Potato and Spinach Saute' (2024)

An easy breakfast recipe for a potato and spinach sauté made with Yukon gold potatoes, onions, and fresh spinach—a perfect addition to your scrambled eggs. These delicious skillet potatoes with spinach are perfect any time of day!

This side dish skillet recipe is so easy. Sometimes it’s the simple ingredients, not the complexity of the dish that makes it amazing. This potato saute is great served alongside your morning eggs, but also makes an incredible dinner side dish.

I love cooking leftover baked potatoes this way. The buttery potatoes, sweet Vidalia onions, and fresh, organic spinach complement each other beautifully. Throw some cooked and crumbled turkey sausage in and make it a meal. For vegans, use a butter alternative and veggie crumbles. It’s also a great way to use leftover baked potatoes.

Ingredients you’ll need

• Yukon gold potatoes– about 4 medium-large gold potatoes (4 cups sliced)
• Butter- real salted butter adds incredible flavor to skillet potatoes, but you can use plant-based butter here to make this recipe dairy-free and vegan or use melted ghee for Whole30.
• Sweet Vidalia onion– sweet onions are the perfect complement to the potato spinach combo.
• Baby spinach– fresh spinach adds a nutrition boost and is perfect for mixing into skillet breakfast potatoes.
• Fresh lemon zest-don’t skip it adds fantastic flavor! You’ll need the zest from 1 whole lemon, but don’t toss the lemon after zesting it.! You can use the juice for drinks like thisfun blue mocktail.
• Paprika-I do a generous sprinkling of paprika, go to taste here.
• Salt and pepper– I use a mixture of coarse salt and sea salt with a few pinches of pepper to season the finished dish.

How To Make Sauteed Spinach and Potatoes

Step 1. Cook potatoes the day before and refrigerate overnight. You can cook them in the microwave for 5-6 minutes or use the traditional oven method. I use the oven method. Prick the potatoes with a fork, rub the outside with olive oil, and place the tubers on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes). I check them at 30 minutes, then recheck in 5-minute increments until the flesh is easily pierced with a knife. Allow the potatoes to cool completely, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. Cold cooked potatoes slice beautifully and are essential for making tender, caramelized fried breakfast potatoes.

Step 2. Slice the potatoes. Cut the potatoes in half, lengthwise, and slice the half in two, then slice into smaller pieces (*see photo). No need to remove the skin. Some of the skin with come off while slicing.

Step 3. Sauté and season. Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and sliced potatoes and cook until potatoes are lightly golden brown and onions are beginning to caramelize, about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally You can spritz with a little olive oil spray during cooking if needed.

Add the fresh spinach and lemon zest. Cook until spinach is wilted.

Season with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. I love using a pinch or two of coarse salt with a couple of pinches of sea salt to finish the dish.

Recipe tips

• Use a good-quality pan for even browning. I’m using a 12″ non-stick Le Creuset non-stick pro fry pan to make this dish. They come out perfect every time.
• Make sure that the skillet doesn’t get too hot, medium heat is perfect, so the potatoes brown slowly and don’t burn.
• I highly recommend a microplane zester for zesting.
• Throw some cooked and crumbled turkey or chicken sausage in to boost the protein and make it a meal. For vegans, use a butter alternative and veggie crumbles.

Storing & reheating

Store any leftover fried potatoes and spinach in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make sure that the potatoes are completely cooled before putting them into the refrigerator.

The best way to reheat spinach and potatoes is in a skillet over medium heat sprayed with a little olive oil spray. Cook until warmed throughout and potatoes begin to crisp up again.

If you love recipes like this, you should try my favorite roasted sweet potatoes or these pan-fried sweet potatoes with jalapeno scrambled eggs. So good!

More potato recipes you’ll love

Smashed Potatoes made with fingerling potatoes

Air fried twice baked potatoes

Slow cooker loaded potatoes

How to make a baked potato bar

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*This recipe was originally published on November 16, 2011 and has been updated throughout with helpful directions, tips, and lovely new photos. 🙂