Perfectly fried potatoes, slightly charred with a crispy golden crust on the outside and meltingly tender and buttery on the inside – just the thought makes mouths water and tummies rumble! Today I’m sharing my tips for the best home fries you ever put in your mouth along with some yummy variations.
Ingredients
- Potatoes do make a difference. The best kind for frying are Yukon Gold or Russets as far as I’m concerned. If you use Russets, though, you definitely want to soak them in water before frying.
- Onions give a lot of flavor to this recipe. I usually use yellow onions but any kind you like are fine.
- Fresh garlic is definitely optional and a little goes a long way.
- Bell pepper adds color and flavor. I like to use a few different colors when possible.
- Poblano, or jalapeno peppers add a little heat and a southwestern flavor I can’t resist. Omit them if you want.
- Salt to taste while you are cooking or the potatoes will be bland.
- Pepper to taste – I like the coarse ground black pepper for this recipe.
- Peanut oil or any light vegetable oil is necessary for the crispy crust you’re looking for.
- Butter adds flavor but if you tried to fry in just butter at a high heat you’d have a smoky kitchen.
Instructions
Here’s an overview of the step by step process for making crispy fried potatoes… Every. Single. Time.
- Peel and slice (or cube) potatoes.
- Let soak in ice water.
- Drain well and pat dry.
- Heat the oil in a skillet on high heat until it’s shimmering and almost smoking. Watch it carefully or you’ll have a fire!
- Add the potatoes and let fry until they start to get golden on the bottom.
- Cover the pan and reduce heat to medium. Allow to steam for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove cover and turn the heat back up to medium high. Flip the potatoes.
- Fry for a minute or two, or until the bottom layer begins to get golden.
- Dump the pan into a colander over the sink to remove excess oil and moisture.
- Blot with a paper towel and return them to the pan on medium heat.
- Add the onion and peppers plus any seasonings you’d like.
- Fry, stirring occasionally, until tender and done. Do not cover at this stage of frying because they will get soggy!
- Add the butter at the very end of cooking.
Tips
- Slice or cube the potatoes making sure they’re the same size so that they all cook evenly. They shouldn’t be too thick or too thin — about 1/8 inch is right.
- Slice them into salted ice water and let them soak for five minutes or so. Drain, rinse and pat dry before frying. Do not try to fry them when they are wet.
- Use peanut oil unless someone has an allergy. It is the best oil I have found for frying.
- The amount of oil needed may vary from one time to the next. Use enough to keep them from sticking.
- Fry them in a cast iron skillet if you have one – try not to use a nonstick. The coating hampers the frying process because it doesn’t get hot enough.
- Let the oil get really hot before adding potatoes. It won’t smoke but it will ripple in the pan.
- Add the potatoes in a single layer.
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet.
- You can put a cover on the skillet to help them cook for the first bit but take it off for the last part of cooking or your dish will be soggy.
- If this still isn’t the fried potato recipe that you’ve been looking for try this – Boil the potatoes until almost done the night before. Drain and refrigerate. Next day pat them dry and fry.
Need something this easy but a little different? Try my easy “top of the stove” au gratin potatoes!
FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
How long do you pan fry potatoes?
Cook without moving them around until they begin to brown around the edges…that will take about 10 minutes. Then maybe 5 more minutes on the other side.
What’s the best cooking oil for home fries?
You need a cooking oil with a high smoking point – I prefer peanut oil but if you have allergy concerns any light vegetable oil is fine.
Can you make this recipe with butter instead of oil?
You can but you won’t be able to use high heat. If you’re set on using butter I’d recommend using cold, boiled potatoes that have been patted dry. Slice them and cook in butter until golden brown.
Why do you soak potatoes in water before frying?
Soaking in cold water helps to remove excess starch. This allows them to fry up crispier, without burning or sticking.
Actually, if you use a low starch variety like Yukon Gold you don’t have to soak them.
How do you make them not stick?
The secret is removing the starch AND using a light oil and high heat.
Why aren’t my potatoes crispy?
If your pan fries are soggy rather than crispy, or raw rather than tender, or even burnt rather than golden brown you are probably doing (or not doing) one of the following:
- You’re using the wrong oil
- You’re using very starchy potatoes and not soaking to remove some of the starch
- You’re putting them in the pan wet
- You are overcrowding the pan and they are steaming
- You are leaving to cover on the pan too long
When all else fails check your skillet. A cast iron skillet is definitely THE BEST pan for fried foods.
