Make Your Own Frozen Hashbrowns
ByI’ve always had a hard time making good homemade hashbrowns. When my friend Brenda shared this little trick with me…I gave it a try and it WORKS!
Not only does this make delicious homemade hashbrowns, it is a great way to use up an abundance of potatoes before they start sprouting. Remember how I got 50 pounds for such a good price last week? I plan on putting up several pounds of them into the freezer in hashbrown form. That way, I’ve preserved some of my good organic potatoes, plus I’ve got EASY hashbrowns ready to pull out and cook up for breakfast or dinner anytime I need them!
Oh, and can you say “inexpensive”? Yes, I thought you could. These hashbrowns are so inexpensive, especially when you’ve taken advantage of a good deal on potatoes. So let’s get started, shall we?
First, scrub your potatoes…as many as you want.
Bake the potatoes. I avoid using aluminum foil if at all possible in baking, so I always just place my scrubbed potatoes into a covered dish and bake them for about 1 1/2 hours at 350°. Be sure to stab each potato with a knife before baking so you don’t have a massive potato explosion in your oven. Unless you want a massive potato explosion in your oven. Then feel free to leave them unstabbed.
Allow your baked potatoes to cool. Peel the potatoes.
Shred your potatoes with a cheese grater. They shred very easily because they are soft after baking.
See how lovely?
At this point, you can either cook them, or freeze them. To freeze them, lay them flat on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet into the freezer for a couple of hours or until the potatoes are frozen, then transfer them into freezer bags to cook up when you’re ready. Oh so convenient!
I usually cook my hashbrowns in my electric skillet or in a cast iron skillet on the stove.
I use a generous amount of butter, because I love the flavor butter gives my taters.
I also use quite a bit of sea salt or onion salt.
If the hashbrowns are frozen, you can cook them the same way as if they were not frozen…it will just take a few more minutes.
Cook them on one side for 4-5 minutes, then turn. Try not to turn them too much so they don’t get mushy. Cook until the potatoes are golden brown and slightly crispy.
Yum, yum, yum! Ever since I discovered this hashbrown making trick…we have the most delicious hashbrowns. Before, I had simply shredded a raw potato, then tried to fry it. I always ended up with a mushy mess. Blech. The trick: Bake the potatoes first. It works so well! PLUS, the baked potato does not turn brown and ugly like a raw potato does once you shred it.
You can use this same trick to make and freeze diced potatoes or potato chunks. Fry those up in butter and you’ve got some wonderful fried potatoes!
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I just tried these. My family couldn’t stop raving about them. I got a good deal on 40lbs of potatoes, so have been baking, peeling, shredding and freezing like crazy. I’m also freezing 2xbaked potatoes and blanching diced potatoes to freeze for future mashed potatoes and soups.
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GREAT IDEA
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Love it:):):):):)
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I LOVE this recipe! The only thing that I do differently is I don’t peel the potatoes. The skin is delicious mixed in. Yummy!!
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So glad to read this tip! I have made homemade hash browns several times from raw potatoes and always wondered the trick to keep them from being soggy! Know I know! Thanks can’t wait to try!
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I just heard about these from Penniless Parenting… WOW, so glad I did!! I can’t wait to have NON-MUSHY hash browns!!
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I am so glad my sister in law told me about this blog! I can’t wait to try this recipe out this weekend!
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just made this morning but used my salad shooter!! FAST!!! Strongly recommend!:)
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WoW!! Seems like every click I make through your blog, I learn something new. I tried the non-baked freshly shredded hashbrowns. Yuck! Can’t wait to try these.
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I have a HUGE harvest from our garden of potatoes. I want to do something with them before they start going bad….looks like I found it!! Thank you SOOOOO much for your blog! I am officially addicted to it! Blessings to you and your family. Hope you are feeling better soon, too!!!!! (xtra exclamation points for health! :o)
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Judi Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:16 am
that would be “huge harvest of potatoes, from our garden” – we DID grow more than just potatoes.
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Am getting on this today. Have pinned it in pinterest.
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Amy Crawford Reply:
February 25th, 2012 at 11:23 am
How do I pin this?
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Hey – you can also boil the potatoes – skin on – put in fridge to chill overnight, peel (easy now) and then you can dehydrate them – they take up a tiny bit of area to store and you’re not dependent on your freezer. To use, put hot water up to the top of the potatoes – let sit a few minutes, drain and cook. Marvelous!
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have read your storing potatoes and hashbrown blog, very imformative. our potatoes always sprout while storing, also hard to find a “cool” room for storage. We are about to harvest our “Reds” but have had lots and lots of rain…. hope they have survived.
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Why do you peel them? Most of the nutrients are in the peel. I’ve made our hasbrowns like this for years. I tried the raw potato thing like you and it did NOT work. After some research I found that if you bake the potatoes then shred them, they are wonderful. I have never peeled ours and they turn out just fine. I always bake 7-10 potatoes when I know I will have the oven on for a couple hours then I store them in the fridge for a quick breakfast/snack. They last in the fridge for about 2 weeks. I am going to try making some for the freezer since we have an over abundance.
