- Why sweet potatoes don’t crisp like regular hash browns
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- Step-by-step Instructions
- The Cast-Iron Skillet I L❤️VE!
- Oops! Why aren’t my sweet potato hash browns crispy?
- FAQs
- Crispy Sweet Potato Hash Browns Recipe
- What to serve with sweet potato hash browns
- More Sweet Potato Recipes
How I finally got sweet potato hash browns to hold together
Having already known that sweet potatoes make an incredible breakfast dish (mainly thanks to this Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs!) I was pumped to experiment with this new idea.
But getting a patty of hash browns to hold together proved to be a little more challenging than I thought!
You can’t simply toss the shredded potatoes in a bit of oil or get the starchy potatoes to easily release from the skillet while maintaining their crusty sear.
It took quite a few rounds of recipe testing to finally master this new sweet potato recipe… and guys, this is definitely the MASTER of all recipes!
With the addition of an egg and some flour as the binders and a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, the sweet potato breakfast hash brown code was finally cracked, and I’m so excited to share all of the tips and tricks with you below!
So no, you won’t find a step here that has you wringing shredded sweet potatoes out in a dish towel. These Sweet Potato Hash Browns don’t need it, and I’d rather you spend those five minutes on your coffee.
Why sweet potatoes don’t crisp like regular hash browns
Here’s the part nobody explains: a russet potato is mostly starch, and starch is what turns into that shattering golden crust. Sweet potatoes have less of it, plus more sugar and more water.
That’s why almost every recipe out there tells you to squeeze your shreds dry in a dish towel. You’re trying to make up for starch that was never there in the first place.
But the real fix? Add the binder back instead of wringing the water out.
A whisked egg and a couple spoonfuls of flour give the shreds something to hold onto, so the patty stays together AND the edges still go lacy and crisp. No towel, no cold-water soak, no rinsing.
(That extra sugar is also why medium heat matters so much more here than it does with russets. Sugar browns way faster than starch, so a hot pan will darken the outside long before the middle is done.)
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
- Sweet potatoes: Measure your shreds instead of eyeballing the potatoes. Too much potato and there isn’t enough egg and flour left to hold everything together.
- Flour: All-purpose works, and so does a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking blend. It doesn’t look like much going in, but it’s doing half the work of holding these together.
- Egg: Whisk it before it goes anywhere near the bowl so the white and yolk disperse evenly through the shreds.
- Seasonings: Paprika, garlic powder, and cumin are the base here. Chili powder, onion powder, or a little coriander all work if you want to push it somewhere else.
- Butter or oil: Butter gives you the better flavor, just keep the skillet at medium so it doesn’t burn. Oil is the move if you’re going dairy-free.
Step-by-step Instructions
Please see the recipe card below for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.
Peel and shred the sweet potatoes.
A vegetable peeler takes the skin off in about a minute. Then run them through a food processor with the grater attachment, or use the big holes on a box grater.
You’re going for roughly 6 cups of shreds.
Pro Tip
Use the food processor if you have one. Six cups is a whole lot of hand-grating, and the shredding disc gets it done in about ten seconds.
Toss with the flour, then add the egg.
Combine the shreds with the flour and seasonings in a large bowl and toss until every strand is coated. Don’t add the egg yet, the flour and seasonings need to distribute on their own first.
Then pour in the whisked egg and mix until all of the shreds are covered.
Pro Tip
The order really does matter. Getting the flour onto every strand before the egg goes in is what keeps the seasoning even and the binding consistent.
Fry them in a buttered cast iron skillet.
Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat, then scoop about ⅓ cup of the mixture in and flatten it with the back of a spatula to roughly ½ inch thick. Cook no more than 3 at a time so the edges never touch.
Give them 4 to 5 minutes per side.
Pro Tip
Do not touch them for the first 3 minutes. This is the exact moment everybody’s hash browns fall apart, and the crust has to form before the patty will release from the skillet.
The Cast-Iron Skillet I L❤️VE!
A good cast-iron skillet is the reason this dish gets that perfect sear. I use my my Staub 12-inch for this recipe (and honestly almost every dinner at this point). It holds heat like nothing else and gives you that restaurant-quality crust a regular pan just can’t match.
Serve them hot.
Get them onto plates while the edges are still crisp.
A little sour cream and a shower of chopped chives is how I do it every single time.
Oops! Why aren’t my sweet potato hash browns crispy?
They fell apart when I flipped them. You went in too early. The crust has to set before the patty will let go of the pan, so give it a full 4 to 5 minutes and resist the peek.
