When your morning is rushed, make a batch of Instant Pot hash browns! With salty, smoky bacon, tender sweet bell peppers, onions, and golden potatoes, this meal will give you the energy you need to start your day. This recipe is a simple and delicious way to upgrade your breakfast.
Cooking Instant Pot diced potatoes is one of the easiest ways to make a hearty and satisfying breakfast. If you’re wondering how long to cook diced potatoes in Instant Pot, the answer is just 5-7 minutes under pressure, depending on your preferred texture. After that, they’re ready to be crisped up in a skillet or oven for the perfect hash brown-style potatoes.
The Instant Pot method helps lock in flavor and moisture, so your hash browns come out fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Plus, it’s a great meal prep option—cook a big batch, store it in the fridge, and reheat when needed. Whether you’re making breakfast burritos, cheesy casseroles, or skillet potatoes, this easy hash brown method will save you time while delivering a delicious, restaurant-quality breakfast at home!
Are you new to the world of Instant Pot cooking? Take a second to browse our how do I use my Instant Pot and kick-start guide to how to use one!
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Why We Love This Instant Pot Diced Potatoes
- Quick and simple to make!
Keep this recipe on standby when you need a quick potato side dish for dinner, some leisurely brunch potatoes, or just something to eat when you sleep in too late! And the taste is better than roasted potatoes. - Easy to customize.
Bulk up the crispy taters with eggs, cheese, other vegetables, breakfast meats. Use whatever you have on hand! - Freezes and reheats perfectly.
Just like our hashbrown cheese casserole in Instant Pot and ham tater tot casserole breakfast recipe, this dish freezes well. That makes it a great meal-prep solution for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Potatoes: We recommend using red, Russet potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes. Frozen diced potatoes are great to use — just thaw them first.
- Bell peppe: Any color is fine! Red peppers are sweet and soft, greens are firm and slightly bitter, and the yellow and orange varieties fall right in the middle.
- Bacon: This can be substituted with any breakfast meat (sausage, scrapple, etc.) or omitted entirely for a vegetarian Instant Pot breakfast! For a healthier option, make turkey bacon in the oven and use that.
- All-purpose seasoning: This blend keeps seasoning easy. This particular variety has salt, pepper, and garlic powder, or whip up your combo with whatever seasonings you like.
- Smoked paprika: Just slightly smoky with subtle heat. Cayenne, chili powder, or crushed red pepper flakes all have a bit more of a spices kick if you’d like to make these crispy breakfast potatoes spicier flavors!
Recipe Variations
- Instant Pot breakfast recipe with scrambled eggs: After sautéing the breakfast potatoes, bell pepper, and onion, toss them to a serving platter. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in the inner pot of your Instant Pot, then add beaten eggs. As the eggs begin to set, push them to the center of the pot until they are cooked to your preference.
- Crispy breakfast potatoes with cheese: Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese evenly over the crispy potatoes, bell pepper, and onion in the pressure cooker. Let the cheese melt over the mixture (without stirring), then remove and serve. This works best if you first air fry your Instant Pot breakfast potatoes, so they’re extra crispy.
- Cheesy hash: Stir in cream of chicken soup and bake for a creamy, comforting dish.
- Instant Pot funeral potatoes – Add a crispy corn flakes topping and bake until golden.
- Savory hash brown casserole: Layer with bacon, onions, and cheddar cheese for a hearty meal.
- Broth-based flavor: Use chicken broth or vegetable broth for an extra depth of flavor.
Looking for a heartier breakfast idea?
Some of our favorite breakfast recipes are filling enough to enjoy for dinner, especially our ham and cheese egg bake with hash browns and hash brown cups with egg and bacon. Give them a try!
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- Instant Pot
- Instant Pot air frying lid
- Steamer basket
How Long to Cook Diced Potatoes in Instant Pot
- Cut the vegetables into small, similar-sized pieces.
The pressure cooking time is very short for this Instant Pot breakfast recipe, so be sure to dice the veggies small. Also, to ensure that everything cooks all the way through, do your best to keep the sizes similar. - Be careful when removing the hot steamer basket.
