These Papas A La Diabla (Spicy Papas Cambray) are the perfect appetizer at a party or served as a side dish with any meal. These potatoes are spicy, citrusy and so satisfying!
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Mexican Spicy Cambray Potatoes
Papas A La Diabla (Mexican Spicy Potatoes) are fiery, buttery, and coated in a chile sauce that clings to every curve of those little yellow potatoes. This is a pan-style potato dish meant for scooping straight from the skillet, no garnish overload required. Simple ingredients, strong flavors.
The potatoes are gently boiled just until tender, then pan-seared in olive oil and butter until the edges pick up color. A quick blended sauce of chile de árbol, garlic, lime juice, and seasoning gets poured right into the skillet so it reduces and sticks to the potatoes. The heat is direct, clean, and sharp, balanced by fat and acidity so each bite stays bold without being too much.
What’s to love? This quick stovetop recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and makes an easy appetizer or side dish you can scale up for a crowd. Lime juice, garlic, and spices coat the potatoes with big flavor, no oven needed.
♥️ xo, Ana
This recipe is gluten free, vegetarian with an option to make it vegan.
Ingredients
- Papas cambray (the small yellow potatoes). Alternative, you can use russet potatoes cut into smaller pieces, yukon golds or red potatoes. The key is to have all pieces about the same size.
- Chiles de arbol stem removed but keep the seeds (see note below on how to control the spiciness).
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh lime juice (about 4 large lime or 8 smaller ones)
- Chicken bullion powder or better than bouillon no chicken base
- Black pepper and kosher salt
- Olive oil
- Butter (use plant based butter for the vegan version of this dish)
- Fresh cilantro
**You’ll find the complete recipe and ingredient list in the card at the end.**
How To Make Papas A La Diabla
Before you start, make sure the wash & scrub the potatoes very well to remove any dirt. I like to keep the skin on since it’s full of nutrients and give the potatoes an extra crisp.
- In a medium pot, add the water, salt and potatoes. Bring to a boil then lower to medium heat and cover pot with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes and drain water.
Optional: After boiling the potatoes, cut the larger ones in half or just saute as is.
Don’t over boil the potatoes as we want to finish the cooking process at the end when cooking them with the salsa.
Make the sauce
- In a blender, add the garlic, chile de arbol peppers, lemon juice, bullion and black pepper.
- Blend well until it has a salsa consistency. Blend until there are no big chunks of garlic and chiles. About 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
Sauteing The Potatoes
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter then the potatoes. Make sure they brown on all sides.
- Keep stirring so that potatoes don’t get stuck at the bottom. When they start to get crispy, add the chile sauce and stir to incorporate all ingredients well.
By now your kitchen is smelling amazing!
- Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until most of the sauce is absorbed and the potatoes are tender.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and serve warm or cold!
Serving Suggestions
To make them as a side dish with a meal, serve with something more mild like a grilled fish or shrimp since these tend to already have a lot of flavor. Here are another great dishes they will pair well with:
Ana’s Recipe Tips
- Double the ingredients for the sauce to have extra for another time. It makes an awesome dipping sauce!
- You can cook the potatoes in the air fryer. Roast at 375 for 15 minutes or so. Then pour the sauce on top of them.
- How to Store Leftovers
- Fridge: Let your potatoes cool completely. Use an airtight container or a heavy duty storage bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes. Warming them up on the stove will cause the sauce to burn fast.
- These Mexican potatoes can be served hot or cold.
Print Recipe:
Papas A La Diabla (Spicy Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs papas cambray (small yellow potatoes) - peel on
- 6 cups water
- 2 Tsp kosher salt
- 12 to 16 chiles de arbol (see note #1 below) - stem removed but keep the seeds
- 4 medium garlic cloves (or 2 large ones)
- 8 Tbsp fresh lime juice (about 4 large lime or 8 smaller ones)
- 1 tsp better than bouillon no chicken base (or 1 tsp chicken bullion powder) - optional
- 1 tsp black pepper or more to taste
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter (plant based butter will work perfectly)
- 4 Tbsp chopped cilantro or more to taste - optional
- 1 ½ Tbsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Wash & scrub the potatoes very well to remove dirt.
- In a medium pot, add the water, salt and potatoes. Bring to a boil then lower to medium heat and cover pot with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes and drain water.
- Note: if you have different size potatoes, check the smaller ones at the 8 minute point (after boiling) and pierce with a knife to see if they're starting to get soft inside. Remove from heat when they're ready. (see note #2 below)
Make the sauce while the potatoes are cooking
- In a blender, add the garlic, chile de arbol peppers, lemon juice, bullion and black pepper. Blend well until it has a salsa consistency. Blend until there are no big chunks of garlic and chiles. About 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
Saute The Potatoes
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter then the potatoes (see note #3 below). Make sure they brown on all sides.
