Diner-Style Home Fries Recipe
There's something about diner-style food that is impossible to replicate at home. Between the giant, fluffy pancakes, the perfectly poached eggs, and the crispy country-fried steak, the food is incomparable, even though it should be some of the simplest food to make. It could be the wide griddles that do the trick — or more likely, an unspeakable amount of butter. Whatever the secret is, it doesn't seem to leave the diner.
One of my favorite things to get at a diner is home fries. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the uniformly cubed pieces of potato pair perfectly with bacon, sausage links, and fried eggs, making a picture-perfect plate of classic diner food. Even these simple potatoes had me stumped when I tried to make them at home, though, so I set out to perfect my diner-style recipe. After trying several different methods and varying combinations of ingredients, I landed on a recipe that felt closest to real diner-style. The truth is, diner-style home fries don't really need fancy techniques like parboiling, soaking, or freezing to work — they just need a good amount of time in hot oil and some patience.
The ingredients needed to make diner-style home fries
The best potatoes to use for home fries are actually Yukon Golds, which hold their shape well and become fluffy easily when fried. You'll then just need vegetable oil for frying, as well as red and yellow bell peppers, onion, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Step 1: Heat up the oil
Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Step 2: Add the potatoes to the hot oil
Once the oil is very hot, add the potatoes to the skillet.
Step 3: Brown the potatoes
Begin to brown the potatoes, stirring constantly for the first 2 minutes to avoid sticking.
Step 4: Add the peppers and onions
When the potatoes are about half browned, after about 10 minutes, add the peppers and onion and stir. Cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
Step 5: Season the potatoes
Add the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat.
Step 6: Finish cooking
Continue cooking until the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork, about 5 minutes longer.
Step 7: Serve immediately
Remove the potatoes from the skillet immediately to serve.
What pairs well with home fries?
Diner-Style Home Fries Recipe
You'll be transported to your favorite diner with our super-crispy diner-style home fries, complete with peppers, onions, and perfectly savory seasoning.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup diced yellow bell pepper
- ½ cup diced Spanish onion
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Directions
- Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Once the oil is very hot, add the potatoes to the skillet.
- Begin to brown the potatoes, stirring constantly for the first 2 minutes to avoid sticking.
- When the potatoes are about half browned, after about 10 minutes, add the peppers and onion and stir. Cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat.
- Continue cooking until the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork, about 5 minutes longer.
- Remove the potatoes from the skillet immediately to serve.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 278 |
| Total Fat | 14.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.1 g |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 35.1 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 3.1 g |
| Sodium | 550.1 mg |
| Protein | 4.3 g |
Can I use russet potatoes for home fries?
Many cooks insist that russet potatoes are the best potatoes for home fries, but after testing several different ways, I found that Yukon Golds are more fail-proof and require half the effort. Russet potatoes contain a high amount of starch, which is released when they're cooked and leads to a mushy exterior coating. If your oil isn't hot enough, the potatoes are too moist, or the skillet is too crowded, your potatoes will steam instead of fry, leading to this mushy result. There are a few ways to avoid this, but you'll need a little bit of time and planning ahead.
The first step in using russet potatoes is soaking them, which removes some of the starch that can affect the exterior crispiness. Because you want a very dry potato when frying, you'll then need to drain and dry the potatoes. The best way to do this is to spread the potatoes across a paper-towel-lined sheet tray and chill in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. From there, heat the oil until very hot (think: deep-frying temperature) and drop the potatoes into the oil to fry. Do not crowd the skillet, which lowers the oil temperature and leads to steaming.
Is there any way to get my potatoes even crispier?
What you may notice, especially if you let the potatoes sit in the oil while they cool, is that they can quickly lose their signature crispiness and become soggy or oily: You'll want to remove the potatoes from the oil as soon as possible to maintain their crispness. If the potatoes seem to have lost their crisp when you add the vegetables, there are ways to bring them back to crispy (and these methods can be used for reheating leftovers, too).
The best method for crisping or reheating home fries is in the air fryer, which takes only 2 to 3 minutes at 400 F. Spread the potatoes onto the air fryer rack (or inside of the basket), then blast them with just a few minutes of the high, dry heat. You can also use an oven for this, and spread the potatoes across a sheet tray and then roast them at 400 F for about 5 to 10 minutes. The dry heat will crisp the potatoes to a perfect golden brown.