Best Fried Potatoes and Onions

When you want the best fried potatoes and onions, this is the recipe for you. It’s a perfect side dish for breakfast or dinner! This post is sponsored by Shuman Farms RealSweet Vidalia Onions. Vidalia onions are the perfect choice for the best Fried Potatoes and Onions. Look for the delicious RealSweet Vidalia onions in the produce department of your favorite grocery store during the months of April-August.

Ingredients

For this delicious Fried Potatoes and Onions recipe, the ingredient list is short but you want to make sure you’re using the correct types of both potato and onion. You’ll want to use russet potatoes, sometimes labelled as baking potatoes at the store. For the onion, I love to use a sweet onion like Vidalia because they have such a wonderful flavor and texture.

Other than that, all you need for this recipe is some cooking oil and butter to fry them in, and garlic and salt to season. If you’d like additional seasonings, try adding fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or parsley at the end, or black pepper and/or paprika while cooking. You could also cook bell pepper along with the onions for more flavor and color.

As to the use of both oil and butter, it does really make a difference to use both. The oil has a higher smoking point than the butter, so it allows the potatoes to brown up really well. The butter is used midway through cooking the onions and gives them extra richness and a mild nutty flavor.

What Kind Of Pan Should I Use?

A large nonstick skillet is definitely your best choice for these fried potatoes and onions. When I tested this recipe with other kinds of pans, they all required more oil and butter to keep the ingredients from sticking. I wanted to reduce the amount of fat, so nonstick ended up being the perfect choice.

Do I Need To Soak Or Par-Cook The Potatoes?

I tested this recipe many different ways. I tried microwaving the potatoes to give them a head start with cooking. I also par-cooked them by boiling them in plain water as well as in a water and vinegar mixture, which is said to help with browning. I tried soaking the potatoes too. In the end, the best recipe was the one that didn’t require soaking or par-cooking. I love it when the easiest method turns out to be the best, don’t you?

The most important tip is that the potatoes and onions really need to be cooked separately to make sure that everything is cooked perfectly. Otherwise you either end up with undercooked potatoes or burnt onions, which just isn’t what anyone wants. But don’t worry, I’ve made sure that even though the two elements are cooked separately, the recipe is still quick and easy to make.

Why Cook The Potatoes and Onions Separately?

There are a few reasons, actually. The first reason is that potatoes and onions brown and cook through at different rates. The potatoes need more time than the onions, and the onions easily get too dark in the time it takes for the potatoes to cook. The darkness gives you bitterness, and we really want all that onion-sweetness to shine through.

The second reason is that onions contain a lot of moisture, which can stop the potatoes from browning as well. Relatedly, potato slices brown best and more evenly when they have good contact with the surface of the pan. If there are bits of onion in the pan with the potatoes, that gets in the way of that contact, meaning that the potatoes won’t brown as well.

Note that while we are doing this recipe in two steps, onions followed by potatoes, the entire recipe is still really quick and easy to make. It’s definitely worth it and doesn’t make you sacrifice much time or energy.

How To Make The Best Fried Potatoes And Onions

Start by slicing both the potatoes and onions into even, ¼ inch thick slices as shown above. Next, heat your cooking oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. You’ll add your sweet Vidalia onions and a bit of salt to the heated oil. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. As they soften, they’ll be getting even sweeter than when they started!

Then add in the butter and cook until the onions are golden brown, an additional 6 minutes or so. The browning adds more sweet caramelization, but you don’t take it too dark our else it will add a bitter flavor. You’ll finish off the onions by adding some minced garlic for the last minute of cooking.

Use a slotted spoon to move the browned onions to a plate, you want to leave the fat in the pan. Cover the onions with foil and set aside while you fry the potatoes. This helps the onions continue to soften a bit while also getting them out of the pan so they don’t burn while the potatoes cook.

Increase the heat to medium-high heat, and add enough potatoes to the pan to cover the bottom in a single layer (it’s ok if they overlap a little bit, but not much). Cook the potatoes until they are soft inside and golden brown outside, with some crunchy edges, 3 to 5 minutes per side side. Not sure if they are cooked through? Test with a fork to see if they are tender.

Add the onions to the potatoes in the pan and mix to distribute them and to warm the onions from the heat of the potatoes. Serve the fried onions and potatoes warm as a delicious side dish.

Can I Make Potatoes And Onions In The Air Fryer?

You absolutely can, but I’ll be honest, I think the results are much better when cooked on the stove. If you’d like to make this in the air fryer though, the instructions are below for you. I have three big tips for making Fried Potatoes and Onions in the Air Fryer. The video below goes through them.

Air Fryer Fried Potatoes And Onions Video

The first tip is to cook those sweet Vidalia onions separately from the potatoes. As with the pan-fried version, potatoes and onions cook at different rates so cooking them separately lets them both be perfect.

The second tip is to cover the onions with foil while they cook. This helps them to soften nicely without browning too much.

The third tip is to let the potatoes sit with the salt and oil on them while the onions cook. This draws some moisture out of the potatoes, which helps them to brown better. OK, now here is the recipe for making the Potatoes and Onions in the Air Fryer:

Serving Fried Potatoes And Onions

This recipe is great for breakfast or brunch alongside classic bacon and eggs. It also works great as part of a meat and potatoes dinner, so try serving the pan-fried potatoes with steak or pork chops. I mean, these taste so good you’ll be finding excuses to eat them with everything! Enjoy! – Christine xo

More Amazing Potato Recipes

Browse the full collection of side dish recipes or try one of these other potato recipes next.

• Air Fryer Red Potatoes
• Crispy Parmesan Potatoes
• Greek Lemon Potatoes
• Creamy Dill Potatoes

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This post is sponsored by Shuman Farms RealSweet Vidalia Onions. All opinions are honest and are my own.