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Hash Brown Egg White Nests

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These tasty, protein-packed hash brown egg white nests are a great way to start your day off right, and an easy make-ahead breakfast!

Hash Brown Egg White Nests

Hash Brown Egg White Nests

Packed with protein and full of flavor, these Hash Brown Egg White Nests are a delicious and convenient breakfast or brunch option. I love adding ham, veggies, and cheese, but you can customize them with your favorite vegetables and herbs. They are made in individual portions, making them easy to reheat in the air fryer, oven or microwave. These nests are perfect for busy mornings because they can be made in advance.

Hash Brown Egg White Bites

What are Hash Brown Egg White Nests?

When I first started blogging, my friend Mary shared this recipe with me back in 2011. Since then, I’ve been making them regularly as an easy breakfast dish. They are egg white bites with a hash brown crust baked in a muffin tin.

How To Make

To create the nest, you simply mix together shredded potatoes (or frozen hash browns) and bake them. Once they are golden brown, fill the nest with a mixture of beaten egg whites and other ingredients like vegetables, cheese, and herbs. You can customize the nests with a variety of different ingredients to suit your tastes and preferences.

Helpful Tip

Be sure to generously spray the tin and use a non-stick muffin pan to avoid sticking.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

Make Ahead and Reheat

You can double the recipe to make ahead for meal prep.  Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. To reheat you can follow these steps:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  2. Place the nests on a baking sheet and place them in the oven.
  3. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the nests are heated through and the eggs are hot.
  4. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the nests cool for a few minutes before serving.

Alternatively, you can also reheat them in the air fryer or microwave. To do so, air fryer 350F 5 minutes or until heated through. For the microwave, place on a microwave-safe plate and heat on high for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.

Hash Brown Egg White Bites

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Hash Brown Egg White Nests

4.70 from 13 votes
2
Cals:134
Protein:13
Carbs:15
Fat:2
These tasty, protein-packed hash brown egg white nests are a great way to start your day off right, and an easy make-ahead breakfast!
Course: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: American
Hash Brown Egg White Muffins
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 55 minutes
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 3 servings
Serving Size: 2 muffins

Ingredients

For the Hash brown Mix:

  • olive oil spray
  • 1/2 cup onion, minced
  • 1 cup shredded potatoes, I used frozen Simply potatoes
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Egg Mixture:

  • 1 cup egg whites or egg beaters, beaten
  • 2 tbsp onions, diced
  • 1/4 cup bell peppers, diced
  • 1 oz reduced fat Swiss cheese, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 oz turkey ham, or regular ham, diced

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375F°. Lightly spray a nonstick 6-muffin tin with oil spray. 
  • Combine potatoes, 1/2 cup onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Fill each muffin tin with 1/4 cup of potatoes and press along the side of the tin so that it forms a nest.
    shredded potatoes in a muffin tin
  • Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown and edges are crispy.
  • While nests are baking, combine the egg whites with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.
  • Remove nests from the oven when golden brown.
  • Fill each cup with about 3 tbsp of egg mixture. Return to the oven and bake an additional 17-20 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked.
    Hash Brown Egg White Muffins

Last Step:

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Notes

Makes 6. You can double this to make 12.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 muffins, Calories: 134 kcal, Carbohydrates: 15 g, Protein: 13 g, Fat: 2 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 0.5 g

Categories:

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129 comments on “Hash Brown Egg White Nests”

  1. These are great! Add a little fruit in the morning and you’re good to go. Using a silicone muffin tin makes removing much easier.

  2. The hash browns kind of stuck to my muffin tin. I think I’ll try making this with liners next time. Nice, easy, make ahead breakfast!

    I added Pancetta.

  3. Made these for the first time last night and popped in the air fryer this morning to reheat. So good! We did put a few in the freezer and will try reheating those in the air fryer, too.
    Thanks for a great recipe!

  4. They were absolutely delicious, no surprise since your recipes usually are. Mine weren’t as pretty as yours and took a little longer to cook but I will definitely make it again.

  5. These were delicious and are open to lots of substitutions. I think that I’ll try reduced fat cheddar for the swiss, and/or turkey bacon for the ham, etc. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!

  6. This recipe is great!! My only complaint is that it said 35 minutes to cook (at the top of the recipe) so I thought I’d have enough time before school this morning. I didn’t notice until reading the recipe that it’s 35 minutes for the potatoes to cook, then another 17-20 minutes after, so that part was a little misleading.

  7. We LOVED these! The whole family thought they were SO fun!! Thank you, Gina!

    FYI: this is for 6 nests, and doubling it worked just perfectly. Spray the muffin tins SO well, and really dice those onions!