Variations
I love this easy side dish because there are so many possible variations. You can even make it into a main course. Here are some of my favorite things to add into fried potatoes.
- Onions
- Bell pepper
- Jalapeno
- Sliced smoked sausage
- Bacon
- Cubed leftover ham
- Cooked ground beef
- Cooked taco meat
- BBQ
- Cheese
- Onion powder and/or garlic powder to add even more flavor
You can also cut the potatoes any way you like -wedges, slices, or cubes!
Related recipes
Side dishes make the meal, don’t you think? Can you imagine steak without corn on the cob or a giant, buttery baked potato? What about lasagna without a crispy salad or BBQ without cole slaw?
I have some favorites here on Restless Chipotle that I use over and over again. My family loves them and I think yours will, too!
- Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes are spicy and crispy on the outside and sweet and tender on the inside. Perfect with roasted chicken!
- 50 Best Side Dish Recipes on the Internet is a clickable list of side dishes that you won’t want to miss!
- Mexican Cornbread Casserole is creamy, carby, comfort food that’s hard to explain but once you’ve tried it you’ll make it often.
- Homemade Tater Tots can be varied in so many ways! They’re easy, too.
- Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese is one of my favorites. Tender, gooey, and delicious with a crispy top.
And these Rosemary Lemon Roasted Potatoes from Bowl Me Over sound perfect to go alongside that Sunday roast!
Supplies
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Give my mom’s fried potato recipe a try and see if they aren’t a big bite of home. You’ll find more great side dish ideas here.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Crispy Fried Potatoes
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 6 – 8 large potatoes, peeled (or not) and sliced about 1/4-inch thick
- 1 large onion, optional
- 1 clove garlic, optional
- 1 pepper optional, green, red, poblano, jalapeno, all of them – you decide
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup Peanut Oil, light vegetable oil will work if there are allergy issues
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Peel and slice (or cube) potatoes.
- Let soak for 5-10 minutes in ice water.
- Drain well and pat dry – make sure they are VERY dry!
- Heat 1/4 cup peanut oil in a skillet on high heat until it’s shimmering and almost smoking.
- Add potatoes and let fry for about 2 minutes or until they start to get golden on the bottom.
- Cover the pan and reduce heat to medium. Allow to steam for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove cover and turn the heat back up to medium high. Flip the potatoes. Fry for a minute or two, or until the bottom layer begins to get golden.
- Dump the pan of potatoes into a colander over the sink to remove excess oil and moisture. Blot with a paper towel and return them to the pan on medium heat.
- Add the onion and peppers plus any seasonings you’d like on your potatoes.
- Fry, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and done. Do not cover at this stage of frying because they will get soggy!
- Add the butter at the very end of cooking.
- Taste for seasoning and serve hot with plenty of cracked pepper.
Notes
- Slice or cube them the same size so that they all cook evenly. They shouldn’t be too thick or too thin — about 1/8 inch is right.
- Slice them into salted ice water and let them soak for five minutes or so. Drain, rinse and pat dry before frying. Do not try to fry them when they are wet.
- Use peanut oil unless someone has an allergy. It is the best oil I have found for frying.
- The amount of oil needed may vary from one time to the next. Use enough to keep them from sticking.
- Fry them in an iron skillet if you have one – try not to fry them in nonstick. The nonstick coating hampers the frying process because it doesn’t get hot enough.
- Let the oil get really hot before adding potatoes. It won’t smoke but it will ripple in the pan.
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet.
- You can put a cover on the skillet to help them cook for the first bit but take it off for the last part of cooking or your potatoes will be soggy.
- If these potatoes still aren’t the recipe that you’ve been looking for try this. Boil the potatoes until almost done the night before. Drain and refrigerate. Next day pat them dry and fry. You can also bake potatoes (or use leftover baked potatoes) and use them for pan fried potatoes.
Polly
Marye, thank you for sharing this! I have made this so many times. Everyone that tries it, loves it!
Marye
YAY! Thanks for letting me know
Mariya
These look so delicious! I bet my family would love for me to make these sometime.
Alina
Thanks! I just love fried potates. I actually have never tried making it on my own. I really should!
Andrina Mathew
nice and superb.
