Crisp Sautéed Red Potatoes Recipe
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I love new baby red potatoes. They’re simple to prepare and you don’t need much to make them delicious. You don’t even need to bother with peeling the skin. Actually the thin skins are delicious; crisp with a sprinkling of course salt. Mmmm.
My husband and son couldn’t wait to eat them so I let my boys grab forks and enjoy these straight out of the pan with some good quality ketchup. They make a great side dish to beef, chicken, or any kind of meat, really. I hope you love these taters!
Ingredients for Pan Fried Baby Red Potatoes:
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes (cut in half or quartered to make 3/4-inch thick pieces)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt (preferably kosher or sea salt), to taste
Black pepper (freshly ground), to taste
2 Tbsp chives or green onion, chopped, plus more to garnish
How to Make Sautéed Red Potatoes:
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once butter is melted and hot, arrange potatoes in the skillet, cut-side-down in one layer. Cook uncovered and undisturbed 8-10 minutes or until golden brown crust forms on the bottoms.
2. Turn potatoes then cover and cook another 5 minutes or until golden brown on the second side, you’ll hear it spit and splatter under the lid; just be careful when you first lift of the lid as juices from the lid can dribble into the pan and splatter.
Keep the wee ones away from the stove. In hind sight, a dutch oven with taller walls might have been a better choice to cook these.
3. Turn the potatoes again, cover and cook another 5 minutes or until you can easily pierce potatoes with a knife. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt (I used about 3/4 tsp salt) & pepper (I used about 1/8 tsp pepper) toss with 2 Tbsp chives. Sprinkle with more fresh chives just before serving and enjoy.
P.S. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you should get one! They are non-stick and they cook food evenly. You can use them on the stove top, in the oven, on a grill and even over a camp fire!
The one I have is a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet – Lodge is a US company that has been around for centuries! The skillets are not expensive either and they can last you a lifetime (no one paid me to say that). I’m getting my mom one for Mother’s day.
Crisp Sautéed Red Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once butter is melted and hot, arrange potatoes in the skillet, cut-side-down in one layer. Cook uncovered and undisturbed 8-10 minutes or until golden brown crust forms on the bottoms.
- Turn potatoes then cover and cook another 5 minutes or until golden brown on the second side, you'll hear it spit and splatter under the lid; just be careful when you first lift of the lid as juices from the lid can dribble into the pan and splatter. Keep the wee ones away from the stove. In hind sight, a dutch oven with taller walls might have been a better choice to cook these.
- Turn the potatoes again, cover and cook another 5 minutes or until you can easily pierce potatoes with a knife. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt & pepper (I used about 3/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper), toss with 2 Tbsp chives. Sprinkle with more fresh chives just before serving and enjoy.
I’m so ready for garden grown goodness! Do you keep a garden? What kind of foods do you grow?
These are excellent! I didn’t have any onions or chives, but I did have Penzy’s “Justice” seasoning which is similar in taste and I sprinkled it liberally on the potatoes and they were delicious. The potatoes were perfectly cooked and this side was a hit!
Hi Kristine, good to know that it turned out great using that substition. Thanks for sharing that with us!
I love this recipe. The one downside is you can’t fit many potatoes in a regular-sized pan because all of them have to touch bottom to fry. Would need a HUGE pan to make enough for my family of 5.
Hi Christina, we used this 10-inch Lodge Cast Iron Skillet and it worked great for a family of 4.
My mom used to make this and it was a fav growing up….minus the chives. But I want to make them with chives
I hope this becomes your new favorite recipe!
Natasha,
An excellent recipe all around. I made these last night with red potatoes I pulled out of my garden. The technique you described was perfect. Made then exactly as you described and they turned out wonderfully. Thank you for so many good recipes.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Chris!
Fantastic recipe!
Instead of butter, I used a generous spoon of high-quality ghee and it took the flavor to a whole new level.
Thanks, Natasha!
That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with us Natalia! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Delicious! Cooked exactly like you said! After it was done I sprinkled it with vegan Parmesan cheese (homemade – cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic salt) and it then made it out-of-this-world delicious!! Yum!
Thank you for the great review Nina!
That’s our favorite vegan Parmesan too. Yum!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us! I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
This has become my go-to for baby potatoes. So easy and tasty! Thanks
You’re welcome David! I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe just worked great. I added a chopped shallot, fresh pressed garlic, oregano, and chopped green pepper. I didn’t have any chives so I had to skip it. I also used a non-stick pan on very low since I didn’t have a skillet… but I still followed the specific times and used a lid as noted in the recipe which worked great to get the skin crispy. Thanks!!!
