These Leftover Baked Potato Home Fries are a perfect way to use up leftover baked potatoes, but they’re so good, you may just find yourself baking up some potatoes just so you can make a batch!
Baked potatoes are awesome. But let’s be honest: leftover baked potatoes…not so much. Even after being reheated, they never seem to regain that wonderful fluffy texture on the inside. What to do? Turn them into the best home fries you’ve ever eaten!
I know I’ve said this before, but I have a serious thing for potatoes. They are, hands down, my favorite vegetable, and I will eat them any way I can get them.
I mean, come on. What’s not to love? Potatoes, in one form or another, are the perfect go-to side dish for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
Baked potatoes and home fries are two of my most favorite potato side dishes…so simple yet so delicious. This recipe combines the two, which is why it’s one of my favorite leftover baked potato recipes!
The outside is golden brown and crisp (especially around the edges), and the interior is tender, moist, and even a little fluffy (yes, some of it does come back when you cook them this way).
These home fries go just as well with a steak, chicken, or pork chops as they do with scrambled eggs, fried eggs, or an omelet.
Plus, they’re super easy to make and, since they’re already cooked, they take less time than cooking home fries from raw potatoes!
Ingredients you need:
- Leftover baked potatoes
- Butter
- Light olive oil (the kind for frying)
- Salt and pepper
Need to bake some potatoes? Here’s how to bake potatoes in the oven:
- Scrub the potatoes until well-cleaned and pat dry with paper towels.
- Poke each potato several times with a fork (this keeps pressure from building up inside your potatoes so they don’t explode in the oven).
- Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 1 hour or until cooked through. The time will depend on the size of your potato (1 hour should be about right for 8-ounce potatoes).
- When done, a knife or fork will easily pierce the center of the potato, and the potato will give a little if you gently squeeze it (if you want to take its temperature, aim for 210°F).
- To store: allow the potatoes to cool completely (don’t leave them at room temperature for more than 2 hours), then place them in the fridge, covered (no foil…see note below), and use within 2 days.
An important note about food safety: I know that some people like to bake their potatoes in foil, but did you know that, although rare, improperly-handled baked potatoes that have been baked and then left to sit (or stored) in aluminum foil have been linked to food-borne illness, including botulism (see this article from the CDC)? I am not an expert, so please do your own research on this, but I say leave the foil off of your potatoes. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Here’s a look at how to make Leftover Baked Potato Home Fries:
Tips & Tidbits:
- Russet potatoes (often labeled as baking potatoes) are the best potatoes for baking. They are starchy, and so they result in that fluffy texture that you just won’t get from other potatoes.
- You can leave the skin on the potatoes if you’d like, or you can remove the skin before slicing and cooking. The home fries are delicious either way!
- Slice your potatoes thin (between 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch). If they are too thick, the outside might get too dark before the inside is heated through.
- Don’t worry if your baked potato doesn’t slice perfectly or if some of the slices break into pieces (you can see, in the photos, that my potatoes had a hole in the center and some of them broke in half). Just cook ’em all up, and they will still be delicious – and some of those smaller pieces will get super crispy!
- Best when served immediately (they will lose their crispiness as they sit)!
So the next time you make baked potatoes to go along with your dinner, do yourself a favor and throw in a few extra potatoes so you can cook up a batch of these awesome home fries for breakfast or dinner the next day. You’ll be so glad you did!
I hope you try this recipe for Leftover Baked Potato Home Fries and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
- Oven-Roasted Potato Wedges
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
- Zucchini Potato Pancakes
- Cheesy Ham and Scalloped Potato Casserole
Leftover Baked Potato Home Fries
Ingredients
- 2 leftover baked potatoes, about 8 ounces each
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil (for frying)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- If desired, remove the skin from the baked potatoes; thinly slice (⅛ to ¼ inch thick). Note: If your potato breaks apart a little bit, no worries. Your baked potato may have been overcooked a bit. Just cook up the broken pieces with the rest of the potatoes, and they will be delicious too!
- Heat the butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet (I use a 12-inch skillet) over medium heat.
- When the butter has melted, add the potato slices in a single layer; season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Cook until the bottom side of the potatoes is golden brown and crisp, about 4 to 6 minutes.
- Carefully flip the potatoes over; season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until the other side of the potatoes is golden brown and crisp, about another 4 to 6 minutes.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To bake potatoes in the oven: scrub them until well-cleaned, pat dry with paper towels, poke each potato several times with a fork, and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 1 hour or until cooked through. The time will depend on the size of your potato. When done, a knife or fork will easily pierce the center of the potato, and the potato will give a little if you gently squeeze it (if you want to take its temperature, aim for 210°F).
- Once the potatoes have cooled completely (don’t leave them at room temperature for more than 2 hours), place them in the fridge in a sealed plastic storage bag, on a dish covered with plastic wrap, or in an airtight container, and use within 2 days.
- An important note about food safety: I know that some people like to bake their potatoes in foil, but did you know that, although rare, improperly-handled baked potatoes that have been baked and then left to sit (or stored) in aluminum foil have been linked to food-borne illness, including botulism (see this article from the CDC)? I am not an expert, so please do your own research on this, but I say leave the foil off of your potatoes. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Leave a Reply