I had a dream…
…of being able to make shredded hash browns at home without them being completely gross.
Because even my best-laid plans would leave me with poor results…
Too soggy. Too gummy. Too raw. Too burnt.
And hopelessly stuck to the pan.
I can make homemade marshmallows and french bread from scratch, for goodness sakes. What was up with these stinkin’ hash browns?
I am way too stubborn to buy frozen shredded hash browns from the store, so there we were, stuck eating fried potato cubes instead. Tragic.
Come to find out, there were only a few simple steps standing between me and homemade hash brown potato heaven. Who knew?
If you are in the same boat I was, you’ll want to definitely pin or save today’s post. It’s life-changing information, I’m telling ya.
Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe
- 2-3 potatoes (Any type will work, but Russets are classic hash brown potatoes. I use medium to large sized spuds)
- 4 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I use this one)
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Shred your potatoes. I don’t peel mine first (because I’m lazy. Because the peels provide extra nutrition. *A-hem*), but you can if you want.
If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can use a hand grater. I personally hate grating stuff by hand, so my food processor makes short work of the potatoes.
Now comes the important part: rinse your potatoes. The starch on the potatoes is what tends to make them gummy and sticky. We want it outta there.
I simply put my shredded potatoes in a colander, and rinse until the water is clear, not cloudy.
Allow the potatoes to drain thoroughly. I like to squeeze ’em a bit to get out all the moisture I can, or you can pat them dry with a clean dish towel.
Toss in the salt and pepper. Don’t forget this step. Seasoning is important…
Meanwhile, heat up the butter or bacon fat in your skillet until it’s melted. I use my 12″ cast iron skillet, because I’m cool like that.
Place the potatoes in the pan, give them a quick stir, then leave them alone to cook on medium-low heat.
The leaving alone part is important. Don’t fuss with them, just let them cook on that side for 8-10 minutes or so.
Now give them a flip. I’m not talented enough to flip the entire potato mass at once, so I flip it in sections. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just get it flipped.
Cook the other side 5-8 minutes, or until it’s that lovely shade of golden brown and appropriately crispy.
Serve immediately. Accompany with ketchup if you want, or eat plain for pure shredded hash brown goodness.
Kitchen Notes:
- If you don’t want to use butter or bacon fat, coconut oil will work in this recipe. I do think butter or bacon grease will offer more flavor for your shredded hash browns, though.
- Every stovetop is different, so watch the pan closely the first time you make these. You want the heat high enough to crisp up the potatoes, but not so hot that it burns the bottom before the middle has time to cook.
- It’s tempting to try to crowd the pan with more potatoes (I get greedy sometimes…), but keep in mind that if you do, you’ll likely end up with soft/soggy hash browns. In order for them to nicely crisp up, they need to have room to cook.
- Serve your homemade hash browns alongside some of my other favorite breakfast foods, like:
- No-Stick Scrambled Eggs (cooked in your cast iron skillet, of course)
- Homemade Butermilk Biscuits
- Homemade Sausage Gravy
- Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties
Shredded Hash Browns Recipe
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
- 2–3 potatoes (Any type will work, but Russets are classic hash brown potatoes. I use medium to large sized spuds)
- 4 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I use this one)
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Shred your potatoes. I don’t peel mine first, but you can if you want.
- Rinse your potatoes.
- I simply put my shredded potatoes in a colander, and rinse until the water is clear, not cloudy.
- Allow the potatoes to drain thoroughly. I like to squeeze ’em a bit to get out all the moisture I can, or you can pat them dry with a clean dish towel.
- Toss in the salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, heat up the butter or bacon fat in your skillet until it’s melted.
- Place the potatoes in the pan, give them a quick stir, then leave them alone to cook on medium-low heat.
- The leaving alone part is important. Don’t fuss with them, just let them cook on that side for 8-10 minutes or so.
- Now give them a flip. I’m not talented enough to flip the entire potato mass at once, so I flip it in sections. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just get it flipped.
- Cook the other side 5-8 minutes, or until it’s that lovely shade of golden brown and appropriately crispy.
- Serve immediately. Accompany with ketchup if you want, or eat plain for pure shredded hash brown goodness.