My pleasure Leah! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this recipe so many times and it always turns out delicious! Now I’m curious… Is it possible to use the same recipe but different types of potatoes (not red)?
Hi Sandra, I think that would work fine, especially if it is another waxy potato like yukon gold.
agreed…a russet potato would not work here
Thank you, for providing this simple and tasty recipe that allows me to quicken cook fresh potatoes to replace the frozen ones!
You are welcome Steven, I’m glad you like the recipe 😄.
Same old story. Tired of coming up with new and interesting ideas for potatoes when I came across your recipe for crisp sautéed red potatoes. PERFECT!!! Had all the ingredients, followed recipe(except for cast iron pan…) and they were delicious!! Thanks!!
Dory, thank you for such a nice review, I’m so happy you like them 😁.
Sorry Natasha, this recipe was a fail. I followed directions, and even used a cast iron skillet. After 8 minutes the potatoes were burning (medium heat). Then turning and covering them (twice!) caused them to be soggy (from the steam hitting the lid). I cannot understand how you can have crisp potatoes if they are covered during cooking.
It sounds like your stove was too hot. Not all stoves are created equal, some run hotter, some cooler. I suggest turning the heat down if they are browning too fast. The initial cooking undisturbed and uncovered helps release the steam so that when they are cooked, the skins are dry and crisp on the potatoes.
Fat
Hello Natasha,
This looks delicious. However, I wanted to know whether we can attain the same crispy taste if we had baked them instead of using a skillet. And if we can bake them, how hot should the oven be? Please and thanks.
Emmie, when I’m looking for crisp, oven roasted potatoes, I use this recipe.
Will these turn out with just a stainless steel skillet or pan? I plan to get a cast iron but don’t have one now.
It will work out but it may stick more with a stainless steel pan. Do you have good ones that are fairly non-stick?
Love the pictures, Natasha! We cook these at least once a week out on the grill in a Lodge cast Iron skillet and sprinkle a little fresh rosemary and sea salt on them right before serving. Simple, easy, and delicious!
Thank you! 🙂 I hadn’t though to put my cast iron skillet on the grill. That’s a great idea! 🙂
Natasha! So gorgeous!!! It’s a cross between classic baby reds and Russian Zharenaya katroshka 🙂
Thanks Mila 🙂
Natasha, I enjoy your blog, I made so many of your recipes! My husband said you should quit nursing and open your own restaurant, because the food is so good!
Lol. I like where you’re going with this. I’m not sure I’d like having a restaurant though; maybe lets just call it a cookbook. 🙂
Love the way you changed your layout!
Thank you Julie :).
I am loving the new layout and the headbar that stuck at the top! and the color scheme goes perfectly with your logo! Good job!
Thank you Marina ;), still working out little details here and there.
Aw, I wish you didn’t update your website. It is really hard to use it now on my mobile device – and I am always on your website looking for new recipes to try. Hopefully the format will not turn me away from your site!
Oksana, thank you for bringing that to my attention. Site is still being updated for the mobile version, please check in a little bit.
These potatoes look so crispy and mouth watering!
Thank you Ami 🙂 They are exactly that 😉
Mmmm…these look delicious-I also like that you present recipes with simple ingredients and simple instructions, that, however, ultimately have complex taste and texture and taste wonderfully-thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for your sweet words. You’re so very welcome 🙂
Those look so good!
Thank you Chloe, they taste even better :).
Mmmm potatoes and butter….sigh of happiness! Most importantly, why have I never thought of making my potatoes in a skillet?! I love my cast iron skillet. I love potatoes. The combo is fabulous! Can’t wait to make these! Thanks for another weeknight fav!
You are welcome Lindsey,its a fabulous combo indeed :).
this looks delicious!! my hubbys favorite meal: sauteed potatoes. is that a cast iron skillet?
Yes! I shared a little bit about the skillet in the middle of the post. It’s quickly becoming my favorite skillet. I only have one, but I want 10 more 😉
These potatoes look like a perfect weeknight side, Natasha! Love how golden and crispy they look! And oh, I’m so with you on anticipating fresh garden produce. — I just planted my spring veggies for the year!
How fun! What did you plant? I’m always curious what folks are growing!
I planted peas, radishes, onions, 2 kinds of lettuce, and spinach. Waiting for it to warm up a bit more, so we can get our summer veggies in! 🙂
Sounds like you’ll have some amazing salads this summer!
We grow potatoes, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, snap peas, beets, strawberries, raspberries. I love homegrown veggies & fruits!!
Nothing like picking fresh raspberries in the morning for breakfast, right? We also grow raspberries. Sounds like quite a garden!