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, Mother’s Day, and Christmas mornings so this is 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.
How To Make Hash Brown Egg Nests (1 Min Video)
HASH BROWN EGG NESTS RECIPE TIPS
‣ Muffin pan – I used a non-stick regular-sized muffin pan then sprayed it down with nonstick spray to prevent the nests from sticking and falling apart when you try to pry it out. Make sure to wait for a little once they are out of the oven for them to cool down, settle and solidify or they will fall apart. Once cooled, use a butter knife and work your way around the edges to loosen it from the muffin pan before prying them out gently.
‣ Making a nest – You’ll want to fill each muffin mold up with shredded hash browns and then using your fingers, press down in the middle to create a depression and force the hash browns to cover the sides. The more it sticks out the better! This is what makes it look like a nest.
‣ Blind baking – Pre-bake the nests so it sets before adding in the egg. This is to provide a firm base and foundation for your egg and toppings. Once that’s done crack the 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.
‣ Scrambled – If you’re not a big fan of sunny-side-up eggs, you can beat the eggs beforehand instead.
‣ Avocado – Feel free to leave out the avocado if you’re not a fan. The sensation of hot nests with creamy chilled avocado is a fantastic combination but if you only want the nests, this can be skipped.
Ta-da! You have breakfast. Or brunch, or a snack. Whatever time you decide to eat this, you will be munching happily. 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.
MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES TO TRY
- On-The-Go Breakfast Muffins
- Healthy Egg White Breakfast Muffins
- Cheesy Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
- Hash Brown Breakfast Quiche
- Easy Hamburger Quiche
- Idaho Sunrise
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Hash Brown Egg Nests with Avocado
- 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 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 medium eggs
- 2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled/2 tablespoons bacon bits
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 2 avocados, sliced and chilled (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the shredded hash browns, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a mixing bowl.
- Grease a non-stick regular muffin pan and divide the hash brown mixture. Use your fingers to pack them tightly and shape them into nests.
- Bake at 425°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, remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and parsley.
- Bake at 350°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 (optional).
- Enjoy!
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.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Comments & Reviews
I love the idea and make those this morning and the final product didn’t turn out the way I expected. I used a silicone pan and they didn’t have a crust at all so maybe the tin pan is better. Also it took longer to cook even for runny eggs but I live in the mountains and the altitude may have an effect on this. Overall the flavour was very good and I will try to tweet it further.. Any ideas??
I’m stumped about the altitude thing but I do remember reading something along those lines a long time ago, so you might be right about that. I used a tin pan for this so that may be the reason the nests didn’t brown better. Good luck, tweaking it!
I spotted this recipe (after recovering from your heavenly baked chicken alfredo) and couldn’t wait to try it out. Since my children don’t like their eggs runny, I made a few nests with the eggs scrambled. After trying both, I felt that leaving the eggs as-is was much more delicious (their loss). I used a Yukon Gold hash brown mix (on sale), but found it didn’t taste as well as the traditional hash browns. Still, I’m going to try a twist on the hash browns next Easter (if not sooner) and use grated fingerling potatoes to give it even more of the Easter/spring colors.
Thanks for letting me know how it worked out for you, Phyllis. I’m a big fan of the runny eggs in the nests. Good luck next Easter!
These look so so so good! I’ve added them to my “must make” list! I’ve also added these to a list of things to make on my little blog and linked everyone to come by here to see how to make them. Im soooo excited to try these! Thanks so much for sharing!
Off to go make myself a grocery list now.
Thanks for the link love, Rebecca! I hope you enjoy the nests!
used dehydrated hash browns from Costco, sausage, chives, spinach; scrambled the eggs— delicious
Great pairings! Thanks for coming back to let us know, Colleen!
Made these for our Christmas breakfast yesterday and they were DELICIOUS! Added diced tomato, sour cream, and Cholula hot sauce as well. Really loved them. We were already thinking of alternative versions, like chopped shrimp, celery, and Old Bay. Thank you for the recipe!
I love people making this for the holidays! It’s also popular during Easter and Mother’s Day 🙂 Great suggestions for alternative ingredients. Mushroom and spinach? Mushrooms, Old Bay and smoked paprika? Lots of choices!
Awesome it is. Just suggested a restaurant owner to add this recipe in the menu. and of course give a credit remark to you. Cheers 🙂
Thanks for doing so, Elena! Wouldn’t it be ironic if one day I pop into a random restaurant one day and see it on the menu? 😉 I think it would be unreal.
These look amazing and I will try making them tomorrow for sure. But do you use the giant muffin tins or regular size? I found with a similar recipe with an egg cracked inside that you need the giant tins so the egg doesnt spill over. Did you use regular size tins?
Thanks!
Good luck making them tomorrow! I used regular sized muffin pans for this one. Don’t own any jumbo ones.
These look amazing, I’m going to have to make these for the local Senior Center’s Champagne breakfast that I’m planning for their New Years Eve lunch.
That sounds wonderful, Josephine. I’ve never heard of champagne breakfast up till now. I hope the nests are indulgent enough for it!
Useful recipes and great pictures also. Thanks so much for your posting.
Welcome, Larry! Hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend.
Hey, do I need to thaw out the hash-browns before-hand? I figure I do, since I tried to do this with them frozen and couldn’t make an impression in the middle of them.
Yup! Thaw them out just enough to have them pliable enough to mold them. Props to you for trying to muscle it while it’s frozen 🙂
I am looking to make this for a brunch party for about 25 people. What do you suggest in regards to serving sizes and quantities for preparation?
I had about two for myself without any sides so maybe 50 nests which is 2 per person? 3 bags of 30 oz. frozen hash browns, 50 eggs and enough of the toppings for the nests.
I’m confused after reading many comments. This recipe serves 8? How do I adjust for 12 servings? Spray or grease the pan? Please include ‘wring out potatoes’ on the first line to avoid possibly ruining all.
Heya Linda! To make 12 servings, try almost doubling the ingredients in the recipe. It’s okay to over-stuff the muffin tins with hash browns as they will shrink and cook down when you blind bake them. The rest of the ingredients for the toppings are very forgiving. And use one egg per muffin.
Yes, you should grease down the muffin wells with non-stick cooking spray so the hash brown crust does not stick. My original recipe uses frozen shredded hash browns and they do not need to be wrung out for moisture. Some of our friends from Australia had trouble finding this so they tried substituting with freshly shredded potatoes which do need to be wrung out. You can read about how they used this workaround in the comments but since I have never personally tested this method, I don’t include it in my original recipe. So if you have frozen shredded hash browns, then you can follow the recipe to the tee. If you don’t have access to them and have to use freshly shredded potatoes, just wring them out before hand!
Great post. My wife will love your recipe. Thanks you!
Most welcome, Anna. Good luck with the cooking and happy eats!
I thought my wife had found the perfect recipe for egg nests until I saw this. She doesn’t care for avocado, but I sure do! The addition of the hash browns just takes it to the next scrumptious level!!! Thank you so much – I’m gonna serve these at my next men’s breakfast at church!
Yay! Another avocado fan! Have fun sharing it at your next gathering, Dan, and thanks!
Would this work without the cheese at all?I get so frustrated trying to find cheeseless, savoury breakfast ideas!
It should work, Naomi. The only issue I can foresee are the egg whites bleeding through a little to the crust but you could workaround this by making sure you have them dense and tightly packed. Hope this helps!