Make Waffle House's Famous All-The-Way Hash Browns At Home

There are quite a few iterations of hash browns out there — some of them simple and modest, like McDonald's famous hash browns, and others absolutely loaded and decked out. It's safe to say that Waffle House's Hash Browns All-the-Way fall into the latter category, featuring a hash brown base topped with grilled onions and mushrooms, melted cheese, ham, tomatoes, jalapeños, Bert's Chili, and sausage gravy. It's absolute decadence on a plate, but for those who can't make it to Waffle House, a homemade version will have to do.

Luckily, developer Patterson Watkins' copycat Waffle House Hash Browns All-the-Way recipe contains every last bit of decked-out goodness as the OG version. "Every element of this dish slaps," Watkins says, particularly highlighting how every component — from the chili to the gravy to the grilled mushrooms — is delicious in its own right. Of course, it's the way that these ingredients come together that really makes the hash browns sing, and there's no denying that your taste buds will be singing once you get a taste of this ultra-savory dish. "It takes some time to make, yes," Watkins acknowledges, "but the reward for your efforts is awesome."

This recipe requires quite a handful of ingredients. The base of the dish is made of hash browns, and to make it, you'll need shredded hash brown potatoes, unsalted butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

The toppings in this recipe are plentiful and include copycat Bert's Chili (a Waffle House specialty), which uses olive oil, ground beef, ground breakfast sausage, yellow onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, brown sugar, canned tomato sauce, beef bouillon paste, canned pinto beans, salt, and black pepper. The other component of the toppings is the sausage gravy, for which you'll need unsalted butter, ground breakfast sausage, minced yellow onion, all-purpose flour, whole milk, beef bouillon paste, black pepper, and salt. Finally, for the various other toppings, get yellow onion, fresh tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, jalapeño, ham, olive oil, salt, pepper, and slices of American cheese.

To start the chili, in a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Once hot, add the beef, sausage, onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano. Stir to combine.

Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef and sausage are browned.

Add the brown sugar, tomato sauce, bouillon, and 2 tablespoons water to the saucepan.

Mix well and bring it to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the pinto beans, combining well. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

Moving on to the sausage gravy, in a medium-sized skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the sausage and onions and stir to combine.

Cook the sausage and onions for 5 minutes or until the sausage is browned.

Pour the flour into the skillet.

Mix the flour with the sausage and onions until combined. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the milk, bouillon, and black pepper and whisk to combine. Bring the gravy to a simmer.

Continue cooking over medium heat until the gravy has thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

To start on the veggie and ham toppings, preheat the oven to broil on low.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, place the onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, jalapeños, and ham with minimal overlapping. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Moving on to the hash browns, in a large non-stick skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat.

Once hot, add the shredded hash brown potatoes, spread out in an even layer, filling up the whole pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the hash browns undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the hash browns and cook for another 5 minutes or until crisp and golden brown on both sides.

To assemble, transfer the hash browns to a large platter.

Top with the American cheese slices.

Cover the cheese with the broiled veggies and ham.

Add a few hearty spoonfuls of the chili on top.

Generously spoon some of the sausage gravy over the chili. Serve with any leftover chili and gravy on the side for further slathering.

• Vibrant Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe
• Cozy 5-Ingredient Pecan Pie Muffins Recipe
• Pumpkin Spice Baked French Toast Recipe
• Classic Omelet Recipe
• Buttermilk Fried Chicken And Waffles Recipe
• Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate Recipe

If you want the most tried-and-true Waffle House (at home) experience possible, then Watkins recommends looking for the exact type of hash browns that Waffle House uses — dehydrated hash brown potatoes. "It makes sense why they use it ... shelf stability, consistency, and quick cooking time," Watkins explains. "You do need to rehydrate them, but otherwise, following the instructions on the packaging, they are pretty easy peasy to fry up." Watkins wasn't able to source dehydrated hash browns for this recipe, so she opted for frozen (and thawed) shredded hash browns, which she says "turned out pretty consistent with the restaurant version."

Now, if you aren't a fan of the shredded hash brown in general, you've still got some options. Watkins recommends diced hash browns as a viable alternative, though you'll have to follow the package's cooking instructions as opposed to the hash brown instructions in this recipe. "This recipe is already pretty prep-heavy, so I don't recommend shredding or grating or chopping the potatoes yourself," Watkins adds. 

This recipe has quite a few steps, so to make things a little easier for yourself, you can prep certain ingredients ahead of time — specifically, the chili and the gravy. Before serving, just reheat the chili in the microwave or on the stovetop until it's hot. The sausage gravy will need one or two tablespoons of milk as it's reheated to get back its consistency after being in the refrigerator. Since both ingredients can be made ahead of time, that means leftovers can be stored, too. They'll keep in the fridge for about three to four days.

If you do end up with leftover chili and gravy (and there's a good chance that you will), there's plenty of potential to repurpose those leftovers. "The chili is great on its own or with the assortment of toppings that usually accompany chili. Hot dog topper? Absolutely!" Watkins says. It would work well even on loaded nachos. As for that gravy, take a cue from Watkins and slather any leftovers of that on top of some fluffy biscuits. 

• Copycat Dunkin' Hash Brown Brisket Scramble Bowl Recipe
• Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole Recipe
• Copycat McDonald's Hash Browns Recipe
• Copycat Dunkin' Donuts Hash Browns Recipe