If deep frying potatoes at home isn’t your idea of a good time, this is the Brabant Potatoes recipe for you. A quick parboil and a hard shake before baking gives you the same crispy edges, creamy centers, and garlic butter flavor as the New Orleans original, without the fryer.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Crispy, golden, and creamy within, Brabant Potatoes are a classic New Orleans restaurant side dish that’s easy to make at home. Also called Louisiana fries, this delectable side dish is traditionally made with peeled and cubed potatoes, parboiled and then deep-fried and tossed in a decadent butter and garlic sauce. With a method that might surprise you, these parboiled and oven-crisped potatoes skip the deep fryer without sacrificing a bit of flavor or texture.
“I was enjoying them before they were finished, the advantage of being cook!😂”
Thomas Watts
Table of Contents
Recipe at a Glance
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings
- Skill level: Easy
Ingredients for Brabant Potatoes
- Potatoes: Yukon Gold or red potatoes (I don’t recommend russet potatoes as they don’t hold their shape as well.)
- Avocado Oil: Or other high heat, neutral oil.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted, your call.
- Garlic: Look for a firm head with smooth, shimmery skin and no signs of sprouting.
- Kosher Salt: Plus Cajun or Creole seasoning if you’d like a little heat.
- Parsley: Fresh flat-leaf parsley (also called Italian parsley) is what you want here.
Here you’ll use my parboil then shake and bake method (the secret to my ultra crispy Breakfast Potatoes and Skillet Potatoes). It’s all about briefly boiling the cubed potatoes before shaking them in a lidded pan to rough up the edges, then baking until they’re perfectly crispy outside and creamy within. Then you’ll douse them in a decadent garlic butter sauce and finish with salt and fresh parsley. And if you want to kick up the spice, Cajun or Creole seasoning are great options and commonly used in this dish.
The result? Buttery, garlicky, crispy potatoes that are much lighter than the deep-fried version. And so much more convenient as you’ll skip the mess and fuss of having to fry potatoes on the stove top.
How to Make Brabant Potatoes
Cover raw potato cubes in salted cold water and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until tender on the outside and firm in the center. Drain water and return to saucepan. Using potholders, grip lidded pan and shake until potatoes are fuzzy.
Toss potatoes with oil and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until crispy (about 35 minutes) in an oven preheated to 425˚F.
When potatoes are almost done, add garlic to partially melted butter in a small skillet or saucepan; cook and stir until fragrant but not browned. Remove from heat.
Arrange hot potatoes on a serving platter and drizzle with garlic butter sauce. Season with salt, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover Brabant Potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, spread them on a baking sheet and warm in a 400°F oven for about 10 minutes until hot and crispy again. I don’t recommend microwaving as it won’t re-crisp the potatoes.
FAQ
Brabant Potatoes are named for the Brabant region in Europe and made their way to New Orleans through the city’s French and Creole roots. The dish appears in cookbooks as far back as the Picayune Creole Cookbook (1922), where it’s been a Louisiana standard ever since.
It’s pronounced BRAH-bahn, following the French rather than English convention.
Yes, and that’s exactly what this recipe is. Traditional Brabant potatoes are deep-fried, but the parboil-and-shake method here gets you the same crispy outside and creamy interior in the oven, with much less oil and no fry mess.
Serve With
- Easy Crab Cakes
- Blackened Shrimp
- Crispy Baked Chicken Cutlets
- Breakfast Quiche
- Asparagus Quiche
- Baked Eggs
- Cast Iron Pork Chops
- Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon
Brabant Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other high heat, neutral oil
- 4 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- kosher salt to taste (recipe note #2)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add raw potato cubes to a saucepan and pour in enough water just to cover them. Add a small handful of kosher salt. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat slightly and simmer for 7-9 minutes, until potatoes are tender on the outside, but still firm in the center. With the lid, carefully strain out the water.
- Cover saucepan with lid and, with potholders on each hand, grip the sides of the saucepan, securing the lid. Shake several times. Check to see if the potatoes look fuzzy. If not, shake again.
- Add oil to potatoes and gently stir to coat. Pour potatoes onto prepared baking sheet and spread them into a single layer, do your best to give each piece of potato a little room.
- Bake for 35 minutes until crispy and golden brown outside and creamy in the middle.
- When the potatoes have about 5 minutes left to cook, add butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When the butter just starts to melt, add the garlic; cook and stir until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Transfer potatoes to serving platter and drizzle with garlic butter sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
- You can also use red potatoes for this recipe. I don’t recommend russet potatoes as they’re less likely to hold their shape.
- To add spice to this dish, sprinkle with Cajun or Creole seasoning.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was enjoying them before they were finished, the advantage of being cook!😂
haha…I love it! I do the same thing, Thomas.
I’m a potato lover through and through, so these crispy, creamy taters are screaming my name! I have a feeling these are highly addictive.. but totally worth it!!!
Same here, Cheyanne! Thank you.
Are you kidding me?! YUM! That garlic butter sauce is amazing. I love that just a few basic ingredients can create such a powerful flavored dish! 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you, Valentina!
These potatoes look incredible – so creamy and crisp from the outside. That’s the way I love to use around holidays (It’s more decadent and festive than an everyday thing to me.)
Thanks, Ben! These are definitely welcome at the holidays – and year round in our house, haha!
What a fantastic recipe! I haven’t had Louisiana fries since, well, I lived in Louisiana. Shocking, right? Haha. I totally need to make a batch of these at home…I’d forgotten how good these are!
So good, right? I think you’ll love these, David. They really are so crisp and creamy without deep frying.
These sound just delicious Marissa! Perfect side for all kinds of meals! Can’t wait to give your recipe a try! I know Tom would loves these! He’s all about the butter!
I’m excited for you and Tom to try these, Mary Ann! I hope they’re a big hit!
I want to drink that garlic butter sauce…and I am not kidding about it! It must have smelled so good while preparing this dish.
Thanks, Angie! Yes…all that garlic simmering in butter is so aromatic!