When your morning is rushed, make a batch of crispy breakfast potatoes! With salty, smoky bacon, tender sweet bell peppers, onion, and taters, this meal will give you the energy you need to get out the door. Our Instant Pot breakfast potatoes are sure to start your day off right!
Are you new to the world of Instant Pot cooking? Take a second to browse our 10 best Instant Pot tips and kick start guide to how to use one!
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Reasons To Love Crispy Breakfast 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! - Easy to customize.
Bulk up the crispy taters with eggs, cheese, other vegetables, breakfast meats — whatever you have on hand! - Freezes and reheats perfectly.
Just like our Instant Pot hash brown casserole and tater tot casserole, this dish freezes really well, making it a great meal-prep solution for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Potatoes – We recommend using red, Russet, or Yukon Gold. Frozen diced potatoes are great to use — just thaw them first.
- Bell Pepper – 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 own combo with whatever seasonings you like.
- Paprika – Just slightly smoky with subtle heat. Cayenne, chili powder, or crushed red pepper flakes all have a bit more of a kick if you’d like to make these crispy breakfast potatoes spicier!
Looking for a heartier breakfast idea?
Some of our favorite breakfast recipes are filling enough to enjoy for dinner, especially our ham and hashbrown casserole and hash brown egg cups. Give them a try!
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Breakfast Potatoes
- 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, wear 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 them at 350°F. for 5 minutes.
This simple trick is how to make potatoes crispy and golden brown on the outside, while keeping them perfectly tender and creamy on the inside!
Recipe Variations
Instant Pot Breakfast Recipe with Scrambled Eggs
- After sautéing the breakfast potatoes, bell pepper, and onion, transfer them to a serving platter.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter 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 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.
Storing and Reheating
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.
- In 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.
Our Favorite Tools To Make Breakfast Potatoes
Crispy Breakfast Potatoes
Equipment
- 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
- 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 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.
Dannii says
These were amazing. We had them with omelette and they went down very well.