My family’s favorite meal is definitely breakfast. During the workweek, we often have breakfast for dinner. I’m so glad my kids love it because breakfast is such an easy meal to put together and it’s generally pretty healthy too (at least the way I do it). I recently tried this breakfast sweet potato hash recipe and it was a total hit. It’s super easy to make, you can definitely adjust the seasoning and ingredients to your flavor preferences and you can try other things to see what combinations work.
What is a Hash?
A hash is a dish that generally includes meat, potatoes, and onions. The name hash comes from the French word hacher, which means ‘to chop”. Wikepedia tells me that back in the mid-1800s in the U.S., a hashery or hash house was a name used for an inexpensive restaurant. A lot of people are familiar with corned beef hash, which has been popular in the U.S., France and the U.S. since around the time of WWII. The main reason for the rise in popularity during this time was due to the rationing of fresh meat. Hash is a great way to include meat flavor while being able to spread the ration a lot further. In the U.S., hash is normally served with eggs, but hash can be served at any meal. Many high end restaurants serve unique hashes with unconventional ingredients
Other Hash Recipes
Traditional hash is served with white potatoes, onions and beef. However, there are so many other variations, so here are some other recipes you might want to try.
As you can see from some of the recipes I pulled, there are lots of ways to make hash. I think the great thing about this dish is that you can have so much flexibility in the meat and seasonings you use. You can even change up the potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes Vs. Yams
Until I met Jade, I didn’t even know what sweet potatoes were. In my family, we always ate regular baked potatoes. They were super boring and plain. I didn’t try a sweet potato until my mid-20s. Jade’s family always served sweet potatoes during the holidays, including sweet potato pie. We started baking sweet potatoes on a weekly basis for healthy meal prep. I had no idea just how much tastier sweet potatoes are compared to regular potatoes.
A lot of times, people call sweet potatoes yams, but they are not the same thing. Although most hash does use white potatoes, I think this sweet potato hash is one of my favorites because the sweet tastes so good with the savory and spicy flavors. If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is or what type of potato to use in your hash recipe, here’s a bit about sweet potatoes. Just like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are a root vegetable. They are distantly related, but sweet potatoes are very sweet and taste more like a pumpkin than a regular potato. There are over 100 different types of sweet potatoes. Although many people refer to sweet potatoes as yams, they are not the same thing. Yams are starchier and have a brown exterior, whereas the sweet potato is redder and has a creamier interior than a yam. You can read about the difference between the two here.
Other Types of Potatoes to Use in Hash
Although you can’t really go wrong with any type of potato, I think yukon gold are the best if you want to use a regular potato for your has recipe. I actually think sweet potatoes hold up great because they don’t get too soft. You could also use other types of baking potatoes like russet or red potatoes, but if you want a standard white potato I would go with yukon gold because I think they are creamier and tastier than other varieties.
Other Breakfast Sweet Potatoes Ideas
There are so many other things you can do with sweet potatoes. You can make sweet potato latkas, sweet potato pancakes (replace the pumpkin with sweet potatoes in my favorite pumpkin pancake recipe), or sweet potato waffles. You could also do sweet potato hashbrowns. These are just some of the other recipes I’ve seen that would be a great way to use sweet potatoes for breakfast.
If you want to try this sweet potato hash with eggs recipe, follow the easy steps below. I would highly encourage you to serve this sweet potato hash with eggs, but you definitely don’t have to. You could serve it as a side dish with any other meat entrees. It definitely doesn’t just have to be a breakfast option. That’s the best part about this recipe and hash, in general, it’s so versatile. My recipe includes apples and jalapenos. If you don’t like either of those ingredients, you can definitely swap out. And if you don’t want to use the bacon, you could use another type of meat or meat substitute. I would suggest adding additional oil if you don’t use the bacon because the bacon grease adds so much flavor. I also love the fact that this recipe has a sweet, spicy, and savory component so it balances out so well. It really is a unique and interesting hash recipe and I hope you’ll give it a try!
If you’re looking for other breakfast or brunch ideas, click here. I’ve made a lot of interesting brunch and breakfast recipes over the years, so I hope you’ll give them a try and tell me what you think!
Sweet Potato Hash
Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 sliced of bacon
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
2 jalapenos, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat the bacon in the pan until it begins to brown. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the apples, jalapenos and onions and cook until everything is softened and starting to brown. Garnish with green onions and serve with fried eggs, if desired.
Sweet Potato Hash
Sweet potato hash with bacon, jalapenos and apples
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 6 sliced of bacon
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
- 2 jalapenos, de-seeded and chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Heat the bacon in the pan until it begins to brown. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the apples, jalapenos and onions and cook until everything is softened and starting to brown. Garnish with green onions and serve with fried eggs, if desired.