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Better-Than-a-Restaurant Home Fries

by:
May  2, 2017
4.6
13 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

My husband makes these ingenious homefries by puréeing an onion with oil and using that as the coating—it's one of the top five reasons I married him! —Zelda

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: One of the top 5 reasons Brittany married her husband was for his home fries (she is a smart woman!).
WHAT: Crisp-yet-tender home fries with a serious garlic punch—and no frying.
HOW: Purée half an onion with a whole head (yep!) of garlic, salt, paprika, and oil. Toss potato chunks in the oniony slush, then spread out on baking sheets and wait for the smell of frying potatoes.
WHY WE LOVE IT: There’s no risk of soggy or burnt potatoes (and no par-boiling, or hot oil, or precarious flipping). Instead, the potato cubes bake in the oven coated in an onion-garlic-oil purée that bakes into a crispy crust while infusing every potato with flavor. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 2 pounds red or yellow potatoes
  • 1/2 medium onion (about 2 ounces)
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1/2 cup frying oil (we use grapeseed)
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Heat your oven to 475° F.
  2. Wash your potatoes, then cut into approximately 1-inch chunks (peeling if desired).
  3. Place all remaining ingredients in a food processor, blender, or cup for use with an immersion blender. Purée.
  4. Toss potatoes with the onion mixture until thoroughly coated. You might have extra mix leftover if you used a large onion. Do not skimp on the coating; you want it *almost* too-wet looking.
  5. Spread evenly on a baking sheet (or two). Make sure the potatoes are evenly spread so they cook uniformly; I've always found it easier to use 2 pans with fewer spuds each than to cram them all on one.
  6. Roast in the hot oven until deeply browned and smelling fragrant. I start checking for doneness around the 30-minute mark to ensure they don't burn. If you had to use two pans and put them on two racks, make sure to rotate after 20 minutes or so.
  7. Serve immediately with ketchup, or my favorite: a 30/30/30 mix of ketchup, mustard, and horseradish cream.
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37 Reviews

Write a Review
Erin August 12, 2020
Made these with breakfast for dinner last night and they were great. I diced the potatoes pretty small for faster cooking but they still took about 40 minutes to cook. The garlic didn't burn on me, but we don't mind intensely flavored garlic. These were great - what a clever idea.
LizCo77 May 21, 2019
I’ve made these twice, and they are delicious! I roasted the garlic and onion before blending the second time, because I was looking for just a bit more subtlety of flavor. People were in love. Best ever, raving mad, OMGing, etc. thank you for the awesome recipe!
Martin February 18, 2019
The garlic puree that isn't on the potatoes gets burnt every time, as someone else mentioned. Is there a way to avoid this? I've tried lowering the temperature, but then I feel like the potatoes are not crispy. Is there too much puree? I measure everything with a scale, so nothing is wrong there. The potatoes are also dry before adding them with the puree.
KittyKate December 25, 2018
I made these for Christmas day brunch, & they were amazing! I was pretty worried after about 15 to 20 minutes, because the garlic oil looked awfully burnt, & I was worried the potatoes would taste of nothing but burnt garlic. But they were absolutely delicious, crisp on the outside, wonderfully creamy inside, & no burnt flavor. Will be making these again & again, thank you for a great recipe!
Katy August 5, 2018
What kind of mustard do you use for your sauce? Potatoes were delicious. Next time I would definitely cook at lower temperature as others have suggested
Lou March 30, 2018
How about cooking it in a convection oven how long would it take in what temperature
Martin January 18, 2018
This is good. Wife, who loves garlic, loves the puree and wants to make it just to put it on bread. Definitely won't be making fries any other way from now on.
Phyllis G. October 25, 2017
love this idea!
Stephanie October 24, 2017
This is pure brilliance. I have been cooking without oil, so threw an onion into the blender with about half a cup of tahini, using water to thin it out as needed. My kids now ask for home fries all the time.
Monica M. October 15, 2017
I was very excited to try this recipe as I love onion and garlic. Tried it but while I thought it was good, it was not nearly as tasty as I thought it would be. It's just ok, for me.
judy September 26, 2017
I do versions of this all the time, with all kinds of veggies. Last night it was summer squash. I chunk up winter squash as well and do this. I put all the coating ingredients in th bottom of a large salad bowl, Throw in the chunked veggies, toss until well coated, then put on sheet pans and roast. Beets, peppers, carrots, brussel sprouts, mushrooms. I agree with others, only need a fraction of the oil called for in the recipe.
fraisage September 7, 2017
Just made this today and loved it. For a fairly simple list of ingredients the method really makes something extraordinary. I felt it tasted better than any of the previous butter-smothered/cheese-engulfed/herb-laden (not that any of these were bad) for far less work. I did use an entire medium onion and only about 1/3 C oil (with a bit saved to oil the pan), and lowered the heat to about 425F just because my oven tends to scorch well-used pans at anything higher. The real testament to this recipe is my potato-ambivalent mother stating "If I really wanted to I'd fight you for these and eat the entire pan." My father also decided to forego a bowl of rice with dinner in favor of a plate of these potatoes.
Steve S. September 3, 2017
A head of garlic....you mean an entire head, right? As in 10-15 cloves?
Zelda September 3, 2017
Yep!
carolcamille August 30, 2017
Brilliant!
Neta S. July 29, 2017
I never thought a potato recipe could surprize me
BUT, this one was totaly different and super tasty
thank's for sharing
Jana D. July 24, 2017
This sounds bloody delicious! I'll be sure to try it. And with sweet potatoes too!
Behind T. July 18, 2017
I LOVE that this recipe looks easy and something I love to eat!!! This will absolutely be put on my "to-make" list for breakfast alongside one of my favorite egg dishes like my TexMex Migas or Huevos Rancheros which are both on my site www.behindtheplates.com !!!
laura June 23, 2017
I tried this recipe with sweet potatoes - sooooooo good! I love how easily this achieves an intensely full flavor and the crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside texture balance. I will come back to this recipe. Congrats on the win!
Kim June 11, 2017
These were great! Such a fun addition to the fancy breakfast lineup. I made the onion/garlic/oil with less oil, just enough to blend smoothly in a high-speed blender (maybe 5 or 6 tbsp) and just made another batch. Very handy to plop in stir fried things, shakshuka, etc. Like upgraded garlic!

I had success lining a cookie sheet with foil and dicing the potatoes about like pictured. I used about a tablespoon more than I thought the three large yukons needed to roast, so not as much as the recipe says. I roasted at 425 for about 35 minutes, when the onion/garlic was fully cooked. If I did it again (I will!) I'd maybe even lower the temperature a little more, or more likely, parboil and finish in cast iron (just like my preferred crispy potato method).

In short, this recipe rules. Thanks for the super useful trick!
Beth June 9, 2017
I had one hellofatime with these! Started them in the oven and they were just one soggy mess and they were sticking and burning. I transferred to a cast iron skillet that dried them up a bit and then I finished them off in the oven again. The flavor is amazing, they just didn't seem to cook right form.