Serves 4 to 6 / Time: 50 minutes
This is how we do it in Brooklyn: boiled and lightly fried breakfast potatoes with green peppers and onions. Bare bones, nothing fancy, no breakfast would be complete without them. And no trip to the diner is complete without them either.
One bite of these diner style home fries takes you back to the days of reading your newspaper, drinking your coffee and living in the moment, whatever that moment meant. Sounds great, but before putting down your phone, get this recipe first.
Only 6 Ingredients for the best homefries
Six ingredients, and one is salt. Crisp up the boiled potatoes in a hot pan until the outsides are golden and the insides stay tender. The peppers and onions go in at the end so they still have some bite, which is one of the beautiful things about this recipe. We don’t need much beyond salt and pepper — the peppers and onions and that toasty potato exterior are our temple. No paprika, no garlic powder, no fancy seasoning spices. That’s not how Brooklyn diners did it. These home fries are usually sharing a plate with tofu scramble or tempeh bacon and other strong flavors, you don’t want them overpowering their platemates.
Maybe drizzle a little malt vinegar over them at the table. Or douse them with hot sauce. Or both. That’s all. The simple home fry life and the perfect vegan breakfast.
Tips for diner style home fries
Use your biggest skillet. Overcrowding is the enemy of crispy home fries, and a crowded pan steams instead of browns. A large cast iron skillet is ideal for crispiness if you’ve got it.
These work best when the boiled potatoes are cool, not hot, before they hit the pan. So if you can boil the night before, drain them, and chill them in a sealed container overnight, that’s a great diner move. Bring them back to room temperature before frying.
If you’re doing it all at once, just let the boiled potatoes sit out for 15 minutes or so to dry and cool down before the pan.
Regular ground black pepper is fine here, no need to break out the pepper grinder. Do what you think is best, but for authenticity a little pepper shaker at the table is just what the doctor ordered. Yes, doctors eat at diners.
What to serve with Brooklyn diner style home fries
A diner breakfast (or brunch!) plate is the goal, so let’s do it. Pick and choose your faves any morning.
- Tofu Scramble — the obvious partner. Scramble it in the same pan while the potatoes rest.
- Vegan Chickpea Frittata — the soy-free eggy option, baked and sliceable.
- Tofu Omelets — fluffy, foldable, chickpea-flour eggy-ness.
- Fried Tofu Eggs — when you want to impress your friends with eggy realness.
- Tempeh Bacon — salty, smoky, crispy and classic.
- Seitan & Bean Sausage — the full protein plate.
- Puffy Pillow Pancakes — maple syrup on one side of the plate will end up on the potatoes. It’s all part of the plan.
- Toast. Yes you need double or triple carbs.
Brooklyn Diner Home Fries FAQ
Why green bell pepper and not red or yellow? That’s the Brooklyn way. Diner home fries use green because I don’t know if we knew another existed. They also have a deliciously bitter bite that just fits in here. If you use another color, the world won’t end. But you won’t be at a Brooklyn diner anymore.
What kind of potato works best for these diner style home fries? Yukon gold is my favorite because it’s morning and who has time for peeling. But TBH russet potatoes are probably what most diners used back in the day. Don’t tell anyone. You can use whatever potato you have, new potatoes, fingerlings…it will be good. All potatoes are.
Are home fries the same as hashbrowns? Nope. Home fries are chunky — cubed or thick-sliced potatoes, boiled and then pan-fried. Hashbrowns are shredded or very finely chopped and fried flat like a pancake. Both live at the diner, both are great, but they’re different texture animals.
Can I make these vegan breakfast potatoes ahead? The boiled potatoes keep in the fridge overnight, which is actually great for this recipe. Fully cooked home fries reheat okay in a hot pan but lose some of their crisp and get kinda dry.
Do I have to use olive oil? Nope, any neutral oil works. Vegetable, canola, avocado. Olive oil gives the most diner-appropriate flavor but it’s not sacred.
How did I end up here? You were searching for vegan home fries, diner-style breakfast potatoes, or just something to do with the bag of Yukon golds on your counter. Maybe you’re homesick for a New York diner, or you’ve never been to one and you’re curious. Either way, pull up a seat at the counter. Coffee’s on the way.
Brooklyn Diner Style Home Fries
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes cut in half lengthwise, sliced 1/2 inch thick or so
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided (more if needed)
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice (has to be green bell pepper so that it’s Brooklyn style)
- 1 medium-size onion cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more for pinches and tastes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the sliced potatoes in a pot and submerge in cold water. Salt the water so it tastes not quite as salty as sea water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil with the lid ajar. Once the potatoes are boiling, lower the heat to medium and cook for about 8 more minutes, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork but still firm. Drain. Get them as dry as possible — lay out on a sheet tray or plate and pat with a paper towel. Set aside to cool a bit, so they cool, or are at least lukewarm, not hot.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and flip them around with a spatula to coat them in oil, spreading them in close to a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes; they should be lightly browned. Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring and tossing occasionally to brown all sides. They won’t all get browned and crispy, just do your best.
- Move the potatoes to the side of the pan. Add the pepper and onion with another tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, just to soften.
- Add the teaspoon of salt, the black pepper, and the last tablespoon of oil, and mix everything together. Cook for 5 to 7 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion and pepper are lightly browned. Cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
