Patatas Bravas

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This delicious patatas bravas recipe is an authentic Spanish tapas dish you’ll fall in love with as soon as you take one bite!

Patatas bravas is a staple for any tapas night. If you aren’t familiar with patatas bravas, it is a fried potato dish smothered with a smokey, spicy pepper and onion sauce. This is our take on an authentic patatas bravas recipe we learned from a Spanish cooking class.

What This Recipe Entails

Patatas bravas are made with a creamy, spicy pepper and onion sauce and fried potatoes. You’ll need to prepare these components separately, and then combine them before serving.

• Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes
• Cook time: 35 minutes to make the sauce, 25 minutes to fry the potatoes, 5 to 10 minutes to combine and warm through

You can easily make the sauce while the potatoes are frying to condense the total cook time to about 45 minutes. If that sounds daunting, we recommend making the sauce first, and then cooking the potatoes.

Patatas Bravas Ingredients

This much loved tapas dish comes down to two main ingredients: the fried potatoes and the flavor-packed, creamy sauce. Below you can find everything you need to make this delicious dish:

• Russet potatoes
• Vegetable oil
• Patatas bravas sauce (see details below)
• Light mayo
• Garlic aioli

Patatas Bravas Sauce Ingredients

There are four main ingredients to a patatas bravas sauce: onion, red bell pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Together, they make up a sweet, smokey, and spicy flavor profile. Everything else helps to balance and enhance those great flavors.

Here are all the ingredients you need for a patatas bravas sauce:

• Olive oil
• White onion
• Red bell pepper
• Minced garlic
• Paprika
• Cayenne
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt

How To Make Patatas Bravas

There are two main components to patatas bravas: the fried potatoes and the sauce. We’ll tell you how to make both below.

The first step for making patatas bravas is making the pepper and onion sauce! See the directions for how to make patatas bravas sauce in the section below. This sauce can either be made ahead of time, or at the same time as frying the potatoes.

But first, here’s how to make the rest of the dish come together:

1. First, fill a deep cast iron, dutch oven, or other heavy bottomed pot with a quarter to a half inch of vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the cubed potatoes to the pot, stirring infrequently at first, but more frequently as they crisp to ensure even browning.
3. Cook the potatoes until they’re brown and crispy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Then remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or spatula, and transfer to a cooling rack positioned over paper towels to drain the excess oil. Sprinkle the potatoes with a pinch of salt.
4. Once you are ready to serve and enjoy your patatas bravas, heat a frying pan over low heat, add the patatas bravas sauce and mayo and stir to combine until your sauce is smooth and silky.
5. Then, add the potatoes and gently stir to coat them in the sauce. Cook until the potatoes and sauce are heated through. If you are making this all one go, this step will be super quick as everything is already hot. However, if you made your potatoes and sauce ahead of time, everything may take 5 to 10 minutes to heat through. 
6. To serve, plate your patatas bravas and drizzle with garlic aioli.

How To Make Patatas Bravas Sauce

It is super easy to make a spicy onion and pepper sauce for your patatas bravas. You can make this sauce ahead of time or right along with the rest of your patatas bravas.

Here is a step by step breakdown of how to make patatas bravas sauce:

1. First, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat.
2. Next, add the pepper and onion and cook, stirring infrequently, until they’re soft and caramelized. This should take about 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Once the peppers and onions are caramelized, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
4. Then, deglaze the pan with water and stir in the cayenne and paprika. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes to help the flavors infuse.
5. Now, transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor. Add the extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.
6. Pulse until smooth, then season with salt to taste.

The patatas bravas sauce can either sit while you finish cooking, or can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days until you are ready to use it.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

If you end up with leftover patatas bravas (unlikely), you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Patatas bravas, and the sauce, can be stored for up to 5 days. Once you are ready to enjoy them again, you can easily heat up your leftovers in the microwave for a minute or two, or until they reach your desired temperature.

Make sure to give them a fresh drizzle of garlic aioli before serving! This is the best part.

Serving Suggestions

Patatas bravas is known for being a much loved tapas dish, and for good reason. Cause who doesn’t love a good fried potato drenched in flavorful sauce?

While this patatas bravas recipe works well as an appetizer for two or a side dish for any regular lunch or dinner, we suggest serving it as it was meant to be: as a tapas dish! 

You can learn how to host a tapas party here and make tons of delicious tapas to enjoy with friends and family. Or, you can pair patatas bravas with one or two of these tapas recipes for a simple small plates meal at home:

• Queso De Cabra Con Tomate (Spanish Baked Goat Cheese In Tomato Sauce)
• Chorizo Potato Skewers
• Pan Con Tomate (Spanish Tomato Bread)

And if you’re okay leaving the Spanish realm and going for a fusion-style tapas night, here are a couple of other small plates we love to sneak into our tapas night menus:

• Burrata Toast
• Open Faced Brie Sandwich with Balsamic Caramelized Apples & Onions
• Tomato Bruschetta Crostini