Last Updated on June 25, 2025
This delicious Pan Fried Potatoes and onions Recipe is a way to up your game in the kitchen. Perfectly browned on the outside and tender on the inside, these potatoes and Onions will be a hit with your whole family. It is a versatile Side Dish for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. It is comfort food that goes with just about any main Dish.
I’m always looking for ways to change up potato Side Dishes. Like: Garlic Salt and Oregano Baked Potato, or Caramelized Onions Mashed Potatoes or Crispy Home Fries.
Mashed russet potatoes or oven-browned red Potato Recipes are great too. But, these pan-fried slabs of Yukon gold potatoes combined with caramelized onions are terrific.
It’s a perfect side dish with chicken, pork, or beef.
This dish is also known as Lyonnaise Potatoes, from Lyon, France. So if you serve these for company, they are not just fried onions and potatoes, they are Lyonnaise Potatoes! Impressive to be sure.
Ingredients for Fried Potatoes and Onions
For full information on ingredients and quantities, please see the recipe card below. Basically, you will need butter, potatoes, onions, and garlic. Also, fresh parsley is a nice touch for a garnish.
First off, the type of potato you use is important. Yukon golds are the perfect potato for this dish.
They are generally medium-sized potatoes, and they are waxy potatoes that hold together well when fried.
Russets are not recommended because they have a lot more starch, and when cooked, they start to get soft and flake apart. That’s why they are great for mashing or Au Gratin.
Next, in order to get a crispy exterior and creamy middle, start with pretty hefty slabs of potatoes.
Slice Potatoes so that they are 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick. They will take some time to get golden brown and the extra thickness allows the interior to cook through and be tender in the middle.
I like to use yellow onions for this tasty Side Dish. A sweet onion could also be used if they are in season. Slice the onions lengthwise from the root to the head. They will separate well and leave you with nice-sized strands of sauteed onions.
Potato and Onion Cooking Process
Start with a large skillet. At least a 12″ diameter. The pan in the photos is 12″ stainless steel. Also, a large Cast Iron skillet would work for pan frying raw potatoes.
Melt the butter on medium-low heat. I like using butter rather than vegetable or canola oil because the flavor is better. Olive oil could also be used or even half butter and half olive oil.
Butter can burn if it is fried at too high of a temperature. Medium-low heat is perfect since the Sliced Potatoes are relatively thick and will take some time to cook all the way through.
Given the extra time, they will brown nicely too.
Place the cut potatoes into the skillet in a single layer if possible. If there are too many to do this, use some tongs and a fork to rotate the potatoes to brown equally.
It will take 15 or 20 minutes to evenly brown all of the potato slices.
Once the potatoes are nicely browned, toss in the onions and a little salt and give them a stir to combine. Lower the temperature of your stove and cover the skillet.
You need a low temperature to caramelize the onions rather than burn them.
About every two minutes, uncover the pan and give them another stir. After about ten minutes, the onions should be softened and have some nice color.
Add the minced garlic right at the end of cooking and let the garlic get some fragrance by stirring it in and letting it cook for a couple of minutes.
Serving the Potatoes
It would also be nice to sprinkle on some chopped fresh parsley when you serve this. That is the true Lyonnaise potato style.
As a dinner side dish, serve the crispy Pan-Fried Potatoes with chicken drumsticks or a nice steak.
The fried Potatoes And onions could be part of a hearty Breakfast with scrambled eggs.
Any leftovers should be kept refrigerated in an airtight container. Reheat them on the stovetop in a hot skillet with a little bit of oil added so that they can brown again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as no gluten-containing seasonings or coatings are added, this dish is naturally gluten-free.
Use a heavy-bottomed skillet, preheat the oil properly, avoid overcrowding the pan, and don’t move the potatoes too early. Let them form a crust before flipping.
Waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold or red potatoes hold their shape well and get crispy outside while staying creamy inside. Russets also work for an extra crispy texture, but they can break apart more easily.
We had the Lyonnaise potatoes with bone-in pork chops that I browned on the stovetop and finished in the Oven. It was good eats! They remind me of Morton’s Steakhouse Lyonnaise Recipe served with a Porterhouse Steak!
Give this potato and onion recipe a try…I think you’ll like it.
Pan Fried Potatoes and Onions-Lyonnaise Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced to 3/8" to 1/2" thick slabs
- 2 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly, lengthwise
- 4 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Carefully add the potatoes in a single layer to the skillet. Salt and pepper the potatoes.
- Brown the potatoes by turning and rotating their positioning in the skillet with a pair of tongs, until all the slabs are nicely browned. This will take 15 to 20 minutes depending on the heat of your stove.
- Set your stove heat to low and add the sliced onions, salt them slightly, and stir into the potatoes. Cover the skillet and every 2 minutes, uncover and stir. After about 10 minutes the onions should be softened and starting to brown.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve hot garnished with chopped parsley.
Notes
- If you have too many potatoes for a single layer in your skillet, rotate the potatoes using tongs until all are browned.
- Keep the temperature of your skillet no more than 350° F to prevent the butter from burning. Use a laser thermometer to monitor this if you have one.
- This recipe is adapted from Cook's Country and Emeril Lagasse.
Nutrition
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I just tried the pan-fried potatoes and onions recipe, and it was delicious! The golden crispiness paired with the caramelized onions made for the perfect side dish. Thanks for sharing such an easy and flavorful recipe, Joe! I can’t wait to make it again.
Diana
Really simple and delicious. I subbed olive oil for butter with great results.
Kristin Nelson
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it!
Josie
This is a delicious way to make potatoes!