Side Recipes

Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion

4 - 5 servings

I am thrilled to share my absolute favorite side dish: Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion. It is so rich, buttery, and comforting that you might just want to eat it as a meal all on its own! We are combining tender potatoes with savory bacon, medium onion, and a hint of a clove of garlic for the perfect rustic bite. If you prefer a meatless option, you can just skip the diced bacon! Let's get cooking and achieve that beautiful rustic look! Read More

☆☆☆☆☆0x(write a review)👁477x
Tom the ChefPublished: 8.9.2026
Side Recipes
Gluten-free
25 min.
25 min.
1/5
458 calories Per Serving (of 4) Read More

Before You Start

Let’s talk about important parts of the recipe before you start…

Jump to Recipe

Welcome to my Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion Recipe

I am so excited to bring you my Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion today. This is my absolute favorite side dish, and it is so rich, buttery, and comforting that you might just want to eat it as a meal all on its own! We are combining beautifully tender potatoes with savory bacon, a medium onion, and a freshly grated clove of garlic for the perfect rustic bite. You will need a bit of frying oil, some butter, and a colander to drain your boiled potatoes before we crush everything together to reach that signature rustic look. If you are looking for a meatless modification that is not part of the recipe, you could use smoked paprika instead of the diced bacon, but if you want the classic experience, stick to the original instructions. Let’s grab our ingredients and get into the kitchen!

Preparing and Boiling the Tender Potatoes

The first key step for my Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion is getting our potatoes ready. You will start by rinsing two pounds of potatoes under cold water, peeling them, and then dicing them into uniform sizes of about three-quarters of an inch. Place the diced potatoes into a medium pot or a small pot that is about four quarts, and fill it with water until the level is about one inch above the potatoes. Cover the pot with a lid, place it on a high heat burner, and bring it to a boil. You will want to cook them with occasional stirring until you have perfectly tender potatoes that are fork-tender, which usually takes about 12 to 15 minutes.

Draining the Potatoes with a Colander

Once your potatoes have reached that ideal fork-tender texture, it is time to remove them from the water. For this step in the Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, you will need to drain the water by pouring the contents of your pot over a colander. Using a colander ensures that all the excess starch and boiling liquid is fully removed so that the potatoes do not become waterlogged. After they are completely drained, return the tender potatoes back into the pot and set them aside while we work on our savory bacon and aromatics.

Sautéing the Medium Onion and Diced Bacon

Building the flavor base is crucial for my Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion. Meanwhile, preheat a large fry pan or a large sauté pan that is 12 inches or more on high heat with two tablespoons of frying oil. Add one peeled and finely chopped medium onion, and sauté together until the onions are softened and translucent, which takes about three to four minutes. Next, add one-half pound of diced bacon into the pan. Sauté this mixture until the savory bacon is crispy and the fat has completely rendered, which should take about five to seven minutes, or you can cook it to your desired doneness.

Combining the Ingredients and the Clove of Garlic

Now we bring all the wonderful components of the Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion together. Take your large fry pan and pour the sautéed medium onion and crispy diced bacon directly into the pot with the cooked tender potatoes, making sure to include all of the delicious cooking juices and rendered fat from the bacon. To finish building the flavor profile, add one peeled and grated clove of garlic, two tablespoons of butter, one-half teaspoon of salt, and one-quarter teaspoon of ground pepper, ideally freshly ground.

Crushing to Reach a Rustic Look and Plating

The final technique is what gives this side dish its name. To finish the Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, thoroughly fold all the ingredients together with a silicone spatula. This folding action will naturally crush the tender potatoes, which is exactly what we want to do to reach a rustic look. Taste the mixture and add more salt or ground pepper if needed. For a beautiful presentation when you serve this side dish, I recommend using measuring cups for plating. The perfect size is a one-half or one cup measure. Simply scoop the rustic crushed potatoes with a cup, smooth the top with a spatula, and then flip it onto the plate. If it does not come out of the cup by itself, lightly tap the top of the cup.

Popular questions

Do I have to use the bacon fat, or can I drain it before mixing it with the potatoes?

For my Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, you must include the cooking juices and rendered fat from the diced bacon when you add it into the pot with the cooked tender potatoes. That rendered fat from the savory bacon, combined with the frying oil and the added butter, is what gives this side dish its incredibly rich and comforting flavor profile. Make sure to fold it all together thoroughly with your spatula to reach that perfect rustic look!

Buy me a coffee

Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion

4 - 5 servingsTom the ChefPublished: 8.9.2026 ☆☆☆☆☆0x(write a review)👁477x
25 min.
25 min.
1/5
🖨Print

Ingredients:

Click any ingredient to learn more
2 LB of potatoes of your choice - peeled and diced (cubes about ¾" )
1 onion - peeled and finely chopped (medium size)
½ LB of bacon (pork) - diced
1 clove of garlic - peeled and grated (or pressed)
2 TBSP of unsalted butter
½ TSP of salt
¼ TSP of pepper - ideally freshly ground

Tools:

Click any tool to learn more
1x Chef’s knife
1x Cutting Board
1x Measuring Cups
1x Measuring Spoons
1x Peeler
1x Medium Sauce Pan or Small Pot (4QT)
1x Colander
1x Large Fry Pan or Sauté Pan
1x Silicone Spatula
1x Wooden Spoon or High-Temperature Silicone Spatula
1x Small Hand Grater or Garlic Press

Nutrition per 1 Serving:(recipe split into 4 servings)

Estimated
Calories 458 Protein 12.8 g Fat 26.7 g Saturated fat 10.6 g Carbohydrate 42.7 g Sugars 3.2 g Fiber 5.3 g Sodium 640 mg Cholesterol 52 mg
Gluten-free
Estimated. Worked out from the ingredients above using the United States Department of Agriculture’s FoodData Central reference data. An estimate, not a measurement — brands, sizes and how much of a marinade actually ends up on the plate all move it.
Directions:

1.Potato Preparation & Cooking:

1.1.

