Chef John's Patatas Bravas

WOW muy delicioso! My fiance and I really enjoyed these patatas bravas! I was drooling waiting for them to finish, that's how amazing the kitchen smelled ;) Followed the recipe verbatim, it was quite simple. I especially loved the dipping sauce (any excuse to use my mortar and pestle!!). Thanks John for sharing your recipe! Fierce!

Fantastic! Marvelous! Delicious! As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew my boyfriend would go absolutely crazy for them, so I made them for our Valentine's dinner. I made the sauce and the spice mix the night before, which worked out wonderfully on the busy day. I followed this to the letter, and I wouldn't change a thing about them- the flavor combination is out of this world, the spice level is just about perfect, the crispy, crunchy exterior is the perfect housing for the tender potato within. The sauce is just lovely, and would be wonderful on many things. I debated on buying yet another vinegar, but am so happy I did not try to substitute anything else for the sherry vinegar- it is worth it to buy yourself a bottle if you don't keep it on hand. My boyfriend thinks me a kitchen super star- we devoured these with gusto! Thanks Chef John!

These are fabulous! I followed the recipe to the T. Now I know the secret to crispy fried potatoes. A few tips: 1. Make the dipping sauce first (even a day ahead) and let it sit to marry flavors. 2. You can cook the potatoes ahead of time. Just make sure they are dry when you put in oil. 3. Taste the fried potatoes as you add the seasoning after frying. I did not use all of the seasoning mixture to avoid over-saltiness. This recipe is authentic and the sauce tastes just like I had in Barcelona and all over Catalonia. No stars for healthiness, but 5 starts for taste. YUM!

If I can do it, you can do it lol! I have now made this recipe 3 times for my girlfriend, she loves this recipe! On the spicy side which I love (her not so much). I've learned to also do steps 3 and 4 first, then step 1 and 2, then step 5. In my opinion it makes more sense to do steps 1 and 2 while the potatoes go through their 45 min cool down. Overall though, it's delicious, and I plan on making this for some time to come!!

So I doubled this recipe, so maybe it was a bit off. But it was WAY too salty. I would not put a tablespoon of salt. Maybe it is a misprint? I could see a teaspoon, but definitely not a tablespoon. Luckily it goes in at the end so I was able to shake a bit off. Would have been good without the extreme salt.

This rating is just for the dipping sauce, as I used a different recipe for the potatoes. The sauce was pretty awful, and tasted mostly like mayonnaise. I much prefer the combination of homemade aioli and salsa brava for patatas braves.

Amazing! Perfect crisp! I had no idea the secret was in letting the potatoes sit out. Perfectly seasoned, I'm in love. I now follow Chef John and have his blog saved in my favorites! Ever recipe is gold!

Holy ! These were FABULOUS and so easy to make! I made them as a side dish for a dinner party with some of my husband's family and everyone loved them so much I ended up having to make them again 2 days later! Thanks so much for this awesomely crunchy recipe!

Great potatoes that taste like what you get in Spain! This recipe was easy to follow, but it was time consuming. Next time I'll make the sauce and boil the potatoes the night before, so that I only have to fry and season them when I'm cooking dinner.

Yummy

FANTASTIC! Made exactly as written, and would not change a thing. I made the sauce the day before, which was great b/c it gave it more time for the flavors to blend. I have to admit that I did find this recipe a bit time consuming, but it was totally worth it...this is a keeper~YUM! Thanks for sharing. :)

These were great! Definitely time consuming, but well worth it! Unfortunately, the grocery store I went to did not carry smoked paprika, but I looked it up online and paprika + cumin is a good substitute. I also didn't want to buy yet another vinegar, so I used some red wine vinegar that I already had and it worked just fine. The sauce takes some tweaking to get it to your own liking, but once it is right, it is DELICIOUS! I usually follow recipes to a T, but I do not think it is fair to rate a recipe differently when the person making the dish takes it upon themselves to change things! I had Yukon Gold potatoes on hand that I wanted to use up and they were delicious, but I found that I had to cook them in the oil a lot longer than the suggested 5-6 minutes to get them nice and golden brown.

These are absolutely delicious. Spicy and bright the sauce is perfect with them. I didn't change a thing. Thanks!

