I don’t know about you, but I love potatoes. I’ve already share the best air fryer fries, easy mashed potatoes, and even creamy twice baked potatoes. But these hash brown cups are special because they’re one of the first recipes I ever shared here on Play Party Plan. I’m a big fan of adding lots of toppings to baked potatoes and thought – why can’t we do that with hash browns? These are so easy to make with only five ingredients you likely already have at home other than maybe the hash browns, but I’ll give you a trick for those later! You bake them up in muffin tins and then eat them plain (with ketchup) or top them with your favorite toppings. I like broccoli and cheese, chili, or go totally loaded with buffalo chicken like I did with these buffalo chicken potato skins. And the best part? Kids will love them because they’re hash browns. Serve them topped with something a bit fancier and adults love them because they’re finger food style appetizers. They’re a bit crunchy and totally delicious. Want to take it a step further? Try my breakfast muffins with a hash brown crust that I made inspired by these hash brown cups!

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Shredded hash browns – preferably these would be fresh but they can be pre-shredded store-bought like these ones or you can shred some potatoes yourself. If the only thing you have is frozen, make sure to let them thaw overnight and try to squeeze out any excess moisture after thawing. Shredded cheese – I like to use Mexican blend in these but a mild cheddar cheese works great too or if you want to make them a bit fancier, you can use a sharp cheese that’s more adult-friendly as well.

Instructions

Mix your hash browns (make sure they’re thawed and dryish), olive oil, egg, cheese, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Grease muffin tins with either a little olive oil or spray with a non-stick baking spray. Then fill each cup about 3/4 full with the hash brown mixture. Use your fingers or the back of a measuring spoon to make a small cavity in the middle of the mixture, pressing the mixture into the sides. This will make them into cups.
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the edges are browned and crispy. Let cool slightly then remove from the muffin tin by sliding a rubber spatula underneath. Enjoy by themselves or with any of your favorite toppings. They’re great with a fried egg, chili, broccoli and cheese, or really just about anything you’d eat with potatoes!

Expert Tips

Bake a few minutes longer if the outsides aren’t quite browned yet. You want to make sure the outside is completely cooked or the cups will fall apart. Spice things up by adding a little paprika to the hash brown mixture. Use a silicone muffin tin that you can just push the cups out for the best results. Or make sure a regular muffin tin is well greased so they don’t stick. Set up a hash brown bar for brunch kind of like this DIY nacho bar where you have hash brown cups and a bunch of toppings people can choose from.

More Easy Breakfast Recipes

Want other ideas to complete the first meal of the day? These are some of our favorite breakfast recipes?

Sausage breakfast casseroleBanana chocolate chip muffinsBerry smoothie bowlHam and cheese empanadasCinnamon streusel coffee cake

This recipe was originally posted November 25, 2013 and has since been updated with new photos, tips, and tricks.

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