Sweet potato hash makes for a scrumptiously savory breakfast or brunch! Prepared with diced sweet potatoes, spicy Italian sausage, red bell peppers, onions and lots of seasoning, it's a wonderfully colorful take on breakfast hash inspired by the autumn season.
Sweet Potato Hash, a Deliciously Colorful Breakfast
Those magnificent golden-orange hues of late summer and early fall have always been a glorious inspiration to me when it comes to cooking, breakfast being the perfect meal to showcase them in.
It's extraordinary how a slow, sleepy morning can instantly come alive at the sound and aroma of sweet potato hash being prepared, the blazing-orange, finely diced sweet potatoes sizzling and crisping in a hot skillet along with generous bits of bright red bell peppers, spicy Italian sausage and onions.
Warm sweet potato hash spooned into a bowl and sprinkled with a touch of nutty asiago cheese and a flourish of green onion makes for an deliciously colorful and nourishing breakfast or brunch, one best enjoyed curled up on the coach still wrapped in a cozy robe.
A scrumptious little meal like this offers up an opportunity to bask a little in the colors and flavors of the season, to be warmed and inspired by them, and to enjoy the pleasure of a good, home cooked brekky made with lots of heart.
A Sweet Potato Hash Recipe for All Seasons
The beauty of sweet potato hash is that while it celebrates the colors and essence of the autumn, it's truly a breakfast hash recipe for all seasons.
Thankfully, sweet potatoes are available year-round, and are one of those vibrant pieces of produce that cook up quickly to tender, sweet perfection. They also play deliciously with many other colorful ingredients which help to bring out their natural flavor!
For my tasty sweet potato hash recipe, I like to add savory and even mildly spicy notes by way of crumbling in a bit of spicy Italian sausage, along with some onion and red bell pepper that are caramelized together with the diced sweet potatoes.
I season everything liberally with some spices as things crisp up in my hot pan, finishing this breakfast hash off with a little cozy touch of asiago cheese that melts slightly over top of it.
Here's a glance at my easy sweet potato hash recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe below...)
- To give this sweet potato hash some caramelized flavor, I use a nice, hot cast-iron skillet (or other heavy-bottom non-stick pan), and begin by browning my spicy sausage to create that base flavor.
- Next, I add in my aromatics, followed by my spices/seasonings, and then stir in my finely diced sweet potatoes.
- I allow things to caramelize and cook together until softened, about 10-15 minutes, then serve up the hash in bowls topped with asiago cheese, fresh parsley and green onions. A fried egg alongside (or on top of) is a delicious addition as well! 🙂
Recipe
Sweet Potato Hash
by Ingrid Beer
Category: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Yield: Serves 2
Nutrition Info: 503 calories
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- Olive or avocado oil
- 2 links spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
- 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into tiny cubes
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded, and finely diced
- Salt
- Black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon granulated onion
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 green onion, chopped
- ¼ cup grated asiago cheese
- Place a large non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat; once hot, add about 1 tablespoon of oil and crumble the spicy sausage into the pan allowing it stay relatively chunky, and brown it for a several minutes.
- Next, add into the pan the onion and the red bell pepper, and saute those with the sausage for a few moments until golden-brown (if a little more oil is needed, add in a drizzle of olive oil); add in a pinch or two of salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus the paprika, granulated onion, granulated garlic and Italian seasoning, and stir to combine.
- Stir in the diced sweet potatoes, cover, and cook until things start to caramelize and soften a bit, for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Finish the hash by adding the chopped parsley and green onion, and fold those in; spoon the hash into bowls or plates, and top with the grated asiago cheese. Serve with a fried egg alongside, if desired.
Tips & Tidbits for my Sweet Potato Hash:
- Keep things a bit spicy, or even sweet: The choice is yours as to whether you'd like to use spicy Italian sausage, or the sweet variety. I like a little kick in my breakfast hash, so I opt for spicy sausage; but the sweet Italian sausage is delicious as well, and keeps things a bit sweeter.
- Finely dice the sweet potatoes for faster cooking: A potato hash is all about finely diced potatoes, so that they brown up and soften quickly in the pan. Sweet potatoes cook up quicker than traditional russet or waxy potatoes, so when diced up nice and small, they typically only take about 10-15 minutes to soften up.
- Sprinkle on the cheese: Savory and nutty asiago cheese is a scrumptious topper when grated over top of a bowl of this sweet potato hash, but you can certainly use parmesan, mozzarella or even grated cheddar (white or yellow) for flavor.
- Prepare ahead for an easy potato hash: You can cook up this hash the day before you plan on serving it, then allow it to cool completely before storing it in a covered container to prevent extra steaming. Once ready to enjoy, simply reheat in the skillet, top with cheese, parsley and green onion, and enjoy!
- Serve with eggs for added protein: My hubby loves to cook up a fried egg to serve atop of this delicious breakfast recipe, and this is great for a bit of added substance and protein. Scrambled eggs are a tasty addition too, as is buttered toast.
Hungry for more cozy breakfast recipes? Check out these Breakfast Potatoes, these Hash Brown Potato Cakes, these Pumpkin Pancakes, this Breakfast Burrito, or this Breakfast Casserole!
Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2013, and has been updated with even more love!
