Home Fries Recipe
The easiest home fries are cubed potatoes pan-fried to perfection, and topped with a zesty mixture of garlic, salt and parsley.
According to food blogger and photographer Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, everything you need for the easiest side dish ever is probably waiting for you in your kitchen cupboards. Made up of simple ingredients and prepared in an easy, nothing-fancy-about-it sort of way, it's amazing that home fries somehow end up tasting so yummy and luxurious.
And once you see how easy they are to cook, you'll be pairing home fries with just about everything — they go great with steak, chicken, lamb, and even white fish. If you're looking for the quickest vegetarian dinner, simply top your home fries with a fried egg and treat yourself to a night (practically) off cooking.
Garlicky, delicious home fries that are fried to golden-brown perfection are just a few simple steps away — so let's not waste our time and get started!
Gather the ingredients for home fries
The ingredients for making the perfect home fries are incredibly simple, and we're pretty sure you have most of them on hand already.
For our addictive home fries, you will need four medium Yukon Gold or russet potatoes. We recommend using these potatoes because they get just the right amount of golden brown color on the outside, while staying creamy and cooked through on the inside. They can handle being fried and roasted just as well. But if all you have are red potatoes or white potatoes, that's totally fine, too! You just won't get as deep of a yellow color on the outside.
Besides potatoes, you will need 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil for pan-frying. The butter prevents the oil from burning, and the oil helps distribute the fat solids in the butter more equally among the face of the potatoes. All this helps obtain that perfect crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside texture thing, so bear with us.
And finally, we like to top our home fries with a mix of minced garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. Fresh parsley is best for this, but you can also use dried parsley or fresh cilantro if that's what you have. You can even omit the herbs, and the fries will still taste amazing.
Prep the veggies
Home fries really consist of two main actions: cutting the potatoes and frying them. We also make a bit of a mix with our flavor toppings, but that's hardly even a step.
Because this is almost 50 percent of the work, getting the potatoes into a perfect dice is actually quite important for achieving quality home fries. You want to get your potatoes cut into small, 1-inch bite-size cubes. All the cubes should be even to ensure even cooking throughout.
Once you're done with the potatoes, finely mince the garlic and parsley.
Add the potatoes to a large skillet, spreading them in a single layer
Set a large skillet on medium heat — a cast-iron skillet or a large non-stick pan would work best here. It allows the heat to spread evenly and remain equally hot throughout the cooking time. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, and wait until the butter is melted.
Add the diced potatoes to the pan, and spread them in a single layer. Try not to have any potatoes overlapping each other — the more direct contact between the face of the potatoes and the pan, the better the sear will be.
Season the potatoes with ½ teaspoon of salt, cover with a lid, and cook, undisturbed, for 10 minutes, until the potatoes begin to brown on the bottom.
Turn potatoes over to the other side
Remove the lid, and turn the potatoes over to the other side. They should fit even more comfortably in a single layer than the first time, because they have now shrunk in size slightly from the cooking.
Sprinkle the potatoes with another pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown all over. The lid should be off during this second round of cooking. You may be tempted to add slightly more olive oil, but it's not necessary if using a good cast iron or non-stick pan.
Combine the garlic, parsley, and salt in a bowl
While the potatoes finish cooking, it's a good opportunity to make the garlic-parsley topping for the home fries.
In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic and parsley that you had chopped finely earlier. Season them with ½ teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper, and stir well to combine.
The garlic and parsley should be well mixed, with bits of garlic dispersed throughout the finely diced clumps of herbs. It shouldn't be too moist or too chunky — just a good mix of delicious ingredients!
Set the garlic-parsley mixture aside until your home fries finish cooking.
Serve home fries with garlic-parsley mixture
When the potatoes are done cooking, add the garlic-parsley mixture to the pan, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Your pan should be filled with perfectly golden potatoes, browned around the edges, with bits of minced garlic and finely diced parsley adding pops of color amidst all the brown. It should smell garlicky, earthy, and totally satisfying.
Serve your home fries immediately. We like to have them with a touch of mayo on the side, and some people like to add ketchup, but neither is necessary. These garlic-parsley home fries have so much flavor that you won't want to cover it up with anything else!
Home fries will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for five days, however, they will not retain their crispiness.
- 4 medium Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, cut into cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
- Dice potatoes into small, 1-inch bite-size cubes. Mince garlic. Mince parsley.
- Set a large skillet on medium heat (a cast-iron skillet would work best here). Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and wait until butter is melted.
- Add the potatoes to the pan, and spread them in a single layer. Season with ½ teaspoon salt, cover with a lid, and cook potatoes, undisturbed, for 10 minutes, until they begin to brown on the bottom. Remove lid, turn the potatoes over to the other side, sprinkle another pinch of salt, and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are golden brown all over.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine minced garlic, parsley, and ½ teaspoon salt, and stir well to combine.
- When the potatoes are done cooking, add the garlic-parsley mixture to the pan, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
- Home fries will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for five days, though they will not retain their crispiness.
| Calories per Serving | 309 |
| Total Fat | 12.8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4.7 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.2 g |
| Cholesterol | 15.3 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 45.2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.4 g |
| Total Sugars | 1.6 g |
| Sodium | 597.0 mg |
| Protein | 5.5 g |
