If you love crispy breakfast potatoes and the ease of pressure cooking (and really, who doesn’t?), then this is the perfect recipe for you! Use the Instant Pot and your choice of red, russet, or Yukon gold potatoes – or even frozen diced potatoes – to make the crunchy potato dish of your dreams. You can even add eggs and cheese for a hearty, delicious, casserole-like creation that’s amazingly easy to make in 30 minutes!
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The Best No-Bake Breakfast Potatoes
You typically do not hear the words “crispy” and “pressure cooker” in the same sentence. But that is about to change… In fact, I’m willing to bet you won’t be able to stop talking about this amazing crispy breakfast potatoes recipe!
Cubed potatoes, bell peppers, and onions are quickly steamed in the Instant Pot for 5 quick minutes. Then use the same IP to saute bacon and the veggies to a lovely crunchy golden brown.
This delicious breakfast potatoes and onions recipe is the perfect breakfast or brunch dish and ready to enjoy in a flash. It’s sure to make everyone at the table happy with full bellies and clean plates.
Plus this Instant Pot diced potatoes recipe truly could not be more flexible – make it with your favorite type of potatoes, fresh or frozen, with or without bacon and/or eggs and/or cheese. These breakfast potatoes and onions can even be prepared in an air fryer. So many possibilities!
Potatoes, veggies, bacon and eggs and cheese (if you like!) – what’s not to love? Choose your preferred ingredients for an all-in-one morning meal that’s ready in only 30 minutes.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Potatoes – Use any type of potato here: red potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, or russet potatoes. Personally, I love how red potatoes look as crispy breakfast potatoes – plus you don’t need to peel them!
For simplicity’s sake, you can use frozen potatoes (called potatoes O’Brien or frozen diced hash brown potatoes). This lets you skip washing, drying, and cutting up potatoes and will therefore save you several minutes of prep work. - Bell pepper – We used green bell peppers here, but feel free to experiment with different colors. Red and yellow bell peppers will work just as well.
- Onion – This gives the potatoes great flavor.
- Bacon – This adds a wonderful smoky flavor and crunch to this breakfast potatoes and onions recipe.
- Seasoning – We like the combination of All-purpose seasoning and paprika to season these potatoes. But, feel free to use your favorite seasonings like garlic powder and onion powder.
You can also include eggs and cheese in this recipe. If you add eggs you’ll also need a bit of butter.
Kitchen Tools Needed
- Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker)
- Steamer basket or trivet
- optional: air fryer lid
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How to Make Instant Pot Breakfast Potatoes
Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker pot. Place steamer basket into the Instant Pot. Add cubed potatoes in Instant Pot in a steamer basket or use the metal trivet. Twist on the Instant Pot lid and seal lever, if needed. Set pressure cooker for 5 minutes on high pressure.
While the potatoes are pressure cooking, chop the bell pepper and onion. Cut the bacon slices into 1/2″ pieces.
Once pressure cooking is complete, perform a quick release by twisting or pushing the sealing lever to release the pressure. Carefully remove the steamer basket from the Instant Pot (use potholders if it is metal).
Set aside the steamer basket with the potatoes and let any fluid drain from it. Discard the water from the pressure cooker pot.
Press cancel and set the Instant Pot to sauté. Add the chopped bacon to the pot.
Once the fat has rendered from the bacon, add the potatoes, bell pepper, and onions to the pot along with the seasonings.
Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until potatoes are crispy (or see instructions below for air fryer breakfast potatoes). Add a tablespoon of cooking oil if needed.
Recipe Variations
Make Instant Pot breakfast potatoes and eggs. Add scrambled eggs to your crispy breakfast potatoes to make a complete morning meal.
- After sauteing the potatoes, bell pepper, and onions, remove them to a plate. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan, then add your beaten eggs to the pressure cooker pot.
- As the eggs begin to set, push them to the center of the pot until they are cooked to your preference.
Make cheesy Instant Pot breakfast potatoes. This works really well if you plan on air frying your Instant Pot potatoes.
- Add 1/2 cup of cheese over the diced potatoes, bell pepper, and onions after sauteing to make cheesy potatoes.
Make vegetarian and vegan-friendly breakfast potatoes and onion. No meat, no problem!
Skip the bacon. A plant-based crispy potato dish is just as satisfying.
- Omit bacon from the recipe. Use 2 tablespoons of your preferred high heat cooking oil to saute the pressure cooked veggies.
Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes. Use your air fryer lid to make extra crispy breakfast potatoes after pressure cooking!
- Set the air fryer for 375º for 5 minutes for extra crispy breakfast potatoes
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you do not have to boil your potatoes first. The Instant Pot steams the potatoes during pressure cooking. Then you use the saute feature on the pressure cooker to crisp the potatoes before serving.
This breakfast potato recipe is made with potatoes, bell pepper, onion, seasonings, and bacon (optional).
The Complete Recipe for Crispy Diced Breakfast Potatoes
Instant Pot Breakfast Potatoes
Equipment
- steamer basket or trivet
- optional: air fryer lid
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (10-12 medium potatoes) red potatoes, russet potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes, diced to 1-inch cubes (can substitute with a 32 ounce bag of frozen diced potatoes or potatoes O-brien)
- 1 large bell pepper
- 1 small onion
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker pot. Place steamer basket into the Instant Pot. Add potatoes to the steamer basket. Twist on the Instant Pot lid and seal lever, if needed. Set pressure cooker for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- While the potatoes are pressure cooking, chop the bell pepper and onion. Cut the bacon slices into 1/2" pieces.
- Once pressure cooking is complete, perform a quick release by twisting or pushing the sealing lever to release the pressure. Carefully remove the steamer basket from the Instant Pot (use potholders if it is metal).
- Set aside the steamer basket with the potatoes and let any fluid drain from it. Discard the water from the pressure cooker pot.
- Press the cancel button, and set the Instant Pot to sauté. Add the chopped bacon to the pot. Once the fat has rendered from the bacon, add the potatoes, bell pepper, and onions to the pot along with the seasonings. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil if needed. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until potatoes are crispy. See instructions below to air fryer breakfast potatoes.
Air fryer breakfast potatoes
- Instead of sautéing the breakfast potatoes to make them crispy, use an air fryer lid. Set air fryer to 350ºF and air fry the potatoes for 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
Get More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
- Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
- Bisquick Ultimate Pancakes
- Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns and Ham
- Tater Tots Egg Nests
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Mary says
This recipe sounds delicious, but it does not seem that the instant pot is necessary. Water could be heated in a regular pot whilst cutting the potatoes, cook them in the pot, then proceed on the stove with the rest of the recipe.
Bec @ The Feathered Nester says
You could certainly make it that way too, Mary. 🙂