Thank you so much! I have tried and tried again to get crispy but not burnt hash browns with minimally increasing luck! I have never tried rinsing the starch off, that makes so much sense. I can’t wait to try this recipe out tonight for dinner!
Hope it turned out perfectly for you Margaret!
I find that if I just bake the potato first, then shred it, that it is never sticky or gluey.
That is how the Swiss do it. It is a specialty here. But they precook the potatoes at least a day before. In Cologne/Germany they use raw potatoes but they get grated very finely and then add eggs to make a nice dough and then bake them in a skilett but just enough dough to make a fistsized pancake from it.
I have always shredded my taters with a bit of onion then squeezed out the extra starchy juice. I like the potatoes a tiny bit gummy.
You nailed this. Thanks.
So I soak mine in coldest water it help the starch leave faster then I’ll wash and rinse them Ans dry then cook. To freeze … after soaking in cold water I blanch them for 1 1/2 mins and then strain and put in freezer bags
Thanks for this info! I am wanting to freeze them, and this sounds like a good way.
I struggled with this for ages. For me, just squeezing the excess moisture from the potatoes is enough. Rinsing seems to get rid of too much of the starch, made mine seem dry.
my goodness.i tried and what can i say.perfect.
wahoo!
I love hash browns. Especially with Tabasco ketchup. Crispy on the outside. Soft on the inside. Very hard to do at home. I’ll give this method a try. Anything for hash browns more often.
Amen to that. 🙂
But….where is the onion??!
This also works with grated zucchini. Zucchini hash browns are yummy and a good, healthy alternative, esp if you’re diabetic. The added advantage is getting rid of some of that zucchini we’re always buried in.
That’s a great idea! Always more than enough zucchini it seems…
Jill, the secret to perfect hash brown for me is to boil them the day before, skins on, just like you would do for potato salad. Refrigerate overnight, shred, and voila, perfect hash browns every time. Then during the morning rush or for quick dinners they only take a couple of minutes to heat and brown in frying medium of your choice. I use coconut oil as it’s the master of crispy edges. Do some up ahead, shred and freeze. Thaw and add meats of choice, sauce/gravy of choice, and cheese. Add scrambled eggs and bake, or pepperoni cheese and pasta sauce for pizza casserole bake, etc. A million ways to fix up. So enjoy your blog, Norma
Sounds delish Norma! Now I’m hungry. 🙂
Do you frreze them aftwr shredding but before frying, Norma?
Thanks for posting this – My failures sound exactly like yours have been. I’ll have to try this out!
Let me know how it works!
Tried it. This worked perfectly! I thank you. My family thanks you.
Life is good!
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Now, for the ultimate fried potatoes, any style, use rendered poultry fat. Chicken, duck or the very best: goose fat!
Oh. YUM.
I tried it, squeezed all the water out, and fried them, but they fell apart. It was just random shredded potatoes all over my skillet. I used margarine instead of butter (because that’s what I had in my fridge), but I can’t imagine that causing it to all fall apart. Any ideas? It did cook to a nice, crispy even brown, and tasted great, just didn’t stick together like at a restaurant.
And if you want to shred your potatoes ahead of time, keep them in a bowl of cold water – they won’t turn brown.
Oh, don’t throw the potato rinse water out. Try looking up how to make potato starch at home, and you’ll then get two practical things done at once. Very easy to do, trust me, and no GMOs in your starch either. Thanks for having a great blog. Love PHS 🙂
Make sure the fat in the frying pan is hot, before you put the potatoes in. That’s the most important part for getting the crispy edges! You can turn the heat down if you need to. The crispier you want your hash brown, the thinner the pile of potatoes you put in.
I don’t rinse my potatoes, just squeeze them. Cooking the potatoes too slow or with too much in the pan contributes to the grey mass. You are so right about letting them sit! Don’t stir them up!
With the heat we have, I’m not up to cooking those potatoes today, but I sure want to now! I need to get an outdoor stove! We already have the outdoor oven. I need to keep the heat out of my house.
Thanks for the great way to get crispy hash browns! Mine usually come out soggy.
We have two ways to “finish” hash browns and turn them from a side into a meal. The first is to slice up some farmer’s sausage and throw it on top after you flip potatoes, then throw frozen peas on top of that. Once the hash browns are done, turn off the stove, sprinkle shredded cheese on top of everything and cover it. Serve when the cheese is melted.
