Crispy, tasty, home fried potatoes, seasoned to perfection and filled with caramelized onions.
Home-fried potatoes are my go-to side dish whenever I make a big brunch early weekend afternoons for friends. I love them so much and this recipe is as close as you’ll get to down home southern home fried potatoes.
Hey yall I’m back in the building!!! I made a YouTube video for this recipe many years ago but never gave you guys measurements. Yall have been asking me to create a recipe for home-fried potatoes and so I finally got around to it.
Pops big weekend breakfast
Home fried potatoes aka home fries are one of my favorite breakfast side dishes. My father used to make home fries on the weekends for breakfast all the time.
He would serve it with scrambled eggs, toast with jelly, and bacon or pork sausage links. Sometimes, he would fry some hot sausage to go along with it.
My mother would make fried fish for dinner on Fridays and Saturday nights and my father would sometimes make home fried potatoes the next morning and eat it with any fish that was leftover.
He loved to eat fried fish with Grits too so instead of home fried potatoes, which is also a good combination. And sometimes he’d make cheese grits for breakfast, which is classic southern dish. Lol!
My grandma Gwen and my nana Alice Mae would often make home fries for breakfast too but they didn’t make it as good as my pops did. His home fries were just on another level to me.
I remember seeing him sprinkle a little sugar over them as they fried and that would confuse the living hell out of me as a kid because I thought it would make the home fries sweet. LMBO! But now I understand why he used sugar.
He always used a lot of onions and by the time the home fries were done, they would be nice and caramelized because he let the onions fry for about 10 minutes.
He would slice his onions into thin long pieces and cut his potatoes into relatively thin circular-shaped pieces. We always pre-boiled the potatoes until they’re knife tender for half an hour or so before frying them.
So I don’t like to cut them too thin because they’ll break apart as you flip them. I try to cut them somewhere between 1/16 and 1/8 inch wide circular shapes to avoid them breaking apart.
Cookware & utensils you’ll need:
- Pot: You need a pot with a lid to boil the potatoes in or you can use a big saucepan. Either one will do just make sure it’s big enough to fit all the potatoes in and submerge them under cool water, and has a lid.
- Knife: You’re going to need a knife, preferably a large knife to slice the potatoes. It doesn’t have to be huge but a nice sharp nice is ideal.
- 2 Spatulas: I like to use two spatulas, the wide ones, when frying potatoes because it makes flipping them so much easier and helps to prevent the splashing of hot oil.
- Large skillet: You’re going to need a large skillet because you want there to be a lot of space so the potatoes fry better and quicker and so they’re not all bunched over each other which prevent them from frying evenly.
- Measuring Cups: Make sure you have a measuring cup on hand. Whenever you follow a recipe you want to use the exact measurements and amounts, so using measuring cups are essential.
- Measuring Spoons: Use measuring spoons for the seasonings, especially if you’re making this for the first time and want to follow the recipe to a T and exactly as written.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Potatoes: Russet Potatoes
- Vegetable add-ins: Yellow onions
- Seasonings: Seasoning Salt, Garlic powder, Sugar, and black pepper
- Other: Vegetable oil
About the potatoes
What type of potatoes you use are very vital here because all potatoes dont cook, and or fry the same and have different levels of starch and moisture which result in different outcomes when frying, baking, and boiling.
So it’s important to know which potatoes are best for frying so you can get the best results. Below I’ll break down what are the best potato options for this recipe and which ones you want to leave alone. Lol!
Starchy vs waxy potatoes
- Starchy potatoes like Idaho Russet potatoes are good for frying because they’re low in moisture and high in starch. Even all purpose potatoes like Yukon Gold’s with a medium moisture level will work for frying.
- Waxy potatoes like Red potatoes, fingerling potatoes, and new potatoes are what you want to avoid when frying potatoes because they have a high moisture content which wont allow them to fry properly.
The high moisture will prevent them from getting crispy and they will become too soft and mushy. So go for Idaho Russets or Yukon Gold potatoes for the best results
How to cut and fry the potatoes
Now some people slice their potatoes while raw and cook them in the skillet with a little water until they’re tender then add in the oil, seasonings, and onions.
I don’t like to cook them with water because they get too mushy sometimes but some folks like them that way. Those are not home FRIED potatoes though! Home fried potatoes are crispy. Speaking of crispy how you boil them is important.
Common questions about boiling the potatoes
- Do you preheat the water? Now when you boil the potatoes add the potatoes to cool water. Dont preheat, adding them to cool water helps the potatoes cook evenly.
- Do you cover them with a lid? Yes cover the potatoes while they’re boiling because that gets them tender faster. You don’t want the boiling process any longer than it has to be because this dish already takes too long to prepare. Lol!
