For a simple and frugal breakfast option, you have to try this canned breakfast potatoes recipe! It's cheap, easy, and so delicious too.
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Canned potatoes are a wonderfully frugal ingredient to keep on hand for so many reasons- adding to soups, adding to casseroles, and making a fast side dish to make your meal feel fuller.
My kids love canned potatoes, and these breakfast potatoes are one of their favorite ways to get their potatoes served. As delicious as Homemade Frozen Hashbrowns are, you can't deny that the convenience, cost, and speed of canned potatoes are pretty great!
Serve these potatoes with your favorite breakfast foods like Air Fryer Frozen Waffles or Strawberry Cheesecake Crescent Rolls for a winning meal.
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💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- You can make them crispy! Because these potatoes are already cooked, you can simply warm them up or heat them until crispy. You can cook them longer for that added golden crispness if desired, but if you're in a hurry, they taste great simply warmed through too. I'm pretty sure my kids would eat them straight from the can if I let them.
- Minimal ingredients. You really don't need much to make these potatoes, and the ingredients you will want are customizable too! Add in more toppings or leave some out, depending on what you have on hand. These potatoes taste great either way. Imagine the toppings for baked potatoes, or Cheesy Potato Soup, and they'll probably taste amazing here too.
- They're frugal. Made for under $3, this side dish is a great low-cost way of bulking up your meal. Add some pancakes and eggs, and you have a filling meal that costs almost nothing to make. While we normally Stretch Meat to Save Money, sometimes stretching meals by adding affordable side dishes can have a similar effect.
🛒 Ingredients
Butter- You will need butter to cook the ingredients with. Using butter will give us a richer taste and can give us a golden crisp potato if you cook them for a few extra minutes.
Canned potatoes- I recommend using already sliced canned potatoes, but diced potatoes work fine too. Drain and rinse under cool water before using.
Bacon bits- I like to use packaged bacon crumbles (the actual bacon pieces) to add a little bacon to my breakfast recipes instead of whole bacon strips. This saves me time and money. But if you buy a pack of bacon and need more recipes to use it up, check out my Bacon Fried Rice and Maple Bacon Dip.
Cheddar cheese- Adding some shredded cheese over the potatoes helps to bring out more flavor to the dish.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use store-brand canned potatoes: They're usually $0.20-$0.40 cheaper per can and taste exactly the same as name-brand.
Swap fresh onion for dried: If you're out of onions, use 1-2 teaspoons dried minced onion or onion powder to save money and reduce prep.
Replace bacon bits: Use store-brand bacon bits, skip them entirely, or swap in leftover cooked bacon ends or ham scraps to keep costs low.
Buy cheese in blocks: Shredding your own cheddar is cheaper than buying pre-shredded and melts better, too.
🥄 Instructions for Canned Breakfast Potatoes Recipe
Step 1: Open your canned potatoes and drain the liquid. Rinse the potatoes under cool water. Set aside.
Step 2: Dice your onion. Set aside.
Step 3: Preheat a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat.
Step 4: Add your butter to the pan and allow it to melt.
Step 5: Add in the diced onions and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
Step 6: Add in the canned potatoes.
Step 7: Mix in the seasonings. Cook until the potatoes are to your liking or for 3-4 minutes until warmed through.
Step 8: Add in the bacon bits.
Step 9: Gently stir together until well mixed.
Step 10: Top the potatoes with some shredded cheese.
Step 11: Add sliced green onions over the top.
Step 12: Let rest for a minute so that the cheese melts.
Serve warm, and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Don't be too rough. Be gentle when stirring the potatoes in the pan to avoid breaking them apart.
- You can make the potatoes crispy. For crispy and golden potatoes, ensure they crisp up before adding bacon, cheese, and green onions.
- Cooking times will vary. Doubling the cooking time may be necessary for crispy potatoes, but factors like pan type, cooking temperature, and potato moisture play a role.
- Greasing the pan is helpful. To prevent sticking, add another tablespoon or two of butter as the potatoes cook if needed.
❄️ Storage and Reheating
Storage: Store leftover breakfast potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
Reheating: Warm individual portions on a microwave-safe plate for about 1 minute, or until heated through. For crispier potatoes, reheat in a skillet or air fryer for a few minutes instead.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Serve canned breakfast potatoes with scrambled or fried eggs, bacon, or sausage for a hearty breakfast. They also pair nicely with toast, biscuits, or pancakes. For a lighter option, add a side of fruit or yogurt.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Canned potatoes are shelf stable and can last a very long time without spoiling, unlike fresh potatoes. They're also pretty cheap (less than $1 per can), making them easy to add to a tight budget meal plan. Despite being canned, they're still really good!
When cooked on the stovetop, you'll find that they take about 9-12 minutes to become crispy.
Canned potatoes are already partially cooked when they are processed and canned. This means that they should still be cooked before consumption but that they will take much less time than if you were to cook a raw potato.
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🐝 If you tried this canned potatoes recipe, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Canned Breakfast Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) sliced canned potatoes, drained and rinsed - ($1.92)
- ½ medium onion, diced - ($0.46)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - ($0.25)
- ¼ teasoon garlic powder - ($0.02)
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste - ($0.02)
- 2 tablespoons bacon bits or bacon crumbles - ($0.10)
- 3 tablespoons cheddar cheese, shredded - ($0.17)
Garnish
- green onions, sliced - ($0.02)
Instructions
- Prep potatoes. Drain and rinse canned potatoes under cool water. Set aside. Dice onion.
- Cook onion. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add onion and cook 2 to 3 minutes until translucent.
- Add potatoes. Add potatoes to the skillet and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring gently, until heated through or lightly browned.
- Add bacon. Stir in bacon bits until evenly distributed.
- Finish. Sprinkle cheese over the top and add green onions. Let rest 1 minute for cheese to melt.
- Serve. Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
- Stir Gently. Avoid over-stirring to prevent mashing the potatoes.
- Crispier Potatoes. Cook a few extra minutes before adding bacon and cheese for more browning. Add extra butter if needed.
- Reheating. Microwave individual servings for about 1 minute.
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Nutritional Information
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Mary bochert says
Easy and understandable!