Rinse potatoes under cold water.

1.2.

Then peel potatoes and dice them into uniform sizes, about 3/8”.

1.3.

Place into a medium pot and then fill with water (about 1” above the level of the potatoes).

1.4.

Cover the pot with a lid and place on a high heat burner. Bring to a boil.

1.5.

Lower heat to medium and cook with occasional stirring until fully cooked (about 12 – 15 minutes). Take one out and taste to make sure it is done.

1.6.

Drain the water by pouring over a colander and then return potatoes back into a pot.

2.Sauté Onion & Bacon:

2.1.
Meanwhile, preheat a fry pan on high heat with 2 TBSP of frying oil and add:

1 medium onion – finely chopped

Sauté together until onions are glossy (about 3 – 4 minutes).

2.2.
Add:

½ LB of bacon – diced

Sauté until you reach the degree you prefer.

2.3.

Then add into the pot with cooked potatoes (including cooking juices from bacon).

3.Final Phase:

3.1.
Add:
1 clove of garlic – grated
2 TBSP of butter
½ TSP of salt
¼ TSP of ground pepper

Thoroughly fold together with a spatula (that will crash the potatoes which is what we want in order to reach rustic look).

3.2.

Taste and add salt or pepper if needed.

Use measuring cups for plating (the perfect size is ½ or 1 cup). Scoop potatoes with a cup, smooth with a spatula, and then flip onto the plate. If it doesn’t come out of the cup by itself, lightly tap the top of the cup.

Mound of Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, topped with crispy bacon and browned onion, on a white plate.
Mound of Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, topped with crispy bacon and browned onion, on a white plate.Molded Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, garnished with parsley on a white plateSquare serving of Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion, topped with crispy browned onion, on a white plate.Round mound of Rustic Crushed Potatoes with Bacon and Onion topped with crispy bacon, plated with parsley.

More recipes like this

Small Disclaimer

Disclaimer

General Information The content provided on the Tom the Chef blog (operated by Checked Solutions, LLC), including all recipes, articles, and other materials, is for general informational and educational purposes only. This content reflects the personal opinions and experiences of the author and is not intended to provide professional dietary, medical, nutritional, or legal advice. Please consult a qualified medical or nutritional professional before making any health or diet-related decisions based on the information presented here.

Content Ownership and Use All content published on the Tom the Chef blog is the intellectual property of Checked Solutions, LLC and its author, unless otherwise noted. Our content may be shared, linked, or embedded on third-party websites and blogs provided it remains unmodified and properly credited to Tom the Chef. No financial reimbursement or compensation will be provided for this use. If we remove content from the Tom the Chef blog, it will no longer be available through any embedded links.

Limitation of Liability Neither Tom the Chef nor Checked Solutions, LLC is responsible for any outcome or consequence resulting from the use of the information on this site. This limitation of liability includes, but is not limited to:

  • Food Safety: Any health risk related to food handling, food quality, cross-contamination, or failure to follow USDA recommendations (including minimum safe cooking temperatures).

  • Preparation Safety: The proper and safe handling of cooking equipment, hot surfaces, sharp knives, or the suitability of tools for any given task.

  • Recipe Outcomes: The final look, taste, yield, or success of following a recipe. Results may vary significantly based on differences in ingredient brands, oven temperatures, cooking abilities, altitude, and humidity.

  • Ingredients and Equipment: The sourcing, quality, and condition of ingredients, tools, or equipment used in the preparation of food.

  • Nutritional and Dietary Information: The accuracy of any nutritional data provided. Any nutritional information shared is simply an estimate calculated through third-party services. It is provided as a courtesy and should not be considered a guarantee.

  • Allergies and Dietary Restrictions: Any allergic reactions or health issues that may arise from consuming ingredients listed in our recipes.

  • Errors and Omissions: Any potential errors, typos, or unclear directions found within articles and recipes.

User Responsibility All readers, visitors, and users of our content are solely responsible for evaluating the recipes and articles provided. You must use your own judgment to determine whether to follow the steps and recommendations. It is strictly your responsibility to ensure that all ingredients and preparation methods are safe and appropriate for your personal dietary restrictions, allergies, and overall health conditions.

Affiliate Disclosure As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the ingredient and tool links above are affiliate links: if you buy through them the price is the same for you, and it helps keep these recipes free. #ad Tom the Chef and Checked Solutions, LLC only recommend professional-grade cookware, tools, and ingredients that are built to last in any household and that we genuinely use and trust.