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Thank you for this post. I just ordered 50 lbs of organic potatoes and was worried I would let some go to waste. This will work wonders for our freezer & convenience for a couple of males in the house that area always scavenging for food to fix fast. THANK YOU!!!
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You are my hero! :) I wanted to make some bird’s nests for breakfast, but I didn’t want to buy hash browns from the store (with all the weird ingredients). So glad I found this. Thanks!
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You don’t have to use foil to bake potatoes. Scrub, dry, poke holes and coat with a bit of oil – I use my hands and rub it on. Salt the oiled skin. Place directly on the oven rack. You can place a pan on the rack below if you are worried about your oven (but honestly, you don’t need to).
Not only are the vitamins in the skin, the flavor is there too. Roasting intensifies the flavor, even if you remove the skin later, the potatoes are improved by roasting in the skin. Brush the salt off before using. Let the steam out of any potatoes you save for later – it keeps them from getting soggy.
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Do you have a good hashbrown casserole recipe to use with these hashbrowns? Trying to find one that does not contain cream of something soup.
Sheri
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Cream of soup without issues: 5 T of white bean flour, 1 3/4 cup cool water, 4 t of soup base, bouillion (whatever you normally use) Bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and let thicken. This is equal to a can of cream soup. Add 1/4 c whatever kind of soup you’re making – such as mushroom. Yummy and full of fiber! Without any of the dangers of canned soups. . . (I hand grind my white beans into flour).
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I’ll give this recipe a try.
What’s worked for me when preparing hash browns from raw potatoes is this: I place a tea towel on top of the chopping block, grate the potatoes (with or without skin, depending on the mood). Then I fold the tea towel around the mound of grated potatoes and squeeze as much of the liquid out as possible. Once this is done, no more mushy hash browns, no need to add flour or any other ingredient to absorb the starch and liquid.
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Coquetta Reply:
May 24th, 2012 at 4:33 am
I like to add minced dried onion to my raw potatoes cakes (hashbrowns).
It soaks up the
liquid, usually all of it. I also like to add one egg and some flour.
Oregano, or basil, salt and cayenne pepper complete the picture.
After a fry in olive oil, it’s ready to serve with organic ketchup.
What a smile will be on my four year old’s face!
I’m so curious about this prebaking the potatoes and then grating them!
And I have a LOT of potatoes going downhill fast(the reason I’m reading
here). I hope to try this out tomorrow or so.
Thanks!
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I don’t have a glass lid for my casserole pan would foil work just as good?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
March 20th, 2012 at 11:29 am
It should! :)
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Tried these, but mine crumbled when I tried to shred them. Do I just need to cook them less first?
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Laura Reply:
March 3rd, 2012 at 4:46 pm
I usually bake my potatoes for 1-2 hours and they do fine. If yours crumbled, it could be that they were a little undercooked, but I can’t say for sure.
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I have been precooking my potatoes for homefries for years. I am a single mom, so I didn’t always need a ton. What I would do, is microwave “bake” a few potatoes on Saturday night before bed. Leave them out to cool overnight, and in the morning, ready for Sunday breakfast. I usually did homefries, where you just cube them. I always bake a few extra when I’m having baked potatoes just for this. I think russet work the best, but have used all my leftovers this way. Now I will have to try hash browns too…thanks…also as far as the crumbling potatoes go, could just be the type of potato, or probably didn’t let them cool enough.
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I’ve never successfully made hashbrowns… UNTIL THIS MORNING! :-) Okay, they were a little mushy in the middle even though I only turned them once. The outside was crispy- sooo good! Before they always turned brown and weren’t too appetizing. Thanks for the tip!! These are easy to make!
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I put my scrubbed and poked potatos in crockpot for 4 to5 hrs on high, spray crockpot first, when tha-ey cool, grate and cook like fresh or frozen hashbrowns
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Wonder what this would taste like with sweet potatoes? you could flavor with cinammon sugar….
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Tried this and loved it. Very excited about another product that I will not need to buy again. Will be planting double the potatoes this year. Thx for Brenda and you for sharing.
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Can I grate these in my food processor? I just was eondering because you said cheese grater so I didn’t know if the processor would be too powerful and make a mess instead.
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
May 11th, 2012 at 6:00 am
I am sure that would work fine. Give it a try! :)
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no way! never thought of baking potatoes before frying them! what a great idea. since it takes forEVER to get them crunchy enough!
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LOVE THIS!!!!! Can’t wait to try.
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You, or perhaps your friend, or maybe both, are a genious! This is the BEST idea – I am going to have to try this ASAP =) Now to find a good deal on organic potatos =)
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I discovered your blog while searching for “How many potatoes can I grow in one container” After clicking through & reading many of your wonderful & entertaining blogs on growing, storing & now eating, I am ready to get started. Aside from my 6 blueberry bushes in pots, this is my first attempt at any type of gardening. Starting small with 5 tomato plants & now a garbage can with 3 different potatoes (hope that will work)! Thank you for all the great info!
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