These cute hash brown egg nests with avocado are fun to make with shredded hash browns and cheese baked into a crispy nest then topped with an egg, crumbled bacon and even more cheese.
These egg nests will make your grumpy mornings not so grumpy. I’m not a morning person so I can relate. But if you’re the type to be bright eyed and bushy tailed in the mornings, this will make things even better. I’ve also found these nests are super popular around Easter and Mother’s Day so here’s something you can make together as a fun group activity.
Pair it with creamy chilled avocado slices for that hot and cold combo. While you’re busy chasing around that runny egg with crispy hash browns, bacon and melty cheese, you can nip out a corner of chilled avocado to add to your fork. Yummy!
And if these egg nests are too delicate for you, you can try out a whole hash brown breakfast quiche instead. This one is equally fun to make but has even bigger portions and is filled with custard, zucchini, mushrooms and bacon.
But back to these super cute, tiny nests! Let’s get started.
Tips and tricks:
First you need a cupcake pan. Spray them down with nonstick spray so it doesn’t stick. You don’t wanna mangle these beauties before they even have a chance to leave the pan! You’ll want to fill each one up and then using your fingers, press down in the middle to push and mold the hash browns to cover the sides. The more it sticks out the better! This is what makes it look like a nest.
Then you pre-bake it so it sets. Once that’s done crack in eggs into each nest and top with bacon bits, cheese and parsley. Then bake again until the egg whites settle. You can opt to bake a little longer if you don’t like your eggs runny.
Ta-da! You have breakfast. Or brunch, or a snack. Whatever time you decide to eat this, you will be munching happy. Serve with fresh chilled avocado slices or skip them if you’re cursed like me with two settings: unripe avocados and too-bad-you-missed-the-one-day-I-was-ripe avocados.
PS: If you’re wanting an easier and healthier breakfast bite, try out these breakfast muffins with no hash browns for those watching their calories and scrambled eggs for those that don’t their eggs runny!
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Hash Brown Egg Nests with Avocado
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 8 nests 1x
Description
Shredded hash browns and cheese nests baked until crispy topped with a baked eggs, crumbled bacon and more cheese. Served with chilled avocado slices.
Ingredients
- 15 oz. frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 medium eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 2 avocados, sliced and chilled
Instructions
- Mix hash browns, salt, pepper, olive oil and 1 cup Cheddar cheese in a mixing bowl
- Grease the muffin pan and divide hash brown mixture. Use your fingers to pack them tightly and shape them into nests
- Bake at 425 degrees F or until the edges have browned and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes
- Crack a medium egg into each nest and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Top with crumbled bacon, 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese and parsley
- Bake at 350 degrees F until the egg whites set, about 13 to 16 minutes
- Let it cool, gently slide a knife along the edges and use a fork to lift it out of the pan
- Dish and serve with chilled avocado slices
Notes
If you don’t have frozen shredded hash browns, bake 4-6 russet potatoes. Let them cool off, then peel and grate them to form shreds.
Nutrition for one nest and a couple avocado slices:

204 Comments
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes
August 1, 2014 at 2:32 PMThis is such a clever idea. And I just love the way these photos came out. Pinning these!
The Cooking Jar
August 1, 2014 at 6:03 PMHey thanks Katie! I’m glad my take two of shooting was worth it! 🙂
Karen
February 1, 2015 at 12:25 PMOMG, these look absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!
Renato
May 7, 2016 at 11:05 PMDid you thaw the hash browns over Night in the fridge?
The Cooking Jar
May 11, 2016 at 2:02 PMI let them thaw on the counter for an hour or so before cooking it. Just enough thawing to let them separate and spread nicely.
Nagi {RecipeTin Eats}
August 1, 2014 at 4:10 PMHoly moly, these look AWESOME! And you cooked it perfectly with the runny yolk and everything! PINNING! I am going to hash brown heaven 🙂
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
August 1, 2014 at 6:04 PMOhhhhh these were the best things ever and even tasted good the next day! Just be careful heating it up in the microwave. 30 seconds at most. One minute and it explodes! #oops #learnedthehardway
Ami@NaiveCookCooks
August 1, 2014 at 6:04 PMTotally doing this for tomorrow’s brunch!
The Cooking Jar
August 2, 2014 at 5:05 PMThat’s fantastic Ami! Hope you like them as much as I do!
Teresa
August 3, 2014 at 12:05 AMYour pictures are amazing! Great photography. I can’t wait to try these, they look so good.
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
August 3, 2014 at 10:59 AMThank you! Let me know how they go for you if you do try them out. I’d love to hear!
Jenn
August 3, 2014 at 9:09 AMGosh, even your pic of a dozen eggs is gorgeous!
The Cooking Jar
August 3, 2014 at 11:01 AMThanks for noticing! It’s actually my favorite pic of the batch 🙂
Angela Sheffler
August 3, 2014 at 9:29 AMThese look fabulous! I’m wondering have you made one with the yolk broken, for those who do not like it runny? If so how did it turn out
The Cooking Jar
August 3, 2014 at 11:06 AMIf you want the yolk to be firmer, bake it a little longer. If the hash browns start browning too much during, cover it with foil to prevent burning. I would try an extra five minutes or so and test by poking the yolk with a fork. I haven’t tried breaking the yolk but that should work too. Hope this helps! 🙂
Melanie
August 4, 2014 at 11:19 AMAfter u thaw the hash browns, do u cook as is or do u wring/squeeze/pat dry?
