Sweet Potato Home Fries
Our youngest daughter has no problem eating the same breakfast every day. Let’s just say she gets on a certain food wave and rides it like there’s nothing else to eat. Last spring it was bagels … every morning. I would try to fix oatmeal or scrambled eggs, but all she wanted was a bagel and a schmear. Once I figured out how to make Parmesan Sprouted Wheat Bagels, we could both be happy about breakfast.
At least until she didn’t want that anymore…
Her request at the start of this school year was breakfast burritos—egg, bacon, cheese, and potato—which is far more involved than toasting a bagel. I love to cook, but making these individual components every morning is not an exciting proposition, even if sizzling bacon does sound like applause the moment it hits a cast iron skillet. The solution was to prep everything in advance for the entire week, save the eggs, so the daily effort was minimal.
When cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost every day, shortcuts help retain one’s sanity.
So during this burrito-every-morning season I discovered that Sweet Potato Home Fries reheat fabulously and if you’re not stuck in a burrito rut like us, you’ll have a head start on breakfast skillets or casseroles too. Of course, you are not limited to making breakfast easier; they work just as well in other recipes like soups or stews. Last week I needed a little more bulk for a Savory Butternut Squash Soup and a few ready-made home fries did the trick.
There is no big secret I’m uncovering here by making a batch of potatoes in advance—there are scores of prepackaged potato products in stores for the hurried consumer. However, for a recipe that requires minimal ingredients, including one of the least expensive vegetables to buy, why settle for ingredients you can hardly pronounce? Based on the added expense and ingredient list in a package of Ore-Ida® prepared potatoes, making your own is a simple way to save a few pennies as well as avoid unhealthy oils and additives. Using sweet potatoes makes it an even better choice nutritionally.
Ore-Ida® Roasted Original Ingredients List:
potatoes, vegetable oils (sunflower, cottonseed, soybean and/or canola), modified food starch, contains 2% or less of: rice flour, salt, tapioca dextrin, cornstarch, spice, black pepper, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), dextrose, garlic powder, xanthan gum, disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate, annatto (vegetable color).
If you’re lucky enough to have bacon grease or beef tallow on hand, it is ideal for frying potatoes of any kind. Since we also cook bacon or sausage in advance for the week, it is easy to follow up with the Sweet Potato Home Fries in the same skillet. Slightly sweet with a tender bite and crisp edges, all these home fries need is a generous sprinkle of flaked sea salt and a touch of fresh parsley. Just like regular potato home fries, there is no need to peel the sweet potatoes, simply scrub them and slice or cube to your preferred size.
You’ll want to enjoy these fresh, even nibble on them while taking photos like I did, but the added bonus is knowing you have more hidden away for later too!
Sweet Potato Home Fries
Ingredients
- 3 medium sweet potatoes -- scrubbed and cubed
- 1/4 cup bacon grease , beef tallow, or coconut oil -- more as needed
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley -- minced
- sea salt -- flaked sea salt adds a nice crunch
Instructions
- Scrub sweet potatoes with a vegetable brush under running warm water so the skin is thoroughly clean. Slice or cube sweet potatoes to desired size -- 1 inch cubes works well -- cutting away any blemishes on the potatoes.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the potatoes, careful not to overcrowd the skillet, and cover with a lid. Depending on the size of the skillet you may need to cook the potatoes in two batches.
- Cook covered for about 2 minutes, then carefully remove the lid without tilting and set the lid aside, face down on a paper towel to absorb the moisture. Stir potatoes to check if they are beginning to brown.
- Return the lid to the skillet and continue cooking the potatoes, checking and stirring about every 2-3 minutes until the sweet potatoes are golden brown on almost every side and fork tender in the middle.
- Remove from the skillet and drain on a paper towel lined platter. Season generously with sea salt and sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot or allow to cool and store until needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Shared on the following Blog Hops:
Real Food Forager Fat Tuesday
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Raymund says
We used to growing up with this kind of fries, sweet potatoes are so abundant in the Philippines we have different snacks made out of this wonder root crop
ChgoJohn says
You know, Judy, I’ve never considered making a large batch of home fries and storing them for later use. This is a great idea, especially for the one-person household. And it’s downright scary when you take the time to read labels. Something as plain as home fries should not have an ingredient list of over 2o0 items. I like your idea of convenience much better.
Judy says
Read a sour cream label some time, it’s crazy what they put in there. It’s been a long time since I cooked for just one, though the time is approaching quickly when our youngest graduates in May that it will be only two. Something tells me there will be food to give away or I’ll have to really refine my storing skills. 🙂
mjskit says
I had to laugh reading this because when I was growing up we ate whatever Mama put on the table for breakfast. We didn’t really have a choice. 🙂 What a good mother you are! Love Sweet Potato Home Fries!!! I’ve never made them with bacon grease but, since I do have a jar in the fridge, I will be using that next time. So simple and so good! Yours look delicious!
Judy says
MJ, I know exactly what you mean, we never had any input on what was served when I was growing up either. I think that influenced my desire to be more accommodating to my kid’s likes and dislikes over the years. I know I feel better about sending them out the door with something I know they will eat. 🙂
And the bacon grease … I remember mom having a can of grease on hand all the time. We don’t cook bacon nearly as often as when I was a kid, but I have learned to render beef tallow and make ghee. Good stuff!
Tammy/Our Neck of the Woods says
Ooooh delicious! These look amazing. Can’t wait to try it out! I have some sweet potatoes lingering in my pantry…
Judy says
Thanks for commenting Tammy, if you like sweet potatoes, you’ll love these. 🙂
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I’ve made sweet potato fries a lot but I’ve never “home fried” them like this. I want some right now. 🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Home fries are delicious but I’m like Jed, I haven’t made them using sweet potatoes. I’ll have to rectify that soon.
Judy says
Thanks for stopping by, Karen, I think you’ll enjoy them very much. 🙂
Jed Gray (sportsglutton) says
A breakfast burrito everyday…that is quite the chore. Glad you found a short cut, and why have I never made sweet potato home fries before?? Sounds like breakfast is calling me!
Judy says
Jed, I think you’ll like sweet potatoes this way, just don’t skimp on the salt … just something about the salty and sweet. 🙂