Potato Patties? Potato Haystacks? Little Round Mounds of Potatoes?
I prefer to call them Crispy Hash Brown Potato Pucks myself, because they remind me of …well… little hockey pucks!
Only amazingly crispy, fat-free, super yummy, full of potatoey goodness Hockey Pucks if you please.
First of all, I have to give credit to one of the FB Groups I belong to – as they originally posted this recipe from Minimalist Baker. I thought, “Man, those sure look good”. And knowing how potato crazy many of my readers are – including myself – I knew right then and there I was going to HAVE to try it.
But after looking at the recipe I realized instantly I was going to have to work my magic to Veganize them a bit. Oh I’m sure Dana’s are amazing as well, but here at Brand New Vegan – we don’t do butter – even Vegan butter….so the challenge was set.
So yesterday I set off to conquer the mighty fat-free potato puck.
The results?
Oh my – if you love my Oven Baked French Fries you are going to HAVE to try these!
‘Nuff said.
Crispy, Fat-Free, Hash Brown Potato Pucks
- First of all – after looking at MB’s recipe, I knew the butter had to go, so I used a Flax Egg in its place to bind everything together.
- Next – I knew I wanted to use Frozen Hash Browns instead of fresh – just to make this easy for everybody.
- I also left out the corn (my girls HATE corn – can you imagine?) and replaced it with some canned Green Chiles for a little flavor boost.
- I then added the same spice mix that I use for my Crispy, Fat-Free, Oven Baked French Fries that everyone is so crazy about.
- And finally, although I love the Muffin Tin idea, my first attempt at using a Muffin Pan and little sheets of parchment paper left my potato pucks with a texture of potato pudding, instead of the crispy, hand-held, finger food that I was after.
- So I used a baking sheet instead and hand formed my little ball of starchy-goodness myself – much better.
In fact – perfection.
These little guys are GOOD!
And so easy to make too – just a few everyday ingredients and about 45 minutes is all you’ll need.
The Prep
I like Mrs Dells – where the only ingredient is POTATOES. That’s it. No sodium, no preservatives, just potatoes. I found mine at WAL-MART.
Pour 3 cups of these frozen hash browns into a large bowl and allow them to thaw. You can also use your microwave to speed things up, just defrost until thawed.
Now add a 7oz can of chopped Green Chile, 1 Tbs of Corn Starch, the spices, and a Flax Egg.
You can make a Flax Egg by mixing 1 Tbs of ground Flax Seed in 2 ½ Tbs of hot water. After about 5 minutes it will turn kind of gelatinous like a raw egg.
Mix this all together and then using your hands – form 12 little potato balls. I used about 2 Tbs per ball.
Space them evenly on a parchment lined cookie sheet and smash them down a little bit.
A little last-minute seasoning (I used Garlic Salt) and into a 375° oven they go for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, turn up the oven to 450° and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Lastly, after 10 minutes has passed, switch your oven over to BROIL and bake for 5 minutes to crisp up the tops and edges.
Allow to cool for a few minutes and they should peel right off the parchment paper with no sticking at all.
Now – what you dunk them in is totally up to you – I’m a ketchup guy myself…..mmmmmmmm.
Enjoy!
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 12 Pucks
- 3 cups frozen Hash Browns
- 7oz can Chopped Green Chile
- 1 Tbs Corn starch
- 1 Flax Egg
- 1 Tbs Dried Parsley
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Thaw 3 cups of frozen hash browns in a large bowl
- Prepare Flax Egg by mixing 1 Tbs ground Flax Seed and 2½ Tbs hot Water.
- Allow Flax Egg to gel for 5 minutes then add to thawed potatoes.
- Add Chopped Green Chiles, Corn Starch, and all the seasoning and mix well.
- Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup
- Using your hands, form 12 equal sized potato balls and space evenly on the cookie sheet.
- Smash the tops down a little to form little pucks.
- Add an extra shake of salt and pepper if desired
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes
- Increase heat to 450 degrees F and bake for an additional 10 minutes
- Set oven to BROIL and bake for 5 minutes to brown tops.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!