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Brabant Potatoes are crispy, soft, and seasoned with love, creating a fun alternative to traditional French fries. They're straightforward to make and can be served for dinner, brunch, or lunch.
Here are some yummy entrees to serve with these Louisiana fries: Cheese Omelette, Bananas Foster Crepes, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders, Southern Fried Fish, and Blackened Chicken.
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What are Brabant Potatoes?
Brabant potatoes are unpeeled, diced potatoes that are fried in oil until golden brown. Back in the day, they had a two-part cooking process of frying in oil until brown, and then you would finish cooking them in butter and season with fresh chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice, according to the recipe in The Picayune Creole Cook Book.
Growing up in New Orleans, fried potatoes are a staple that goes perfectly with fried seafood, fried chicken, or serves as a great side dish with something braised or roasted. These potatoes are crispy on the outside and fluffy inside, and loaded with flavor.
My recipe helps achieve this texture with a two-step cooking process that helps soften the potato cubes by boiling them, then frying them in hot oil. Most recipes may call for a delicious garlic butter to toss the brabant potatoes in after they cook; however, there's so much flavor from the Cajun-Creole seasoning you won't need any additional flavors.
Now, outside of Louisiana, they may be called Louisiana fries, but back home, we just called them fried potatoes. And it wasn't until I went to the late-great Paul Prudhomme restaurant that I had brabant potatoes for the first time, only to realize I had been eating them my whole life.
Let me show you how to make these tasty, crispy potatoes.
Brabant Potatoes Key Ingredients
You only need five ingredients to make these barant potatoes in about 30 minutes.
Russet Potatoes
You want to use russet potatoes because they're high starch is perfect for the two-step cooking process.
Cajun Seasoning
I used my Savory Low-Sodium Cajun Seasoning to add maximum flavor to the potatoes.
Kosher Salt
Whenever you boil something, you need to add flavor, and salted water for your potatoes to boil in adds some flavor to them.
Cumin
Not a traditional ingredient, but I saw Paul Proudhomme added them to his, and I believe that the nutty aroma of cumin plays well with the fried brabant potatoes.
Frying Oil
My go-to frying oils are peanut oil and then canola oil. Although they're not the healthiest oils, I refuse to use avocado oil to fry large amounts of food because of the price tag on healthier oils. Just be sure the oil you used can handle high heat, and olive oil is not one of those oils.
How to Make Brabant Potatoes
The key to making brabant potatoes is to cut the potatoes to an even size so they cook evenly and simultaneously; chop them into ½ - 1-inch cubes. You don't want large and small chunks of potatoes because it will throw off your cooking time.
Boil potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes.
Once the potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to cool off immediately.
In a small bowl, combine Savory Cajun seasoning and cumin. Gently toss potatoes with seasoning, being careful not to break them up.
Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350°F (176°C) in a large nonstick skillet (a pinch of flour should sizzle when hot). Fry potatoes in batches in a single layer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes per batch.
Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Serve immediately and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
How To Store Brabant Potatoes
Store cooled brabant potatoes in an airtight container with the paper towels you drained them on or on fresh paper towels, for seven days. You can freeze them in an airtight container for one month.
To reheat, place them in an air-fryer at 350°F (176°C) for 4-5 minutes or in the oven at 350°F (176°C) for 8-10 minutes or until hot.
Pro Recipe Substitutions, Tips & Tricks
Here are a few notes on substitutions to build flavor for your brabant potatoes.
- Rinsing the potatoes after you chop them removes a ton of starch and helps them soften faster.
- Feel free to use canola or vegetable oil for frying if someone has a peanut allergy.
- Never use olive oil or extra virgin olive oil for frying. Once the oil reaches 350°F, the olive oil will begin to burn, and that can cause a fire.
- Red potatoes are waxy, which means they wouldn't hold up to the two-step cooking process, but Yukon gold potatoes will work as a substitute for russet potatoes.
- If you want to toss your potatoes in garlic butter after they're done cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add six chopped garlic cloves and two tablespoons of fresh parsley. Pour over potatoes, toss, and serve immediately.
- If you don't have my Savory Cajun Seasoning, you can use my homemade Creole seasoning recipe.
- If you love potatoes, try these recipes: healthy baked sweet potato, dirty mashed potatoes, red mashed potatoes with the skin, Boursin mashed potatoes, and Southern potato salad.
FAQs
Here are readers' top questions about making brabant potatoes.
How do you pronounce Brabant potatoes?
You say it like this: BRAH-bahn puh-TAY-toes.
What are Brabants?
Brabants are chunks of potatoes that are cooked until soft, then fried until they're brown and crispy on the outside. People sometimes mix them with butter, garlic, and parsley before eating. They taste a lot like French fries, but they're cut into big cubes instead of skinny strips.
Where did Brabant potatoes come from?
They come from a place called Brabant in Europe. A region that once covered parts of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France. A long time ago, cooks there learned how to make potatoes extra tasty by cooking them twice — first in hot water, then in hot oil or butter. This made the outside crispy and the inside soft.
What's the secret to crispy fried potatoes?
The trick is in cooking them twice:
- Boil them in water until they're soft.
- Dry them off and fry them in hot oil until they're crunchy and golden.
That way, you get the best of both worlds — crunchy outside, soft inside!
More New Orleans Recipes
If you love New Orleans food, you'll want to try these out!
- New Orleans Red Beans and Rice
- Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
- Dirty Rice
- New Orleans Filé Gumbo
- Blackened Chicken Alfredo
- King Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
- Buttermilk Drops
- Pain Perdu
- Chocolate Beignets
Before You Begin
Here are my steps for getting organized and moving fast in the kitchen.
Step 1: Get all ingredients for the on the counter.
Step 2: Measure everything out into individual bowls.
Step 3: Start following the recipe and get ready for the best brabant potatoes you've ever made.
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📖 Recipe
Brabant Potatoes New Orleans-Style
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes washed, chopped into 1-inch pieces, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Savory Cajun Seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin
- oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a pot of water and salt over high heat, once the water is boiling add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to cool off immediately.
- In a small bowl combine Savory Cajun seasoning and cumin. Evenly sprinkle over the potatoes and gently toss to cover with seasoning. Be cautious not to break the potatoes up.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350°F (176°C) in a large nonstick skillet (a pinch of flour should sizzle when hot). Fry potatoes in batches in a single layer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes per batch. Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Serve immediately and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
- Rinsing the potatoes after you chop them removes a ton of starch and helps them soften faster.
- Feel free to use canola or vegetable oil for frying if someone has a peanut allergy.
- Never use olive oil or extra virgin olive oil for frying. Once the oil reaches 350°F, the olive oil will begin to burn, and that can cause a fire.
- Red potatoes are waxy, which means they wouldn't hold up to the two-step cooking process, but Yukon gold potatoes will work as a substitute for russet potatoes.
- If you want to toss your potatoes in garlic butter after they're done cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add six chopped garlic cloves and two tablespoons of fresh parsley. Pour over potatoes, toss, and serve immediately.
- If you don't have my Savory Cajun Seasoning, you can use my homemade Creole seasoning recipe.
- If you love potatoes, try these recipes: healthy baked sweet potato, dirty mashed potatoes, red mashed potatoes with the skin, boursin mashed potatoes, and Southern potato salad.
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