This Sweet Potato Hash features deliciously roasted, perfectly caramelized sweet potatoes, smoky bacon, bell pepper, onion, and eggs. A proper breakfast of champions or easy weeknight dinner, it’s hearty, nutritious, versatile, and so satisfying!
About This Recipe
This sweet potato hash is incredibly versatile. With just a light seasoning of salt, pepper, and a hint of paprika, the natural flavors of each ingredient are highlighted rather than overpowered. Eggs may give off breakfast or brunch vibes, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this hearty, balanced, and satisfying dish for dinner.
- Taste: Savory, smoky, and earthy sweetness.
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate. The sweet potatoes are roasted separately before being added to the skillet. This may not be appealing to some home cooks.
- Freezer-Friendly: Yes! For best results, freeze before adding any eggs.
- Top Tip: This recipe starts by roasting the sweet potatoes in the oven for enhanced flavor and improved texture.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Swaps and Variations
The best part about this sweet potato hash is its versatility. Listed below are some of my recommended ingredient swaps and additions, but feel free to include whatever you’ve got lurking in your refrigerator or pantry.
Find the printable recipe with measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card below.
Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes make up the bulk of this recipe. They taste delicious, and they’re good for you! My go-to swap when cooking sweet potatoes is butternut squash, acorn squash, or pumpkin. To prevent mushiness, I recommend roasting the squash separately. You can also make this recipe with regular potatoes (Yukon gold, ideally); however, you may need to modify the seasoning as regular potatoes are naturally less flavorful.
Seasoning: By roasting the potatoes separately, we can season them separately, too. In this recipe, we season the sweet potatoes with salt, black pepper, and paprika. For more flavor, you may want to consider adding a half teaspoon of ground cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, red chili flakes, or a full teaspoon of Cajun seasoning or taco seasoning.
Bacon: Smoky, salty, and readily available, bacon provides this recipe with incredible flavor. Alternatives with the same salty flavor include ham, pancetta, smoked sausage, or smoked pork belly. You can also make this recipe with ground breakfast sausage or chorizo. For a healthier alternative, try turkey bacon or ground turkey breakfast sausage.
Veggies: This recipe includes onion, red bell pepper, and baby spinach. My favorite veggie alternatives include mushrooms, kale, cherry tomatoes, and poblano peppers.
How to Make Sweet Potato Hash
1. Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. Prepare the sweet potatoes. Peel (optional) and chop the sweet potatoes into small 1-inch cubes as equal in size as possible. In a large bowl (or directly on top of the prepared baking sheet), toss the sweet potatoes, olive oil, one teaspoon of salt and black pepper, and paprika until fully coated. Spread the sweet potatoes over the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.
3. Roast the sweet potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, toss, and bake for another 15 minutes or until fork tender and golden.
4. Cook the bacon. As the sweet potatoes roast in the oven, cook the bacon pieces in a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook until crispy. Once cooked, drain off the excess grease, leaving only a tablespoon in the pan.
5. Soften the aromatics. Add the diced onion and red bell pepper. Cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes, then add the butter, minced garlic, remaining salt, and black pepper. Cook until the butter has melted and the garlic is fragrant about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook until wilted and bright green, about 2 minutes.
6. Add the roasted sweet potatoes. Add the roasted sweet potatoes to the skillet. Mix just until combined with the other ingredients.
7. Add the eggs: Crack the eggs on top, leaving a little space between each egg. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 5-8 minutes or until the yolks are set and the whites are no longer jiggly.
8. Serve. Remove from heat and serve with crumbled feta, hot sauce, sliced avocado, and toasted bread. Garnish with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
Preventing Soggy Sweet Potatoes
As mentioned above, this recipe suggests roasting sweet potatoes before adding them to the breakfast hash. It’s an additional step, but the added effort is so worth it. Here’s why:
- Better texture: Roasting helps sweet potatoes develop a crispy exterior while maintaining a soft, creamy interior. When mixed into the hash, they hold their shape and don’t become mushy, as is often the case when they are cooked directly in the skillet.
- Better flavor: Roasting sweet potatoes caramelizes their natural sugars, deepening their flavor and bringing out a richer, sweeter taste. This is a welcome contrast to the savory veggies and salty bacon.
- Better timing: By roasting the sweet potatoes separately, you can prepare the other ingredients, like chopping vegetables or cooking bacon. This allows each component to be cooked to its ideal doneness without compromising the texture or flavor of the other ingredients.
Serving Ideas
This sweet potato hash is hearty and well-balanced. Aside from toasted bread, warm tortillas, or a small fruit salad, the only thing missing is the toppings. Since my 11-year-old isn’t going to like the same things as his dinosaur parents, I’ll offer a few of the following for everyone to choose from: avocado, feta cheese, hot sauce, cherry tomatoes, black beans, fresh cilantro or green onions, and sour cream. If you want to go the extra mile, you could make homemade hollandaise sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes.
Yes. You can roast the sweet potatoes and cook the bacon and veggies ahead of time and store them separately in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, combine the sweet potatoes, bacon, and veggies in a hot skillet and cook until it’s hot and crispy. Once reheated, crack the eggs on top, cover, and cook until the eggs have set.
Absolutely. Feel free to cook fried, scrambled, or poached eggs. Cooking the eggs separately is beneficial if you plan on having leftovers and prefer not to eat leftover eggs.
Leftovers and Freezing
Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: For best results, freeze the hash without the eggs. Eggs can become rubbery when frozen and reheated. It’s better to cook fresh eggs when ready to serve the reheated hash. Transfer to airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the hash in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat with a bit of butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Once warmed through, add the eggs, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the yolks are set and the whites are no longer jiggly.
For more drool-worthy breakfast (for dinner) ideas, check out my recipes for Chicken Fried Steak, Chilaquiles, Loco Moco, and Biscuits and Gravy.
RECIPE CARD
Sweet Potato Hash Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ teaspoon salt - divided
- 1½ teaspoon pepper - divided
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon - cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 white onion - diced
- 1 red bell pepper - deseeded and diced
- 2 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1-2 cups baby spinach - packed
- 6 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl (or directly on top of the prepared baking sheet), toss together the sweet potato, olive oil, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of black pepper, and paprika until fully coated. Spread the prepared sweet potatoes over the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes, toss, and bake for another 15 minutes or until fork tender and golden.
- In the meantime, add the bacon pieces to a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook until crispy. Once cooked, drain off the excess grease, leaving only a tablespoon in the pan
- Add the diced onion and red bell pepper. Cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes, then add the butter, minced garlic, remaining salt, and pepper. Cook until the butter has melted and the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted and bright green, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the roasted sweet potatoes, then crack the eggs on top, leaving a little space between each egg. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 5-8 minutes, or until the yolks are set and the whites are no longer jiggly.
- Remove from heat and serve with crumbled feta, sliced avocado, and toasted bread. Garnish with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
Jessica’s Notes
- Instead of sweet potatoes, use butternut squash, acorn squash, or pumpkin. Regular potatoes (such as Yukon Gold potatoes) may also be used.
- For more flavor, you may want to consider adding a half teaspoon of ground cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, red chili flakes, or a full teaspoon of Cajun seasoning or taco seasoning.
- Instead of bacon, consider using ham, pancetta, smoked sausage, smoked pork belly, ground breakfast sausage, chorizo, or turkey bacon.
- Great veggie alternatives include mushrooms, kale, cherry tomatoes, and poblano peppers.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Any suggestions on prepping ahead of time?