- How to get them firm but tender? Dont boil them too long. We’re not making mashed potatoes so we dont want to boil them until they’re soft as butter. We want them to have a “BITE” and be able to “CUT” into them.
- How do you know when they’re done enough? Well that to me, the recipe creator, I tried and tested that for you so the time to boil is below. But you want them fork tender but to where the fork doesn’t come out so easily.
Cutting the potatoes
Ok so yall maybe wondering how I cut my potatoes. I always slice them into 1/8th wide circular shaped pieces. I dont like them too thick but not too thin either.
You dont want to bite into big thick pieces of potatoes because they dont taste as good and be too, PO-TATO-EEE! Lol! The inside of the potatoes aren’t seasoned just the outside. So you’re biting into bland potato if that makes sense.
Frying the potatoes
When you cut them thin, they cook better and faster by the way and are tender all the way through, but dont chop them too thin because they’ll break apart and be impossible to flip. Also, fry them over medium high heat.
Medium high heat is key. You want them to crisp up pretty fast and that will take forever on medium or low heat. Remember, they’re pretty much done because of the pre boil. You just want to get them crispy and tender in the center.
Also, to make the process of frying easy for yourself, use 2 spatulas. Place one under the potatoes and over the potatoes when flipping so they dont spash in the oil too fast while flipping them and you burn yourself.
They dont take very long. I add them to the skillet after I let them oil preheat for a few minutes, and flip them once I see them browning on one side which takes like 5-6 minutes, then during the last 3 minutes of cooking I flip them again.
Just because sometimes, because you have so many potatoes in one large skillet laying over each other, some dont brown as much as you want. So if you see any potatoes you’d like to be a little browner and crispier, flip them until they’re crispy.
About the vegetables
- The onions: The caramelized onions gives these potatoes life, happiness, peace, and joy, you hear me. I wont even make them without onions, that’s a culinary sin! You have to add onions unless you just hate onions.
- Peppers? Now I do add peppers, GREEN AND RED to beautify my potatoes. They add more flavor but I didn’t use any the day I took these photos. Onions are a must, peppers not so much.
Now if you do decide to add peppers and dont know how much to add, add half the amount of onions you use. Thats the ratio I use, 2:1 onions to peppers. Add them at the same time and chop them finely.
Seasonings + Alternative
When it comes to the seasonings, I only use a few – seasoning salt, sugar, garlic powder, and pepper. I used to use onion powder but omitted it from the recipe because it’s not needed since we use so many onions.
With most recipes, I combine my ingredients in a like a shot cup or something. LMBO! I do this to ensure whatever I’m cooking is evenly seasoned and to save time. When I fry my home fries, I don’t season them until I add them to the skillet.
Seasoning salt: I love seasoning salt as yall should know by now. It’s my favorite all purpose seasonings. I love the taste, it makes everything taste better, and I love the color from the paprika that’s in it. Use Laury’s by the way.
Paprika gives food a nice color and make it more appetizing. Below are a full alternatives if you don’t have any seasonings salt on hand. These are other seasonings that I use to season my home fried potatoes sometimes.
- Adobo seasoning: You cant go wrong with adobo seasoning. Im a big fan of it and while it’s not my favorite all purpose seasoning it has to be my 2nd favorite because I use it as much as seasoning salt.
- Salt: Salt is the king of all seasonings, the first, and the one that will never fail ya! Salt just doesn’t have flavor it just provides taste which can be a good thing because it wont alter the taste of food.
Because of it doesn’t have a strong flavor like Sazon seasoning or Chicken Bouillon seasoning, it can be used to season anything. It will add taste and enhance the flavor of what you’re adding it to instead of altering the flavor.
Also, be mindful that salt is nearly 2 times stronger than all-purpose seasonings, meaning much saltier per teaspoon, so use half the amount of seasoning salt used in this recipe first and then add more salt if needed.
Garlic Powder: The garlic is very important here. Garlic just does something for potatoes. It’s the one seasoning that feels like it was almost made for potatoes almost like Old Bay is made for seafood, you feel me? Lol!
- Minced Garlic: Garlic is a MUST when it comes to seasoning potatoes in my opinion. So you have to add some form of garlic to it, I don’t care what kind.
Minced garlic or garlic paste will work just fine just use an extra tsp or two because it’s not as strong as granulated garlic or garlic powder. - Garlic cloves: Garlic cloves will work too. All you have to do is add them to a bowl with a little olive oil and microwave them until they soften. Then mash them up and add them to the potatoes like garlic paste.
Black pepper: Black pepper is one of those seasonings that make everything taste better. You dont need to use a lot though as you’ll see in the listed ingredients below, I don’t use a whole lot. You never use a lot of pepper.
