Description
These baked vegan sweet potato hash browns are a crispy, flavorful, and healthy alternative to traditional hash browns. Made with grated sweet potatoes, seasoned with spring onions and cornstarch for a perfect texture, and baked to golden perfection, they are served with a spicy and tangy gochujang dip. This recipe is easy to make, vegan, and great for breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
Scale
Hash Browns
- 450 g / 1 lb sweet (orange) potatoes
- Heaped ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 2 spring onions, white parts only, finely chopped
- A good grind of black pepper, adjust to taste
- 2 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour, potato starch or tapioca starch
Gochujang Dip
- 80 ml / 1/3 cup neutral tasting vegan yoghurt (natural Nush recommended) or cream
- 1 tsp gochujang paste (ensure it’s gluten-free if required)
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ½ lime (or lemon) juice, adjust to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Grate Sweet Potatoes: Coarsely grate the sweet potatoes using a food processor or a manual grater.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Equipment: Preheat your oven to 200° C / 390° F (no fan). Prepare a baking sheet—an old-fashioned aluminium one works best—and have a round cookie cutter or egg ring (about 8 cm / 3″ diameter) ready.
- Salt and Rest: Add a heaped ½ tsp salt to the grated potatoes and let them sit for 15 minutes. This helps draw out moisture.
- Remove Excess Moisture and Reclaim Starch: Place the salted potato mixture into a clean muslin cloth or kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible—expect around 120 ml / ½ cup. Allow this liquid to sit so the starch settles at the bottom, then drain off the water and add the starch back into the potato mixture to help crispness.
- Mix Ingredients: Stir in 1 tbsp olive oil, finely chopped spring onions, black pepper to taste, and 2 tbsp cornstarch evenly into the grated potatoes.
- Prepare Hash Browns on Baking Sheet: Lightly oil the baking sheet using a brush or oil spray. Place the cookie cutter on the oiled areas, then spoon the potato mixture inside the cutter to just under 1 cm / 0.35″ height, spreading it loosely and evenly with a fork to the edges without compacting it.
- Bake First Side: Bake the hash browns in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. They will be fragile, so use a flexible spatula to carefully lift them from the tray.
- Flip and Bake Second Side: Brush the baking tray again with oil, then flip each hash brown onto the oiled spots. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden on both sides.
- Prepare Gochujang Dip: In a small bowl, mix 80 ml vegan yoghurt or cream with 1 tsp gochujang paste, 1 tsp maple syrup, juice of ½ lime, and salt to taste. Adjust lime and salt as desired.
- Serve: Serve the hot hash browns immediately sprinkled with salt alongside the gochujang dip for a delicious, healthy breakfast or snack.
Notes
- Sweet potato hash browns are delicious, simple to make, baked (not fried), and vegan.
- Pressing out excess moisture and reclaiming the starch is key to achieving crispy hash browns.
- An aluminium baking sheet works better than non-stick for crispiness.
- Use a flexible spatula to handle the fragile hash browns during flipping.
- The gochujang dip adds a tangy and spicy complement to the sweet potatoes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 hash brown
- Calories: 95
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 318 mg
- Fat: 2.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.5 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 1.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
