Gluten Free Hash Browns

Learn how to make hash brown patties using Caribbean sweet potatoes. These hash browns are gluten free, vegan friendly, restaurant style and taste delicious. 

I absolutely love hash browns, actually I love anything that contains potatoes and let's face it potatoes taste great any day time of the day.

Whether it's for breakfast, lunch or dinner, potatoes are cheap, cheerful and convenient.

Just like rice, for many cultures, potatoes play a huge role in many peoples diet.

If you have had a craving for hash browns then I highly recommend that you try this recipe.

It's really easy and doesn't require too many ingredients plus hash browns are incredibly easy to make.

All you need is some potatoes, typically russet potatoes are what most homemade recipes call for, but I'm going to add a Caribbean spin on my recipe by using Caribbean sweet potatoes.

Caribbean sweet potatoes are a complex carbohydrates, which means they are the "good" kind.

They take much longer to digest, making you feel fuller for longer which in turn will provide you with more energy.

Ingredients you need

• Sweet potatoes - Make sure you are using CARIBBEAN sweet potatoes, these have red skin with a white/off white flesh. You can get them from most African/Asian/Caribbean supermarkets.
• Garlic/onion granules - Mild seasoning, nothing too overpowering, the powdered version works too.
• Pink salt - To enhance the taste.
• Tapioca starch - This works as a vegan binder which helps to keep the hash together.
• The flax egg - is a pseudo, vegan friendly egg that also helps to bind everything.

Recipe preparation

Making hash browns couldn't be any easier, as I mentioned above, you will need Caribbean sweet potatoes for this rendition.

Caribbean sweet potatoes are mild and aren't as starchy as russet or orange sweet potatoes making them ideal.

I wouldn't use the orange sweet potatoes as they hold a lot of moisture which might compromise the texture of the hash browns.

First you will need to grate the sweet potatoes using a box grater, this is quite tedicious but it gives you a very much uniformed texture.

The next thing you need to do is to get rid of that excess starch by submerging the potato bits in a bowl of cold. 

The water will be cloudy and that's the starch, you can use your hand(s) to lightly squeeze the potato.

Then you need to drain off the water using a colander and use a cloth/towel to wring out the excess water (this step will help to make your hash browns crispy).

Then you will need to transfer the potato into a large bowl and add your condiments, I like to keep it simple by using onion/garlic granules and pink salt along with some tapioca starch and a flax egg which acts as a binder.

You want to use a spoon to mix everything together and then move onto cooking the hash browns.

Personally I prefer to shallow fry them, I don't find them as crispy when using the air fryer and oven method.

What I like to do is use a very small frying pan and add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

I spoon the mixture into a heatproof egg ring (a cookie cutter works fine too), you don't want to over pack it, just about under 1cm in height is enough.

You want the oil to be very hot before doing the above and you will need to cook before sides until golden brown.

I like to cook them one at a time, although it may take longer but you will use less oil this way.

The steps

• Peel each of the sweet potatoes and then set them aside.
• Use a box grater to grate the sweet potatoes using the side with the large holes into a large bowl.
• Pour cold water into the bowl of grated potato (to get rid of that excess starch).
• Use your hand(s) to grab the grated sweet potato in an up and down motion, while squeezing to extract more starch.
• Drain the water off using a colander.

• Have a nutbag or cheescloth hovering over another large bowl and transfer the  sweet potato into it.
• Squeeze as hard as you can to extract and discard any excess water.
• Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a small frying pan on medium-high heat.
• Place a heatproof egg ring/cookie cutter in the frying pan.

• Pack the shredded sweet potato in the ring/cutter, don't over pack it, you want the height of your hash brown to be just under 1cm.
• Proceed to cook the first side until golden brown.
• Flip the hash brown over and lightly fry the other side until golden brown.
• Place the cooked hash brown(s) on a cooling rack lined with kitchen towel.
• Repeat the above 6 steps with the rest of the shredded sweet potato.

Notes and tips

• I highly recommend using a box grater, although it is more time consuming to shred your sweet potato.
• This is the link that you need for the Flax Egg Recipe.
• The amount of hash browns you make will be subjective depending on the size.
• I made a total of 7 hash browns using the egg ring.
• It is normal for the potato once the skin is removed/grated to be slightly discoloured (due to oxidation).
• You can add additional seasoning or ingredients, herbs i.e parsley, thyme, cayenne pepper, vegan cheese etc...
• Remember to rinse off and drain the potato in water, you want to rid as much starch as possible.
• You can shape the hash browns anyway that you want to but I like to use a heatproof egg ring for a more uniformed look.

More sweet potato recipes to try

• Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Caribbean Curried Sweet Potatoes
• Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
• Jamaican Potato Salad
• Vegan Sweet Potato Cornbread
• Sweet Potato Waffles
• Jamaican Sweet Potato Porridge
• Sweet Potato Donuts
• Potato Stuffing
• Sweet Potato Roti

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