Hash Brown Brunch Squares

I’m always looking for new breakfast and brunch ideas. We often have brunch parties especially during the holidays and football season. This one turned out to be a keeper.  These Hash Brown Brunch Squares are layered starting with frozen hash brown patties…how easy is that! You can customize the dish as well based on what you like or what you have on hand. Let’s get started!

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. For this dish I found that my Pampered Chef Bar Pan was the perfect size – (14 13/4 x 10 1/2). It’s a stone pan so it gets good and hot and stays hot for a long time. So, it’s great for a brunch buffet. These stone pans get seasoned over time, kind of like cast iron. As you can see below mine is old….and well-seasoned. I’ve had this particular Bar Pan since 1996….geez that makes me feel old. It’s as old as my son! This pan was occupied at the time I made the Hash Brown Brunch Squares. The other pan is a little newer …. maybe only 10 years old… but it’s not quite as dark.

First brush some olive oil on your pan. If you have the foresight to thaw your hash browns ahead of time you can skip this next step…. but I didn’t, of course! So, I laid the frozen patties on the bar pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes while the oven was preheating just long enough to thaw them out. Then just crumble them up and pat them down to cover the bottom of the pan. Add a little salt and pepper to the hash browns.

Next shred an 8-ounce block of cheddar and an 8-ounce block of pepper jack. Feel free to use any cheese you like. Keep about a quarter of the cheese, about a cup, back to top off the dish and sprinkle the rest on top of the hash browns. Place pan on the lowest oven rack and bake the cheese covered hash browns for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile get your peppers and onions going. I used one red bell pepper, one jalapeno, and one onion. Since my husband doesn’t care for cooked onions (or so he thinks), I have to buzz mine up in the food processor so that once cooked they are unrecognizable…. shhhh…don’t tell! But feel free to just chop your peppers and onions to a small dice and sauté in a skillet over medium low heat until soft and starting to caramelize.

For the protein I used half of a leftover ham steak and about 4 slices of bacon that I had in the fridge and sliced into small pieces. Once the veggies are about done, add the meat to the pan just to warm it up and cook out any water that exists. Again…feel free to use any meat you like or have on hand. Cooked hot breakfast sausage is especially good, or smoked sausage, or chorizo…. you decide. Evenly distribute the meat and vegetable mixture over the hash browns.

The last step is the egg mixture. In a large microwavable bowl add a block of cream cheese. Microwave until completely soft but not hot, about 30 seconds or so. Next, using a hand mixer whip the cream cheese until light and smooth. Now add 10 eggs and mix on a low speed until most of the cream cheese and eggs are combined. It won’t completely blend…. but should look like this. Add some salt and pepper to the egg mixture and pour it over the hash browns, cheese, meat and vegetables.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place the pan on the lowest rack of your 450-degree oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the center is set. It might bubble up a bit as it bakes. Let it rest for about 5 minutes or so and it should flatten out and look something like this….

Hash Brown Brunch Squares is an easy dish that feeds a lot of people, and I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know how you like it and what variations you try.