A Paleo Breakfast Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash

Paleo, Recipes

November always takes me by surprise.

Kind of like my age.

For example, when I was asked my age last week to fill out some paper work and I said (quite confidently, I might add), “26.”

Unfortunately as the word “six” left my mouth a confused look also made its appearance.

On my own face.

Because I’m not 26. I’m not even 27. Or 28.

I’m 29. Freshly 29, mind you.

Of course, I quickly went on to say, “No. No, I’m 29.” To which the same confused expression was born on his face.

I’m sure he thought I decided not to lie about my age at the last minute. Except I didn’t think I was lying at first. Apparently, mentally, I am 26.

Anyway, that’s November for me. Every year.

I think it’s September. Sometimes October. But it ends up being November.

Don’t worry, this only goes on until about November 30.

It’s a bit groundhogs day-ish every time I do realize it is November. First, shock. Then a small amount of time wondering where the time has gone. Lastly, excitement for the holiday season.

I love the holiday season. Because I love holiday cooking.

Warm and gooey baked meals (recipe coming next week), desserts filing the oven and our hearts (another recipe coming soon) and the warm fall colors of fall vegetables.

Like sweet potatoes. I know. I have a ridiculous love for sweet potatoes. Thankfully, Beau isn’t the jealous type so my love for this vegetable is able to grow and grow and grow.

Sweet potatoes became my perfect remedy when I was craving a perfectly poached egg but had no toast to sop up the sunshine yellow yolk.

Enter this sweet and savory hash. Which compliments the velvety yolk like they were made for each other.

You too can explore new love for the sweet potato.

A Paleo Breakfast Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash

You can cut your sweet potatoes into thin rounds or cube it. I opted for the cubed route.

But first, I like to cook up some bacon in my cast iron skillet.

Because it’s breakfast. And bacon is always invited. VIP!

Then I reserve some of the bacon fat and add the sweet potatoes straight into the pan to cook them up.

Cooking anything in bacon fat is genius. It just is.

I learned this from cooking bacon and then having Beau proclaim, every time, “Now what do we add to that bacon fat?”

Because he’s a man.

And every time, whatever I throw in that bacon fat, comes out delicious.

But if you aren’t making bacon you can just use some coconut oil.

Anyway, sweet potatoes get really soft when they’re cooked. So after some trial and error I found the way to caramelize them without them getting too mushy.

You have to cook the sweet potatoes half-way in the frying pan first. Alone. With a lid.

You’ll end up removing them and adding your other ingredients to cook up.

And then add them back to the pan.

It’s a beautiful relationship if I do say so myself 🙂

While the hash is finishing up you can cook your egg. If you want to learn how to cook a perfectly poached egg, every time, then you have to watch this short video from Alton Brown. He taught me everything I know about poached eggs.

Dish up some sweet potato hash and add your egg on top.

Confession, Beau does not like his yolk runny. So this hash is actually really good with scrambled eggs too 🙂

Anyway, dish it up. I like to add some fresh chopped dill on top. Maybe a dash of hot sauce. By maybe I mean always.

And there you have it. We also like to have this for dinner.

We’re fancy like that.

Print

A Paleo Breakfast Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash

  • Author: Bri McKoy
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 strips of bacon
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 TBS coconut oil
  • 1/2 poblano pepper, chopped
  • 1 red or white onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • Optional: eggs and fresh herbs to top hash with.

Instructions

  1. In a cast iron skillet cook bacon.
  2. Remove some of the bacon fat and add the cubed sweet potatoes to the cast iron skillet
  3. Season with salt and pepper and onion powder
  4. Let cook for 5 minutes with a lid on, without moving, so the potatoes can caramelize
  5. After 5 minutes turn the potatoes and add the lid back on. Cook for 5 more minutes without stirring.
  6. Uncover and flip potatoes once more. Let cook for about 3 more minutes, uncovered until tender and cooked.
  7. Remove potatoes to a bowl
  8. Add 1 TBS coconut oil and then add the onions, poblano peppers and garlic
  9. Sauté for about 3 minutes until softened
  10. Add sweet potatoes back to pot
  11. Mix together and let finish off for about two more minutes.
  12. Top with poached egg and some fresh dill. Serve immediately.

