Hash Brown Pile-Up
Ok, not the most appetizing name I suppose, but this is one of those VERY practical and realistic recipes that I actually make often and love! It’s simple, cheap, filling and nutritious. I’m all about sharing the budget recipes right now because healthy eating is actually a great way to save money in this inflating economy, believe it or not! You save so much by cooking from scratch, avoiding frozen and restaurant food, and not buying expensive meat, cheese, and eggs. I could go and on about this but I’ll get to the recipe.
Chili fries or taco fries are delicious, but here is an even quicker and easier way to get those ingredients together.
Pro Tip: Batch Cook Potatoes
One of the best food tips I can offer is to batch cook potatoes often. We cook a pot of potatoes in our Instant Pot at least once a week, and keep them in our fridge. We grate up hashbrowns in mere minutes for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are hot, satiating, and every one in our family loves them. I usually use a touch of olive oil to make them really crispy and browned, but when I don’t they are still really good. Salt, pepper, and potatoes can’t go wrong.
My husband likes to mash up the cooked potatoes in a shallow bowl and cover with salsa or just hot spices and that’s his normal lunch almost every day. The amount of potatoes my slender husband eats is truly appalling, but he is an Idaho boy after all. I guess it’s true what Chef AJ says, “The more potatoes I eat, the slimmer I become.” Wouldn’t the low-carb crowd have their mind blown to read that!
Once you have cooked potatoes in your fridge, you’ll be impressed with yourself at how many ways you find to use them.
This meal is one of those creations from a day we didn’t know what to eat and had random ingredients. So if you currently have an avocado, salsa, potatoes, and beans, go make this! It’s so yummy and is quintessential whole food plant based fare.
Pro Tip #2: Eat Potatoes and Avocados Together
Another tip I must share is that anything with potato + avocado is SO TASTY! So keep potatoes and avocados on hand, and you can always have a burrito, taco, or hashbrown pile-up that features potatoes and avocados.
Want More Potato Recipes?
Zuppa Toscana (my favorite recipe creation of last year, I think! Can’t stop making it)
30-Minute Potato Cauliflower Soup
A realistic meal that's easy, healthy, very satisfying and tasty! Make hash browns and pile them up with seasoned beans, avocado, salsa, etc.
- 6-8 cooked potatoes (make about 2 per adult)
- 1-2 ripe avocados
- 1 lime
- 1 jar salsa or pico de gallo
- 1 can pinto or black beans (or about 2 cups cooked)
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- cilantro
- any additional desired toppings, such as olives, green onions, plant cheese sauce, hot sauce, etc.
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In advance: Cook potatoes. I do this by steaming a pot full of unpeeled potatoes in an inch of water in a pressure cooker for 12 minutes. Cool overnight or at least long enough to handle. You can also microwave them for about 10 minutes, until soft, although this yields drier and more crumbly hash browns.
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Make hash browns by grating cooked potatoes onto a hot skillet. You can use a spray of oil or not, depending on your preference and the non-stick qualities of your skillet. Season generously with salt and pepper. Once browned on one side, flip and cook.
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Meanwhile, mash avocados and add a small squeeze of lime juice and dash of salt (garlic powder and/or cumin is also good).
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Make beans by draining canned beans or homemade beans and putting them in a pot on the stove. Add the vegetable broth and taco seasoning and squeeze the other half of the lime in (a little lime juice in beans really makes them stand out) and stir, mash slightly, and let simmer several minutes until warmed through and some liquid has boiled away.
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Prepare any other toppings.
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Serve by filling your plate with hash browns and topping with mashed avocado, beans, salsa, cilantro, etc. Enjoy hot.