Trust us, the steamer basket will be very hot. We recommend using pot holders or even better, wearing a pair of heat-resistant gloves. Better safe than sorry, right?
- Use your Air Fryer lid to make extra crispy breakfast potatoes!
Instead of sautéeing for that final 5 to 7 minutes, use the Air Fryer lid for your Instant Pot (if you have one) and fry the instant pot diced potatoes at 350°F. for 5 minutes for the best air fryer breakfast potatoes.
This simple trick is to make potatoes crispy and golden brown on the outside while keeping them perfectly fork tender and creamy on the inside!
Serving Suggestions
These Instant Pot hash browns are incredibly versatile and pair well with classic breakfast favorites. Serve them with scrambled eggs, bacon, or sausage for a hearty morning meal. If you’re preparing them for brunch, try pairing them with a side of fresh fruit and toast for a balanced breakfast.
For a crunchy topping, sprinkle crushed crackers or corn flakes over the potatoes before serving. If you’re making a cheesy potato dish, melt some cheddar cheese on top for an extra indulgent finish. These hash browns also work great in breakfast burritos, casseroles, or as a side dish for any breakfast spread.
Recipe FAQs
Crispy breakfast potatoes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days and are easy to reheat in any of the following ways: using the sauté setting in your Instant Pot, in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat, and a preheated 350°F. oven.
They can also be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated similarly with almost no change to the texture or consistency! Let them thaw in the fridge the night before you plan to prepare them, then air fry them at 350ºF for just 3 minutes or so for maximum crispiness.
The main reasons they get mushy is from overcooking. Remove them from the pot when they’re done cooking to keep them from continuing to cook. Letting them continue to steam will cause mushiness.
Yes! Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet or oven for a crispier texture.
Cook diced potatoes for 5-7 minutes on high pressure, then quick release for perfectly tender potatoes.
More Breakfast Recipes To Love…
If you tried this crispy breakfast potatoes recipe or any other potato recipes on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Instant Pot Hash Browns
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Instant Pot air frying lid
- steamer basket
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes 10-12 medium sized potatoes (red, Yukon Gold, or other thin skinned variety), diced in 1/2-inch pieces. Or, substitute with a 32-ounce bag of frozen diced potatoes or potatoes Obrien
- 1 large bell pepper any color
- 1 small yellow onion or white onion
- 4 slices bacon or turkey bacon
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning use one with black pepper for a kick of flavor!
- ½ teaspoon paprika substitute with 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for a bit of heat
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 manually to cook for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- While the potatoes are pressure cooking, remove seeds from bell pepper and peel the onion. Dice the vegetables in small, similar sized, bite sized pieces. Cut the bacon slices into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Once pressure cooking is complete, perform a quick release of pressure by twisting or pushing the sealing lever to release the pressure. Carefully remove the steamer basket from the Instant Pot (use potholders or gloves to protect your hands).
- Set the steamer basket with the potatoes aside in a clean sink to let any liquid drain from it. Discard the water from the pressure cooker inner pot.
- Press the cancel button, and set the Instant Pot to sauté. When the pot is hot, add the chopped bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders down. Add the potatoes, bell pepper, onions, and seasonings to the pot. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil if needed. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until potatoes are crispy. To make breakfast potatoes extra crispy, skip sauteing and instead, use an Instant Pot air frying lid (instructions below).
For Crispier Potatoes
- Instead of sautéing the breakfast potatoes to make them crispy, use an air frying lid attachment (or regular air fryer). Set to air fry at 350ºF and cook for 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Notes
- After sauteing the potatoes, bell pepper, and onions to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, then add 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.
- Add 1/2 cup over the crispy breakfast potatoes, vegetables, and bacon. Let cheese melt over the dish (without stirring), then remove and serve. **This works really well if you first air fry your Instant Pot breakfast potatoes so they’re extra crispy.
Nutrition
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Doug Haley says
Yummers!
Dannii says
These were amazing. We had them with omelette and they went down very well.