Stephen
This came out perfect!! I served this with some corned beef and cabbage that I cooked separately (normally I also add potatos and onions and bell peppers to my corned beef and cabbage during various stages of cooking — but not this time). It was so much better this way and allowed me to get the veggies cooked and yet still crisp where I wanted without the problems I typically encounter. This will be my go to method from now on and thank you for sharing.
Marye Audet
That’s fantastic! So glad you liked it!
melodie mills
If you were going to make corned beef hash out of this how would you do it?What kind of corned beef and would it be precooked?When would you add it?
Marye Audet
I’d try to find a recipe for corned beef hash. 🙂
Lowen Gartner
If you were going to pre-cook the potatoes before frying, would you do it before or after the soak?
Marye Audet
there would be no need to soak them
Kathryn Anderson
So I followed the recipe to a T. Well, I started too. I put the oil on high like I was supposed too. I got the potato ready, frequently checking the oil. Not long after I put it on high the thing bursted into flames and scared me to death. A lesson I learned today, fact check recipes when it comes to heat and never ever ever put oil on high no matter what the recipe says.
Marye Audet
Oil will combust if you leave it on high with nothing in it.
Caleb
I’ve tried making cubed country fried potatoes a dozen times before and they always came out tasting undercooked or, when I tried boiling them before cooking, came out like fried mashed potatoes.. I saw this recipe and was skeptical, but thought I’d try it. The whole time they were cooking, I didn’t think they were getting soft because they were hard to the touch with the spatula. I finally got tired of stirring them in the skillet and dropped them on a plate. For some reason, they immediately got soft after they cooled down a bit. Also, they were pretty delicious! I’ll be using this cold water process when I fry my potatoes from now on.
Jerry Smith
It worked! Lol, I am a total novice to cooking. Case in point, I googled how to fry potatoes. I could have sworn I use to fry them in water with peppers, but I couldn’t remember the specifics from over a decade ago. I was also concerned at first, because after the first 5 minutes frying in oil, the potatoes were clearly not done yet, but after putting them back in the pan and finishing, they turned out great! Even my picky 9 year old loved them!
Edna
THANK YOU!
I have been digging through recipes looking for someone who makes these potatoes like my momma used to. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I landed on yours. THEY’RE PERFECT.
Marye Audet
I am so glad you liked them!!!
Roger
You had me dreaming there for a while. Then I tried the recipe. It just doesn’t work. I followed it to a T and ended up with half-cooked potatoes and charred onions and peppers. Even after I ran them through the microwave on high for 3 minutes they were still “dead in the water,” so to speak. I ended up with the usual batch of half-baked (no pun intended) potatoes thrown in the trash. Too bad. Time to move on to someone else who knows how to cook.
Marye Audet
Awww… way to stay classy! Sorry they didn’t work for you – but.. you know what they say… it’s a poor workman that blames his tools.
bo
That’s awesome!!!!! Don’t take that shit girl!
Pam
In your video it looks like you need to initially cook the potatoes in a single layer but when you return them to the pan you can put them all in. Do you need to cook in several batches at first in order to get them crispy or can you put all 6-8 potatoes worth of slices in all at once? I’m planning to make these tonight and don’t see any questions or comments about this.
Marye Audet
Pam, if you do all of the potatoes at once some will be crispy and some not. That’s how I tend to like them. If you want them all crispy then add them in batches
Connie
Me to some crispy some not. In the skillet right now! With red beans(pinto) and carne gastada.(actually what my mother in law called hamburger gravy) because it’s made with ground meat.
Marye Audet
mmmm that sounds good!!
michelle
but when if ever do you TURN the pototoes?
thanks!
Marye Audet
You keep an eye on them and turn them when they start to get golden brown on the bottom. I usually gently life up a couple of slices to check every couple of minutes.
Pam Ebarb
My mama always dusted the potatoes with flour before putting them in the skillet. I still do that to this day. They don’t taste like Mama’s if I don’t!!
Marye Audet
I have never heard of that but it’s brilliant!
Asha
This was finally the recipe that I used to make the best fried potatoes! I have been trying for a very long time to make these, but something always went wrong. The key for me were three things: use a cast iron skillet, use enough oil, and use medium low temperature. That was it!! They turned out perfect. Thank you sooo much for the perfect fried potatoes recipe.
Marye Audet
YAY! SO glad!