- Keep stirring so that potatoes don't get stuck at the bottom. When they start to get crispy, add the chile sauce and mix to incorporate all ingredients well.
- Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until most of the sauce is absorbed.
- Sprinkle with cilantro. They can be served hot or cold.
Notes
Your Private Notes
Nutrition
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FAQ
Papas Cambray are called New Potatoes or Baby Potatoes in English. They’re easy to find and have so much flavor!
Make about 5 to 6 ounces per person (about 165 grams) for cambray, new or baby potatoes.
Even though white potatoes contain a lot of starch, that doesn’t make them unhealthy. It just means you might want to limit how much you eat. This recipe contains very little oil to keep them lower in fat since it’s not really needed. The flavor comes from the delicious Mexican spicy sauce.
Thank you for this recipe. In the past when I have made something like this, I had trouble with the sauce sticking to the potatoes. Do you know how I can avoid this from happening?
Hi Jasmine, you could peel the potatoes as they will absorb all of the chile sauce. The other way is to make the sauce is mixed really well before adding it to the potatoes. Let the potatoes sit for a few minutes in the sauce and keep spooning the sauce over them. I haven’t had that problem with this recipe so hopefully you won’t either!
Enjoy!
Love the spice!
Husband said this was one of the best potato recipes he has ever eaten. I definitely enjoyed it aswell.
Thank you ☺️
Great recipe, very flavorful. I recommend slicing the potatoes so they cook faster and get covered in the sauce better. Also follow the recipe ratios as written it’s important to get the nice color, I tried making the recipe another time and winged it with the portions/ratios and while they still tasted good the sauce color wasn’t as pretty as when I made it following the recipe exactly. This recipe is also good if you pan roast the potatoes, but it’s more calorie dense if made that way as opposed to boiling.
I will be going to a potluck in a few weeks: however, I would like to try these first with a meal. Any suggestions on what I can serve with these?
Hi Victoria! Good question! I would try them with something more mild like a grilled fish or shrimp since these tend to already have a lot of flavor.
Will also go great with these (I added these suggestions to the post as well since it may help someone else too. let me know how you like them!)
* Bean tostadas https://www.muydelish.com/black-bean-tostadas/
* Cilantro Lime Chicken: https://www.muydelish.com/cilantro-lime-chicken/
* Bistec Encebollado: https://www.muydelish.com/bistec-encebollado/
* Sonoran Hotdogs: https://www.muydelish.com/sonoran-hot-dog/
* Shrimp tacos: https://www.muydelish.com/shrimp-tacos-pineapple-salsa/
xo, Ana
Thank you for responding so quickly. I think I will try the Bistec Encebollado. Both sound so tasty. Setting my grocery list for next week. Wish me luck.
We had these for dinner and they were great. I enjoyed them even more the next day cold though!
Thank you, Casey!! Yes they taste good cold, so happy you liked them.
These were really good! They really transformed boring potatoes into something with pizazz!
Thank you, Chenee!!! so glad you liked them.
These potatoes are perfect! I can’t wait to make them again for NYE!
Thank you, Ned!! so happy you liked them.
What a delish side dish!! Yum!
Thank you, Dina and Bruce!! so happy you liked them.
This was such a unique and unexpected way to enjoy potatoes! Was quick, easy and perfectly crispy; definitely, a new favorite recipe!
Thank you, Sara!!! so happy you liked them.
Las voy a hacer esta semana
Gracias
I truly love this recipe. My daughter’s mother-in-law made them for a party and I couldn’t forget them. I tried your recipe and fell in love with them all over again. Even my boyfriend, who sometimes complains about all the spicy food I eat, ate them like crazy. I doubled the recipe for the sauce of course and now fixing them again just a week later. Thank you soo much. I have never really left a review but this recipe deserves it!!!
Que ricaaas!!
Son muy buenas!!! Deliciosas
Son muy buenas!!!
Que delicia esta receta !! Muchas Gracias!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Do you dehydrate the chili’s first?
Hi Debbie, I do not. There is no need to hydrate them for this salsa. Enjoy!
These were so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Just looking at these spicy potatoes is making my mouth water. I can’t wait to try these and I just know they’ll be muy delish.
These spicy potatoes are so delicious, Ana! I love seeing another recipe with chiles de arbol. It’s a comforting and flavorful side dish that’s easily made vegan; thank you for sharing this recipe!