These Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes are smothered in cheese and loaded with veggies, ham, bacon, and loads of flavor. They take just a few minutes to whip up and are sure to become your new breakfast favorite.
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The Best Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes
This recipe for fully loaded breakfast potatoes is one of my family’s all-time favorites. It’s super satisfying and easy to adjust depending on what leftovers and ingredients we happened to have on hand. It’s also a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes, holiday ham or any kind of veggies you have sitting in the fridge.
Depending on how many shortcuts you take (we like to buy Kirkland brand precooked bacon in bulk), a skillet full of Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes can be ready on the table in just about 30 minutes. Serve them up with a side of Sausage Gravy, Strawberry Cream Scones, or Vegetable Quiche, and prepare to be wowed.
Suggested Breakfast Hash Browns Variations
- If you want to turn this hash brown skillet into a main course, just add more veggies! Mushrooms, green peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower would all work great in this recipe.
- Skip the meat and make it a veggie skillet.
- Instead of ham and bacon, try adding shredded chicken or hamburger meat.
- Make it spicy by adding a can of green chilis and a touch of cayenne.
Ingredients in Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes
- Potatoes - this is a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes. If you don’t happen to have leftover potatoes on hand, you can bake some ahead of time, or saute diced potatoes on a hot skillet for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked. We prefer to use a more starchy potato, like a Russet or Idaho, for hash browns.
- Avocado Oil - you can also substitute olive oil, bacon grease, butter or even a combination.
- Garlic - you can use fresh garlic or the minced garlic in the jar.
- Red Pepper - really any color of bell pepper will work.
- Salt and Pepper
- Ham - you can use leftover ham, breakfast ham or even deli sliced ham.
- Bacon Bits - We like the Kirkland brand pre-cooked bacon - it’s a definite time-saver. However, it is also super simple to make your own bacon bits if you prefer. (See the notes below the recipe)
- Shredded Cheese - we usually use shredded cheddar, but mozzarella, Pepper Jack and Monterey Jack would also taste great, too. We’ve even been known to mix in a little cream cheese along with the shredded cheese and it is de-lish.
How to Make Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes
- Prep your potatoes. If you don’t have baked potatoes on hand, you will need to either bake some or dice and saute raw potatoes. Once you have 3 whole cooked and diced potatoes, you can continue on with the recipe.
- Saute the veggies. In a nonstick pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil (or bacon grease or butter) and heat over medium high heat. Add the diced onions and cook until they are translucent and slightly golden, or about 5 minutes. Add the diced baked potatoes, garlic and bell pepper and toss with a spatula until everything is coated in the oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss again.
- Brown the potatoes. Allow the potatoes to cook uninterrupted until they begin to turn golden on one side, or about 3-5 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the potatoes over and cook until golden again, repeating this process 3-4 times until they are completely golden brown on all sides. If they are sticking to the pan, you can add another 2-4 tablespoons of oil.
- Add the ham and bacon. Once your potatoes are almost completely cooked, add the ham and bacon bits and toss them so that they warm through before removing the hash browns from the heat.
- Add the cheese and melt. Off of the heat, add 1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese and mix, then top with the remaining ½ cups of cheese and cover with a lid for a few minutes until it melts.
- Serve. Once the cheese on top has melted, remove the lid and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Cooking Tips
- A couple of simple short cuts are to use leftover baked potatoes and premade bacon bits.
- Using a nonstick skillet will really cut down on the amount of oil you need to use.
- If you want to get a little crust over the top of your Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, toss the skillet into the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
We prefer starchier potatoes such as Russet potatoes and Idaho potatoes. Waxy potatoes contain more water and don’t crisp up as well.
Since we are using pre-cooked potatoes (rather than shredded hash browns), you shouldn’t have as much of an issue with getting them nice and crispy. Just be sure to use enough oil, and to leave the potatoes alone enough to allow them time to brown on each side.
The fork test is a great way to know whether or not your potatoes are cooked all the way through. Just poke the potato with a fork and if it sticks, keep cooking. If it slides right off, the potatoes are done.
Storing and Reheating
If you have any leftover Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, don’t throw them out! They can easily be reheated, or even repurposed and made into a cheesy hashbrown casserole, tossed into soup or made into a new kind of breakfast hash or side dish.
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: to reheat hash browns, warm a skillet over medium high heat with a little oil and fry the leftover potatoes until warmed through. You can also preheat your oven to 350 degrees, transfer to an oven-safe dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 10-15 minutes.
- Freezing: you can freeze leftover hash browns in freezer bags for up to 1 month if you want. Just let them thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 1 medium Onion white or yellow, diced
- 3 whole Baked Russet Potatoes* cut into ½" pieces
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic minced
- ½ Red Bell Pepper diced
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ Cup Ham diced into ½" pieces
- ⅔ Cup Bacon Bits**
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- In a nonstick pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil (or bacon grease or butter) and heat over medium high heat. Add the diced onions and cook until they are translucent and slightly golden, or about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced baked potatoes, garlic and bell pepper and toss with a spatula until everything is coated in the oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Allow the potatoes to cook uninterrupted until they begin to turn golden on one side, or about 3-5 minutes.
- Using a spatula, flip the potatoes over and cook until golden again, repeating this process 3-4 times until they are completely golden brown on all sides. If they are sticking to the pan, you can add another 2-4 tablespoons of oil.
- Once your potatoes are almost completely cooked, add the ham and bacon bits and toss them so that they warm through before removing the hash browns from the heat.
- Off of the heat, add 1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese and mix, then top with the remaining ½ cups of cheese and cover with a lid for a few minutes until it melts.
- Once the cheese on top has melted, remove the lid and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Here are some more of our favorite breakfast recipes!
- Easy Baked Denver Omelet Casserole
- Strawberries and Cream French Toast Bake
- Sausage and Spinach Quiche
- Homemade Flakey Biscuits
- Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
- More Best Breakfast Recipes
- More Best Potato Recipes
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These Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes are super satisfying and easy to adjust depending on what leftovers and ingredients we happened to have on hand. They are sure to become your new breakfast favorite.
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