Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Waffles

What happens when you grill all of your favorite breakfast flavors–eggs, cheddar cheese, chives, and hash browns–on a waffle iron? You get outrageous savory waffles that make syrup totally irrelevant.

These savory waffles have got it going on all by themselves — but you can bet that with a fried egg and some bacon strips between them, they’ll take your waffle sandwich to the next level. Or can you imagine the fully-loaded fried chicken and waffles these would make?

The waffle iron has become our favorite way to make hash browns because it’s a quick and easy way to get the crispiest, crunchiest hash browns without having to fry them in a lot of oil. It also leaves you with one more open burner for cooking those fried eggs and bacon we talked about.

We stuck our bag of frozen hash browns in the fridge the night before to thaw (because the less time we have to wait for the waffle hash browns to cook, the quicker we get to chow down on those crunchy potatoes, and stretchy melted cheese).

Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Waffles

Makes 3 – 4 waffles
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 (20 ounce) package frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped chives, plus some for garnishing
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°F/95°C and heat your waffle iron on the medium setting. Spray each side of the waffle iron generously with non-stick cooking spray, or brush with melted butter or oil.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they’re well combined. Add the thawed hash browns, cheese, milk, chives, salt, and pepper, and mix well.
  3. Scoop about 1 cup of the the batter (depending on the size of your waffle iron) onto your heated waffle iron. Spread it into an even layer, leaving about a ½-inch border around the edge. Close the waffle iron and carefully press down the lid to compress the potato mixture (use a kitchen towel or oven mitt if needed).
  4. Cook the waffle until the hash browns are golden brown, about 5 minutes (depending on your waffle maker). Check the waffle every few minutes to see if you need to adjust the browning setting during cooking.
  5. When the waffle is cooked to your liking, carefully remove it from the waffle iron. Place the finished waffles on a baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm while the rest are cooking.

Recipe adapted from Yellow Bliss Road.