I love hash browns. I love them even more when they are made from fresh potatoes. Frozen potatoes have a funny taste to me. So I like to make hash browns at home. But I always seem to add too much oil to the pan so I end up with greasy potatoes. Not so yummy. Plus I can’t help myself when it comes to stirring them up, so I have a hard time getting them crispy. But with this super easy, foolproof method anyone can make nice, crispy hash browns.
All you need are some potatoes and salt. And a little ketchup. (Or a lot if you’re like me.) Oh and a waffle iron. I have a Belgian waffle iron, but a regular waffle iron would work too.
- 4 – 5 small to medium potatoes, peeled
- salt
- One at a time grate peeled potatoes.
- Squeeze the moisture out of the grated potato and place it in to the strainer, set into a bowl. (The bowl will catch the water from the potatoes.)
- Sprinkle the layer of potato with salt. Repeat until all the potatoes are in the strainer.
- Let potatoes sit for 5-10 minutes. They will start to turn brown. Don’t worry. Your hash browns will only have the crispy brown color, not the “my potatoes sat on the counter” brown.
- Meanwhile, plug in your waffle iron and turn it to the hottest setting.
- When you are ready to cook your hash browns, spray or brush oil onto the waffle iron.
- Squeeze the potatoes out one more time as you are putting them into the waffle iron. Careful, the potatoes may start to pop when you place them on the hot, oiled waffle iron.
- Make a nice even layer, covering the cook surface of your iron. Be sure to not pile it on so thick that your iron doesn’t close.
- Close the iron and cook hash browns until they are as crispy as you want. (I cooked mine about 15 minutes.)
The real trick to getting your hash browns crispy is to get a lot of the water out of the potatoes. So make sure that salt them to draw the water out as they rest and squeeze them out really good and get as much moisture out as you can.
You can also open the iron whenever you want to check on them. It won’t pull apart like an under cooked waffle will if you peek too early. This is how mine looked after just a few minutes in the iron.
Making hash browns in the waffle iron is awesome because you get perfect hash browns every time, and you can work on the rest of your breakfast while the hash browns cook.
You can use any kind of potatoes you want. Even sweet potatoes. Believe me. I tried it. Just be sure to watch them so they don’t burn. They will burn much faster than white potatoes because of the sugars.
oh my gosh, this is genius! I love homemade hash browns but have the same problems as you and flip them way too much/add too much oil too! I can’t wait to try making them this way! Did you have no problems with them sticking to your waffle iron?
Nope. They didn’t stick at all. Which was awesome!
These look amazing!! I’m definitely going to try these, what a fun idea.
This is a great and easy idea!
What a great idea! I am going to have to try this for sure! Looks delicious!
https://emilyandtylerglover.wordpress.com/
Oh yum! I love hashbrowns and love how easy this sounds. I am definately going to make these!
I think I need to buy a waffle iron! I love crispy hashbrowns!
Amy@ThePreppyStrawberry
This sounds fantastic…do the potatoes stick together? Even if not to the waffle iron? I want it to come out as a patty (you know what I mean!) not a pile.
The potatoes come out in one big waffle. They are nice and crispy and look pretty on the plate.
So do these require any oil? If not, that is awesome!
I did brush some oil on the waffle iron. You could use non-stick spray too. I’m not sure about no oil. I haven’t tried it that way. But it’s possible that they wouldn’t stick when they’re crispy. I’ll have to try it out.
I found your recipe last night and cooked them the next morning and my gosh, they are great. Thank you for the recipe. Also i had no problem with the potatoes sticking. 🙂