  8. Avatar photo
    Mary Lou Fritz

    Can someone please tell me if these are mini muffins or regular muffins, like a cupcake pan?
    I make them mini the first time and I am thinking maybe they should have been regular size? I looked at recipe and photos, but couldn’t tell, sorry if I am missing something! Thank you for another great recipe!!

  9. Avatar photo
    Jan Armstrong

    Can this recipe be used to make the egg bites in an Instant Pot using the silicone egg bite mold?

  10. Another great recipe by you! These are really good. I used what I had on hand, spinach, canadian bacon, green onions. I can see a few other veggies I am going to try. I sprayed my pan well and had no problem with them popping out. I also baked them til they looked crispy. Definitely a repeat recipe! Thank you!

  11. Avatar photo
    Rene Thurston

    I don't know if you're still replying to this, Gina, but I'm wondering what your thoughts would be on making these ahead? I made these last year for a brunch, which I'm doing again, but I did it the morning of, and I'm trying to avoid that. Could I either:

    1) Make the nests the night before and then just do the egg portion in the morning? Would the nests get soggy or not work well cold? or

    2) Make them entirely the night before and reheat? I suspect they may be better fresh from the oven. 🙂

    I'm having a holiday brunch at my house this Saturday, and always try to do as much make ahead and bake in the morning as possible. I'm making a breakfast casserole, but I have a couple of vegetarians in my group, so I'm doing these as an all-veggie alternative since the casserole has sausage.

    THANKS SO MUCH! Love your site and your recipes!!

  12. Avatar photo
    Everydaychick

    Hi Gina, I have been using your site for years and thought I should take a moment to comment. I made these hashbrown nests for breakfast today and it was so delicious! I didn't have any ham so I did broccoli, red and green peppers and spinach with a half tsp of cheddar cheese on top! I overindulged with 3 cups 🙂

  13. These are fantastic! I seasoned with a little powdered red chiltepan ( very hot pepper, sort of like Thai red pepper or habenero) and also a bit of smoked paprika. We didn't have Swiss so I used a little grated Parmesan, instead.This recipe is easy and has so many possibilities! I used regular potato and have leftover potato for another recipe. I could make this a couple of times a week or even freeze a bunch of potato/onion mixture to make this. I have chickens and they get ahead of me on eggs all the time. By doing egg whites and feeding yolks to the dogs, I use a bunch of eggs. Or, I could even use the yolks for something else, maybe freeze until I want to make ice cream or some other treat. This morning, the dogs got a bunch of yolks, which they love.

  14. Avatar photo
    Katie Martinson

    These are amazing! So simple but very yummy 🙂 I love having a breakfast I can make once a reheat throughout the week and these are great for that 🙂

  15. I made a dozen of these last night (doubled the recipe). Put them in the freezer. Had 2 microwaved for breakfast — absolutely delicious!

  16. Avatar photo
    MissIndepndnt86

    Will be trying these over the weekend! I'm a breakfast FANATIC and I love trying new breakfast recipes that are quick for my working family! Can't wait to try these babies!! 🙂

  17. I am a novice cook and am a bit mixed up with this recipe. Please help! It seems I didn't bother to notice the total serving size as 6 muffins, and only have a 12 muffin pan. Are the muffin sizes in a 12 pan the same as a 6? So could I possibly just double the recipe?

  18. These were great. Substituted Pancectta instead of ham and parmesean cheese for the Swiss cheese. Big hit in our house. Thanks!

  19. total success!I used egg beaters and shredded the potatoes myself.I made two kinds,one just like this,and one with feta ,spinach and pampered chef greek seasoning!

  20. Gina, I love all your recipes. Could you substitute egg beaters for the eggs? If so, would that change the points plus value?

  21. making some right now with homemade shredded potatoes and a filling of egg whites, spinach,tomato,garlic and some salt & pepper. I through all my filling onto the food processor since I wasn't keen on chunks of spinach. I really hope they turn out!

  22. Avatar photo
    a running affair

    I made these last night, and unfortunately I was full from dinner and didn't taste them then. I pulled them out of the fridge this morning, reheated them in the microwave, and the hashbrown part seemed a bit soggy, kind of like old fries are. The egg mixture was awesome though, just like a breakfast casserole. Any tips for my much-loved hash browns to stay good?

  23. I'm looking forward to having these for breakfast in the morning. I made mine with egg beaters egg whites, feta, and sauteed (just sprayed the pan) spinach and shallots. I forgot to season it so I'll do that before nuking them. Next time, I need to remember to spray the muffin tins.