They’re soft instead of crisp. Usually the pan is crowded. Three at a time with the edges not touching is the whole rule, because any more than that and the shreds steam each other instead of searing.
They’re browning too fast and still raw inside. The heat is too high, and sweet potatoes have more sugar than russets so they color long before they’re cooked through. Back it down to medium.
The mixture looks wet and loose in the bowl. That usually means more than 6 cups of shredded potato went in. There’s only so much one egg and a couple spoonfuls of flour can bind, so measure the shreds.
Do I need to squeeze the water out first? Nope. That step exists to make up for starch sweet potatoes don’t have, and the egg and flour already do that job.
FAQs
Sweet potatoes contain less starch and more moisture and sugar than russet potatoes, so they don’t naturally develop the same crisp, golden crust.
Instead of squeezing out the moisture, this recipe uses a whisked egg and a little flour to bind the shredded sweet potatoes together while still allowing the edges to get crispy. No soaking, rinsing, or wringing them out in a towel needed!
The extra sugar in sweet potatoes also means they brown more quickly, so stick with medium heat. If the skillet is too hot, the outside can burn before the center has time to cook through.
Not this version. The egg is half of what holds the shreds together, and without it the patties break apart as soon as you try to flip them.
They can be. Swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking blend and nothing else about the recipe changes.
This one peels them, and I’d stick with that here. Peeled shreds cook evenly and give you a cleaner crust across the whole patty.
Keep leftover hash browns in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. To freeze, seal cooked hash browns in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. The edges crisp back up beautifully, but the middles do go a little softer than fresh, so plan on the reheat doing some work.
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Crispy Sweet Potato Hash Browns Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes about 2 medium-sized
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1 large egg whisked
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
Instructions
- Prep the Potatoes: Peel sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler and then shred them in either a large food processor or by using a handheld cheese grater. You should end up with roughly 6 cups of shredded potatoes.1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes
- Make the Batter: Combine the shredded sweet potatoes with the flour and seasonings in a large bowl. Toss until the potatoes are well coated. Pour in the egg and mix until all of the shredded potatoes are covered.2 tablespoons flour, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon cumin, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 large egg
- Cook the Hash Browns: Add 1 tablespoon of butter or oil to a cast-iron skillet over medium-heat and wait until it has melted. Scoop out ~⅓ cup of the shredded potato mixture using a measuring cup and place it onto the heated skillet. Cook no more than 3 hash browns at a time and make sure none of the edges are touching. Press each mound of shredded potatoes down with the back of a spatula until it is about ½-inch thick. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, being careful not to flip it until a nice crust forms.Repeat this with the remaining butter and the remaining hash brown mixture.2 tablespoons butter
- Serve the hash browns immediately with a sprinkle of chopped chives and sour cream. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Pan size: A 12-inch cast iron skillet holds 3 hash browns without the edges touching. Crowding the pan is what makes them soft instead of crisp.
- Don’t flip early: Wait at least 3 minutes before you check. The crust has to form before the patty will release from the skillet.
- Gluten-free: Swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking blend. Nothing else changes.
- Dairy-free: Cook them in oil instead of butter.
- Make ahead: Cook the full batch and hold them until you’re ready to serve. Don’t shred the sweet potatoes in advance, they brown once they’re cut.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Freezing: Seal cooked hash browns in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. The edges crisp back up well, but the middles go a little softer than fresh.
- Reheating: Add back to a dry skillet over medium heat until the edges crisp again. Microwaving is not recommended, they soften every time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to serve with sweet potato hash browns
These are a side, so the real question is what’s going next to them on the plate. A fried egg and a few slices of avocado is the fastest answer and the one I land on most mornings.
If you’re going bigger, Air Fryer Bacon cooks while the hash browns do and needs zero attention from you. Chicken Breakfast Sausage is the other one I make on repeat, especially with a jar of Breakfast Sausage Seasoning already mixed up in the pantry.
For a full brunch spread, put them alongside a Crustless Spinach Quiche or a tray of Mini Quiche. Both of those go in the oven, which leaves your stovetop free for the skillet.
Something sweet on the table balances out all that savory. Gluten-free Pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes, or Chocolate Banana Muffins all work.
And if you want to take them in a Tex-Mex direction, top them with Homemade Guacamole or a spoonful of Roasted Tomato Salsa. A drizzle of hot sauce doesn’t hurt either.
Already deep in breakfast potato territory? Sweet Potato Hash is the loose, scattered version of this same idea, and Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is what I make when I need to feed a full table without standing at the stove.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet potato season doesn’t really end at my house. These are the ones that get made on repeat.
