Sweet Potato Hash

Name: Sweet Potato Hash
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 pound bacon or sausage; 2 medium onions, chopped; 1 large green pepper, chopped; 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes; 4-6 eggs; kosher salt; black pepper; 1 tsp fresh thyme

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Sweet potato hash is a simple, yet tasty meal that can be enjoyed for breakfast or dinner. It’s made with diced sweet potatoes, which are cooked and seasoned until they are crispy and caramelized. You can add a variety of ingredients to your sweet potato hash, such as eggs, onions, peppers, sausage, and bacon to create a flavorful meal. Or, skip the meats altogether and make it vegetarian. Let’s get cooking!

Why I Love Sweet Potato Hash

This recipe was created completely for my husband’s 40th birthday. Well, this sweet potato hash with eggs and his favorite Oatmeal Cake with 40 big candles on top. While I love giving him a hard time about this big milestone, it is just a rude reminder for us both. You see, in our minds, we are still a cute, young married couple. This celebration is a rude reality check: We are old, with wrinkles, thinning hair, and waning memories. I blame all those attributes on being parents to six children.

Hy husband has always loved sweet potatoes, but it isn’t an ingredient I’ve used very much in my weekly menus. So, I decided to make them the star of his birthday dinner. This sweet potato hash with eggs was a really great twist on a traditional hash. The bacon and its rendered fat created a completely addictive dish. Both my hubby and I loved it, as well as our kids. The older kids were even asking for a second helping. I can’t wait to make it again soon and try out a few different recipe variations.

What Is Sweet Potato Hash?

Sweet potato hash is a dish made by cooking diced sweet potatoes with either bacon or sausage, eggs, onions, bell peppers, and spices. It can be made either on the stove or in the oven. Sweet potato hash is a popular breakfast dish and is also suitable for vegetarian or vegan diets when the meats and eggs are omitted. It can be seasoned with herbs and spices such as paprika, cumin, and chili powder to add regional flavors.

Sweet Potato Hash Ingredients and Supplies

Diced sweet potatoes
Bacon or sausage
Onions
Bell peppers
Eggs
Fresh thyme
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Large nonstick skillet or large cast iron skillet

How to Make Sweet Potato Hash?

Time needed: 30 minutes

If you can chop a few sweet potatoes and cook up some bacon or sausage, you can make an amazing sweet potato hash at home.

Prepare the sweet potatoes
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into small pieces.
Cook the bacon or sausage
You want to brown the meat and render the fat to use in the next step. Remove the cooked meat from the pan and set aside.
Soften the vegetables
Add the onions and peppers to the remaining fat in the pan and begin to let the soften.
Cook the sweet potatoes
Add the diced sweet potatoes in with the vegetables and cook until they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Add the bacon or sausage back into the mix.
Add the eggs
Create divots in the sweet potatoes and crack the eggs into each one. Cover and cook until the eggs are set.

Sweet Potato Hash FAQs

Are Sweet Potatoes Actually Healthier?

The problem with defining food as “healthy” or not is that each person is looking for something different in their “healthy” food. So, let’s look at what makes a sweet potato different from a regular russet potato. Because sweet potatoes are sweet, they are higher in calories, sugars, and carbs than white potatoes. White potatoes are high in potassium, sweet potatoes offer an abundance of vitamin A.

What is Sweet Potato Hash made of?

Most recipes for sweet potato hash include fresh sweet potatoes, either bacon or sausage, onion, bell peppers, and eggs that are cooked at the end on top of the sweet potatoes. Vegetarian recipes obviously leave off the meat but use mushrooms or tofu as a meat substitute.

Can I Use Frozen Sweet Potatoes Instead of Fresh Ones?

Yes, frozen sweet potatoes will work well in this recipe. Use the ones that are small squares of sweet potato. You will need to be sure your pan is very hot because frozen sweet potatoes will have higher water content. Also, you might not be able to get as much browning and crispiness using frozen sweet potatoes for that same higher water content.

How to Make Vegetarian Sweet Potato Hash?

You can leave out the bacon or sausage completely. And since much of the flavor for the sweet potato hash comes from the meat, you need to use flavorful vegetables to compensate. Flavorful mushrooms are the best substitute because they have so much “meaty” flavor naturally. You will also need to use butter to cook your hash since there won’t be any bacon or sausage fat.

Breakfast Hash Recipe Variations

Being a home cook provides endless opportunities to experiment with recipes, personalizing them to your tastes and creativity. Any of the following variations would be great spin-offs of this sweet potato hash recipe.

Add spice with some diced jalapeño peppers, a shake of red pepper flakes, or a squeeze of your favorite hot sauce.
Include some cheese with your sweet potato hash at the end when you add the eggs. Think of a cheese that has some personality to it like sharp cheddar, Swiss, gorgonzola, or blue cheese.
Increase the protein by using both the bacon and the sausage in the recipe, or adding ham, chicken, or beef.
Add more vegetables to join the onions and peppers. Mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes would all be delicious additions to this recipe.

What to Serve With Sweet Potato Hash?

Because this hash is savory and has a lot of great natural carbs from the sweet potatoes, it’s great to find side dishes that are light and fresh to pair with it.

Strawberry and Avocado Salad will bring some sweetness to your meal from the strawberries and the salad dressing.
Fresh Fruit and Yogurt Fruit Dip is a great pairing if you are serving this hash as a breakfast dish.
Chia Seed Pudding will provide a creamy, cool, and sweet balance to the hash. Top it with some fresh fruit for even more sweetness.
Green Smoothies are the perfect drink to serve with this recipe. Loaded with fresh greens, fresh fruits, and almond milk, this smoothie is the side I serve most often with this recipe.

Looking for More Great Breakfast Recipes?

If these sausage cream cheese crescent rolls were just what you were looking for, be sure to check out these other delicious recipes. Go grab them now before you forget!

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Print Recipe

Sweet potato hash makes a healthy and flavorful breakfast recipe! Loaded with sweet potatoes, veggies, bacon and eggs.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 5

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 pound bacon or sausage
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
4–6 eggs
kosher salt
black pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme

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Instructions

Cook the bacon or sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until it begins to brown and crisp. Remove the meat to a paper towel and drain off some of the grease, leaving enough to cook the veggies.
Add the onions, green pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until the veggies are softened about 6 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and another 1/2 tsp salt. If needed, add a bit more bacon grease.
Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and starting to brown, about 10-14 minutes. Stir in thyme, cooked bacon or sausage, and any additional salt and pepper needed.
Create indentations for the eggs and crack them into the holes. Season eggs and cover the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook without removing the lid for about 7 minutes. Serve immediately.