This recipe was AMAZING! I made it for a Spanish food project, and they look, smell and taste great! I made no changes to the recipe. Some reviews say that the spice blend had too much salt, but not for me! I used the majority of the spice blend, but not all of it while tossing the potatoes for the final project. Great recipe and I encourage everyone reading this to make it. Note: It is a little bit spicy.

Also try them with Chef John's Romesco Sauce (add some cumin though).

Crowd favorite! Easy dipping sauce that we actually used the next day as a dressing for Buddha bowls. Delicious all around!

These were amazing! I've always loved them at the tapas bars, and these were at least as good. They had great texture, crispy outside and tender inside. It took quite a bit longer than 5 minutes to get them to brown, but well worth the wait. The sauce was good, but not terribly necessary as they were very good with just the seasonings.

These were amazing! The texture was perfect, and the sauce is the closest I've found since being in Spain. My boyfriend and I wanted to reminisce about traveling in the thick of COVID-19 and this helped us get out of our house, in some sense. The potatoes really are perfectly creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. I will be making these again soon.

Turned out AWESOME. The potatoes were crunchy outside, and very fluffy inside. I used similar spices for all of the steps. For the sauce though, I had pre-made a garlic infused oil so I used that as my base for starting it and instead of a mortar/pestle (couldn't find mine), I used a spice grinder which I wouldn't recommend. Just make more and use a food processor. I didn't measure out ingredients for the sauce, just kinda sprinkle this sprinkle that, etc and it was good. I'm wondering if for future usage, I can parboil potatoes, freeze them, then take them out and fry on demand? Just a thought I had. I had a full 6qt pot of diced potatoes parboiling and my dad was saying I should have made more. By using the cooling tray to cool the potatoes after parboiling, then putting a paper towel on the tray for after frying, they didn't get soggy at all. I tried to put them in a huge bowl (biggest one I have is 13qt) while still warm to let the seasonings stick and toss them easily. Highly Recommend everyone try this method with any spices you like for your next potato endeavor. Thank you Chef John!

I had to fry for about 20-25 minutes until they were golden brown. It was allot of work, but they tasted good, thank you Chef John, I'll try it again.

Way too salty, I would recommend a tsp of salt rather than a tbsp.

Wow! So yummy! I made this on “Try a New Recipe Saturday.” (My own personal holiday.) I followed the recipe exactly. Took quite awhile, but the results were worth it. Feared it would be too spicy, but it worked out fine. I almost prefer the potatoes without the dipping sauce, only because if I do start dipping, I can’t stop. Will definitely make these again.

i've looked everywhere for a recipe to make potatoes like this! very crispy!

Loved them!!

Chef John has changed my life forever.

Great! I made this for a dinner party and everyone loved it. I made it per the recipe, but did not use all of the spice blend when I tossed it with potatoes. I think that much would have had it tasting way too salty.

This was phenomenal! My boyfriend and I made this for a party and followed the recipe almost exactly. We made double the aioli which we ended up not using so the amount called for is probably sufficient. The aioli was very tasty! Our guests raved about it. And the potatoes were friend perfectly--my boyfriend left them in the oil a little longer than called for but he said he wasn't checking the temperature of the oil. So so so good!!!!

The dipping sauce is perfect! I always have it ready in my fridge to use with lots of other foods! Its Great on burgers! Be sure to use good quality paprika (pimenton) and sherry vinegar.

Worth frying for, which I never do.

WOW! I love it. I have made it so many times with regular spanish paprika, since I couldn't find smokey paprika and the end result has been excellent every time. Thanks so much for this great recipe!

This was a big hit....wish we had doubled the recipe!

Fabulous recipe as is! As good or better than any I've had at a restaurant.

Delicious! And so easy. Only differences - my potatoes only took like 15 mins to cool. Also, instead of the dipping sauce, I added vinegar, onion, garlic, paprika, and cayenne to a tomato soup I made the other day and served it with linguica. So good. I would like to try the dipping sauce next time. Thanks Chef John!

Less salt

Very good potatoes with a tangy dipping sauce. I used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise, and left out the chipotle and cayenne pepper. I replaced them with chile powder. These were so good; I made them 3 times in 1 week.

These were delicious! I made them for a paella themed dinner party and I was worried how they would travel and taste if they weren’t piping hot, but they entire batch was eaten! I tripled the potato recipe but only 1.5’ed the sauce, which was still more than enough. The sauce, as is, was too mayonnaisey for my taste. I added more of everything, plus a little garlic powder, to get the right amount of heat, without tasting like mayo. This recipe got rave reviews!

