Savory Breakfast Potatoes and Hash Recipes

Breakfast potatoes live or die on how crispy they get.

Crispy comes down to a few habits you can learn once and use on any of these.

These six cover the range, from plain home fries to a corned beef hash with eggs baked right into it.

Some are pure potato, and some carry the whole breakfast on their own.

None of them need more than one pan and a hot stove, or in one case a hot oven.

A 12-inch cast iron skillet holds heat better than anything for building a crust, and a metal fish spatula slides under the potatoes to turn them without scraping the crispy side off.

1. Crispy Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

Start with the plain version, diced potatoes fried in a skillet until the edges go deep gold.

Parboil them for a few minutes first and let them steam-dry, because dry potatoes crisp and wet ones just stick.

Cut them into even half-inch cubes so they cook at the same rate instead of some burning while others stay raw.

Russets or Yukon golds both work here, though the Yukons hold their shape a little better once they crisp.

The onion and green onion go in near the end so they don’t scorch while the potatoes take their time.

2. Corned Beef Hash

Corned beef hash is the diner classic, and homemade beats the canned stuff by a mile.

Press the mix flat into the pan and let it sit without stirring, since that browned crust on the bottom is the whole reason to make a hash.

Keep the corned beef and potato to roughly equal amounts so it doesn’t tip into all meat or all starch.

Make a few wells and crack the eggs right into the hash to finish, so the yolks run into the potatoes when you cut in.

It’s a full plate on its own, no toast required, though nobody’s stopping you.

3. Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash

Swap in sweet potatoes and the whole thing turns a little sweeter and a lot more colorful.

Cut them small, because sweet potato takes longer to cook through than a russet and you don’t want the outsides black before the middle is done.

A firm orange sweet potato holds up better than the softer white kind, which tends to go to mush.

A pinch of smoked paprika or chili plays off the sweetness better than plain salt and pepper.

Sausage and eggs turn it into a full breakfast, and it happens to be gluten-free without trying.

4. Ham and Potato Hash

This is the one for the week after a holiday, when there’s leftover ham that needs using up.

Brown the potatoes first and add the ham near the end, since it’s already cooked and only needs to warm through and pick up a little color.

Peppers and onion give it some sweetness to push against the salty ham.

Diced potatoes or shredded hash-brown potatoes both work, so use whichever is faster for you.

Top it with a fried egg and it’s a fast dinner as much as a breakfast.

5. Crispy Hash Browns

Shredded hash browns are a different animal from diced potatoes, all lacy crisp edges instead of soft centers.

Grate the potatoes on a box grater and wring them out hard in a clean towel, because the water is what stands between you and a crisp hash brown.

Reach for russets here, since their high starch is exactly what fries up into that lacy edge.

Press them into a thin, even layer and flip only once, when the underside is set and golden all the way across.

Butter in the pan gets you the browning, but a little oil with it keeps the butter from burning before the potatoes are done.

6. Crispy Oven-Roasted Breakfast Potatoes

When you’re feeding a crowd, the oven does what a skillet can’t, which is crisp a whole tray at once.

Cut the potatoes into even cubes and spread them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet so they roast instead of steaming in a pile.

Toss them in enough oil to coat every side, because a dry spot on the pan just won’t brown.

Roast them hot, around 425, and flip them once halfway through so both sides color.

Because they’re hands-off once they’re in, this is the one to make when the stovetop is busy with eggs and bacon.

A Few Notes on Getting Them Crispy

The one thing standing between you and crispy potatoes is water, so dry them well whether you parboiled, soaked, or shredded them.

Preheat the pan before the fat even goes in, because potatoes dropped into a cold skillet sit and steam instead of searing.

Give them room once they’re in, since a crowded pan traps steam and steamed potatoes never crisp.

Cut everything the same size with a sharp chef’s knife so the pieces brown at the same rate.

Salt at the end rather than the start, since salt pulls moisture to the surface and works against the crust while they cook.

More Savory Breakfasts on the Site

Pile any of these into a bowl with eggs and greens and you’ve basically made one of my savory breakfast bowls for easy meal prep.

For the mornings you’ve only got ten minutes, quick and easy savory breakfast ideas keeps it fast.

And high-protein savory breakfast ideas rounds up the eggs-first plates that keep you full till lunch.