Sauteed Potatoes are crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, cooked entirely in one pan on the stove. The potatoes are parboiled first, then fried in oil with garlic and rosemary until golden. No oven, and no waiting for a tray of roasties.
It takes 25 minutes with 5 ingredients, and the parboiling can be done hours in advance. I serve these with everything from Baked Lamb Chops to a bowl of Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon, and the leftovers fry up beautifully with eggs.
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There are many ways of making sauteed potatoes. Some recipes fry them raw, which makes it much harder to get a crisp outside and a fluffy middle at the same time.
Parboiling does something specific: it washes off surface starch and turns the outer layer of each cube gelatinous, and that layer is what dries out and browns into a crust in the pan. Roughing the surfaces up afterwards gives that layer more to work with.
The method below covers both stages, from the pan of cold water through to the last few minutes when the edges turn golden.
Why This Recipe Works?
- You need one pan, a saucepan, and five ingredients you probably have already.
- Parboiling means the middles are cooked before the potatoes ever hit the oil, so nothing burns while you wait.
- The garlic and rosemary go in whole, which flavors the oil without any risk of them catching and turning bitter.
- They work as a side, a breakfast plate, or a snack with dips, and I think they beat roast potatoes on a weeknight.
- The parboiling can be done hours ahead, so there is very little left to do at dinner time.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Potatoes - Floury varieties such as Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper, or Rooster give a flaky, fluffy middle with crisp edges, which is how I like them. For firmer cubes that hold their shape and crunch, use a waxy potato such as Charlotte, Anya, fingerling, or any red potato. Cut them into even ½ inch (1 ½ cm) cubes so they cook at the same rate.
- Garlic - Two cloves, left whole and unpeeled. Whole cloves perfume the oil for the full frying time without burning, and they come out before serving. Minced garlic would scorch long before the potatoes are ready.
- Rosemary - Two whole stalks, added to the oil the same way. Thyme works just as well.
- Oil - A neutral oil with a high smoke point. I use vegetable or sunflower oil, but canola, rapeseed, and peanut oil all work. For a richer result, use duck fat, goose fat, or beef dripping, the same fats that make Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes so good. Butter on its own burns at this heat.
- Sea salt - Added at the end, once the potatoes come out of the pan, so it sticks to the crisp surface instead of drawing out moisture during frying.
How to Make Sauteed Potatoes?
Parboil the Potatoes
Peel and cut your potatoes into ½"/1½ cm cubes.
Fill a saucepan with cold water, salt it well, and add the potatoes. Place the saucepan on medium heat and bring it to a boil. Starting them in cold water means the outsides do not overcook before the middles are done.
Cook the potatoes for 6-7 minutes, until a knife goes in easily but they are not falling apart.
Drain them into a colander and give it one firm shake to scuff the surfaces, which is where the extra crispness comes from.
Leave them to steam dry for a few minutes; any water left on them will stop the potatoes crisping. You can do this step a couple of hours in advance.
Saute the Potatoes
When ready to serve, heat the oil in a large heavy-based nonstick frying pan. Add the whole garlic and rosemary to the oil along with the potatoes in a single layer. Avoid overcrowding the pan.
Make it in two batches if necessary. If making it in two batches, use half of the oil, one rosemary, and garlic at each time.
Cook the potatoes for 7-8 minutes, leaving them alone for the first few minutes so a crust can form, then flipping them until they are golden all over.
Lift them onto a plate and sprinkle with sea salt while they are still hot.
Keep warm until you saute the second batch of potatoes. Remove the rosemary and garlic before serving.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Start the potatoes in cold water and let them simmer gently until almost cooked, and take them off before they start breaking up.
- Shake the colander once after draining to rough up the edges, then let the potatoes steam dry completely; wet potatoes will never crisp.
- Keep the potatoes in a single layer with space around them. Cook in two batches if you need to, using half the oil, one garlic clove, and one rosemary stalk each time.
- Leave them alone for the first few minutes in the pan so a crust forms before you start flipping.
- Add the salt at the end rather than during frying, so it sticks to the crisp surface instead of drawing moisture out of the potatoes.
- Use whole garlic cloves and whole rosemary stalks so they flavor the oil without burning, and lift both out before serving.
- Salt the parboiling water well. It seasons the potatoes from the inside, which the salt sprinkled on at the end cannot do.
- Parboil a big batch when you have the pan out. Cooled parboiled potatoes keep 2 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer, ready to fry.
Serving Suggestions
Serve sauteed potatoes anywhere you would put roast or mashed potatoes. They are especially good next to something with a sauce to mop up.
With a roast or a joint of meat, try them alongside Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken or Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder.
With something creamy or saucy, they work with Moules Mariniere - French Mussels and Individual Salmon en Croute.
For an easy dinner, serve them with Lamb Shish Kebab, Turkish Beef Kofta, or Peri Peri Chicken Recipe. They are also good under a fried egg at breakfast.
Variations
Garlic, rosemary, and sea salt are my usual, but the potatoes take almost any flavoring you throw at them.
- Swap the rosemary for thyme, or add chili flakes, smoked paprika, Cajun spices, or caraway seeds to the oil.
- Slice the potatoes into rounds about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick instead of cubing them, which gives more crisp surface per potato.
- Leave the skins on for a rustic version with more texture; just scrub them well and cut them the same size.
- Grate over Parmesan while the potatoes are still hot, and add truffle shavings if you are feeling generous.