  24. OMG These are so good!! SOO GOOD!! And so quick and easy! I can't wait to wake up so I can have my leftovers for breakfast! : )

  25. I am so excited to find this as it would work very well for simply filling breakfast and 0wp's!! Thanks

  26. Avatar photo
    Kim Strickland

    Just made these….they are wonderful!! A great protein filled breakfast to start off on the right foot each morning. Thank you@

  27. Helen, you add 1/2 cup of diced onion to the one cup of potatoes which equals 1 1/2 cup total for the nests ( 1/4 cup for each if the 6 muffin tins) hope that helps 🙂

  28. Made these this morning!! A huge hit and really delicious! I used real shredded potatoes. Thank you for sharing this!

  29. You call for 1 cup of potatoes but say to put 1/4 cup in each tin. That math doesnt work and 1 cup definitely isn't enough to make 6 nests!

  30. Just finished eating these for brunch and they are good! I used the Southwest Flavored Simply Potatoes, chicken sausage, egg beaters, and some chedder. I doubled the recipes so I could eat these throughout the week. Thanks for another great recipe!

  31. Just had these for brunch. I'm also making several for this week so we have breakfast. Sure beats the prepackaged things I usually have!

  32. I made these this morning with a yukon gold that i shredded myself. They turned out a little browner than expected after 35 minutes but tasted fine. They also required a little bit of oomph to get out of the pan so I'm excited to try these with a silicone tin next time. I made mine with cheddar, turkey sausage and green onions and drizzled a little bit of hot sauce on top right before serving. Delish and a great way to break up the morning oatmeal routine!

  33. My husband and I love these. I make 2 batches on Sunday night and portion them out for the week. This way we have a fast, travel-friendly, healthy breakfast all week long!

  34. I made these last night and they were excellent! I used a non-stick pan and lots of Pam and they fell right out of the pan!

  35. I Think this is the BEST recipe of yours I have tried. I doubled the batch and made 12. I was excited as I thought these were mini muffins and they are not. I added a bit more ham which made them a bit higher in p+ but I am okay with that!!

    1. Avatar photo
      Rachelle @ "Mommy? I'm Hungry!"

      I am making these right now, I doubled it also but only got 8 with lots of extra filling (I did add some other veggies & meat to it). So I'll be doubling the potato Ing. again and making more. They smell great!

  36. I made this recipe this morning for my Eating Healthy Plan @ work. Everyone loved them! The recipe was very easy to follow. The end result being a huge WOW factor! Also, my kitchen smell wonderful! Thank you for this recipe.

  37. Gina, I have these in the oven right now and they smell AMAZING! Full disclosure, I always modify recipes to suit my taste, but I love your site for ideas! Keep it up, your foodblog is a part of my morning read-list.

  38. I make these all of the time. Try using the Simply Potatoes Southwestern version and some Reduced Fat pepperjack cheese – yum!! also, these freeze fabulously. I thaw them in the fridge overnight and re-heat in a non-stick pan to crisp them up a little. My husband has me make these for him to take camping because they are so easy to reheat and are so tasty!

  39. I'm on your site looking for back to work breakfast recipes. These look like a great make-ahead breakfast with some much needed protein!

  40. Making this today…Do you think these could be frozen and used later for company? If so, how would they be warmed up? Thanks!

  41. OMG, I just discovered this site and I'm obsessed. I made these this morning for my very pick anti diet/health food fiance… HE LOVES THEM!!! Gina you are amazing!

  42. Making these right now!!!! So can't wait for them to come out of the oven. Should be a good breakfast!!!

  43. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I've made these again in silicone muffin tins and they popped right out. That may be the best solution to avoid dding too much oil.

  44. I made this recipe for the 2nd time today. I love it… But is it normal for them to stick to the pan? The first time I made them I sprayed the pan with olive oil as suggested. This time I used Pam. I love the recipe but its frustrating that I have to scrape them out.

  45. I attempted to make these twice. The first time I thought my nest did not turn out due to the fact that my hasbrowns were still a little frozen. Undeterred I made them the next day, with thawed hashbrowns and got the same result. I had a really hard time getting them out of the muffin cups and took your advice on spraying it with PAM very generously. I still think they are such a great idea, and mine were quite tasty just not crispy as I had hoped. I am going to attempt them again but use muffin liners to see if I get a better result.

  46. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Ladybug- glad they are such a hit in your home!!! 🙂

    this recipe makes 6 regular sized muffins. You can double the recipe for more.

