Breakfast Potatoes

These breakfast potatoes will be your new reason to wake up early. Sure, many people come to breakfast eager to eat a strip or three of bacon or perhaps a plate of biscuits with sausage gravy. But once you try these diner-style home fries with their crispy crust and tender-floury inside, you'll not think of a single other breakfast dish ever again.

To get these breakfast potatoes just right, we found a shortcut to cooking them—one that you can also do the day before you plan to serve the potatoes so you can get ahead. (This is especially great for big holiday breakfasts.)

Learn how to make breakfast potatoes, and then plan the rest of your big Southern breakfast around them.

Ingredients for Breakfast Potatoes

Let's keep these breakfast potatoes simple and classic with just seven ingredients (two of which are salt and pepper):

• Potatoes: You want russet potatoes or an equally starchy potato here. That's how you'll get that beautiful combination of a crispy crust and creamy-tender inside.
• Olive oil: For sautéing the potatoes and bell peppers.
• Red bell pepper: The contrast of the juicy peppers with the potato pieces is terrific. After you figure this recipe out, you can try other additions like onions.
• Salt and pepper: For seasoning.
• Garlic powder: Instead of cooking fresh garlic, we rely on the potent powder to lend some savory flavor.
• Sliced scallions: They aren't necessary really, but they add a crisp freshness to the final dish.

How To Make Breakfast Potatoes

These breakfast potatoes couldn't be any easier. We know in the morning when you're cooking breakfast or you're prepping for a big meal later in the day, the last thing you want is a fussy recipe. So we streamlined.

The full recipe with step-by-step photos is further below. Here's a brief recap:

• Step 1. Steam the potatoes: Place the potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl with water. Cover the bowl with storage wrap; pierce one vent. Microwave on high until the potatoes are tender. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes or overnight.
• Step 2. Chop the potatoes: You want slices that are all about the same size; somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 inch is ideal.
• Step 3. Sauté potatoes: Heat oil in a large skillet, and cook the potatoes and bell peppers with salt, pepper, and garlic powder until browned. Resist the urge to flip or stir the potatoes a lot. They need good contact with the hot pan so that they can develop a crust.
• Step 4. Garnish: Once the potatoes have a beautiful crust, garnish with the chopped scallions and serve.
  

How To Steam Potatoes for Breakfast Potatoes

Putting raw potatoes into a hot skillet will get you a skillet-roasted potato, but it will lack the dreamy combination of crisp crust and floury-tender interior. Steaming the potatoes, on the other hand, will help you get perfect breakfast potatoes every time. Here's how to do it:

• Peel the potatoes.
• Place the potatoes (cut in half if needed to fit into a bowl) in a microwave-safe bowl.
• Add water to the bowl, and wrap tightly with storage wrap.
• Pierce the storage wrap once to create a vent.
• Microwave on high until the potatoes are tender.

How To Prep Breakfast Potatoes Ahead of Time

The great thing about steaming potatoes for this recipe is that you can do it just before you plan to cook the breakfast potatoes or the day before. So if you're trying to get things together for breakfast tomorrow, do these steps to get ahead:

• Steam the potatoes fully.
• Let them cool. Then, wrap them in a bowl with storage wrap, or put them in an airtight container.
• Store in the fridge overnight.

Alternatively, you can also let the potatoes cool enough that you can chop them. Then, store the chopped potatoes until you're ready to cook the full dish.

Serving Suggestions for Breakfast Potatoes

This is a classic diner-style dish, so you can fill out the plate with the rest of the fixings: scrambled or over-easy eggs, sausage links or bacon, toast or biscuit. And of course a little squirt of ketchup on the side. (Hot sauce is always welcome, too.)

These breakfast potatoes would also be excellent served with our Sausage and Egg Casserole, Zucchini-Onion Frittata, or classic Eggs Benedict.

Tips for the Best Breakfast Potatoes

This four-step recipe couldn't get much easier, but there are a few tricks that will guarantee you love every bite:

• Make sure to only stir the potatoes only once every 3 minutes so that they can develop a crust.
  
• Use starch-rich potatoes like russets for the right texture. If you use waxier varieties, they'll still be good, but they won't be quite as creamy.

How To Store and Reheat Breakfast Potatoes

Leftover breakfast potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They won't crisp up well when reheated, but you can warm them in the microwave or on the stovetop. If you have an air fryer, that's a great option, too. Just be careful to not overcook and burn them.

If you want to use the leftover potatoes in other dishes, they are great in a breakfast burrito or an egg scramble.

More Breakfast Favorites

Looking for other great recipes to go with these breakfast potatoes? Consider these:

• Bacon-Cheddar Scones
• Easy Buttermilk Waffles
• Pimiento Cheese Sausage Balls
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Breakfast Enchiladas