The 2nd method is our family favorite. While the potatoes are frying, cook up some chorizo. After flipping the taters, sprinkle the chorizo on top while the other side cooks. Towards the end of the potatoes cooking, open a jar of canned black beans and spread those on top of everything. Top with shredded cheese, let it melt and serve. These are some of our best after church, Sunday brunch mealtimes.
You’re making me hungry Matt!
Looking for your frosting recipe you used on the perfect party cake. It looks like whipped cream and strawberries
Hey Kathy– here’s my whipped cream frosting recipe: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/05/whipped-cream-frosting-recipe-2.html
You’re my hero!!!
They were PERFECTION!!
Your method is how I cooked hash browns for 30 years. I slaved in the kitchen for my family. Then I discovered an even easier way. I make extra baked potatoes for supper the night before I plan to make hash browns for breakfast. Then at breakfast you just dice up the already cooked baked potatoes and fry them for breakfast. All you are really are doing is rewarming and browning the potatoes so you save yourself time and work. No more gummy potatoes, no more burnt potatoes. No rinsing, no draining, no grating. Breakfast gets on the table in half the time with half the effort. Why didn’t someone teach me this method when I was younger? I’m paying it forward. You’re welcome.
Súper simple and awesome, I will no longer buy them.
I am wondering if thease can be frozen successfully?
It worked, it TOTALLY worked!! I’ve tried SO many times, but this is the first time that we are actually enjoying hash browns for breakfast! Thank you Jill… I’ve come to trust that when you say something works, it actually does!
we love hashbrowns, but a couple mods – I grate a little onion in with the spuds, or add chives. Then after turning, make depressions in the potatoes and nest in a couple eggs and let them cook with the hashbrowns, you can even top with a little cheddar if you are adventurist, great one skillet breakfast!
Hashbtowns every morning ? That’s just the way I make them. Learned the tricks from my hubby’s grandma 🙂 She also use to bake them whole the night before then she’d them when they were cold. No rinsing needed that way. This is super convenient with the instant pot!!
I use my salad spinner to get the most moisture out.
Salad spinner and ice cold water! So crazy to see all that starch in the bottom of the bowl. After the first 8-10 min.—smash the potatoes down and press the perimeter in for a nice tight circle. Then you are ready for the mid-air flip! (Unless you have a 7 lb. cast iron skillet!) Hold your pan confidently, off the burner, shake back and forth a couple times to get your rhythm, count to 3 and FLIP those browns in mid-air! Who knew there could be acrobatics and suspense making breakfast?!
Extra yum—> after both sides are browned and crisp—assemble like an omelette—add sautéed onions and peppers and shredded cheddar. Fold over like an omelet, and when the cheese oozes out—serrve it up!
Hey Jill! Love your blog! Have you tried dehydrating your shreds yet? I’m wondering if one would have to use cooked shreds to keep them from turning black!
Am I a dingbat or what? How do you slice/dice potatoes in your food processor. Don’t they form a minced mess?
‘Cause I’m cool like that’ Hahahaha
If you sprinkle the pan with salt ,it helps many things like eggs not stick.
Also when it is time to flip them I use a dinner palate that is large enough to cover top of frying pan ,then I turn them out onto that then slide them back into pan to brown on the other side works great
Thank you for all your hard work.
You forgot to admonish ppl to make 2 or 3 pans!! My kids eat half a pan each ?
I like the idea of doing zucc this way. Dry them very well 1st, maybe mix in with potatoes to keep from mushing out…
Holy jalapenos! I have just been nominated for Mother of the Year by my family as a result of these hashbrowns ? I will NEVER let frozen hashbrowns from the grocery enter my home again! Thank you!
SO happy to hear that! 🙂
Could you tell us what kind of food processor you’re using? When I put a potato in my food processor, I end up with potato bits. How do you get yours to give you long strands?
Is it possible to take shredded potatoes and pressure can them? I see where people can in slices, chunks, fries, but nothing about canning shredded potatoes. Any insight would be appreciated.
some recipes call for eggs as a binder. Do we not need this?