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Potatoes O’Brien is a single serving skillet dish of pan-fried potatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Made from scratch with one potato, the edges turn golden and crisp in about 10 minutes.
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Equipment: 10-inch skillet (cast iron works well), small saucepan
- Cook Method: Stovetop
- Servings: 1
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Buttery potatoes and sweet bell peppers take on savory warmth from garlic and Creole seasoning.
Diner-style breakfast potatoes made for one, built from a single potato.
Why I Make Potatoes O’Brien For One
Few breakfasts beat a hot skillet of Potatoes O’Brien: diced potatoes fried until the edges go deep golden and crisp, with sweet red and green bell peppers softened right into them.
The dish sits somewhere between classic breakfast potatoes and a skillet hash brown. I use a Yukon gold because the flesh turns buttery and holds its shape in the pan.
O’Brien is my maiden name, so I’ll admit I’m a little partial to these potatoes. When I wanted them for one, I hit a problem: almost every version feeds four to eight people, and none scale down cleanly. So I built this recipe from scratch, testing until I landed on the right amounts. One Yukon gold fills a plate, with no bowl of leftover diced potato to store, and the whole thing comes from a few ingredients you probably keep on hand.
The payoff is that first forkful, when the crisp edges give way to a tender center and the peppers turn sweet against the butter and salt. These are great on their own, or served with a fried egg and toast on the side.
To round out the plate, try my Cheesy Baked Eggs for one or a Bacon, Egg and Cheese Cup, and if you prefer your breakfast potatoes shredded, my Hash Browns for one is the diced version’s close cousin.
Ingredient Notes
These O’Brien potatoes come together from a few easy-to-find ingredients. If you have any ingredients leftover, our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder will help you find ways to use them.
Potato: I use one medium Yukon gold. Yukon golds have a naturally buttery flesh and hold their shape as they cook, so the outsides brown while the centers stay tender. Russet or red potatoes work too. Peel the potato and cut it into even ½-inch pieces, a medium dice, so everything cooks at the same rate. Extra potatoes? Use them in Borscht for one or Chicken Stew for one.
Butter: One tablespoon browns the potatoes and adds richness. If you’d rather cook with oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, and olive oil all work.
Onion: Half a cup of chopped onion gives the dish a little sweetness and savory depth. A yellow or sweet onion is my usual choice.
Bell Peppers (Red and Green): I use a mix of red and green for color and a mild sweetness, but any color works, so reach for what you have. Use extra peppers in a Philly Cheesesteak or a Vegetarian Chili For One.
Garlic: One minced clove adds a savory, aromatic base. Fresh is best, though about ½ teaspoon of jarred minced garlic does the job too.
Seasoning: I like using my homemade Creole seasoning for its savory, mildly spicy flavor, and the recipe is written around it. Salt and black pepper, garlic salt, or lemon pepper are all fine if that’s what you have.
Recipe Variations
This Potatoes O’Brien recipe is easy to adjust, whether you’d rather bake it than pan-fry or stir a few extras into the skillet.
Oven-Baked Potatoes O’Brien: To make these in the oven, toss the diced potato, peppers, onion, and seasoning with the melted butter, then spread everything on a small sheet pan. Roast at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the potatoes are golden and tender.
Cheesy Potatoes O’Brien: Stir about ¼ cup of shredded cheddar into the potatoes in the last minute of cooking, just until it melts.
Potatoes O’Brien with Bacon: Cook 1 strip of bacon in the skillet first, then fry the potatoes in the drippings in place of the butter. Crumble the bacon and stir it back in before serving.
How To Make Potatoes O’Brien
These step-by-step photos show how to make Potatoes O’Brien crispy in a skillet. For exact measurements and full instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the diced potato and boil for 3 minutes, then drain well and set it aside. This softens the inside so the potato crisps quickly in the skillet instead of staying raw in the center.
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. When it sizzles, add the potato to one side of the pan and the onion, bell peppers, and garlic to the other. Keeping them apart lets the potato brown while the vegetables soften.
- Sprinkle everything with the seasoning. Stir the vegetables now and then, but leave the potato undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes so it forms a golden crust.
- Once the potato is golden on the bottom, stir everything together and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the pieces are as browned as you like. Taste and add salt if needed.
A cast-iron skillet gives the potato the best color, though a regular 10-inch skillet works too. That’s what I used for these photos.
Expert Tips
Use a 10-inch skillet and keep the potato in a single layer. A wider pan gives each piece room to touch the hot surface and brown. Crowd them and they steam instead, coming out soft. Cast iron holds heat well and gives the best color.
Cut the potato into even ½-inch pieces. When the pieces match in size, they finish cooking together, so you avoid a mix of soft and still-firm bites.
