Hash brown waffles are the perfect all-in-one breakfast. Shredded hash browns, ham, eggs, and cheese are cooked in a waffle iron until golden brown and crispy.
Have leftover ham from Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner? Hash brown waffles are a great way to use up those holiday leftovers.
Shredded hash browns, ham, shredded cheese, eggs, and savory spices are baked until golden brown and crispy in a waffle maker. They couldn't be easier to prepare and are a fun twist on your normal, everyday breakfast.
Serve hash brown waffles with a dollop of sour cream, fresh chives, salsa, or a fried egg on top.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Hash browns - For this recipe, you'll need frozen shredded hash browns or refrigerated shredded hash browns. If your hash browns are frozen, there's no need to thaw them beforehand. You could also shred fresh potatoes with a box grater.
- Sharp cheddar cheese - Can be substituted with just about any cheese you have on hand. Monterey jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, or parmesan cheese would all be great choices.
- Chopped ham - Can be substituted with cooked and crumbled sausage or cooked and crumbled bacon.
- Eggs - Eggs are necessary in this recipe because they act like a glue, holding the rest of the ingredients together as your waffles cook.
- Onions - Add flavor to your waffles. Onion can be substituted with ½ teaspoon of onion powder if desired.
- Seasoning - Salt, pepper, paprika, and fresh chives add flavor to your hash brown waffles.
Tips and tricks
Waffle iron - For these waffles, I used an Oster Belgian Waffle Maker (Amazon). It's inexpensive and always makes a great waffle - savory or sweet. This recipe will work in any size waffle maker, but the quantity of waffles and cooking times may vary.
Grease your waffle iron - Add a light layer of butter or oil to lightly grease your waffle iron before cooking each waffle. This ensures that each waffle releases easily when it's done cooking.
Don't use nonstick cooking spray - Nonstick cooking spray, used repeatedly on waffle irons, can cause a sticky buildup that's difficult to remove. I suggest using butter or oil instead of nonstick spray.
Toppings - Serve your hash brown waffles with a variety of toppings so everyone can customize their breakfast to suit their tastes. Fried eggs, sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, caramelized onions, sliced tomato, shredded cheese, and guacamole are all great topping ideas.
Storage
Leftover hash brown waffles will keep for 4 to 5 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the toaster oven to crisp them back up.
Hash brown waffles can be frozen for 2 to 3 months in a tightly sealed, freezer-safe container.
Frequently asked questions
Make sure you're cooking your hash brown waffles long enough. They'll look golden brown all across the top when they're done. Add a light layer of butter or oil to your waffle maker before adding the hash browns. This helps crisp up the edges as they cook.
If you'd like to shred your own hash browns, russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes work great in this recipe.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Hash Brown Waffles
Ingredients
- 3 cups frozen shredded hash browns
- 8 ounces ham, diced
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
Instructions
- In a bowl, add all ingredients, stirring to fully combine.
- Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. Grease waffle iron with butter or oil before preparing each waffle.
- Scoop 1 cup of mixture onto the middle of the preheated waffle iron and gently spread to the edges. Cook until potatoes are crispy and golden, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from waffle iron and repeat with remaining mixture. Serve immediately.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- This recipe is intended for a round Belgian waffle maker, but hash brown waffles can be made in any waffle maker. Please note your waffle quantity and times may vary based on model of waffle maker.
- Savory waffle topping ideas: a fried egg, avocado, salsa, sour cream, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, sliced tomato, shredded cheese, guacamole.
- Nonstick cooking spray, used repeatedly on waffle irons, can cause a sticky buildup that's difficult to clean off. I suggest using butter or oil instead of nonstick spray.
- Leftover waffles will keep for 4 to 5 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Waffles can be frozen for 2 to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
Had a snow day from school and made these for breakfast. I have a few thoughts:
These were good but I think some of the ratios are a little off.
I only had two cups hash browns when the recipe calls for three, but needed three eggs to make it bind together even minimally and then I had to cook twice and scrap the hash browns back together as some stuck to the lid.
As for using oil or butter instead of cooking spray I do not exactly know that is best. The first batch I used spray and the waffle fell apart. I then added the extra egg and just used oil and the hash browns still stuck to the top. I tried both then and after a thorough cook it seemed to work. 🤷🏻♀️
It says to cook for about 5 or 6 minutes until brown. I had to do it for almost 10 minutes.
I used onion powder instead of chopped onion as I was afraid it wouldn’t cook enough and I don’t do well with raw onion.
I have a very small waffle iron and can only make one waffle at a time. I’m going to have a few people here visiting over the holidays. I see these can be frozen which allows me to make a bunch ahead of time. Then what? Do I warm them in the oven? Put them in a skillet to thaw and get crispy again? Should I thaw them before I do anything with them? These sound so good!
Hi Judy, frozen hash brown waffles can be reheated in a toaster oven or standard oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes, or until heated through to keep them nice and crispy! I haven't tried heating them up in a skillet but I bet that would also work well.
It was delicious! My husband doesn't like breakfast casseroles much because the hash browns and meats are mushy. Using the components in a waffle maker allowed them to become crispy and the result was delicious! After reading that someone had a sticking problem I over-oiled my waffle iron but found that was unnecessary and was able to make 4 more waffles without re-oiling and had no sticking issues at all! Great job on the recipe!
I love potatoes but must be careful with my blood sugar. I substituted sweet potato for potatoes. I knew it wouldn't hold together as well and it didn't but great flavor! I had one, the cat stole one when I wasn't looking and my son ate the rest. I will try this again with half potato, half sweet potato. It's a great recipe and would probably work well fried like a pancake if one's waffle maker was too sticky. I'm happy to have found your site. There are many recipes I want to try!
This stuck to my well oiled round waffle maker. Sorry, I will not try again.
Hi Vicky, I'm sorry to hear that your waffles were sticking! It's hard to say what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. I did some reading and often waffles will stick if the waffle iron is not hot enough, if the waffles didn't cook long enough, or if there is a buildup of nonstick spray on an older waffle iron.
This article may help future readers: https://www.foodchamps.org/keep-waffles-from-sticking/
Can you freeze these??
I have not tried freezing these myself so I'm not sure how they'd keep. Sometimes cooked potatoes that have been frozen and thawed can get a grainy texture. If you'd like to freeze your hash brown waffles, I'd recommend allowing them to cool completely, then placing a piece of wax paper between each and packing tightly in a freezer safe bag or container.
Thank you!
We used Spam instead of ham because that’s what we had.
Soooo good.