I am always looking for ways to make breakfasts more efficient and fast. There is nothing more satisfying than cooking a delicious breakfast with all the fixings and everything being ready at the same time. I love having hash browns as an easy way to get a savory and crispy aspect to breakfast and typically just heat up the frozen hash brown patties in the oven or air fryer to bake while I’m busy preparing everything else. But let’s say you are making a smaller breakfast in bed for two--I prefer to make the smaller batch right in the pan on the stove if it’s just for me or my husband and I. Instead of the traditional way of making these on the stovetop, I have the perfect recipe to share with you today that is a very no-fuss, set it and forget it kind of way to get your crispy hash brown fix for breakfast next time.


Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, had a recipe on her Food Network show for “Breakfast Hacks” where she made hash browns right in the waffle maker. She added things like cheese and bacon to make it even tastier. I couldn’t wait to try this myself to see if I had a new easier way to make hash browns. The options are endless for things to mix in these hash browns to make them your own, but here are a few mix-ins I thought sounded great to try:

Add some mix-ins like:

• Grated cheddar cheese
• Green onions
• Crumbled bacon
• Chopped ham
• Diced Jalapenos 
• Garlic, garlic powder, dried onions or onion powder

Top it with:

I saw a recipe also on Food Network for “waffled hash browns” and they suggested to top them with smoked salmon, a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives. That sounds so fun to make a meal out of hash browns, using them as a base. You could get creative with that and add whatever toppings you’d love over fried, crispy potatoes (aka….everything! What doesn’t go great with crispy potatoes?) 


In this case, it is traditional toppings for a bagel with lox, but you could do something that is more inspired by Mexican food flavors--I’m always looking for more ways to use Cholula sauce in my life! You could also top with a more traditional American diner breakfast with your crispy hashbrowns on the bottom, topped with crispy strips of bacon and a couple fried eggs on top. We know we all love when our breakfast foods kind of get mixed in together and you get a bit with the sweet and savory together. All the flavors compliment each other so well, I say why not add those toppings right on top of the hash browns?

Using Fresh Potatoes Instead of Frozen Hash Browns?

I didn’t have a bag of frozen hash browns, so I grated a fresh potato instead and it turned out beautifully. I like to grate the potato, squeeze as much moisture I can out of them with paper towels or a kitchen towel, then par-cook them in the microwave by spreading them evenly out on a plate, covering with a damp paper towel and cooking for 3-4 minutes on High. Now they are ready to follow the rest of the directions to add them to the waffle maker to cook the rest of the way and get crispy on the outside. Par-cooking ensures they are cooked all the way, and it leaves them soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. This is a step you won’t want to forget if you make your hash browns with fresh potatoes.

Final Thoughts

To feed a crowd, I think this recipe might be a little too time consuming to make batches and batches of these hashbrowns. However, if you are just making them for yourself, or just two of you, I highly recommend giving these a try. They are kind of easy to “set and forget” for 10 minutes or so, while you can be preparing other things and you don’t have all the messy oil splatters to clean up afterward.


Have you made many things in your waffle maker besides waffles? Please share in the comments below. I’d love to know more ways to use one of my favorite small kitchen appliances.



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    Mary Richardson
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! mary@dvo.com