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  1. Mom McKoy says:

    This looks so yummy! I love sweet potatoes as well, so I’ll definitely try out this recipe.

    Your age comment was a hoot! I always have the same problem. Now whenever someone asks my age, I simply ask them what year it is! Then I just do the math, easy math – which is my preference – and calculate from 1960. I may look half a century old, but I feel about 35. So I figure the number of my true age is just a technicality.

  2. Lisa says:

    Ummm… hello YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I made this yesterday (home with a sick kiddo and your recipe popped up on FB…) and I ate it for breakfast…
    then lunch…
    and breakfast again…

  3. Becky says:

    LOVED this.

    I was a little confused about which kind of onion to use as the picture showed a white onion and the recipe called for red. In the end it probably doesn’t matter much. I used red because that’s all I had and it was fantastic.

    Oh and the other small change I made was to use a bell pepper instead of poblano. But I’m sure either would be great.

    One other great thing about this recipe is the leftovers are AMAZING.

    Will put this in regular rotation. I’ve found that I pretty much can’t go wrong with a recipe on this blog. 🙂

    • Bri McKoy says:

      Thanks so much for the feedback, Becky! That is funny about the onion because I love red onions so I put it in my recipe when I was creating it and then when I went to cook it I realized I only had a white onion! I updated the recipe to say white or red onion 🙂 And good call you the bell pepper!

  4. ody says:

    Cooked this up for our anniversary breakfast. Delicious! I am trying to take the Paleo plunge not sure how it is going to go but this was a great start!

  5. Sara Lewis says:

    To make this recipe AI friendly I omitted the pablano and added a little zucchini and Portobello.

  6. Michelle Lehberger Reed says:

    Sounds kind of good, I think I will try it.

  7. Julia Poznik says:

    This is delicious! I added asparagus and jalapenos to the veg and threw in a little ground pork sausage for variety. Thanks for the recipe!

  8. Nancy says:

    Made this just moments ago and it was excellent! I LOVE the way you taught how to cook the sweet potatoes – they were perfect!

  9. Simone Lelchuk says:

    Made this, super easy, love it! Quickly becoming a regular in my meals! Great to make a batch at the beginning of the week and then use in breakfast, lunch or dinner meals! 🙂

  10. Kelly Hernandez says:

    This is really good with red bell pepper but since I’m avoiding nightshades I just omitted the peppers

  11. JT says:

    I love eggs cooked almost any way. I recently learned that I am allergic to egg whiite, tomatoes,gluten, etc. What else do recommend to eat with the sweet potato hash for breakfast? Also, what is the best tasting gluten free oatmeal ?
    Thanks,

    JT

  12. Victoria Ryan says:

    just made this while on hold and talking to Covered California after our coverage was “accidentally” ended. the phone call took over 2 ½ hours and I got hungry. What an amazing lunch!!! Thanks!

  13. Kelli Campbell says:

    Delish! added mushrooms that I had on hand and think that fresh thyme or rosemary would also be a good addition. My new FAV breakfast served with thin slices of toasted baguette.

  14. Jessica says:

    I’ve made this twice so far, and it’s delicious! I had never used poblano peppers before, and they were a very nice addition. I found a way to expedite the cooking of the potatoes by putting them in in the microwave for 5 minutes and then cook according to the recipe. I’ve always struggled with cooking potatoes on the stove (they seem to take forever and sometimes some are cooked and some are underdone), and the microwave gives me a fail proof all-the-way-cooked potato. Anyway, thank you for this delicious recipe!

  15. Paleo Diet Advice says:

    What are the benefits of Paleo? Potential weight loss and increased cognitive function. There’s also increased energy level and potential rebalancing of blood cholesterol — HDLs, LDLs and triglycerides. If you want to learn more about Paleo diet, read this great article -“The #1 Biggest Paleo Mistake” – fb.me/29MOqMSp2

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