Rösti
Bernese potato cake: par-boiled potatoes grated coarse and fried in butter into a crisp brown disc with a soft middle.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Rest
- 12 hr
- Total
- 13 hr
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Rösti is a flat cake of grated potato fried in butter until the outside is a crisp brown shell and the inside stays soft. The Bernese method used here boils the potatoes in their skins the day before, chills them overnight, then peels and grates them coarsely. The shreds go into a hot pan with plenty of butter, get pressed into a cake, and cook for 12 minutes a side; you flip it with a plate. Salt and nothing else goes in. Serve it beside Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, or make it the meal with a fried egg and a slice of cheese melted on top.
What you'll need
4 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Potato, medium-waxy, such as Charlotte or Désirée, unpeeled1 kg
- Butter60 g
- Neutral oil, to raise the smoke point of the butter15 ml
- Salt4.9 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
The day before, boil the potatoes in their skins until just tender at the edge but still firm in the centre, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and refrigerate overnight.
20 min
Tip: Undercook slightly. A fully cooked potato grates to mush.
Step 2
Peel the cold potatoes and grate on the coarse side of a box grater. Toss gently with the salt without breaking the shreds.
10 min
Step 3
Heat half the butter and the oil in a 26 cm non-stick or well-seasoned frying pan over medium heat. Add the potato, spread it out, and after 2 minutes press it into a cake with a spatula, tidying the edge.
4 min
Step 4
Cook 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until the underside is deep golden. Slide it onto a plate, invert the pan over the plate and flip.
15 min
Watch: Oven gloves. The pan is heavy and the plate gets hot.
Step 5
Add the remaining butter to the pan, slide the rösti back in raw side down and cook another 12 minutes. Slide onto a board and cut into wedges.
12 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 327 kcal
- Protein
- 5.1 g
- Carbs
- 42.5 g
- Fat
- 15.4 g
- Saturated fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 5.5 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 501 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Par-boiled potatoes → Raw grated potatoes, squeezed dry in a tea towel
Zurich style. Cook it 5 minutes longer per side and expect a chewier middle.
Tips
- Do not stir once it is in the pan. The crust forms where potato touches metal and nowhere else.
- Lard instead of butter is the farm original and crisps better. Half and half is a good compromise.
History & culture
Farmers' breakfast in Bern, eaten with milky coffee before the barn. Now it is the side dish of German-speaking Switzerland and the joke name for the language border, the Röstigraben. Café menus pile it with bacon, cheese, egg or apple. Zurich sometimes uses raw potato; Bern thinks that is a different, lesser thing.
Potatoes spread through Switzerland after the famines of the 18th century. Rösti is recorded in Bern by the 19th century as a morning dish, and moved to lunch and dinner with the 20th-century restaurant. The region of a cook's rösti can still be told from how coarsely the potato is grated.
Regional variation — Bernese style from par-boiled potatoes. Raw-potato rösti is also Swiss, just from somewhere else.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Rösti take?
13 hr all in — 15 min prep, 45 min cook, 12 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 portions. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Gluten-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Par-boiled potatoes → Raw grated potatoes, squeezed dry in a tea towel. Zurich style. Cook it 5 minutes longer per side and expect a chewier middle.
What should I watch for?
Oven gloves. The pan is heavy and the plate gets hot.
Any tips from this recipe?
Do not stir once it is in the pan. The crust forms where potato touches metal and nowhere else. Lard instead of butter is the farm original and crisps better. Half and half is a good compromise.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Undercook slightly. A fully cooked potato grates to mush.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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