Breakfast Sausage Hash

breakfast sausage hash, on a plate, close up

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5 from 2 votes

A hearty, satisfying, one-pot meal made with ground pork, potatoes, green beans, and breakfast sausage seasoning.

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Total Time40

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 554kcal

Author: Leona Konkel

Equipment

12-inch cast iron skillet

Ingredients

Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 ¼ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne optional

Hash

16 ounces ground pork 454 grams
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 14 grams
32 ounces potatoes 908 grams; diced
16 ounces frozen green beans 454 grams; generally, one bag
½-3/4 cup water 120-180 grams/4-6 ounces

Instructions

Combine the ingredients for the breakfast sausage seasoning. (I prefer to grind it in a bullet blender to pulverize my sage and thyme.) Set aside.
In a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet, brown the ground pork over medium-high heat. Add a little oil if the pork is lean and sticks. No need to drain.
Add about 1 tablespoon oil, unless your pork has let off a lot of fat. Stir in the diced potatoes and half of the breakfast sausage seasoning. Cover with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes.
Remove lid and add ¼ cup water. Sprinkle on the remaining seasoning. Stir and scrape browned bits from the bottom of the pan; the water will help loosen them up.
Top with the frozen green beans. No need to mix them in yet. Cover with the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove the lid. Add another ¼ cup water, and stir and scrape the bottom again.
Use a fork to test a potato for doneness; the fork should easily pierce the potato, and the potato often falls in two. If it's not done yet, cover and cook a few more minutes; then, repeat adding more water and stirring.
Add a little more salt, pepper, or other seasonings (usually sage) as needed. Serve hot.

Notes

You can make this with your favorite breakfast sausage, but you will still need to add additional seasoning to the hash. You may need to withhold some of the salt if you use breakfast sausage.

Not all ground pork is the same. Some is lean; some is fattier. Prepackaged ground pork (like from Target) has a sodium solution added. If yours does, withhold some of the salt, and add salt to taste at the end.

I prefer yellow potatoes for this. They become soft and starchy in this, without dissolving entirely. I've also used Russet potatoes, but you need to treat them gently because they will dissolve more.

Use any amount of green beans you want. 12-16 ounce bags are usual; you could use a 20-ounce bag as well. No need to thaw; they steam after you add them. No green beans? I've added kale in a pinch.

Don't want to make breakfast sausage seasoning? Use premade. I originally made this recipe to use up Penzey's breakfast sausage seasoning I had in my pantry.

I always make this in a cast iron skillet. I caution against using nonstick cookware for this because you're scraping food off the bottom. See the blog post for additional notes.

If you don't have a lid, use a pizza pan or other bakeware to cover your skillet. The steam is crucial for letting the potatoes cook.

Calorie count is an estimate only.

Nutrition