Lyonnaise Potatoes are crispy on the outside and creamy within. Tossed with soft, buttery onions and finished with parsley, it’s a classic French side dish that everyone loves.
Parboiling the potato slices before pan frying both speeds preparation and enhances crispiness by removing excess starch. And frying in a mixture of oil and butter prevents the butter from over browning as often happens with butter alone.
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Ingredients You Need to Make Lyonnaise Potatoes
- Potatoes: Unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes or peeled baking potatoes (Russet).
- Onions: Yellow onions or sweet onions.
- Butter: Ideally high fat, European style butter, salted or unsalted.
- Avocado Oil: Or other high heat vegetable oil.
- Parsley: Fresh Italian parsley (flat-leaf parsley).
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
What does Lyonnaise mean?
Lyonnaise means simply "Lyon style" or "from Lyon," referring to the French city of Lyon.
Serve With: 7 Menu Suggestions
Lyonnaise Potatoes make a wonderful companion to most main courses and side dishes (as do Fondant Potatoes - another classic French potato side), but here are a few that pair particularly well:
- Chicken Ballotine and Arugula Salad
- Chicken Kabobs in the Oven and Spinach Strawberry Walnut Salad
- Easy Duck Leg Confit (made in the slow cooker), Garlic Butter Mushrooms and Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
- Coq au Vin Blanc and a mixed green salad dressed with Champagne Vinaigrette
- Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb and Strawberry Spinach Salad for your Easter table.
- Savory Crepes and Baked Eggs (for a stellar brunch!)
- Salad Lyonnaise (Also hailing from the French city of Lyon, these two are a perfect pair!)
How to Make Lyonnaise Potatoes
Step 1: Cook onions in a large, non-stick skillet until caramelized in a mixture of butter and oil. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Step 2: While the onion cooks, parboil the potato slices in water. Drain and set aside.
Step 3: To same non-stick skillet, cook partially cooked potato slices in a mixture of butter and oil, turning a few times until crisp on both sides. Gently stir in reserved onions and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to platter and garnish with fresh parsley; serve.
Recipe Video
Lyonnaise Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other high heat oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter ideally high fat, European style butter, divided
- 2 medium yellow onions or sweet onions, halved top to bottom and thinly sliced
- kosher salt to taste
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes or peeled russet potatoes, (see recipe note)
- freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon each of avocado oil and butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat until sizzling. Add onions and a generous pinch of salt; cook, stirring often until soft and lightly golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl (set skillet aside for potatoes - no need to wipe it out).
- Meanwhile, slice potatoes crosswise ¼-inch thick and place in medium saucepan (if you have a mandoline slicer, this is a great time to use it). Add enough cold water to cover along with a generous pinch of salt; bring to boil over medium-high heat. Boil until nearly tender, about 3 minutes, skimming foam as needed. Drain and set aside.
- Place the same large, non-stick skillet over medium heat and add remaining avocado oil and butter and heat until sizzling. Add parboiled potato slices and cook 15-18 minutes, gently flipping every 3 minutes to crisp potato slices on both sides. Once potatoes are crisp to your liking and cooked through, return onions to skillet and season to taste with salt and pepper; cook and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter and sprinkle with fresh parsley; serve hot.
Notes
- Starchy baking potatoes are the traditional potato used in this dish, but I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes for their blend of waxy / starchy texture. They don't need to be peeled, crisp up nicely, and hold their shape better than russets. But either work well.
Lyon has some of the best food! Well, I guess I can say that about all of the cities and towns in France I’ve been to. Great potatoes!
Thank you, Mimi!
These sound delicious and perfect for my French themed dinner I will be making this fall for a dinner party. I always hate cooking things last minute when my guests are having appetizers. Any suggestions for making them a bit ahead or doing the finishing brown in the oven?
Hi there, Lori! I haven't tried finishing in the oven, but I absolutely think you could. It reminds me of the way I cook potatoes and onions for my Breakfast Frittata. I'd make the dish, leaving the potatoes a little less crispy then you want them to be for serving then spread them on parchment paper (drizzling with a bit more butter or avocado oil if they're at all dry) to crisp up in an oven preheated to 400˚F - 15 to 20 minutes or so is my best guess. Hope you have a wonderful dinner party!
I am making this dish for a French dinner party tonight! I have cooked and drained the potatoes & sautéed the onions. Can I brown the potatoes now, spread them on the parchment paper like you suggested, (IS THIS WITH OR WITHOUT THE ONIONS, then bake during the appetizer course?
Hi Maria! I'd spread the onions over the potatoes in the last few minutes of cooking to make sure they're heated through. Have a great dinner party!
I absolutely love Lyonnaise potatoes, and this recipe looks spot on! I haven't made 'em in years, though, and now I'm thinking I need to put this on the menu. Speaking of parboiling potatoes, I do that before I grill potato wedges. That's a fun one, too - when we're not buried in snow!
Such a tasty dish, right? Your potato wedges sound great too!
I already know I'm going to love these potatoes! Especially seeing that there is butter involved 😉
Well, you know what they say, "Butter makes everything better." So true!
Lyonnaise Potatoes - what a romantic name, right? I don't think I've ever used a parboiling method prior to pan-frying, but I've heard the result is fantastic; decadent and creamy with a nice crust potatoes. I can see they look gorgeous in your photos!
Thanks so much, Ben!
The caramelized onions must have added extra aroma and flavour in this simple yet delicious side dish. And with butter and avocado oil..this is definitely a winner!
Angie
Thanks, Angie! The caramelized onions are definitely magic in this dish.