How to Dice Potatoes: Tips and Tricks

Dicing Potatoes 101

Even though potatoes are round or oval, and occasionally bumpy, they can easily be cut into perfectly even cubes. All you need is a peeler, a sharp knife, and the timesaving technique outlined below. Once you master the technique, which works for any kind of potato, including sweet potatoes, you’ll be adding diced potatoes to every meal!

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How to Peel Potatoes

You should use a standard (sharp!) chef’s knife for the easiest slicing and dicing of potatoes. But first you’ll need to peel them—many chefs use a Y-peeler, but any peeler you like will do. Peel all your potatoes, making sure to peel away from your fingers as you work your way around each potato. To keep the peeled potatoes from oxidizing (turning brown) as their flesh is exposed to the air, plop them into a bowl of cold water as soon as you finish peeling each one.

Cutting and Dicing Potatoes

Once your potatoes are peeled, it’s time to start cutting. For easy control (and your safety), hold your chef’s knife properly in your dominant hand by wrapping your middle, ring, and pinky finger around the handle, and grip the base of the blade with your thumb and forefinger on each side. Use your other hand to hold the potato, curling back the fingertips on top to avoid the blade.

Start by turning the potato into a rectangular or square shape: Slice off the nose and tail, then slice off one long side and place the flat side on your cutting board. Slice off another side, turn the potato onto the new flat side, and repeat until all four sides are flat. Save the rounded ends to boil and mash or add to soup, or cut them into pieces and add them to your cubes if you don’t mind a few irregularly shaped pieces mixed in with your cubes.

Slice the potato rectangle lengthwise into ½-inch-thick slabs for medium cubes, or ¼-inch slabs for smaller cubes. Then stack the slabs on the cutting board and slice them lengthwise into ½- or ¼-inch-wide logs. In classic French culinary technique, these square logs are called batons. Lay your potato logs lengthwise in a single layer on the cutting board and slice crosswise at ½- or ¼-inch intervals, until you have a board covered in perfectly matching cubes.

2 Great Ways to Use Diced Potatoes

You can keep your diced potatoes in cold water and refrigerate them for up to one day before using, or put them to work in your kitchen right away. Here are two of the most popular ways to use diced potatoes—particularly in breakfast foods. Add a couple of scrambled eggs, and you’re all set!

Extra-Crispy Roasted Cubed Potatoes

Golden brown and crisp on the outside and tender inside, roasted cubed potatoes will always make an excellent side dish for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. Using evenly shaped cubes ensures that your potatoes all cook at the same rate, for uniform extra-crispiness. Heat your oven to 400° F with a sheet pan in the oven as it heats. Preheating the sheet pan helps sear the edges of the potatoes faster, which is a very good thing.

While the oven and sheet pan heat, toss your cubed potatoes in a mixing bowl with olive or vegetable oil and season liberally with salt (and pepper and other spices if desired). Using a potholder or oven mitt, carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven and spread out the cubed potatoes in an even layer. Return to the oven and roast until the bottoms are brown and crispy, about 10 minutes, then use a spatula to stir the potato cubes and continue to roast until uniformly golden brown and crispy. Note: An air-fryer may also be used to cook cubed potatoes. You’ll want them in the fryer for about 10 minutes at 400° F.

Pan-Fried Potato Hash

When you’re craving a diner-style breakfast or brunch (or are stumped for a side dish), this simple hash full of crisp, golden potatoes and chopped vegetables hits the spot. “Hash” is named after the French