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This McDonald's Hash Browns recipe tastes exactly like the real thing, but is much healthier! These crispy patties are made with a handful of fresh, simple ingredients like potatoes, salt and pepper - with nothing artificial added. They are quick to become a family favorite, and just happen to be naturally vegan and gluten-free too!
The hashbrowns from McDonald's are like pure comfort food. Crispy on the outside, creamy and fluffy on the inside, they can be really addicting! But the problem is, McDonald's hash browns aren't exactly good for you. They're packed with unhealthy fats, have a ton of unnecessary additives, preservatives and stabilizers, and may not even be vegetarian or vegan friendly because they contain "natural beef flavor" which may be derived from meat.
So I decided to make a McDonald hashbrown copycat recipe that tastes JUST as good as the fast food version, but that you can feel good about eating!
You might be surprised that making hash browns like McDonald's is so easy! Regular hash browns take a lot of patience to get perfectly crispy, and often times fall apart or don't cook evenly. But these hash brown patties can be thrown in a pan and cooked to perfection, with a beautiful golden brown color every time. The cooking process is so much easier and fool-proof. You'll be shocked at just how easy it is to make hash browns like McDonald's at home!
This copycat recipe for McDonald's hash browns makes for the best every day breakfast item, and you can pair them with all kinds of different breakfast items for a bigger spread. Try them out alongside classics like almond milk pancakes, breakfast fruit salad, or this avocado toast with honey!
Short on time in the mornings? No worries! Make a double or triple batch of these McDonald's breakfast potato patties ahead of time and freeze them for a quick and easy breakfast. They only take a few minutes to heat up!
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Great for meal prep
- Quick side & easy breakfast
- Super versatile - enjoy on its own or pair with other breakfast foods
- Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free
- Healthier than fast food hash browns, but taste just as good!
- Best copycat McDonald's hash browns recipe ever!
Latest Recipe Video!
🥘 McDonald's Hash Browns Ingredients
Make McDonald's style hash browns at home with 5 basic ingredients! These patties will be so flavorful, crispy, and satisfying. You can get everything you need from your local grocery store.
- Potatoes: For classic hash browns you will need potatoes, of course! It's a personal preference on which potatoes you use. For crispy hash browns, use starchy russet potatoes which do not have as much moisture as other potatoes. Yukon Gold potatoes are another good option for this recipe for McDonald's hash browns. They can be easily formed into a patty and won't crumble.
- Salt & Pepper: Keep things simple with this McD hash brown recipe. Salt and pepper is all you need for delicious hash brown patties!
- Corn Starch (Or Corn Flour): Corn flour will help these patties stay together and fry up nice and crispy! Tapioca flour can be used instead of corn flour.
- Onion Powder: Onion powder is completely optional, but adds a nice flavor in this McDonald's hashbrown recipe. Garlic powder would also be delicious!
- Oil (for frying): Any vegetable oil will work to fry these McDonald style hash browns, but high-heat oil like avocado oil is the best. Olive oil works too, but is not high-heat. For the healthiest option, try to avoid canola oil or peanut oil.
🔪 Instructions
With just a few simple steps you can have perfect hash browns! Here is how to make homemade hash browns like McDonald's style!
Grate The Potatoes: Peel and grate the potatoes using a box grater.
Put Potatoes In Water: Place the grated potatoes into a bowl of cold water. Stir until the water becomes cloudy.
Drain: Drain through a fine mess sieve and transfer the shredded potatoes to a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze out excess water and transfer to a large bowl.
Season Potatoes & Cook: Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Heat a large pan over a medium heat, transfer the grated potatoes to the pan. Cook potatoes until soft, stirring to ensure they don't stick, for approximately 3-4 minutes.
Transfer To Bowl: When soft, transfer the cooked potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Next, add the onion powder and corn starch to the potato mixture. Stir until well combined.
Shape Into Patties: Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and place ⅓ cup of the hashbrown mixture in a mound. Repeat with remaining potato mixture. Shape the mounds into a rectangle potato patty.
Let Chill: Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Fry Hash Browns: Heat oil in a frying pan. Pan fry the hash browns in the hot oil until golden, for about 5-6 minutes.
Continue Cooking: Flip the patties and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or until golden on both sides. Remove from the oil with a slotted spatula, and drain on paper towel or wire rack (to get rid of any excess oil).
Serve Warm: Serve homemade McDonald's hash browns with your favorite breakfast foods and dipping sauce.
💭 Expert Tips
- Use starchy potatoes for a better crisp. Starchy potatoes like russets have less moisture and will result in crispy McDonald's hash brown patties! Yukon potatoes will also work, but waxy potatoes won't crisp up as nicely.
- For the best results, use a large holed box grater when grating the potatoes.
- Don't forget to wash the grated potatoes. Washing the grated potatoes helps to remove excess starch for better texture.
- If cooking multiple patties at once, be sure to place them in an even layer in the non-stick skillet with no overlapping.
- Remove excess water. Draining the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel removes excess water which helps the hash browns become crispy when cooked.
- Don't over cook the potatoes. The potatoes should be just slightly cooked the first time you add them to the pan (before mixing with the corn starch), this may take approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Firmly pack the hash brown mounds. When working on the hash brown shape press the mixture firmly together to have a nicely packed hash brown. Place gently on the sheet of parchment paper. This will help the hash brown stay together when cooking.
- Wet hands before shaping. Use damp hands or a wet spoon to shape the hash browns to avoid the mix sticking to your hands.