- Fry a few strips of chopped bacon or some sliced chorizo in the pan first, then cook the potatoes in the fat they leave behind.
- Finish with chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon for something fresher alongside fish.
- For a hands-off version, cook diced potatoes in the air fryer instead. I use a 30 minute soak rather than parboiling for that method, then 383° F - 195° C for 15 to 20 minutes with a shake halfway. The full method is in my Air Fryer Home Fries recipe.
Storage and Make Ahead
Sauteed potatoes are at their best straight from the pan, but there is a lot you can do in advance. Peeled and cubed potatoes keep in a bowl of cold water in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Parboiled potatoes are even more useful: cooled and covered, they keep for 2 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer, so you can boil a big batch and fry them as you need them.
You can also fry them to the pale golden stage, cool them, and keep them covered in the fridge for a day, then finish them in fresh hot oil.
Cooked leftovers keep for 3 days in the fridge and reheat best in a hot pan with a little oil, or spread on a tray at 180° C - 356° F for about 10 minutes.
Freezing cooked potatoes works if you cool them completely and freeze them in a single layer, though they never come back quite as crisp.
The microwave turns them soft, so I would rather fry the leftovers with eggs for breakfast, or crush them into a bubble and squeak.
Recipe FAQs
Almost always moisture or crowding. The potatoes need to steam dry properly after draining, the oil needs to be hot before they go in, and they need space in a single layer. Moving them around in the first few minutes also stops a crust from forming, so leave them be until the edges color.
Yes, and they are ideal for this. Cold cooked potatoes are firmer than freshly boiled ones, so they slice and cube cleanly and hold together in the pan. Make sure they are dry before they go into the oil.
Usually because the oil was not hot enough when they went in, or because they were moved too soon. Get the oil properly hot, lay the potatoes in a single layer, and leave them until a crust forms and they release on their own. A heavy nonstick or cast iron pan makes it easier.
Parboiling gives the best result, because the middles are already cooked and the frying stage is only about the crust. You can saute them raw, but slice them thinly, around ¼ inch (½ cm), use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, and expect a longer time in the pan.
Yes. Parboil them a couple of hours ahead and leave them in the colander, or fry them to pale gold, cool them, and finish them in hot oil the next day. Both work well when you are cooking for people.
Related Recipes
For more potato side dishes, why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making these perfectly crispy Sauté Potatoes as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
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Sauteed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ lbs potatoes (750 grams)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks rosemary
- ⅓ cup vegetable or sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Parboil the Potatoes
- Peel and cut your potatoes into ½" (1 ½ cm) cubes.
- Fill a saucepan with cold water, salt it well, and add the potatoes in.
- Place the saucepan on medium heat and bring to a boil.
- Cook the potatoes for 6-7 minutes or until almost cooked.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and give it one firm shake to scuff the surfaces. Leave them to steam dry for a few minutes. You can do this step a couple of hours in advance.
Saute the Potatoes
- When ready to serve, heat the oil in a large heavy-based nonstick frying pan.
- Add the whole garlic and rosemary to the oil along with the potatoes in a single layer. Avoid overcrowding the pan. Make it in two batches if necessary. If making it in two batches, use half of the oil, one rosemary, and garlic at each time.
- Cook the potatoes for 7-8 minutes, leaving them alone for the first few minutes so a crust can form, then flipping them until golden all over.
- Lift the potatoes onto a plate and sprinkle with sea salt while hot. Keep warm while you cook the second batch, and remove the rosemary and garlic before serving.
Notes
- Start the potatoes in cold water, salt the water well, and simmer gently until almost cooked, taking them off before they start breaking up.
- Shake the colander once after draining to rough up the edges, then let the potatoes steam dry completely; wet potatoes will never crisp.
- Keep the potatoes in a single layer with space around them, cooking in two batches if needed, with half the oil, one garlic clove, and one rosemary stalk each time.
- Leave them alone for the first few minutes in the pan so a crust forms before you start flipping.
- Add the salt at the end, so it sticks to the crisp surface instead of drawing moisture out during frying.
- Use whole garlic cloves and whole rosemary stalks so they flavor the oil without burning, and lift both out before serving.
- Floury potatoes (Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper, Rooster) give a fluffy middle with craggy edges; waxy potatoes (Charlotte, Anya, fingerling, red) hold their shape with a firmer crunch.
- Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, or duck fat, goose fat, or beef dripping for a richer result. Butter on its own burns at this heat.
- Air fryer: for a hands-off version, soak the diced potatoes for 30 minutes instead of parboiling, then cook at 383° F - 195° C for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway.
- Storage: cooked leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a hot pan with a little oil, or on a tray at 180° C - 356° F for about 10 minutes. The microwave turns them soft.
- Make ahead: peeled cubes keep in cold water in the fridge for 2 days; cooled parboiled potatoes keep 2 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer; or fry them to pale gold, chill for a day, and finish in fresh hot oil.
Beverly says
I made these to go with halibut! They were a huge hit! Everyone loved them!
Ayla Clulee says
I am so pleased to hear that Beverly!
Best wishes
Ayla
Ivette says
I’d never tried this before, but was absolutely delighted with how they turned out. A great alternative way of serving potatoes.
Sasha says
I love these potatoes, they’re super crispy and the garlic flavour is wonderful.
Dilay says
Simply absolutely delicious.
Tasha says
Love this recipe. These potatoes are amazing and crispy. I will definitely be making these again.