Incredible, love this recipe and so did our guests! Can’t wait to make it again!

The salt ruined this for me. I thought it was too much salt,but I followed the directions. Actually theses would not have been bad,if you just left out the dry spice mix. I lived in Spain for 6 years and have traveled there every year for the past 30 years . Papas bravas are one of my favorite things,but these did not live up to what I like.

For me it was tasteless and not different than a square French fry. Sorry

These are great, with or without the sauce. The sauce is really versatile and I want to eat it with a spoon! Great accompaniment to the Chef John Grilled Spanish Beef.

I made this recipe for a Spanish Wine Tasting party. It was very tasty and received great comments. The potatoes were very crispy and spicy-good. I had already made the spice seasoning mix for the potatoes when I read the comments about the salt. The seasoning mix was a bit too salty( and I generally like salt) and I did not use all of it for that reason. Other than recommending to reduce the salt, this was great. I will make this again

Life changing recipe! OMG, so, so good and really not difficult, you just have to give yourself the time for the potatoes to cool. I found the spice dressing for the cooked potatoes a little too much, but I put all of it in my serving bowl. Next time I will be a little more judicious. Of course, the aioli is divine and will complement anything, like asparagus, chorizo, etc.

Perhaps my favorite recipe:)
Life changing

Just made these potatoes for Fathers Day dinner! Seriously the best potatoes I’ve ever tasted! Crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside! The garlic aioli is spectacular! Even my “no condiment” daughter ate them like they were trying to get away from her! Sadly, no leftovers for tomorrow! Thank you for another one, Chef John!

My picky family loved it. Only complaint was I cut my potatoes too small. I knew I cut my first potato too small but felt committed to that size for the rest of them. I liked the dipping sauce but no one else tried it after my teenager excitedly proclaimed that I made "French fry bites" and they went for the standard ketchup.

Good recipe. I would use a teaspoon or so of salt in the spice blend. That way you get more spice, less salt.

Delicious and easy, especially because I had most of the ingredients on hand (I followed the recipe exactly). The dipping sauce was addictive! It made a great appetizer to our Spanish themed Christmas dinner.

This was a tasty recipe that I'd definitely make again. Great for party food and with just the right texture, it's a party favorite!

Delicioso! Excellent recipe.

I did not make the dipping sauce but instead opted to drizzle them with Chimichurri sauce, but the potatoes (prepared and cooked as directed) were excellent. My picky kids even liked them quite a bit. I served them as a side with a medium rare skirt steak that had been marinaded in smoky paprika and garlic. VERY good!

I put only half the salt in the post-frying spices for the potatoes and it was perfect. Awesome recipe!

Delicious! My picky-eater husband, who claims he does not like mayonnaise, asked for more of the dipping sauce to go with chicken I served with it! I can think of lots of uses for this - made with homemade mayonnaise - made with cooked egg yolks.

Worth the extra time/effort to dry out the potatoes! My kids and husband loved these!! Only change I made after reading other reviews was reducing the salt from 1 T to 1 t....I think that was a good call!

I made this for a school project, and would make it again. I didn't make any changes, and liked it just fine.

So good! I can't stop eating..

This was the best Bravas potatoes I've found. I've made it several times now with a few alterations. My changes: Sauce: 3 cloves garlic, 2 T. sherry.

Amazing. The dipping sauce is good alone as well. I used an air fryer instead and the results were so good. Thank you for this recipe. It is a winner recipe

a nice change that didn't take too long to make.

Delicious and easy. The kitchen smelled so good from the spices in the boiling water. The sauce was easy to make. I used a mini food processor. We just returned from our first trip to Spain and these rivaled the ones we had on vacation.

Way too salty

I followed this recipe perfectly. A tablespoon of salt for the spice blend makes it inedible. I spent over an hour with high hopes only to have to throw it out after a few bites of misery.

Waaaay too salty. The dip was great but the dry mix of seasoning to toss in ruined them. After all the work involved to make these this was very disappointing. The tablespoon of salt should be half that. Maybe don’t toss in the bowl and sprinkle on instead so you can control the amount. My husband could barely eat them and he over-salts everything.