Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

Published December 29, 2017. Updated May 14, 2021

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These Skillet Breakfast Potatoes have a perfectly tender and moist interior, with a gorgeously browned crisp exterior. They also have just the right amount of seasoning and flavor. And they leave everyone craving more!

Breakfast Potatoes

Easy Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed by now breakfast is kind of my thang. I love a delicious breakfast meal served up any time of day.

I mentioned before how I’ve posted all these main entrees for breakfast but I’ve never posted the sides I serve with them.

I’ve been making these fried breakfast potatoes for years, so I hope I can say I’ve perfected the recipe. I’ve tried different cooking methods, different oils, played with seasonings, and now here are — the exact results I was looking for.

For the breakfast potato seasoning, you can use plain old salt and pepper (if you want to be boring), or you can add some pizzazz with the delicious seasoning blend listed.

I hope you love these breakfast potatoes — and maybe even make them as often as I do (I make them at least once a week, sometimes even three).

Ingredients Needed

These are partly baked breakfast potatoes and partly fried breakfast potatoes. To get the perfect flavor, you only need 3 simple ingredients:

  • Russet potatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Herb seasoning (I’ve included the exact recipe for this seasoning blend in the recipe card below)

How to Make Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Prep the potatoes, then bake for 35 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, then chill overnight.
  • The next day, dice the chilled potatoes into cubes.
  • Heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, pour diced potatoes into the hot oil. Sprinkle with herb seasoning and toss to coat.
  • Cook the potatoes until they begin to lightly brown on the bottom.

Do I Need to Peel the Potatoes?

No, these easy breakfast potatoes taste best with the skin on, in my opinion. The skin gets extra crispy when fried, which is the best part!

Do I Have to Use the Herb Seasoning Specified in the Recipe?

No, you can use whatever seasoning blend you prefer. Or you can keep things super simple and use just salt and pepper.

breakfast potatoes perfectly browned and crisp and shown on a serving plate.

How to Reheat

These breakfast potatoes are best enjoyed right away, as they get soggy over time. But if you have leftovers, I recommend reheating them in a skillet with a little olive oil. The potatoes won’t fully crisp up, but they’ll still taste good.

Tips for the Best Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

  • Pre-bake the potatoes — If they are cooked halfway before you fry them, then they don’t end up under cooked in the middle.
  • Leave the skins on when dicing — Less work (no peeling necessary), more taste and more vitamins. With that said why wouldn’t you?
  • Olive oil was my favorite oil for frying — I’ve tried butter, bacon fat and vegetable oil and olive oil is where it’s at. Not only do the potatoes taste better fried with olive oil but they are better for you.
  • Season generously — I’m not saying over salt your potatoes, I’m saying a little flavor goes a long way. I love the flavors that garlic and onion powder add to these. Alternately if you love Potatoes O’Brian you could add diced onion, and diced green and red bell pepper.
  • Cover potatoes with a lid while frying — This helps the potatoes maintain some of the moisture as well as helping them evenly cook through.
  • Don’t over-stir — If you stir too often, you won’t get the perfectly golden edges. Just think of flipping a pancake, you don’t want to flip it before it’s golden, it’s the same with breakfast potatoes, you shouldn’t “flip” them until they are golden.
  • Serve immediately — Potatoes get soggy after sitting too long after cooking. It’s a silly thing, but I always get frustrated when people are late for a breakfast meal I’m serving. Breakfast meals/sides aren’t nearly as good cold or reheated. This includes breakfast potatoes.

More Easy Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love:

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5 from 2 votes

Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

These Breakfast Potatoes are perfectly golden brown and crisp on the outside and moist and fluffy on the inside. They have a delicious flavor that will leave everyone craving more!
Servings: 5
Prep10 minutes
Cook50 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 5 small Russet Potatoes (total weight should be about 1.5 lbs)
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 1 1/2 - 2 tsp Herb Seasoning, to taste (recipe below)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile rinse and scrub potatoes then pierce each potato several times with a fork. Bake potatoes in preheat oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool 30 minutes then chill overnight*.
  • Dice chilled potatoes into 1/2" cubes. Pour olive oil into a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat. Once hot, carefully pour diced potatoes into hot oil. Immediately sprinkle with Herb Seasoning then toss potatoes with a heat proof spatula.
  • Cover pan with lid and cook potatoes, stirring every few minutes as they begin to lightly brown on bottom, about 8 - 12 minutes until potatoes have reached desired tenderness. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • *Alternately you could dice and cook potatoes immediately, I've just found it's more convenient to bake them ahead of time when I'm already making baked potatoes for dinner or baking another dish. Also, potatoes seem to cut cleaner if they've been chilled.
  • Sometimes I like to sprinkle them with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese after frying. Or they are good with ketchup.
HERB SEASONING:
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (call it your workout for the day)
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp dried thyme
 
Nutrition Facts
Skillet Breakfast Potatoes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 202 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 7mg0%
Potassium 567mg16%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 1g4%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin C 7.8mg9%
Calcium 18mg2%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.