  47. OK, so I know I just commented, but I can't help but tell you… these have completely become a staple in my household!!! Wow! I've made them every week since the first time, and my hubby can't stop talking good things about them. He loves them for breakfast on-the-go. My brother-in-law came over and this morning- I kid you not- HE ATE 7 FOR BREAKFAST! OMG! Now I'm baking another batch since he ate them all 🙂

  48. Gina,
    These turned out awesome!! A perfect breakfast for my husband who leaves for work before I wake up for the day! I made a double batch w/ low fat sharp cheddar, but used only 1 oz low fat turkey sausage in place of 2 oz. ham. I also like my hashbrowns crispy, so I baked them for 50 minutes before adding the other ingredients. They turned out very good! Thanks for another great recipe 🙂

  49. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    It worked fine for me, 1/4 cup potatoes in each one when pressed created a thin potato crust. Wonder if you are using a bigger tin.

      1. It is enough because it’s not only the 1 cup of potatoes. There is 1/2 cup of onion along with other ingredients added to the potato mixture. I actually had extra of the potato mixture after filling the muffin tins.

  50. I made these and they are delicious. Only thing is, 1 cup of hash browns doesn't hardly cover the tins and there is double the amount of egg for 6 muffin tins. This was supposed to make 6 right???

  51. Gina,
    Thanks for this awesome recipe. I made them this morning for breakfast and they are wonderful. Even my husband loved eating them wilh me. Please try them, you want be sorry!

  52. These look awesome. I'm not a hash brown person myself, but my mom LOVES them. Her birthday is coming up in a few days, I think I might make these for breakfast for her. thanks!

  53. Avatar photo
    Christene {WhipperBerry}

    Thank you for kicking off summer with this quick, cook ahead so it's ready to grab and go breakfast that will help me stay on track! Your recipes have been such a lifeline, keeping up the variety I crave and helping me stay on track. Thank you!

  54. Avatar photo
    foodsweatandbeers

    I'm contemplating throwing an impromptu brunch this weekend JUST to make these! Delicious, and combine my FAVORITE parts of breakfast! taters and eggggies!!

  55. Great Recipe! Thanks Gina for the recipe and Mary for her inspiration. I made a lightened version using Egg Beaters, turkey bacon and fat free sharp cheddar. In addition to your spices I also added paprika to the potatoes and picante and chopped broccoli into the egg mixture in addition to the onions and red, green, and yellow bell peppers. It is wonderful to have an easy, portable breakfast in the morning that tastes great. With this recipe I may even get my husband to eat breakfast.

  56. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I live in Long Island, I was in Waulbaums that day and they were in the refrigerated section by the eggs I believe.

  57. Gina, do you live in Brooklyn or NYC? I can't find the shredded potatoes at my Key Food. Maybe I'm not looking in the right part of the store. The produce guy looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I need to just go to a Pathmark. Or I will shred my own potatoes (ugh, too hot).

  58. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    1/2 cup onions are mixed in with the potatoes, the remaining 2 tbsp are mixed in with the eggs.

    teejamajay- oh sweet!! thanks for sharing!

    Bethany- refrigerated section.

  59. Are the pre-shredded Simply Potatoes found in the fridge or freezer aisle (I guess since there's no thawing instructions, fridge?) Thanks.

  60. I loved these! I even printed up the recipe and took it to my WW MTG group telling them how WONDERFUL THESE ARE!!!!!!! EZ to make and fun for SUNDAY BRUNCH and when guests are here. GOOD TOO!!!!

  61. This may be a silly question but is there supposed to be both a half cup of minced onions and 2 tbs of diced onions?

  62. Regarding "freezability", I'd think that as far as the egg goes, they'd freeze well. I know that the south beach version (without the yummy potato) freezes great. Not sure how the potato would freeze though.

  63. These look delicious – and I'd imagine there's an infinite number of variations possible.
    I wonder how shredded sweet potatoes would be? (maybe seasoned with just a little curry powder)

  64. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Pam green chili sounds good too!

    Lisa – I used a regular sized muffin tin. 6 points isn't the end of the world!

  65. Hi Gina,
    I am from NM and the only thing I would add is green chili :0). Thanks for all the great recipes, I look forward to getting the daily emails.

  66. If you use fresh potatoes, you will almost have to squeeze the water out of them before you use in this recipe. Simply potatoes must use something to package them because they are moist but not runny when you open them, very convenient to have on hand! This recipe sounds wonderful and like so many have said can be prepared in several different ways. I'm not sure how they would freeze, can't imagine eggs frozen and then being edible.

