Anything baked in a muffin pan automatically gets my attention. It’s cute, it’s individually portioned, and my family couldn’t resist these easy hash browns. I grated my own potatoes using a box grater on the coarsest blade. It only takes a couple minutes, still faster than washing my food processor. After grating, you must place the potatoes in paper towels and wring it out aggressively over the sink. Water is what prevents your hash browns from crisping up. So if you want crispy hash browns, get the water out. The Panko breadcrumbs add a little bit of texture and crispiness. A great side dish, fun party food, or game day snack.
Ingredients:
-about 4 cups grated white potatoes (about 2 large peeled potatoes)
-2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
-1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs (sold near regular breadcrumbs or in the Asian section)
-3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
-3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
-3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
-onion or garlic powder, optional and to taste
-ketchup, sour cream, or your favorite condiments, for serving
Instructions:
1-Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan very well with cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
2-To a large bowl, add all ingredients (other than ketchup or sour cream) and gently toss to combine. Very important note about the potatoes – I grated them by hand on the coarsest blade of a box grater. Every cup or so of grated potatoes, place potatoes inside double or triple layered paper towels and wring out very well over the sink. The drier the potatoes are, the crispier the hash browns will be.
3-Bake for about 40 minutes, or until edges are browned with lightly golden tops that are set. Start checking at 30 minutes, but baking could take much longer than 40 minutes depending on potatoes used, their moisture level, pan size, oven and climate variance, and personal preference for crispiness.
4-Allow hash browns to cool for about 10-15 minutes in muffin pan on top of a wire rack before gently rimming each cavity with a knife if necessary, dislodging, and serving with ketchup, sour cream, etc.