Anna @ Bashful Bao
That is one vibrant plate of fall hash-I love it!
sillygirl
I too discovered how good sweet potatoes are fried - I think I like them better than white potatoes!
Tim
I've made this twice now, first time for myself w/ jalapeno brats then the second time for my cuties parents w/ Italian sausage brats. So delicious and a great twist on sweet potatoes from my mom's soupy/marshmellowy turkey day thing that I don't eat. After having them as fries and realizing they can be tasty this looked (as all your photo's do) very tempting to try. Glad I did, it'll be a regular for me to cook up now!!! It's really too easy also. Now, to try your version of Guinness stew. I struggle to give up that bottle of beer for cooking...
The Cozy Apron
Hey Tim! This truly is easy, isn't it? Love that you've made this a couple of times already, and played around with your own brat substitutions—I'm sure it was delicious! I thought what you said about the T-Day "soupy/marshmallow" sweet potato dish was funny; you know, I've never been a fan of that, either. But sweet potatoes done in this "fried" (or even oven roasted—I love that) way, brings out the best in 'em. And YES! You've got to try the Guinness Stew! I think you'll find that sacrificing that bottle for it'll be worth it. 🙂
Caitin
This is amazing!!!! I am not an experienced cook, yet this was easy to put together for lunch today and we all loved it! I used roasted red pepper asiago chicken sausage for a healthier option and then added crumbled bacon (to negate the healthy, lol) and wilted some kale on the top at the last minute. Finished it up with apple spice tea and a Trader Joe's maple leaf cookie, and it was like I had just consumed the essence of autumn! Thank you for this recipe!!!
The Cozy Apron
HI Caitin, what great substitutions, and what an amazing fall lunch! Even your "dessert" of apple spice tea and a T.J's maple leaf cookie (which are great, by the way—I've had those!) was perfect. I was really touched by your comments, and I thank you for sharing your experience with me!
Monica
I made this for a Thanksgiving side dish and everyone loved it! I used andouille sausage in mine. It was nice that I could prep alot ahead of time like cubing the potatoes and soaking them a few hours and dicing the bell peppers the night before. My husband who says he doesn't like sweet potatoes went back for a heap of seconds! I can't wait to put this in a tortilla with scrambled eggs in the morning. Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Monica, so glad you enjoyed this, and I love that you made it for Thanksgiving! 🙂
Stephanie Smith
Thank you!!! This is fabulous! A perfect combination of flavors, so delicious! A+!
The Cozy Apron
Stephanie, I love an A+! So glad you enjoyed it!
Tiffany
This looks absolutely delicious! I'm sitting here writing out my weekly menu and looking for something to make for breakfast this weekend. I'm definitely adding this to the list. Thanks for sharing!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Tiffany, hope you enjoy! Have a great weekend!
Nathan
I omitted the sausage and added some cumin to the spices. Great fall weather dish!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Nathan, way to make this your own—glad you enjoyed!
Rhonda
Can I do this the day before and reheat it? I am thinking of doing it for a crowd brunch.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Rhonda, I don't see why not! I hope you all enjoy! 🙂
Dawnette Roberts
Brilliant Recipe! We make it at work all the time and everyone (even those who do not like sweet potatoes) love it!! Thank you!!
The Cozy Apron
Dawnette, I love that! Thanks so much for sharing with me! 🙂
Maria-jose
Thank you for sharing this simple and scrumptious dish. It is definitely going into our family recipe box!
It has been quite a challenge to prepare meals when each of my family members have had changes in food items that they would eat especially once they had come home from college! I took a chance on this recipe knowing full well that sweet potatoes, peppers and sausage were items they usually disliked ,but to my surprise they all loved it and actually complained that I hadn’t made enough!!! So thanks again and I hope to try more of your recipes. Keep on sharing !
The Cozy Apron
Hi Maria-jose, that is such a kind and lovely comment! You don't know how happy it makes me when one of my recipes can bring folks together who typically struggle to find foods they all like! Job well done...and I hope you come back and peruse more the recipes, as I'm certain you'll find many more to entice everyone with, haha! Happy cooking to you, and thank you for sharing your experience with me.
Cristina
If I want to give this to a new mom to reheat when she feelS like it, would I wait to add the cheese and parsley (give it to her on the side)? What temp and for how long?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Cristina, how touching that you'd like to prepare this for a new mom—very nourishing and comforting choice!
Since it's prepped in a skillet, it can be reheated in a skillet as well. (You could reheat in a toaster oven or regular oven, too, at around 350 for around 15-20 minutes I'd say...)
But yes, keep the cheese and herbs separate, as those are best sprinkled on over top as garnish at the end.
Hope the recipe is enjoyed!
Stephanie
My sweet potatoes were so crunchy still. I had to cook them for so long for them to soften that everything else burned. Should you not precook them somewhat?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Stephanie, the issue may be the particular sweet potatoes. I've found that there are some sweet potatoes that when I cut through them, they cut quite easily; and others seem to have more starch, and they're tougher to cut through as they are harder. So I wonder if that was the issue for you. (Did you use the bright orange ones, by the way?)
Typically a sweet potato, when diced up nice and small, will cook up quite quickly, and become tender in not much time; but the other thing is to keep the dice small. That also helps.