or 2 tablespoons olive oil, for vegan)
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

  1. Wash the potatoes. Cut them into thin slices, about 1/4” inch thick.
  2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  3. Add the potatoes and cook them for 10 to 12 minutes until browned, flipping occasionally until all sides are browned. Sprinkle with seasoning and serve hot.

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More potato recipes

The potato is one of the most versatile of all vegetables! Here are a few other popular potato recipes to try:

More tasty potato side dishes

This fried potatoes recipe is a tasty and easy side dish recipe! Here are a few more potato recipes that work as side dishes:

  • Quick Baked Potatoes These quick baked potatoes roast in half the time! This easy trick will become your go-to for a perfect potato in just 30 minutes (it tastes better, too).
  • Roasted Fingerling Potatoes The buttery, roasty flavor is unreal.
  • Home Fries This tasty breakfast or brunch side tastes diner-style.
  • Perfect Boiled Potatoes These potatoes are tender and buttery: the ideal easy side dish!
  • Spanish Tortilla A potato and egg omelette that is a tasty Spanish dinner or tapas recipe!
  • Parmesan Potato Wedges The best side dish ever? This Parmesan potato wedges recipe will have your friends and family singing your praises.
  • Loaded Potato Soup Eat potatoes in the form of soup…loaded with all the toppings.

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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15 Comments

  1. D Smith says:

    I didn’t have butter or olive oil so I used avocado oil and it came out great. I cooked it slower with less stirring though and partially covered because I was doing other things at the same time. Still came out great. I also tried it with unmelted virgin coconut oil which seemed to be the most like butter. I used granulated garlic minced onion, and added some italian seasoning. Great quick recipe no boiling required. Thanks!

  2. Joyce D Boon says:

    I wasn’t going to make these then thought, why not give it a try!
    These are the BEST fried potatoes.
    Thank You for this recipe !!!

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