Get the butter hot before the potato goes in. It should be melted and sizzling. A hot pan sears the surface on contact, so the potato crisps instead of soaking up fat.
Don’t move the potato too soon. Let it cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes, until a golden crust forms on the bottom, then stir. Turning it early keeps that crust from setting.
What To Serve With Potatoes O’Brien
Potatoes O’Brien is at home on a breakfast plate or next to dinner, so here are a few single serving recipes to round out the meal.
- Poached eggs and hollandaise from my Eggs Benedict for one
- A quick frittata for one when you want a full breakfast
- Warm butter swim biscuits on the side
- A Salisbury steak for one to make it a meat-and-potatoes dinner
Troubleshooting
If your Potatoes O’Brien isn’t turning out quite right, here is how to fix common issues like soggy potatoes, centers that stay hard, or pieces that stick to the pan.
Why are my Potatoes O’Brien soggy instead of crispy?
Soggy potatoes usually mean the pan was too crowded or not hot enough. Spread the potatoes into a single layer, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let them cook without stirring for a few minutes so the bottoms can brown. Too many pieces at once trap steam, which softens them instead of crisping them.
Why are my potatoes still hard in the middle?
Hard centers mean the potatoes need more time to cook through before they brown. Lower the heat, add a splash of water, and cover the pan for 3 to 4 minutes to steam them soft, then uncover and raise the heat to crisp the outsides. Par-boiling the diced potato for 3 minutes before it goes in the skillet prevents this in the first place.
Why do my potatoes stick to the pan?
Potatoes stick when they’re moved before a crust has formed. Let them cook undisturbed until the bottoms turn golden and release on their own, usually 3 to 4 minutes, then stir. Making sure the butter is hot and the pan has enough of it also keeps them from grabbing.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Potatoes O’Brien are diced potatoes cooked with bell peppers and onions, while hash browns are shredded potatoes cooked on their own. They start from the same potato but use a different cut and different add-ins.
Yes. Toss the diced potato, peppers, onion, and seasoning with melted butter, spread them on a small sheet pan, and roast at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway, until golden and tender.
Potatoes O’Brien are a classic American dish of diced potatoes pan-fried with red and green bell peppers and onions. They’re most often served as a breakfast side but work at lunch or dinner too.
Yes. Cook frozen diced potatoes straight from the freezer in a hot, buttered skillet without thawing, spread in a single layer so they brown instead of steam. To bake them, roast at 425°F (220°C) for about 20 minutes.
Cook them in a hot, buttered skillet in a single layer. Get the butter sizzling before the potato goes in, and leave the pieces undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes so the bottoms turn golden before you stir.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
Made these homemade Potatoes O’Brien? Leave a star rating and a comment below to let me know how they turned out.
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Potatoes O’Brien For One
Equipment
- 10-inch skillet or cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 medium Yukon gold potato – peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup chopped onions (about ½ small onion)
- ¾ cup chopped red bell pepper (about ½ bell pepper)
- ¾ cup chopped green bell pepper (about ½ bell pepper)
- 1 clove garlic – minced
- ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning
- salt, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the diced potato and boil for 3 minutes, just until slightly softened, then drain well.
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. When it sizzles, add the potato to one side of the pan and the onion, bell peppers, and garlic to the other.
- Sprinkle everything with Creole seasoning. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring the vegetables occasionally but leaving the potato undisturbed, until the potato is golden on the bottom.
- Stir everything together and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the potato is browned all over. Taste and add salt if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I boiled my diced potato for 8 minutes and used Greek seasoning after the potatoes and rest of veggies were done frying. Then covered all the ingredients with a whipped raw egg and quicky stirred it (like scrambled egg). It was soooo good!!
Thank you so much! Boiling the potato first and finishing it with a whipped egg and Greek seasoning sounds wonderful. Such a great variation!
One of my favorite side dishes next to a well done cheeseburger. These potatoes have a great taste. Nothing compares to their taste, in my opinion. Especially with the hot melted butter. Butter seems to be an important add-on. But it’s all good.
I made these today using tiny potatoes that I microwaved and three colored peppers that were sliced for snacking, and I cut up an onion and cooked the onions and the peppers and the garlic from a jar and then added the potatoes and flavored them, and they were delicious. I had them for lunch.And I’m gonna have them with a meatloaf tonight for supper.
Two words: Oh, yum!
Love your recipes, because they just wright amounts.
I love garlic so I added a minced clove.
Thank you for including the QR code. I can scan it, send it to my WW app and immediately get both the recipe and the points. I’ll rate the recipe once I’ve made it, but everything looks like it will be delicious.
Great recipe.
Thank you!