These Crispy Parmesan Breakfast Potatoes are an easy breakfast potatoes recipe made with diced potatoes, peppers, onions, savory seasonings, and freshly grated Parmesan. Golden and crispy on the outside and tender inside, they make an easy side for eggs, bacon, sausage, or your favorite weekend brunch.
This crispy breakfast potatoes recipe comes together quickly on the stovetop. The diced potatoes are partially cooked first, then finished in a hot skillet with red bell pepper, onion, rosemary, smoked paprika, and garlic. A sprinkle of Parmesan at the end adds a savory, cheesy finish. It's an easy option for breakfast, brunch, or even a simple potato side dish with dinner.
🍳 Why You'll Love These Crispy Breakfast Potatoes
Crispy edges, tender centers, colorful peppers, and melted Parmesan make these potatoes an easy addition to almost any breakfast plate. They're especially good alongside eggs, bacon, sausage, or French toast, and they also work well for easy brunch ideas when you're feeding family or friends.
This was inspired by my other recipe on this site, and pairs well with this amazing sidedish recipe.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 4
Jump to:
🥔 Ingredients for Crispy Parmesan Breakfast Potatoes
- 3 large baking potatoes, diced
- 1 T. water
- 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- ½ medium red onion, diced
- ½ t. garlic powder
- ½ t. dried parsley
- ½ t. dried rosemary
- ½ t. smoked paprika
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- ¼ c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
🍳 How to Cook Diced Potatoes Until Crispy
The secret to crispy pan potatoes is giving the diced potatoes a head start before adding them to the skillet. This shortens the cooking time while allowing the outside to brown without leaving the centers undercooked.
- Add potato and water to a large microwave-safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or just until potatoes are crisp and tender, but not mushy. Do not overcook.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add red pepper and onion and sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley, rosemary, and smoked paprika. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine.
- Cook, stirring frequently until the pepper and onion soften and develop a bit of color, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Drain excess moisture from the potatoes and pat dry. Transfer to the skillet and season with additional salt and black pepper, as desired. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden brown and slightly crispy, approximately 6-7 minutes. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top of the warm potatoes. Cover just until the cheese melts and serve immediately. Enjoy!
🍽️ What to Serve With Parmesan Breakfast Potatoes
For breakfast or brunch, serve these crispy potatoes with scrambled or fried eggs, bacon, sausage, avocado, or French toast. They aren't limited to breakfast, either. Their Parmesan, garlic, and herb flavors make them an easy potato side dish for pork chops, grilled chicken, steak, or roasted vegetables.
Variations
With just a few simple variations, you can easily upgrade your classic Easy Parmesan Breakfast Potatoes. A great first step is to try changing up the seasonings - replace rosemary, and paprika with oregano, basil or even curry powder for an Eastern twist. To incorporate some extra veg, add diced bell peppers or onions. Additionally, get creative with different cheeses to mix in - anything from feta to cheddar will bring new flavor and texture. Finally, sprinkle some chili flakes on top of your potatoes if you want a bit more of a kick. With all these variations at your disposal, your Easy Parmesan Breakfast Potatoes become infinitely customizable!
Top tip
For the crispiest breakfast potatoes, pat the partially cooked potatoes dry before adding them to the skillet. Excess moisture encourages steaming instead of browning. Once they're in the pan, give them enough contact time with the hot skillet to develop those golden, crispy edges before stirring.
Easy Parmesan Breakfast Potatoes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This scrumptious dish is packed full of protein, essential vitamins, and minerals that will give you the boost you need to power through the day.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
3 large baking potatoes, diced
1 T. water
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
½ medium red onion, diced
½ t. garlic powder
½ t. dried parsley
½ t. dried rosemary
½ t. smoked paprika
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
¼ c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
-
Add potato and water to a large microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or just until potatoes are crisp tender, but not mushy. Do not over cook.
-
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add red pepper and onion and sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley, rosemary, and smoked paprika. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine.
-
Cook, stirring frequently, until the pepper and onion soften and develop a bit of color, approximately 3-4 minutes.
-
Drain excess moisture from the potatoes and pat dry. Transfer to the skillet and season with additional salt and black pepper, as desired. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden brown and slightly crispy, approximately 6-7 minutes. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
-
Remove from heat and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top of the warm potatoes. Cover just until the cheese melts and serve immediately. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 15