- Pan fry at medium heat. Be careful not to have the cooking oil too high when cooking the hash browns as this will burn the outside quickly and not cook the insides. Opt for a medium heat or medium-high heat at the most.
- For an even shape, use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to create an even circle. Gently press to flatten and press the sides to create a rectangle for these McDonald's potato hash browns.
👨👩👧 Serving Suggestions
This McDonald's hash browns copycat recipe is best served hot and fresh, paired with your favorite dipping sauce. While traditional McDonald's breakfast isn't the healthiest, these hash browns can be made into a tasty, balanced breakfast at home! They go great with sides like these:
- Breakfast Classics: For a healthy meal, pair these homemade McDonald's hash browns with these whole wheat healthy pancakes or spinach waffles. You can also try it with strawberries and cream oatmeal for a mix of sweet and savory!
- Eggs: This McDonald's potatoes recipe goes perfectly with eggs! It is super yummy with an low calorie omelette, courgette frittata, eggs in a basket, regular scrambled eggs, or even avocado toast with tomato and egg! For a vegan option try it out with a delicious vegan frittata, silken tofu scramble or southwestern tofu scramble!
- Roasted Veggies: Try these hashbrowns out with roasted veggies like these roasted green beans and potatoes or roasted broccoli and potatoes.
- Toast: Toasted bread is a classic for breakfast time! Try these homemade hash browns with buckwheat sourdough bread, toasted buckwheat bread, or homemade gluten free bread. A toasted sourdough croissant would be a great option too!
- Dipping Sauces: Hashbrowns are traditionally paired with ketchup, but taste amazing with other sauces like vegan aioli, mustard bbq sauce, vegan tartar sauce, or smoky red pepper crema!
📖 Variations
- Air Fryer Hash Browns: Try out a different cooking method! Prepare this homemade hash brown recipe in the air fryer instead of the stove top. They will be delicious, crispy, and use less oil! You can also check out other air fryer recipes like these air fried smashed potatoes.
- Different Spices & Herbs: Next time you make these copycat McDonald's hash browns, try them with different spices like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, parsley, rosemary, paprika, or basil.
- Hash Brown Bagel Sandwich: Turn this McDonald's hash brown copycat recipe into a breakfast bagel sandwich with homemade vegan bagels, tofu cream cheese, tomato, spinach, and cheese! Feel free to add in these high protein veggie burger patties for more protein too!
- Hash Brown Toast: Use the McDonald's potato cake as your base for an alternative toast option! This is great for those who are gluten-free. Top with mashed avocado and freshly sliced tomato.
🧊 How To Store
Let the cooked hash browns cool completely, then place in an airtight container. The McDonald's breakfast hash brown patties can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, place the hash browns on a baking tray in a warm oven or in a toaster.
To freeze, place hash browns in a freezer bag or container. They will stay good in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat frozen hash browns, bake in the oven or toaster. There is no need to thaw before baking.
❓Recipe FAQs
HOW ARE MCDONALD'S HASH BROWNS MADE?
Hashbrowns from McDonald's are shaped into patties, mixed with salt, corn flour, and seasonings, and are partially fried in vegetable oil and natural beef flavoring before being frozen and shipped out to the stores.
They are then freshly fried in the restaurant for each order. The patties are placed in frying oil in a large mesh sieve, similar to how the french fries would be. Hash browns are commonly paired with other McDonald's breakfasts like a sausage McMuffin or egg McMuffin.
At home, you can make hash browns that taste like McDonald's but with healthier ingredients and oils.
HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN A HASH BROWN FROM MCDONALD'S?
There are 140 calories in McDonald's hashbrown patties, with a serving size being one single patty. The calories could vary slightly depending on the amount of oil left on the hash brown after frying.
ARE MCDONALD'S HASHBROWNS VEGAN? ARE THEY VEGETARIAN?
No, unfortunately McDonald's hashbrowns are not guaranteed to be vegan or vegetarian! According to the McDonald's website, they state: "McDonald's USA does not certify or claim any of its US menu items as Halal, Kosher or meeting any other religious requirements. We do not promote any of our US menu items as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free."
This is because they may fry meat items in the same oil as the hash browns - causing cross-contamination, and the hash browns contain natural beef flavoring which does contain dairy and also could be extracted from meat (it's not clear exactly the source of the flavoring from the website).
That's why it's much better to make McDonald's hash browns at home with this easy recipe! Not only does it taste just as good as the fast food version, but you can guarantee that it will be vegetarian, vegan and gluten free friendly!
ARE MCDONALD'S HASH BROWNS HEALTHY?
No, McDonald's potato cakes are not healthy. While they aren't as bad as other fast food items, they still would not be considered healthy due to the cheaper oils, hydrogenated fats, preservatives, and processed stabilizers being used. Luckily this copycat McDonald's hash brown recipe can be made healthier with fresh potatoes and clean ingredients!
WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS IN MCDONALD'S HASHBROWNS?
These are the ingredients in McDonald's hash browns: potatoes, vegetable oil mix (contains canola oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), salt, corn flour, dehydrated potato, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to maintain color), extractives of black pepper. *natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.
Hash browns really just require potatoes, salt, pepper and corn flour - which is what this McDonald's hash browns recipe copycat uses. But McDonald's uses all of these extra, highly processed, super unhealthy ingredients into their hash browns because they help to extend the shelf life of the hash browns, increase the crispiness of the potatoes, and increase the flavor (since the natural flavor of the potatoes and spices won't last long in once the hash browns are frozen).
