A heavy pan, medium heat and a little patience are the key ingredients in making skillet potatoes with a crispy, golden crust and tender interior. Flavored with onions and a touch of garlic, these potatoes go great alongside eggs for breakfast or as a side dish for entrées like grilled steak, pork chops or fried fish.
PrintSkillet-Browned Potatoes and Onions
Perfectly browned skillet potatoes (crispy on the outside and soft on the inside) are easy to make if you cook them slowly in a heavy pan.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb white potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus more if needed)
- 1 clove garlic, quartered lengthwise
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes (do not brown). Remove the garlic from the pan and discard, then add the onion.
- Raise the heat to medium and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and continue cooking, turning frequently with a spatula until the potatoes are golden and crispy on all sides, 25 to 30 minutes. Feel free to add a little more oil if you feel the pan is too dry, but don't go overboard – 1 additional tablespoon should do it.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, then add the scallions and continue cooking, stirring often, until they're tender, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
Lenny says
Tried this and tasted great, but I had to turn off the heat when the onions started charring, so my potatoes didn’t end up tender. Any tips?
Lynne Webb says
Hi Lenny,
I do find that sometimes potatoes can take longer to cook than expected, and I’ve actually had potatoes that never really cooked through at all. According to the Idaho Potato Commission, the likely reason for this is an unusual cold snap during the growing season. This can result in overly dense potatoes that don’t cook easily.
If you run into slow-cooking potatoes again, I would suggest taking the onions out of the pan temporarily, then covering the pan. This will generate a little steam to tenderize the potatoes. Then you can add the onions back and finish the recipe.
Claire says
I used my trusty cast iron pan and this recipe turned out just as promised.!
My family love potatoes and this is a winner!
★★★★★
Lynne Webb says
Hi Claire,
Glad the potatoes turned out well. We like them best with scrambled eggs.