Cast Iron Skillet Home Fries (Crisp!)
Everyone loves home fries, but a lot can go wrong when making them at home. These crispy cast-iron skillet home fries are the best method to guarantee soft potatoes with crispy outsides. One tiny extra step, but hardly any more work.
Serve these with breakfast and dinner. Heck, lunch too. Double the recipe and serve these all day. They reheat just fine.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Vegetable oil is the best for browning the home fries because it won’t smoke the way butter will. You can also use leftover baked potatoes. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can use any heavy-bottomed pan, but you might need a little more oil.
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If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Equipment
- Large (10-inch or more) cast-iron skillet (or a heavy-bottomed pan)
- Stiff spatula
- Sharp knife
- Microwave-safe dish (for precooking the potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds potatoes (4 cups diced potatoes), about 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup minced onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
How to Make Cast Iron Skillet Home Fries
If you have leftover baked potatoes, use those and skip the microwaving step.
Step One: Precook The Potatoes
Dice the potatoes into ½-inch cubes. Place in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. While the potatoes cook, move on to the next step.
Step Two: Cook The Onion
Heat the skillet on low and add the butter. Cook the diced onion until softened, translucent, and beginning to brown (about 5 minutes). Remove the onion to a small plate and set aside.
Step Three: Brown The Potatoes
In the same skillet (no need to clean the pan), heat the vegetable oil on medium until hot but not smoking. Place the precooked potatoes carefully in the skillet in a single layer. Allow them to brown without stirring for about 5 minutes. Flip and let cook another 5 minutes. Leave them alone as much as possible so they will brown.
Step Four: Add The Onion And Additional Seasoning
Add the onion back into the skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. If you’d like to add any additional seasoning, add it now. Stir and cook another 5 minutes until everything is hot. Serve.
Storage Instructions
Let them cool down completely. Then, put them in a sealed container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you want to reheat them, warm them up in a pan over medium heat or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway.
Keep in mind that home fries don’t freeze well because they might turn mushy when thawed.
What to Serve with Home Fries
- Any breakfast food, like an omelet, scrambled eggs, or waffles.
- Dinner! Don’t forget that these pair perfectly with dinner foods too, like pork chops, a roast chicken, or chicken in a creamy gravy sauce.
- Add a side of Brussels sprouts or green beans to round out your dinner.
Printable Recipe
Cast Iron Skillet Home Fries
Equipment
- Large (10-inch or more) cast-iron skillet
- Stiff spatula
- Sharp knife
- Microwave safe dish (for precooking the potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds potatoes (4 cups diced potatoes) about 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup minced onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
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Instructions
- Precook the potatoes. Dice the potatoes into ½-inch cubes. Place in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. While the potatoes cook, move on to the next step.
- Cook the onion. Heat the skillet on low and add the butter. Cook the diced onion until softened, translucent, and beginning to brown (about 5 minutes). Remove the onion to a small plate and set aside.
- Brown the potatoes. In the same skillet (no need to clean the pan), heat the vegetable oil on medium until hot but not smoking. Place the precooked potatoes carefully in the skillet in a single layer. Allow them to brown without stirring for about 5 minutes. Flip and let cook another 5 minutes. Leave them alone as much as possible so they will brown.
- Add the onion and additional seasoning. Add the onion back into the skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. If you'd like to add any additional seasoning, add it now. Stir and cook another 5 minutes until everything is hot. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
By Katie Shaw
Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.
Haven’t cooked home fires any other way since I have found this recipe…I was going to precut a bunch of potatoes and freeze them. Would you recommend the frozen diced potatoes in the microwave or should I thaw them beforehand.
Frozen in the microwave! Just add a little more microwave time 🙂