featured 41449

Crispy Homemade Hash Browns Recipe

Homemade Hash Browns – an absolute breakfast favourite! Seasoned shredded potatoes shaped into perfect patties and fried until golden and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.

A tall, close-up shot of three hash browns on the side of a large white plate, which has a fried egg in the centre. In the top left of the image, you can slightly see a second white plate. In the top right-hand side of the image, there is a dark blue dish filled with ketchup. This is all set on a navy blue background.

You can tell just by looking at that photo how crispy these hash browns are.

I kid you not when I tell you they were gone within three minutes of telling the family I was finished photographing them. I didn’t even get a chance to reheat them — they were simply inhaled!

They take a little effort (yes, you do boil the potatoes before grating and frying), but they’re absolutely worth it. They also freeze and reheat beautifully, so it makes sense to make a batch and stash extras in the freezer.

Table of Contents

  • 📋 Ingredients
  • How to make hash browns
  • Pro Tip
  • 🍽️ What to serve with hash browns
  • Homemade Hash Browns Recipe

📋 Ingredients

Overhead shot of ingredients for making homemade hash browns on a wooden board.
  • Potatoes – use a floury potato such as Maris Piper or Russet
  • Cornflour (cornstarch in the USA) – helps bind the potatoes without making the mixture heavy and gives extra crispness
  • Rice flour – optional; adds extra crunchy crispness. Replace with more cornflour if preferred
  • Butter and a little oil – to flavour, bind and moisten the potato mixture
  • Salt, pepper and a little garlic powder for seasoning
  • More oil for frying

How to make hash browns

Full recipe and detailed steps are in the recipe card below.

  1. Place whole potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain and leave to cool for 15 minutes.
  2. Remove any eyes or dark spots, then grate the cooled potatoes into a bowl. A rotary grater makes this quick and easy; if using a box grater, protect your fingers.
  3. Sprinkle over the cornflour and rice flour, then toss gently to coat the grated potato evenly.
  4. Add melted butter, a little neutral oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss the mixture again so everything is combined.
  5. Divide into 8 portions and shape each into a patty about 1 cm thick — round, oblong or triangular are all fine.
  6. Place the patties on a tray lined with baking parchment and freeze for 1 hour. This helps them hold together while frying.
  7. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the hash browns (cook about 4 at a time) and fry for 6–8 minutes, turning once halfway through, until golden and crisp.
  8. Remove with tongs and drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining batch. Serve sprinkled with flaky salt.

Pro Tip

Freezing the shaped patties before frying helps them stay together in the pan so they crisp on the outside while remaining tender inside.

Are you a ketchup or brown sauce dunker? Personally I prefer brown sauce, but the red sauce does look better in photos.

A tall shot of six hash browns in a small pile on top of a white plate. In the top left of the image, there is a light brown dish filled with sea salt. In the bottom left of the image, you can slightly see a dark blue napkin. In the top right-hand side of the image, there is a dark blue dish filled with ketchup, and to the left of that, there is a light brown dish filled with ground pepper. This is all set on a navy blue background.

🍽️ What to serve with hash browns

  • Crispy bacon — oven-baked is an easy method
  • Part of a hearty one-pan English breakfast
  • As a side dish to a sausage casserole or other warming midweek meals

Or simply with some dippy fried eggs — that runny yolk is perfect for dunking a crisp hash brown.

A tall, close-up shot of three hash browns on the side of a large white plate, which has a fried egg in the centre, and a silver fork set at an angle on the left-hand side of the plate. In the centre of the image, there is one whole hash brown being held by a hand coming from the top centre of the image, the hash brown is being dipped into the yolk of the egg. In the top left of the image, you can slightly see a second white plate with two hash browns and a fried egg on it. This is all set on a navy blue background.

Homemade Hash Browns Recipe

Homemade Hash Browns

By Nicky Corbishley

Seasoned shredded potatoes shaped into perfect patties and fried until golden and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins

Cooling + Freezing time: 1 hr 15 mins | Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins

Servings: 8 hashbrowns | Course: Breakfast, side dish | Cuisine: British-American

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1.1 lb) floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or Russet (about 3–4 medium potatoes)
  • 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
  • 1 tbsp rice flour (optional — for extra crispness)
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 250 ml (approx. 1 cup) oil for frying
  • Maldon salt, to serve

Instructions

  1. Place whole potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
  2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  3. Remove any eyes or blemishes, then grate the potatoes. Use a rotary grater or a box grater (protect your hands).
  4. Transfer grated potato to a bowl and sprinkle over the cornflour and rice flour. Toss gently to coat.
  5. Add the melted butter, oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, then mix to combine.
  6. Divide the mixture into 8 portions and shape each into a patty about 1 cm thick. Place on a tray lined with baking parchment.
  7. Freeze the patties for 1 hour to help them hold together when frying.
  8. Heat the frying oil in a large deep pan over high heat. Fry the hash browns in batches (about 4 at a time) for 6–8 minutes, turning once halfway through, until golden and crisp.
  9. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining batch. Serve sprinkled with flaky Maldon salt.

Notes

Make ahead and reheating

You can fry these ahead of time, cool quickly, cover and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or air fryer in a single layer at 200°C/400°F (fan): 5–6 minutes in the oven or 4–5 minutes in an air fryer, until piping hot and crisp.

Freezing

Freeze the shaped but not yet fried hash browns by open-freezing on a tray for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag or container (separate with parchment to prevent sticking). Fry from frozen when ready. Alternatively, freeze cooked (fried) hash browns: fry, cool quickly, cover and freeze. Reheat from frozen at 200°C/400°F (fan): 6–7 minutes in the oven or 5–6 minutes in the air fryer.

Why freeze before frying?

Freezing helps the patties stay together while frying so the centres remain tender and the outside crisps nicely.

Nutrition (approx. per hash brown)

Calories: 149 kcal | Carbohydrates: 13 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 11 g | Saturated fat: 3 g | Sodium: 183 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 0.5 g

Nutrition information is approximate and should be used as a guideline.

Stay updated with new recipes! Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when new recipes are posted. Find new videos and behind-the-scenes content on social channels.

Some links in the original post may have been affiliate links. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on ingredients and preparation.