McDonald's Hash Browns Recipe [2024] » Recipefairy.com (2024)

We all love a quick and tasty breakfast. Check your watch, is it past 10.30am? Have you missed the McDonald’s deadline for breakfast? What a shame. However, all is not lost. It is possible to make authentic McDonald’s hash browns at home. This article is going to show you how.

McDonald’s breakfasts are one of life’s pleasures. A cup of hot coffee, some form of patty, sandwiched between a buttered breakfast muffin, and maybe a little salt and pepper… Perfect.

Or is it?

Did you see what we missed? Ah that’s right a crisp McDonald’s hash brown to top it all off. We love McDonald’s hash browns so much that we always order a few extra. A slice of toasted goodness, a hint of oiliness with the perfect blend of softness and crispiness, all rolled into a potato triangle.

Let’s take a look at what you will need to do to make perfect McDonald’s hash browns.

How To Make McDonald’s Hash Browns

Hash browns are standard breakfast fare. But if you are looking for a crispy McDonald’s hash brown you don’t want a flat pancake like you would get in any old diner. And you are going to need to do a few extra steps to make sure they taste and look authentic.

Don’t worry, none of it is difficult…

The first thing we want to draw your attention to is how to grate the potato. If you go too fine then during the cooking process the pieces will break down, and then you’ll end up with misshapen, mushy hash browns.

Go too large however and you’ll find the outside will cook before the inside does, and nobody likes eating raw potato. So, pick a mid-range size on your box grater.

Its up to you whether you peel your potatoes. We sometimes want to go for a slightly more rustic look with our recipe, and leave the skins on. And that said, toasted chunks of potato skin add a little extra crunch and are utterly delicious.

But if you are not going to peel your potatoes you will have to wash them, as toasted chunks of dirt from the farm aren’t quite as delicious. If you want your end result to look exactly like authentic McDonald’s hash browns then peel your potatoes when you are preparing your ingredients.

Potatoes obviously contain starch and moisture. For this McDonald’s has brown recipe, excess starch and moisture is something that we really want to avoid.

We get rid of these elements in a two-stage process. The first part is to submerge your grated potato in really cold water (we use iced water for the best effect). Don’t just drop it in and think the job is done.

You need to agitate and swirl the potato around in the water with your fingers until you can barely see it because the water is so cloudy because of all the released starch?

But doesn’t submerging the potato add moisture?

Well yes, but the second stage will deal with that. Take a fine cloth or muslin, remove the grated potato from the water and place it in the middle of the cloth.

Gathering the corners together twist the ends until the cloth tightens around the potato in the middle (do this over the sink), and keep twisting until you can twist no more. By doing this you’ll be getting rid of any excess moisture, which left alone will cause your McDonald’s hash browns to steam instead of fry.

Now we aren’t going to pretend that these are the healthiest, but if you were dieting you wouldn’t be trying to make an authentic McDonald’s breakfast, right?

So, another key is using enough oil. Oil, when heated, makes things golden brown and crispy, no oil no crispy crust. Simple.

You can oven bake them, but for authentic tasting McDonald’s hash browns we recommend that you fry them.

Now you have the tips, lets get straight into the recipe.

McDonald’s Hash Browns Recipe

4 from 1103 votes

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Recipe by Laura RittermanCourse: AppetizersCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

Calories

140

kcal

Breakfast time just got a lot more special with this McDonald’s hash brown recipe. Enjoy in 10 minutes total.

Ingredients

• 1 large floury potato (peeled)

• 1 medium egg

• ½ teaspoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon 1 of pepper

• 3-4 tablespoons of Canola oil or cooking oil

Directions

• Take your potato and grate into a large bowl of icy cold water. Swirl the potato around and around with your fingertips until the water turns cloudy.
• In a colander or sieve, drain the potato and then add to the middle of a fine cloth or mesh. Squeeze as much water out as you can.
• Add the egg and seasoning. Using a large spoon mix all of the ingredients together
• Heat a pan with the oil, over a medium to high heat. Take small handfuls of your McDonald’s hash brown mixture, and in the palm of your hand make it into the desired shape.
• Gently place each hash brown into the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Cook on each side for 5-8 minutes until the hash brown is cooked through and golden brown on each side.
• Serve and enjoy.

Notes

• Now, the shape may be important to you or it may not. McDonald’s hash browns are more of an oval shape, but if circles or squares make life easier for you, make them like that.
• If you find the mixture a bit sticky, you are allowed to dampen your hands slightly, but be aware you may be adding moisture back into your recipe. Hot oil and water are not friends. We have found the ideal solution is to moisten your hands with a couple of drops of cooking oil. You will get be able to reduce the stickiness and also a little bit of oil on the outside stops them from sticking to the board or plate whilst you prepare the rest.

See Also

Moe's Queso Dip Recipe

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Conclusion

The key to getting crispy hash browns is all in the preparation stage. By heating the oil and then turning it down you ensure that the outside is seared.

Our recipe will make 2-3 delicious McDonald’s hash browns; however, you can easily make more.

Our copycat McDonald’s recipes are adaptable so if you want to make double the amount, simply double the ingredients. It is also possible to freeze them after cooking and reheat them at a later date.

Related

4 Comments

1. 

   Craig

   July 22, 2021 at 12:16 am·Reply

   So I tried making these today. My kids asked for McDonalds style hashbrowns and I figured, why not try.

   Suggestions to anyone else who tires:

   Dont try to make the shape perfect before putting in the pan cuz it wont stay together anyway, but the second you put it in the pan, finish shapring it cuz after a very short time you cant reshape it. You can’t really shape it before very well but of course try, then fix it after putting in pan.
   There is advice on temp of oil etc but without a thermomemter thats impossible for normal people… my advice is DONT GO TO HOT! I used olive oil and didnt turn it down til it smoked, well that was too hot (but still ok).

2. 

   Haj

   October 4, 2021 at 7:30 am·Reply

   Turned out tasty
   I added some garlic powder too
   The shape wasn’t forming for me, it was breaking apart. To fix that u added 2 teaspoons cornflour. More crunchy and didn’t break as much

3. 

   Donkey

   January 1, 2022 at 2:27 am·Reply

   I like to sprinkle a little paprika for added flavor. Adding a bit of table salt over it after it’s done really seals the deal

   I can also confirm wheat flour is just as good

4. 

   Reany

   April 26, 2022 at 12:09 pm·Reply

   I have made these hash brown 3 times and followed the recipe. Just need to make sure to squeeze all the liquid out before adding egg. 2nd time I was in hurry & didn’t squeeze as much so they were too watery. My daughter likes them too. Thank you for the easy receipt.