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Spanish

Patatas bravas

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

A tapas-bar favourite of crisp fried potato chunks with a smoky, spicy paprika tomato sauce. Often served with garlicky alioli as well.

Patatas bravas is a Spanish starter from Spain, ready in about 50 minutes and made with potato and paprika. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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A serving of Patatas bravas
Photo: Krista / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
35 min
Total
50 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
508

Ingredients

4 servings

For frying

For the potatoes

For the sauce

For the alioli (optional)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Make the sauce: warm the oil and garlic (opens in a new tab), stir in the flour, paprika (opens in a new tab) and cayenne for 30 seconds, then whisk in the passata and stock. Simmer until thick, then add the vinegar and salt. Blend smooth if you like.

  2. Step 2

    Rinse the potato (opens in a new tab) chunks, then parboil them in salted water for 5 minutes until the edges just soften. Drain and leave to steam-dry thoroughly — they must be dry before frying.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oil to 160 °C and fry the potatoes (opens in a new tab) for 6–8 minutes until tender but pale. Lift out, raise the heat to 185 °C and fry again until crisp and golden.

    Food safety: Never fill the pan more than a third with oil, and dry the potatoes well to avoid spitting.

  4. Step 4

    Drain on paper, sprinkle with salt and serve with the sauce spooned over, and alioli (mayonnaise (opens in a new tab) mixed with grated garlic (opens in a new tab)) on the side.

    • 2 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Madrid, Spain · Commonly attributedUsually associated with Madrid's tapas bars; the sauce varies widely between cities.More food from Spain
Dish
Snack · Lunch · Dinner · Appetizers & starters · Side dishes · Finger food
Cooking method
Deep-fried, Simmered
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), smoky, savoury, salty
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Lacto-vegetarian, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food
Cook more with
Potato · Paprika · Garlic · All-purpose flour · Cayenne / chilli powder · Tomato passata
Techniques
Deep-frying · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom mayonnaise
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, vegetable stock
  • May contain: Mustardfrom mayonnaise
  • May contain: Celeryfrom vegetable stock
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom wine vinegar

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

508 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 367 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 5%
  • Carbohydrate 39%
  • Fat 56%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy508 kcal139 kcal
Protein6.6 g1.8 g
Carbohydrate51.5 g14 g
Net carbohydrate44.7 g12.2 g
Sugars4.9 g1.3 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre6.8 g1.9 g
Fat32.3 g8.8 g
Saturated fat3.6 g1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium688 mg187 mg
Salt equivalent1.7 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1337 mg
Calcium
47 mg
Iron
3.4 mg
Magnesium
73 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
49 µg
Vitamin C
56 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
50 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: mayonnaise, garlic.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • For an oven version, toss the parboiled potatoes in 3 tbsp olive oil and roast at 220 °C for 40 minutes.

Common mistakes

  • Wet potatoes in hot oil — dangerous spitting and soggy results.

Storage

  • The sauce keeps 5 days in the fridge; fry the potatoes fresh.

Variations

  • Patatas alioli (Spain): Potatoes served with only garlic alioli and no spicy sauce.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Potato, peeled, cut into 3 cm chunks1000 g
Used in steps 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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