  67. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I had two for breakfast this morning and they were so satisfying, I'm still full!

    I thought about making a whole egg in a potato nest as well. I would make that one serving since it increases the points and have a grapefruit on the side 🙂

  68. Made these last night to have for breakfast this morning. They were super tasty and the perfect portion. I made mine using egg beaters, with reduced fat cheddar and turkey bacon.

  69. Oh, Gina! These look fantastic. Can't wait to try them (on a cooler day). I wonder if you could also bake a whole egg in the little potato baskets? Maybe bake the shells, add a bit of chopped ham, then break an egg into the potato shell, then top with a little fresh herbs or cheese. I'm going to try both! haha As always, you are very creative. I'm also curious about the freezability.

  70. Just wanted to say thanks so much for all your recipes! You have really livened up the "being good" food in my house. I can't wait to make these

  71. p.s. this awesome recipe gets even easier with southwestern Simply Potatoes!!! Went to gather stuff to make this and there they were 🙂

  72. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Indian Simmer, those were my thoughts exactly!

    Mary, of course, thank you!

    Meredith, it was one slice of Sargento reduced fat. Figured I'd put the weight if you are using a different brand but I will fix that as it wasn't clear.

  73. Hi Gina,

    Glad you liked my recipe and lightened it up. Yours looks great too. I must try your light version.

    Best Regards,

    Mary B
    from www.marysbites.com

    P.S. DO you mind if I post a link to your revised version of my recipe on my site?

  74. Avatar photo
    Prerna@IndianSimmer

    Oh my gosh Gina, I love you! Every time I come visit your blog and look at your recipes I have my Aha moment. Its like- huh, why did I not think of that! That's genius 🙂

  75. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I put the extras in zip lock bags and plan on re-heating them in the microwave tomorrow!

  76. Avatar photo
    hedgehoghomeschool

    We have these in the oven now. We used a grated potato instead of the bagged potatoes, and we subbed out the ham for chopped fresh broccoli to suit my vegetarian son.

  77. I'm not a big egg fan, but these look like something I would enjoy. No matter what my kiddos would enjoy it!

  78. Hi Gina, these look great, I love that it gives you breakfast at your fingertips for a few days. Question: how did you store/re-heat yours?

  79. Gina! Yay! I have been waiting for something like this! I cannot wait to make these! After I make Sweet Potato Fries tonight. I have said it a million time, but you are the best!

  80. Avatar photo
    Keelie Sheridan

    These look PERFECT! I might make these for breakfast this weekend! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂

  81. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Not sure how they freeze but I can only imagine they would be fine.

    You can easily double this for a crowd.

    Fresh potatoes would always work in place of the convenient pre-shredded kind. They one in the bag is basically peeled raw shredded potatoes, nothing added.

  82. I love that the serving size for these is 2 muffins and it's still only 3 Points Plus. I'll try it, but with soy sausage or something, since I don't eat meat. And maybe sub the bell peppers for mushrooms. Looks good, though!

  83. These look wonderful, and I'd love to try them!

    Um, I don't have Simply Potatoes, but I do have a bag of potatoes and a food processor with a shredding blade. If I wanted to use potatoes and shred them myself, would I use raw potatoes and then just drain/dry them really well?

  84. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Justin- never had a Kugel!

    Cupcake- what a great idea!

    Wayside, yes or even turkey sausage. I may have to try this a few ways!

  85. Avatar photo
    wayside wanderer

    Oh yum! My husband and I have been trying to figure out a light way to get hashbrowns in our breakfast. This would be good with some of those sausage crumbles mixed in. (Can't remember…are they Jimmy Dean? 2 pts for 2/3 a cup I think.)

    Love your website!

  86. Avatar photo
    redhotcookinmama

    These look great!! I am always looking for breakfast recipes to last me through the week, I think this might be my next cycle of breakfasts!!

  87. Brilliant! I was just looking for an alternative to pie crust for some not-so-sloppy joe tartlet dealies that my hubby loves. The hash browns (which I am such an addict of) might just do the trick.

  88. Avatar photo
    Justin Winokur

    My grandparents often make Kugglets (mini-Kugel) and it looks very similar. Rather than make one big kuggel, they make them in muffin tins. It's an interesting idea to apply it to hashbrowns

  89. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Great! Next time I'll do cheddar and turkey bacon! I still have lots of potatoes left to make more.

  90. These look DELICIOUS! I was just saying to my fiance that I wanted to make a lightened up version of the breakfast casserole that I make. This will be a great replacement!