Sweet Potato and Egg Hash with Crispy Onion and Smoked Paprika
This is the hash designed to stop you from ordering breakfast out. Cast-iron heat, sweet potato cubes that go genuinely crispy — not soft, not steamed, crispy — with smoked paprika and garlic, then eggs nestle into the gaps and cook until the whites set and the yolks stay runny. The whole thing takes under forty minutes and uses one pan. Top it with scallions and a little hot sauce and you have the kind of Saturday-morning plate that ruins the case for brunch reservations.
- PRO
- GF
- DF
- PF
- VGT
- 1-PAN
Estimated macros per serving
Calories ~240 · Protein ~8g · Carbs ~25g · Fat ~12g
Ingredients
For the hash:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 large eggs
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For serving:
- Hot sauce of choice (optional)
- Flaky salt
Method
- Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the sweet potato cubes in a single layer. Resist the urge to stir them around. Season with salt, pepper, all of the smoked paprika, and all of the cumin. Cook undisturbed for 4 minutes, until the bottoms are golden and crispy.
- Toss the sweet potatoes and continue cooking, stirring every 2 minutes, until fork-tender and crispy on multiple sides, about 6–8 more minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are golden and starting to crisp. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Return the sweet potatoes to the skillet and toss everything together. Make four wells in the hash with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each well.
- Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover the skillet with a lid or large baking sheet and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 4–6 minutes, until the egg whites are fully set but the yolks are still runny. If you like a firmer yolk, give it another minute.
- Scatter the scallions over the top, finish with flaky salt, and serve straight from the skillet with hot sauce on the side.
Variations & Notes
- Vegan Swap: Replace the eggs with crumbled extra-firm tofu seasoned with turmeric and nutritional yeast, added in step 4 and cooked for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden.
- Extra Hungry: Add a diced bell pepper with the onion in step 3, and serve with a side of sliced avocado or a couple of chicken sausage links.
- Substitutions: Regular white potatoes or butternut squash work in place of sweet potato: just adjust cook times slightly. Any mild chili powder can stand in for smoked paprika, though you'll lose that smoky edge.
- Food safety note: The FDA recommends cooking eggs until both whites and yolk are firm. Pregnant people, elderly adults, young children, and anyone immunocompromised should cook eggs to a fully set yolk.
- Storage: Best eaten fresh, but leftovers (without the eggs) keep for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat the hash in a hot skillet and fry fresh eggs on top.