- White pepper: I rarely use white pepper. I only use it to season my eggs as I told yall before especially when I’m making them for people because some folk dont like to see black specs in their eggs. Lol!
Why sugar?
Onto the sugar! Sugar balances out the flavor of the potatoes. I use garlic, lot’s of onions, salt, and pepper, which makes for a acidic salty dish so to just tone things down I use a little sugar.
Sugar also adds depth of flavor and helps the potatoes crisps up and brown a little more. You will notice how much better they taste with a pinch of salt vs without it. It’s sort of like a secret an ingredient that makes the potatoes pop.
How to make home-fried potatoes
1. Boil the potatoes until semi-tender.
2. Slice up the onions and potatoes, then add to a hot, preheated skillet of oil.
3. Season the potatoes then add in the onions.
4. Let them fry until crispy, then flip.
5. Season the other side and fry until golden brown crispy.
Tips for success:
- Over boiling: it’s important not to boil them for too long because if they’re too tender, there’s no way you can flip them without them falling apart.
- Seasoning process: I season them with 1/2 of the seasonings. Once they brown, I flip them and season them with the remaining half of the seasonings.
- Flipping the potatoes: I try not to flip them too many times because I want them to maintain their shape and not break up into a bunch of small pieces of potatoes.
- When to add in vegetables: You can add the onions and peppers if you add some, at the very beginning or you like them well caramelized, or towards the end if you dont want them too fried.
What to serve with home-fried potatoes
- Bacon: Bacon, bacon, bacon!!!! Preferably, crispy fried pork bacon! If you don’t eat pork, fine that’s on you because I love fried pork bacon. Nothing, and I mean nothing, especially meat, goes better with it.
- Sausage: Any sausage would be good long as it’s fried. I sometimes eat my home fries with a fried hot beef sausage, sometimes I eat it with pork links or breakfast sausage. Any sausage will do honestly.
- Fried fish: So as I said to begin this article my pops would eat his home fried potatoes with fried fish. It’s actually a pretty common combo, although pork bacon is probably the most common thing people eat with it.
- Fried Chicken: Fried chicken taste good with everything! Lol! This would be a great option if you’re eating home fried potatoes for brunch or lunch, which I do on a late Sunday morning, early afternoon.
- Eggs: Aside from meat, eggs, the most popular breakfast food, are an obvious choice. I like mine nicely scrambled. You can have them scrambled with cheese or without, they taste great with home fries.
- Topping: In terms of condiments for anyone out of the states who maybe wondering what to dress them up with. I’d say hot sauce, ketchup, or a small amount of both. I put a lil hot sauce on mind all the time.
Frequently asked questions
How to store home-fried potatoes? Just place them in a bowl or tupperware bowl, make sure they’re tightly sealed, and store them in the refrigerator, preferably a cold area, to keep them fresh.
How long do home-fried potatoes last? Two days, I guess? I’m not the biggest fan of saving home-fried potatoes, honestly. They taste best eaten straight out of the pan. I never have any left. Lol!
How to reheat home-fried potatoes? If I had some home fried potatoes left over I’d probably place them in a skillet with a little oil and try to fry them over low heat to get them kind of crispy again.
Alright folks, enough with all the yapping and talking… scroll down and get everything you need for this recipe. Follow it to a t and tell me what you think. I hope yall love it and if you do give me a 5 star rating.
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Enjoy, later!
PBJ ~
The BEST Home Fried Potatoes Recipe
Crispy, tasty, home fried potatoes with caramelized onions. A delicious, soul food style, side dish.
- Prep Time: 1 Hr
- Cook Time: 15 Mins
- Total Time: 1 Hr + 15 Mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Soul Food
Ingredients
1.5 Lbs Russet Potatoes
3 Qts Water
1-1/4 Cup Yellow Onions, sliced
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Tsps Sugar
2 Tsps Seasoning Salt
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cool water.
2. Place the pot over high heat, cover with lid leaving a crack on the side, and boil for 40 minutes.
3. Once done, drain the hot water and fill the pot with cool water, then set aside.
4. While the potatoes are cooling off, slice up the onions.
5. Once the potatoes are cool, peel off the skin, then slice them into 1/16th thick circular-shaped pieces.
6. Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add in the oil.
7. After 2 minutes, add in the potatoes, and sprinkle with 1/2 of the seasonings.
8. After 7 minutes, flip the potatoes, add in the onions, and sprinkle with the remaining half of the seasonings.
9. After 7 minutes, flip the home fries again to ensure they’re all crispy.
10. Let them fry for another 2-3 minutes and then remove.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
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