The Cooking Jar
August 4, 2014 at 12:18 PMI cooked it as is. If you look at the pic on how I molded it to the pan, it wasn’t soggy at all. I’m not sure if it’s because of the brand I used (Target Market Pantry) though. If your brand gets soggy, then you can wring it out. A trick I heard to make it more crispy is to let it sit in salt for 15 minutes before wringing it out, but I never had to do that.
Megan
January 29, 2017 at 8:20 PMThanks for the recipe. My hash browns turned out a bit soggy. I’m wondering if I should’ve let the cup get completely brown instead of just the edges before cracking the egg? Thoughts?
The Cooking Jar
January 30, 2017 at 10:01 PMYou could try that too. If the cup takes longer to brown than the edges and you’re worried the edges will burn, I’ve heard a trick is to wrap tin foil around the edges once they’re all browned so you can work on the base.
Anne Saxby
August 5, 2014 at 4:17 AMDo you buy the hash browns already grated ??
The Cooking Jar
August 5, 2014 at 12:21 PMYes, I bought them from Target in the frozen aisle under ‘Breakfast’. If you don’t have frozen shredded/grated hash browns available or prefer not to use them, you can bake potatoes and grate them!
Sherien
August 6, 2014 at 5:23 AMLovely recipe!!!!
The Cooking Jar
August 6, 2014 at 1:31 PMThank you, Sherien! Happy everyone likes it 🙂
Belle
August 6, 2014 at 6:29 PMFrozen hash brown shredded potatoes? I’m in Australia and have never heard of these.. Could I use grated fresh potato instead? Or does the frozen variety have something else in it?
The Cooking Jar
August 6, 2014 at 7:02 PMHi Belle! If you don’t have frozen shredded hash browns, you can bake your potatoes, let them cool, then peel and grate them to form shreds. I’ll add a note to the recipe for those that can’t buy them. 🙂
Liz
August 6, 2014 at 9:54 PMAnother Australian here, you can actually use fresh/raw potatoes just fine. The baking time will vary depending on how finely you grate your spuds though 🙂 I make a similar thing to this quite often and have never prebaked my potatoes. They do require a good squeeze though to get rid of the potato juice!
The Cooking Jar
August 6, 2014 at 10:09 PMThanks for letting us know, Liz! Always great to exchange recipe tips! Hope this will help others 🙂
Muna Kenny
August 7, 2014 at 8:05 AMYou know what Farah, sometimes I feel that you can read my mind 😉 I always thought of this dish but never really made it, just wondered how it would taste, but seeing your pics I think I have to make some soon. Looks soooo delicious and beautiful too!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
August 7, 2014 at 12:19 PMOh they were really good for a first meal of the day kind of thing. I think I may have to make some again soon!
Christa
August 7, 2014 at 2:24 PMWhat is the serving size per the calorie count? Just one?
The Cooking Jar
August 7, 2014 at 2:49 PMOne nest per serving for the calorie count, yes. Along with a few slices of avocado.
Stephanie
February 5, 2015 at 1:35 PMIf you don’t use avocado slices what is the calorie count for each?
The Cooking Jar
February 9, 2015 at 3:37 PMLet me see. I ran it through the nutritional label generator and had to update the label for this recipe. I’m guessing some of their values recently changed which affected it. The label has been updated accordingly.
I ran it through a second time to get the label without avocados and here it is. Hope it helps!
steve
July 15, 2017 at 4:34 PMwhen you say a serving is that one nest??
Collette Seders
August 8, 2014 at 8:39 AMIf you want your nests to be a little bigger, try turning your muffin pan upside down, and baking your hash brown mixture one OUTSIDE of the cups, rather than the inside. Place the baked cups on a cookie sheet before filling. If you don’t like soft yolks, you can also beat the eggs, and stir in you bacon, with tiny pieces of tomato and green onion or chive snips. Then top with cheese before baking your cups again. That makes mini omelette nests. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
★★★★
The Cooking Jar
August 8, 2014 at 1:10 PMGood idea, Collette! I’ve seen a recipe similar to that floating around Pinterest today where they did it with strips of bacon. How decadent, giant bacon cups! I’ll be posting a recipe for omelette muffin cups somewhere along with way with my favorite ingredients 🙂
shannon
August 10, 2014 at 5:22 PMThese would be great with scrambled centers. A little less messy and more portable. A bit of good salsa would be a great addition too. You think? Thanks for the ideas. (potato boats too!)
shannon
The Cooking Jar
August 10, 2014 at 5:37 PMScrambled is also an option, if you like it that way. I just like my eggs runny 🙂 I heard you can freeze the scrambled version of it somewhere: I was a little leery suggesting freezing it the way it is. But it might work on top of being portable for breakfast on the go! Also, salsa works too!
dsrtrosy
March 21, 2015 at 11:55 PMI would definitely want scrambled, but would be afraid the hashbrowns would get too brown. Would it work to bake the hashbrowns for a slightly shorter time? I was really excited until I saw the runny yolk (I’m just the opposite of you–runny grosses me out!).
The Cooking Jar
March 22, 2015 at 3:38 PMBased on what people have been telling me and trying out, scrambled worked just fine! I would not worry about the hash browns, but if you wanna be safe the first time trying this out, you could pre-bake the hash brown cups for a slightly shorter time and feel it out as you go along. Good luck!
bill @thewoksoflife
August 15, 2014 at 5:44 PMI am seeing more recipes using muffin pans in nontraditional ways and I really like it. Thanks for the great recipe!
The Cooking Jar
August 15, 2014 at 10:46 PMVery welcome Bill! It’s great news for non-muffin eaters like myself 😉