These homemade hash brown patties are super crispy and insanely delicious. The perfect accompaniment to any breakfast style sandwich!
Maybe it’s because I’m from the UK, but when I think of hash browns I instantly think of patties. In fact come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever had hash browns that fill the pan! Probably because I’ve spent the last 10 years eating McDonald’s hash browns 😂 Speaking of McDonald’s these hash browns are VERY similar (just tastier 🤪). Follow me…
How to prepare Hash Browns
Admittedly there are a few steps to making hash browns, but the results are really worth it. There’s something so satisfying about making your own hash browns. The two main things you want to address when prepping the potato:
Remove the starch
We’re looking for the hash browns to be fluffy on the outside and crispy on the outside. In order to get a fluffy inside we want to remove as much starch as possible. Starch is what turns the potato gloopy when it’s cooked. To do this you’ll want to soak grated potato in cold water. As you swish the shredded potato around with your hand you’ll see the water turn cloudy, which is what we want. This is the starch leaving the potato.
Remove the moisture
The next thing you want to do is remove as much water as possible from the potato. This will ensure the hash browns turn nice and crispy. To do this simply drain the starchy water away then squeeze the shredded potato in a cloth. It should end up with similar texture to shredded coconut.
Process shots: add grated potato to bowl (photo 1), add water (photo 2), add cloth over bowl (photo 3), add drained potato and grated shallot (photo 4), twist into ball (photo 5), squeeze out moisture (photo 6).
How to make Hash Browns
Once you’ve removed as much moisture as possible, all you need to do is stir in flour and s&p. You do not need to add eggs to hash browns. This will turn the hash brown sloppy and ruin everything you’ve just worked for! The salt will drawer a tiny bit more moisture from the potato, which works with the flour to glue the potato shreds together.
Hash Brown Patties
From there, just divide the mixture and form into patties. I like oval shapes, just to mimic the classic McDonald’s hash browns. Generally speaking, the thinner you make them the crispier they’ll be.
Pan Fried Hash Browns
To fry the hash browns I like to use a combo of butter and vegetable oil. The butter adds a gorgeous rich flavour to the patties, whilst the vegetable oil helps crisp up the patties. It’s high smoking point also helps the butter not burn out.
Can I oven bake hash brown patties?
If you were making potato rostis then I’d recommend finishing them off in the oven, but because hash brown patties are so thin you’ll struggle to get that gorgeous golden outside without drying them out too much in the oven. As such I recommend pan frying. Plus you don’t want to miss out on that buttery goodness!
Process shots: add flour and s&p to potato (photo 1), mix (photo 2), form patties (photo 3), add butter/oil to pan (photo 4), add patties (photo 5), fry both sides (photo 6).
Make Ahead Hash Browns
Can I prepare these ahead of time?
These are best made fresh. The longer you leave them, the more moisture the salt draws out and the soggier they get. I have tried this in the past and stored them in the fridge just before frying and they were way too soggy to fry!
Can I fully make these ahead of time?
You can tightly store them in the fridge or freezer then reheat until crispy again in the oven. A fairly low temp like 180C/350F will do the trick!
Serving Hash Browns
What can I serve these with?
Perfect as part of a fry up, even better served with (or inside) a breakfast style sandwich! Fried Egg Sandwich, Breakfast Sandwich, Bacon Sandwich and Sausage Sandwich all work great!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these hash brown patties shall we?!
How to make Hash Brown Patties (Full Recipe & Video)
Hash Brown Patties
Equipment
- Large Non-Stick Frying Pan & Spatula/Turner
- 2 Medium/Large Mixing Bowls & Spatula
- Box Grater
- Clean Cloth
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized White Potatoes, grated on a box grater (approx 7oz/200g EACH)
- 1 Shallot, peeled & grated
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Plain/All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt, Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add grated potato to a mixing bowl and pour in cold water. Swish around with your hands and squeeze the potato to help remove the starch.
- Drain water and place potato shreds onto a cloth above a bowl. Add the grated shallot then wrap everything into a tight ball and squeeze out as much water as physically possible. Place potato/shallot into a clean/dry bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp flour and 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper. Use a spatula to combine. At this point the salt will draw out a small amount of moisture from the potato, just enough to glue with the flour to stick the potato shreds together. Divide potato into 6 then form into patty shapes.
- Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add patties and fry for 3-5mins each side, or until golden and crispy. Enjoy!
Quick Demo
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition:
If you loved this Hash Brown Patties Recipe be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Give me a shout in the comments below!
Just made these. My shredded Russet potatoes were not holding together so I added an additional Tbs. of flour which did the trick. I must have shredded more potatoes than called for. As you suggested, I added other ingredients that our f amily likes, like onion powder and 4 cloves of minced garlic.Your base recipe is excellent! Easy and quick, they were a hit with everyone.
So great to hear these went down well, Dottie! Thanks for the review 🙂 C.
This is a wonderfully easy recipe. I don’t even measure anything and didn’t even use S&P, used my homemade spicy seasoning mix instead and it was delicious. But how did you get yours to brown soo evenly, (almost like they were deep-fried)? Mine tastes great but looked very different than the all-browned version in your picture. I cook/pan fry mine abit longer just to get it to brown more all over, because only the middle gets brown not soo much on the edges. Am I not using enough oil? I don’t want to end up deep-frying it by adding tons of oil. Will it brown all-over better in the oven? air-fryer?
Thanks!
Definitely not deep fried, just fried in the oil and butter. Maybe you could press down with a spatula very gently when they’re in the pan, just to make sure all the hash brown is making contact with the pan. Either way glad they went down well and thanks for sharing your feedback 🙂
Can i use a little bit of onion in place of the shallots?
Yep, that’ll work! 🙂
You can’t beat homemade hash browns. They are perfect for a Sunday brunch.
Yep! So perfect for Sundays!
What an incredibly easy recipe to make hash browns! Love how kid friendly they are and they’re just perfect for a snack. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Jeannette! 🙂
Thanks for providing all the tips on making the hashbrowns; this is something I want to make at home instead of buying freezer products.
Glad you found them useful adriana! 🙂
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try this one!
Thanks Katie 🙂
You can’t beat a hash brown pattie! A must have in my breakfast sandwich. These look delicious.
Thanks Bintu! 🙂