My home fries, using the oven and broiler.
Crispy, well-seasoned, oven-made home fries are the healthier and less messy alternative to French fries. Whether you’re cooking breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or cooking for vegetarians or meat lovers), EVERYTHING goes well with some home fries. There are a few things you can do to make them turn out as close as possible to French fries.
These are my three basic tips:
- Be sure to briefly boil them (for just a few minutes) before seasoning.
- Don’t be shy with the seasonings.
- Use extreme temperatures.
You can achieve similar results using one of two methods — frying in a skillet (cast-iron if you have one), or a roast/broiling combination method in a shallow pan. Both methods have their own pros and cons. Using a skillet will not heat up your entire kitchen, but it requires more attention, as you have to stir frequently so they cook evenly. On the other hand, the roasting and broiling method is less work, but your kitchen will get quite hot. Instructions for both are below.
Avoid using russet potatoes and reach for either yellow or red potatoes. To get creative, also consider introducing different types of onions and peppers … red or white onions, scallions, Banana peppers, Jalapeños or Poblanos. I’ve even made these homefries with sliced artichoke hearts mixed in.
Home Fries Two Ways
Ingredients for home fries: Yellow potatoes, red onion, chili powder, bay leaf, smoked paprika, garlic, Mexican oregano, scallion.
Ingredients
- 3 large yellow potatoes
- kosher salt as desired
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large red onion, halved
- 3 stalks scallions
- ½ red bell pepper
- Mexican oregano
- smoked paprika
- Chipotle powder (or any chili powder)
- olive oil as needed
Broiler Home Fries Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Seasoning your water. In a medium pot, bring to a boil with a dash of kosher salt, bay leaf, half of red onion, and a 2 crushed garlic cloves.
- Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into ½-inch cubes. Chop the other 2 garlic cloves, scallions, bell pepper, other half of the red onion, and any other optional ingredients into small matchstick-like sizes.
- Cook the cubed potatoes in the seasoned water for approximately 2 minutes, then drain. Discard the bay leaves, onions, and garlic, then transfer the potatoes in a large bowl.
- Add the olive oil and mix until thoroughly coated. Stir in the bell pepper, scallions, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, chili/chipotle powder, and black pepper until all seasoning is evenly distributed. Now is the time to add any other optional ingredients.
- Transfer seasoned potatoes onto a shallow baking sheet lined with foil. Be sure not to stack the potatoes into more than one layer. If the sheet is too crowded, cook them in batches.
- Roast potatoes in the middle of the oven at 400 degrees until they turn slightly golden and start to sizzle a bit, about 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir potatoes to re-distribute.
- Increase the heat to 500 degrees. Place potatoes on the broiler rack, checking every 5 minutes until they reach your desired level of crispiness.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Home Fries, using a cast-iron skillet.
Skillet Home Fries Instructions
- Follow instructions 2 through 5 above
- Heat cast iron skillet on medium high temperature and add about 2 more tablespoons of olive.
- Transfer potatoes onto the already-hot skillet and distribute as evenly as possible.
- Stir potatoes in a bottom-up, flipping-type motion every 5 minutes to assure even distribution.
- When the potatoes are tender throughout, turn the heat to high so they can crisp to your liking.
- Remove from heat and serve.
