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
Can the potato nest be made the night before. then re heat, add egg and bake?
That’s a very good question. I suppose if you blind bake them, cover them, and then reheat, they might crisp back up but I have not tested this before so this is new territory for me! I would think you can though. If you do end up trying this out, please let me know the results so it can help others who have the same idea!
These were all easy to remove from the pan than expected! I used the “baking” spray w/flour. I also substituted Cook sausage for the bacon. Delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Lori! I usually don’t have a problem with them sticking but I use a non-stick muffin pan, spray the wells, and use a paper towel to spread the non-stick spray on the bottom and sides evenly. I also wait a while for the nests to cool down so they can firm up.
This was a super easy hands off recipe! We made a few small ingredient swaps (dehydrated hash browns since we couldn’t find frozen and large eggs). We also only had an extra large muffin tin, which we sprayed with Pam, and this recipe made 6 instead of 8. We scooped the hash browns into the center, pressed down with a ladle, to make the egg well and precooked as directed. Took out, while still hot pushed down again with the ladle before cracking an egg into each well. Cooked at 350 to how we liked our eggs and used a thin metal spatula to release while still hot. Only one stuck a little, but was not enough to worry about. Such a great hit and cannot wait to make again!
Thanks for sharing how it went for you, Ashley! I’m usually very generous with Pam spray in those muffin wells and I find taking a paper towel and rubbing it in to make sure it’s fully coated on the bottoms helps a lot. I’m really happy to hear this recipe worked out for you 🙂
I spent hours in the kitchen, cooking bacon, pre-cooking hash browns in my muffin tins. Came out a goopy over- cooked mess! Ended up throwing out my muffin pan because of the mess! I would have been better off cooking it all together and putting it in flour tortillas! Won’t do THIS again!
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you, Peggy. Thank you though for taking the time and ingredients to try it out.
I love these so fun to eat and make
Thanks for sharing and keep on having fun!
going to try this right now. thanks for some new ideas. Jean
Happy to help, Jean! Enjoy.
I had a couple of problems with this beautiful egg recipe. First ,they stuck to the sides of the muffin tins. I had put a little circle of parchment on the bottom so once I was able to release the sides they came out, but the sides were destroyed in the process. Secondly, I cooked them for 13 minutes and the yolks were hard. The oven was set at and registered at 425. They were delicious they just weren’t pretty like your pictures.
I’m sorry to hear that! I used a non-stick muffin pan and sprayed each muffin well down before blind baking. Oven temperatures may vary so it’s best to check for egg doneness towards the tail end. 425°F is just for the blind baking part. Once that’s done and you add the eggs and toppings, it’s baked at 350°F.
These were Amazing & Delicious!!
I was wondering if I could make this on a bigger scale, using a pie plate instead of a muffin pan? Maybe, line the pie plate w the grated potatoes & bake. Then use a raw scrambled egg mixture & pour it on top of the hash browns & then bake that till eggs are done!! The cool thing is you could put more into the egg mixture (asparagus, broccoli, onion & bacon) & top w shredded cheese & garnish w scallions!!
I’m going to try it!!
Glad you liked them, Liz! I actually have something similar to your idea, but it’s called a hash brown breakfast quiche. Eggs mixed with milk to make a custard filling and veggies like zucchini, and mushrooms. There’s also some cheddar and bacon in there.
I don’t like cheese, so can I do this without cheese?
I haven’t personally tried it without cheese. The only thing I would be worried about is blind baking the nests intact without it. If you can manage that, then it should be fine.
Can these be baked then frozen?
I’ve personally never frozen them so I can’t confirm this from personal experience, but a quick Google search says some have. Good luck, Diane!
I just made this recipe and it was a big hit! Thank you! I could not find frozen hashbrowns so grated a potato instead. i am just wondering if there is any part of this recipe that could be made the night before? My plan is to make this for a larger group for brunch. Could you shred the hashbrowns and keep them in the fridge overnight? Or would they be too mushy?
That’s great news! I’m so happy it worked out for you, more so after going through the work of shredding all those potatoes yourself. You can cook the bacon bits in advance and shredding the hashbrowns in advance should also work. I don’t think they will be too mushy, but just in case, try wrapping them up in paper towels after shredding them before storing them in the fridge overnight. That should help drain moisture.
This looks incredible! I can’t wait to try it!
I hope it turned out well for you! Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
While thankful for work, the long hours working from home has limited time in my happy place which is my creative space. Made these beautiful nest for Christmas brunch and the were devoured. The avocado is a MUST as it balances all of the savory goodness. We are huge fans of running eggs, so stirred the egg in the nest and cooked a few minutes longer for a soft scramble. Absolutely delicious. Thank you
You’re most welcome, Yolanda. I’m glad someone tried my suggestion with the avocado, they really balance each other out. I only just realized from your comment that these can be made for Christmas breakfast/brunch. I usually only focus on reminding people to make these around Easter and Mother’s Day. Thanks for the idea!
We loved them! Delicious and looked so nice. Will definitely make them again soon.
That’s great to hear, Joan! They do look very adorable, don’t they?
Oh, such a great recipe. Always I was trying to make some different kind of breakfast, that’s is so great idea. I’ll surprise my pregnant wife :). Thanks for your help Farah, I’ll let you know the results :).
How did it go??!! I hope she liked them 🙂 It was such a sweet idea!