Published October 30, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This tasty home fries recipe of golden brown pan-roasted potatoes with onions, peppers, and garlic is a fantastic breakfast side dish. My daughter is obsessed with these and constantly asks me to make them. They’re that good.
I love serving potatoes as a side dish, and the best part is that there are so many options, like my Twice-Baked Potatoes or Roasted Red Potatoes.
Home Fries
Home fries are a southern staple breakfast side dish of pan-fried potatoes, usually with caramelized onions and occasionally with other ingredients such as peppers and herbs. There are many variations to this dish, which were likely created based on the availability of ingredients.
They’re said to have been created to counter French fries sometime in the early 20th century. For the record, these are different from hashbrowns in that they are usually cubed or sliced rather than shredded. However, the cooking method of pan-frying is the same.
Lastly, if you have any leftover cooked cubed or sliced potatoes, this recipe is a great way to utilize them. You can even cube a leftover cooked baked potato and use it in this recipe. Of course, the cooking times would scale back since the potatoes are already cooked. It’s common to serve them with fried eggs and bacon.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Potatoes – Yukon golds, russets, or red potatoes can be used in this recipe.
- Peppers — I used a combination of red bell and poblano peppers. However, any sweet pepper of any color will work, and any spicy pepper may be used.
- Fat — Any neutral-flavored oil, like avocado, will work. Lard or clarified butter is also good for frying the potatoes. I also used unsalted butter to finish them.
- Onions — Yellow, white, red, or sweet, may be used. In addition, fresh garlic cloves are added to the potatoes.
- Seasonings – Coarse salt, freshly cracked pepper, and regular paprika were used to season the potatoes.
How to Make Home Fries
Start by cutting the potatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic.
Add the oil to a large non-stick frying pan over high heat and heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
Pour in the potatoes and onions and spread them out across the pan in a single layer.
Let them stand for 7 to 8 minutes to get a good brown crust.
Next, sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes, letting them brown on all sides.
Add the peppers, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper, and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and tender.
Finish the potatoes with butter and an optional garnish of sliced green onions.
Try serving the potatoes with my steak and eggs recipe.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These are meant to be eaten within an hour of you making them. However, you can keep them warm uncovered in the oven at low temperatures (<200°) for up to 30 minutes.
How to Store: Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. These do not freeze well, so I advise against freezing them. If you do freeze them, they may turn mushy after thawing, in which case you can fry them and make hash browns or potato pan cakes.
How to Reheat: Place the fried potatoes in a pan or on a metal tray and bake in the oven at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until warm and crispy.
Chef Notes + Tips
- You can also finish the potatoes with fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, chives, or sage.
- Try tossing the potatoes with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar once finished.
- If you submerge your potatoes in water after peeling to get ahead of the prep, be sure to dry them thoroughly before frying them.
- Feel free to peel the potatoes if you’d like.
- You can use sweet or spicy paprika as well.
- Try rendering some bacon in the pan and frying the potatoes in the rendered fat. Serve the finished potatoes with the crispy bacon lardons.
More Potato Recipes
Home Fries Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 peeled small diced medium-sized yellow onion
- 4 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 seeded small-diced red bell pepper
- 1 seeded small-diced poblano pepper
- 5 finely minced garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by cutting the potatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic.
- Add the oil to a large non-stick frying pan over high heat and heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
- Pour in the potatoes and onions and spread them out across the pan so that they are in a single layer.
- Let them stand for 7 to 8 minutes to get a good brown crust on them.
- Next, sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes getting them browned on all sides.
- Add in the peppers, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper, and continue cooking them for a further 3 to 4 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and tender.
- Finish the potatoes with butter and an optional garnish of sliced green onions.
- Try serving the potatoes with my steak and eggs recipe.
Home Fries Recipe