Fried Potatoes and Onions

5 from 5 votes

Potatoes and onions cooked in a delicious mixture of bacon, garlic, and seasoning until crispy and golden brown.

Course Breakfast, Dinner, lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Fried Potatoes and Onions, Potatoes and Onions

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 216

Place the potatoes in a large pot. Cover them with water and season the water well with salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender (about 5 minutes).
Drain the potatoes and let them cool and dry in a colander.
Starting with a cold pan, cook the bacon in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes.
Sauté the onions with the paprika, salt, and pepper for 5 to 6 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and softened (30 seconds to a minute).
Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the potatoes and cook until golden brown.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt as needed. Sprinkle with the chives before serving.

*To omit the bacon, sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil instead of the bacon fat.

Salt the water generously when parboiling the potatoes. This is the best time to ensure the potatoes are seasoned well for the best possible flavor.
For crispy bacon, start with a cold pan. This will let the fat slowly melt out of the bacon, which will help it to create a crisp result. If you add bacon to a hot pan, the fat will seize and get locked inside the bacon, resulting in soggy slices.
You can remove the bacon and onions from the pan before adding the potatoes if you're worried about them getting too crispy. Then once the potatoes are done, add them back to the pan.
Use a big enough pan – you want it to be large enough to allow the potatoes to be spread in a single layer in the pan so that they can get a nice crisp crust.
Move the potatoes as little as possible to allow them to brown. Check from time to time until they form a crust, then flip to brown the other side.