When John and I started seeing each other, we did a lot of breakfast dates.
We both had roommates and it seemed the only way to spend uninterrupted time together was to get up early and share a meal before everyone else woke up. Lucky for us, breakfast was kind of our thing (and still is).
Even though John’s not a huge morning person, I can always lure him out of bed with these perfect, crispy 3-step breakfast potatoes that just happen to be vegan and gluten-free.
Three steps, you ask? That sounds complicated. However, it is not.
1. Bake
2. Season
3. Brown
That’s it! If you have a microwave, this recipe takes about 20 minutes from start to finish! But even if you prefer the oven, these beauties will be ready to devour in 45 minutes or less. What’s more? They only require 5 ingredients and 1 skillet. Hello easy breakfast.
I believe I got this original method from my mother. I remember calling her one evening asking her how she made her crispy breakfast potatoes because I wanted to impress John with my cooking skills (side note: it totally worked). She explained it step by step and I’ve tweaked the process and made it my own since.
The only bad part? I prefer these to every other breakfast potato out there. Sorry restaurants, you simply don’t hold a flame to these crispy gems.
What does one eat with breakfast potatoes? I’m glad you asked.
Tofu scrambles
Omelets
Scrambled “eggs”
Frittatas
Even dinner!
These really are so versatile and easy to make, I end up cooking up a batch most mornings. It just isn’t breakfast in our house without a batch of these beauties.
If you give this recipe a try, be sure to take a picture and tag it @minimalistbaker on Instagram! I’d love to know how yours turn out. Cheers!
Best Ever Vegan Breakfast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pound red potatoes (scrubbed clean and dried)
- 3-4 Tbsp vegan butter (or olive oil)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a skillet to medium heat, or an electric skillet to 350 degrees F (176 C).
- “Bake” your potatoes in the microwave for 4-6 minutes total (flipping once halfway through) until they have a little give when squeezed. Alternatively, bake them in a 400-degree F (204 C) oven placed directly on the rack for roughly 20-35 minutes, depending on their size, until soft to the touch.
- Cut cooked potatoes into bite-sized pieces (I usually quarter mine), and place vegan butter 1 Tbsp at a time onto the hot skillet. Only add enough to accommodate all of your potatoes.
- TIP: Place potatoes, one by one, onto the skillet directly in the melted butter ensuring both exposed cut sides touch the butter and get some cook time in the skillet. This will ensure all sides get crispy brown.
- Once all potatoes are on the skillet, spray the top with avocado or olive oil (optional) and season with half of the seasonings. Spraying them with oil helps the seasonings stick to the skin.
- After about 4 minutes, use a fork or spatula to tip the potato over onto its other side to brown evenly.
- After another 3-4 minutes, flip the potatoes on their backsides (skin side down) and season with remaining salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook for another 2-4 minutes until crispy and golden brown on all sides.
- Serve with hot sauce or Whiskey BBQ ketchup. These potatoes go great with our Vegan Omelet and Southwest Tofu Scramble.
John M says
This is my second favorite breakfast potato recipes. My fave is the Julia Child version all done in a skillet. Pommes de terre sautes…
We are vegan so we start with vegan clarified butter (vegan butter and cooking oil. Other than that, we follow the Julia Child recipe (saute until golden, cover, lower heat and cook until done, shaking the pan around every few minutes until done). Then drain the cooking fat, add butter and parsley.
Crispy outside and velvety smooth inside.
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, John!
Bb says
I found this recipe in 2015- when I started training long distance and I lived on potatoes. Favorite recipe for potatoes. Sometimes I kick it up and replace the black pepper with paprika. Regardless, one of my favorite meals for almost 10 years
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the great review, Bb, so glad this recipe has been a staple for you!
Amber Mills says
I have now made these 5 times in the past 2 weeks, they are quickly becoming a staple. Definitely best I’ve ever made at home, thank you!!
Woohoo! Thanks so much, Amber!
Bob says
I made this today for Christmas breakfast. Pre-cooking in the microwave is such a great idea! Cooking from raw, I find that most homemade hashbrowns take forever to cook through and I either end up with a great outside but still undercooked middle, or a cooked through middle but a heavily overcooked and dried out outside. This recipe avoided that. Thanks!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Bob! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Lynn Sargent says
I give this 5 stars! This recipes gets the potatoes crispy on all edges, which is delicious.
Yay! Thanks for the lovely review, Lynn!
gi says
had to rate. i’ve attempted breakfast potatoes many times, they’ve never come out so good. i added paprika to mine. thanks 🙏
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Shante says
Worthy of company! I was skeptical about microwaving the potatoes first because I only use it for reheating, but I put all 1.5 lbs red potatoes in for about 7 minutes then pretty much followed the recipe except I used grapeseed oil and added a couple shakes of onion powder. Served with onion, pepper, and mushroom tofu scramble. Yesss! Restaurant quality!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Shante! You can also par-boil them instead of microwaving (boil for ~8-10 minutes) if you’re doing larger batches!
Katie says
Beautiful crispy potatoes! I love that there’s a microwave shortcut to make it so quick and easy. Yummy comfort food! I’m going to make some right now :)
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Katie =) Thanks for the lovely review! xo
Holly says
Yummy, easy recipe! I had them with the southwest tofu scramble and made extra of the spice mixture to add to the potatoes which worked great!
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Holly! xo
Kelly says
Could you pre bake the potatoes and then use the next morning straight away from cold?
Sure!
John says
uhhh wouldn’t the potato explode in the microwave? Suppose this is assumed to known, but honestly I’d say u should prob add this disclaimer for the real non-cooks out there..
These little potatoes have never exploded on us (but I suppose it’s not impossible). And if microwaving a larger potato, you can avoid explosion by poking the potato sevearl times with a fork to allow pressure to escape while it’s cooking.
Janice Kay Short says
I always start my breakfast potatoes in the microwave and I usually use small to medium gold or Yukon’s. I just stab it with my paring knife once each side to a one-inch depth and they may whistle a bit but they never explode!