New! Delicious Appalachian Fried Potatoes (fried taters)

With a latent smoky flavor running through every bite, these iconically Appalachian Fried potatoes perfectly showcase the humble-yet-delicious style of cooking that is so typical of the region. They go with everything, and cost so very little to make. Plus? There’s bacon.

If you like the looks of my Appalachian Fried Potatoes recipe, you might also want to check out my Southern Tater Soup (such a lovable little name, right?), these lemon crunch potatoes, and maybe this healthy tater tots recipe as well. I’ve also got a simple and straightforward potato wedges recipe here that’s always a winner.

Why we love this Appalachian Fried Potatoes Recipe

It’s easy. It’s tasty. It’s all done in one-pan. It smells like a dream as they cook. Everyone loves it. It goes with everything under the sun.

The list is long, guys. And as such, these Appalachian Fried Potatoes are glorious and a true kitchen essential type of recipe.

What are Appalachian Fried Potatoes?

Southern fried potatoes and/or Appalachian fried potatoes are like so many other recipes that live in the mountain tradition – the way you make them largely depends on what you grew up with and what you love. So many people I’ve talked to about this exact food swear that the way their papaw makes/made them is the best – the “only way.” It’s these deep allegiances to familial traditions that has me forever smitten with Appalachian cooking.

Appalachian fried potatoes are such a simple thing, really. Most often (as with a LOT of Appalachian recipes) their story begins with bacon. The rendered fat from six or seven slices provides the perfect launch pad for the whole recipe to unfold. It’s smokiness for me, though. I like to sprinkle the crispy bacon bits all over the potatoes when I serve them. They also have some onions going on in the mix, and whatever herbs and seasonings you see fit to use. That’s really it. Easy, simple and totally delicious.

Keys to Authentic and Delicious Appalachian Fried Potatoes

1. How to cut them? You can slice and dice your potatoes as you like, opting to either slice them into coins or rounds as I have done, or diced into more O’Brien style cubes. It’s really up to you and a total preference thing. I just like the way the sliced potatoes look – supremely and undeniably homemade.
2. What pan to use? If you’ve got one, you’ll want to use a solid cast iron pan for these – the heavy-bottomed structure makes for perfectly cooked potatoes. But you can definitely make these in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet just as well.
3. Take your time. These Appalachian fried potatoes take time to both tenderize and crisp up for you, so just be patient and all will be great. We’re not going to boil the potatoes first, as I do with say, my favorite and best baked french fries recipe. Nope, that’s not the Appalachian way, and so we won’t even go about fiddling with that. They won’t get that iconic crispy crust if we don’t really let them do all of their cooking in the skillet. So, just add them to the bacon grease in the hot cast iron pan, and let them do their thing. You’ll only need to stir them occasionally, and they’ll cook down and darken as the minutes tick by.

Ways to serve these Appalachian Fried Potatoes

This is the side dish to end all side dishes, I think. I mean, the whole thing begins and ends with bacon, so you know it’s going to be good. Plus, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more congenial and flexible food than a well seasoned potato – they get along with literally everyone and everything on a dinner table, a breakfast table and all the things in between.

Serve it as part of a great breakfast spread

Speaking of breakfast, these Appalachian Fried Potatoes make for fantastic breakfast potatoes, standing in nicely for your classic home fries or hash browns quite nicely. They’d be stellar alongside my Sausage and Croissant Breakfast Casserole or its sweeter cousin – this Maple Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast Casserole (it’s one of the world’s wonders).

It would be the perfect thing to set on a table filled with the fixins for Easy Breakfast Tostadas, or you might want to pile them up on a plate with these Chili Crisp Fried Eggs. Or, serve them as a savory foil to these Pumpkin Waffles or Bursting Berry Coffee Cake. See? They really do go with basically everything.

Serve them as a great supporting cast member alongside a strong lead act

These Appalachian Fried Potatoes would perfectly complement so many main dishes, but if you’re looking for a little inspirational push, why don’t you try them with my Mississippi Chicken? I’d pile the juicy, shredded chicken on top of a heap of these salty, smoky potatoes and then pour the extra sauce from the chicken all down over top. Hot sauce waiting in the wings. Damn. Yes.

Or, maybe swap them in for the potatoes in my take on Peruvian Lomo Saltado. They’d be the perfect thing to sidle up alongside my favorite pork chops recipe.

Appalachian Fried Potatoes Ingredient Notes

The Potatoes

I think one of the hallmarks of true Appalachian cooking – something I focus on honoring in my first cookbook – is making the very best of what’s around. So, in that vein – please do use the potatoes that you’ve already got. I personally always have potatoes hanging out in my fridge or pantry, so I make my Appalachian Fried Potatoes with whatever I’ve got. From Red Bliss and Russet to Yukon Golds and even the multi-colored fingerling varieties, you can fry any potato, okay? Okay.

The Bacon

I think a lot of true blue, old school Appalachian and Southern cooks keep bacon grease around at all times, just like oil and butter, as a cooking fat. That’s fantastic and something to which I can only aspire. You actually can purchase bacon fat in stores now, which is really helpful if you don’t feel like cooking bacon to make a recipe. You get a big head start there. But for me, I like to fry up about 6 slices of bacon to build my taters on, because then I get the added benefit of the actual bacon bits afterward as well.

The Onion

Again and as always – use what you’ve got here. Be free.

The Herbs and Seasonings

This is where Appalachian Fried Taters get kind of interesting. Some people don’t use any herbs and/or seasonings and prefer to just stick with salt and pepper. That’s great, that’s cool. Me? I kind of wing it when I make them. Maybe a sprinkle of sumac would be nice, or some paprika for a reddish glow. But mostly, I use some sort of herby seasoning blend to keep it simple and fast. I especially love a garlic and herb blend with these, but you should truly use what you like.

How to make Appalachian Fried Taters

1. Cook the bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed (preferably cast iron) skillet until browned and crispy. Set aside for now, leaving the drippings behind.
2. Set the heat to medium and add your potatoes. These will take some time to cook and get super tender and crispy themselves, so just be patient and let them do their thing. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
3. Add the sliced onion, seasoning (if using), and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally (if you stir too frequently the potatoes won’t get as browned and crisp), until the potatoes are deeply browned and golden, and they’re almost totally falling apart.
4. Serve with the reserved bacon over top.

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