Recipe: $1.25 | Per Serving: $0.31 | Yield: 4
I don’t know why I spent so long trying to make regular ol’ hash browns in a regular ol’ pan. Up your hash brown game with the help of your friendly waffle maker! I sometimes struggle to make hash browns without them sticking to the pan, but the waffle maker method solves the problem.
In about half the time, this hands-off hash brown method is a total timesaver! You could probably use frozen shredded potatoes with the same method, but I haven’t tried it myself. (I don't buy them because they have non-caking ingredients, and they're more expensive, but they're definitely a time saver.)
I'm rocking this 2-in-1 waffle maker that has reversible plates, with waffle making on one side, and panini making on the other. I also use this for making pancakes, and anytime I want to speed up my tortilla or naan-making process. The plates are apparently dishwasher safe, but I don't have a dishwasher. You can use any old waffle maker, and I had an old (OLD) round one for several years that I absolutely loved. Finally had to give it away when we started moving around the world. ????
Now that we're back, I'm slowly stocking my kitchen supplies again, but it's not quite the same as the first time around. On one hand, I wish we'd had a way to store more of our (my) belongings while we were abroad, but on the other hand, I'm so happy I got rid of lots of junk and started minimizing our things. This wasn't intended to be a post about STUFF, but I guess it's a little appropriate on a Frugal site, right? I always hated getting rid of things that might have a future use, but even with the best of intentions, that's a slow and steady decline into hoarding. I feel a lot better when I can give things away to people who will use them, or even when I donate them rather than tossing them.
ANYWAY, back to the hash browns. They're easy. They take 5 minutes to make (faster if you have a food processor), and about 12-15 minutes to cook. Use those sad-looking potatoes leftover from your latest ambitious cooking project, or grab what ever is on sale! At 88 cents/pound, potatoes are very friendly to your wallet.
And might I recommend these easy waffle maker hash browns as a breakfast-for-dinner kind of thing? Because that's exactly what we did! You can warm them up in an oven or toaster oven, or even crisp them up in a pan (no oil needed) before serving, which is what we did last night because it was too hot to turn on the oven. We ate the leftover hash browns with leftover salad, fried eggs, avocado, and salsa...my favorite combination.

Waffle Maker Hash Browns
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil or butter
- 1 pound potatoes Russet or Yukon, about 6 medium Yukons, 6 cups shredded
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle maker. I turn my to the highest setting.
- Using the small or large shredder blade, shred the potatoes until you have about 6 cups. (More or less.) Place on a dish towel or in a nut bag and twist together to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- In a large bowl, combine the shredded potatoes with the red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Grease your waffle maker with butter, coconut oil, or by spraying or brushing another oil onto the surface and into the crevices.
- Add the shredded potatoes to the waffle maker, overstuffing it quite a bit.
- Close the lid and cook about 15 minutes, or until crisped to your liking!
Notes
You should probably check the waffles after about 8 minutes, since every waffle maker is different and yours might cook faster than mine.
Leave a Reply