Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups

These would make a great grab and go breakfast - or perfect for a brunch or shower. I would suggest baking these in disposable cupcake liners, they will slide right out and the clean up is a breeze. I halved the recipe and instead of frozen hash browns I grated 3 medium russet potatoes with the food processor and placed the grated potato into a salad spinner. Rinsed the potatoes well in cool water and spun them dry. Next time I will build the sides of the nests a little higher. Overall, this is a solid recipe to which you can add anything you would like to customize these to your families taste.

I made the hash brown cups for my individual quiches for Christmas Breakfast. Others had said they were very hard to remove from pan and paper cups.I used parchment paper muffin cups and they were perfect.I baked in my convection oven and when I took them out of the oven,the papers just feel away from the potato.I had to use a few regular paper cupcake papers and everything stuck and the one foil I tried seemed to boil.Great recipe,parchment paper cups work the best.

Great concept, but, salty salty salty!. I even cut it back to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Next time, minimal amount of salt.

These were very tasty, and cute...execution did not work out so well for me though :( I only have one muffin pan, so I figured I'd do half a recipe worth of nests, pull them out and put aside, then bake the rest...but I couldn't get them out. So, I left the first half in the tin until the next morning and went ahead with the rest of the recipe. Slightly easier to get out with the egg making the cups a more solid mass to get a spoon under...the potatoes did not crisp up like I'd hoped, except the top edge. I did cut the salt in half per other reviews, and I used Canadian bacon (my favorite breakfast meat!). Worrying about the cups sticking, I used 3 T oil in the potato mixture, and used a pastry brush and veggie oil to thoroughly grease my muffin cups. Having some trouble getting my muffin pan clean now, so I am tempted to take the rest of the potato mixture and slap it in a pie plate...thanks for the idea but this just didn't work for me! Update: used the rest of the ingredients to make an 'eagle's nest' in my Pyrex pie plate and it worked much better :)

Recipe Group Selection: 26, July 2014 ~ The flavor of these are very good and I like that you can totally customize them to your families likings. I used my square cupcake pans and got exactly 24. So for me, the serving size was spot on. I used ham on some and bacon on some. I added diced onion and peppers to the mix. The taste was great, and they reheated great in the microwave. The downside was - how they stick to the pan. The pans I used are coated so that you do not have to spray them and my foods have always come out. Reading other reviews how they stuck to the pans - I very heavily sprayed with cooking spray. Oh, what a mess! They did not release from the pan, and the pans were a bear to clean. If I make them again, I will use foil cupcake liners that are sprayed first. Sticking issues aside, remember they have great flavor, love that you can customize and reheat wonderfully.

I simplified this by using 2 packages of "Just Potatoes hash browns" & Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon. This removed the need to thaw the frozen potatoes or have to cook up & crumble the bacon. I also used oversized muffin tins (6 each) to make 12 nests

Very nice! I made it exactly as written. Sprayed pan with olive oil spray and loosened potatos before adding egg mixture. They popped right out for serving. No mess. Definitely can cut salt next time. I will freeze leftovers to take to work.

Very cute concept and presents well. Next time; however, I will add green onions and other veggies to enhance the flavor. Note: I used freshly shredded potatoes instead of frozen, which seem to have behaved similarly to the frozen potatoes; make sure to rinse the starch off of the potatoes and squeeze the water out of the potato shreds using a piece of cheese cloth.

I love this recipe. I change the ingredients frequently just depending on what I have leftover in the fridge. So far I've used sausage, bacon, and ham. I also saute some onions and then cook the meat in with those for additional flavor. I typically use more than the recommended amount of meat, I would suggest 1 1/2 pounds of sausage, and at least a pound of bacon (8 or 9 slices of thick cut). I've read several complaints about sticking, I've never had this problem. I use the Pampered Chef individual brownie pan without liners and generously apply cooking spray. I start with hash browns frozen, and after "pre-cooking" them I press them down with the back of a large spoon. After the final bake I run a butter knife around the edge and they slide right out. I typically get 24 nests which I package in two's in sandwich bags. They can be warmed in 30-45 seconds in an 1100 watt microwave for a hearty on the go breakfast.

These are fun to make and even better to devour. I love making a dozen or so of these, and keep them in the freezer for a quick snack.

I made these for Recipe Group. I used one muffin pan, and foil liners - making 12 hash brown nests at a time - then moving them to a cookie sheet, before adding the eggs, bacon, and cheese. Next time, I will spray the foil liners, first. And will add green onion! This will make a nice hand-held breakfast for my little friends before we head to the beach (= Edit: the day after our trip to the beach, I made breakfast sandwiches with the leftovers, using leftover biscuits, deli turkey, and jack cheese. Yum! My friend said it was the best breakfast I've made for him (=

Five stars for great base recipe idea. After reading the reviews I reduced salt to 1.5 teaspoons salt which worked for out for taste buds. I also tried one pan with paper cup liners and didn't care for the results compared to them without . The potatoes weren't as crisp and they were harder to get out of the paper ( not as pretty ). Overall, fun recipe thanks for sharing.

Absolutely loved this recipe. They came out looking so delish. I used everything in recipe plus I added green pepper, chopped very small. Ok so next time if using bacon, you don't need to add the salt. Bacon

Way too long to prepare, every dish in the kitchen. Once baked I could not get them out of the muffin pans.

Taste great. I sprayed the pan with Pam, then ran a small offset spatula around the outside about 5 minutes after taking the empty cups out of the oven. They stayed unstuck after filling them with the egg mixture and re-cooking.

Great recipe! I did cut back on the salt after reading other reviews, I used 1 teaspoon and they weren't too salty. I also used Kirkland bacon crumbles so that saved time. You need to make sure your muffin pan is a good non-stick one. I had one newer pan and one older one, the newer pan, they popped out very easily, the older pan they did stick a bit. I will definitely make these again, thanks for sharing!

I substituted whole wheat pasta for the hash browns. I found the pasta even easier to mold into the nests. Also, I used a jumbo muffin tin. The first time that I made these, I thought that the nest didn't allow for all of the good stuff that I was putting in. This also that I had to increase the cooking time by 50%. I added chicken feta cheese sausage, broccoli and spinach. Due to reviews that I read, I drastically reduced the salt and then seasoned to taste on the plate. I'll make these again and will substitute reduced sodium chicken broth for water.

I love the idea of these cups, and they're absolutely adorable. They do need some additional seasoning however. They were pretty bland. As far as a problem of sticking goes, I used a silicone muffin pan and sprayed it heavily with the cooking spray so they wouldn't stick and I had no problem getting them out.

I made some changes... 1. used turkey bacon 2. no salt (bacon has enough) 3. Added diced red bell pepper and 4 spring onions I didn't have time to make the cups, so I layered it in a 9x13 pan and baked for an hour at 350 degrees. It turned out good, but next time I'll use about half of the hashbrowns.

I used Pam for baking and they came right out of the tin no worries.

I give this 4 starts only because I haven't eaten one yet. I am taking them tailgating with us tomorrow. I ran a knife around the edges to loosen them when I took them out of the oven to make sure they don't stick to the pan. This is a great idea!!

This was a good recipe. I just did the hash browns, eggs, cheese and I added cut up ham. That was it! Just make sure to spray the bottom of your muffin tins really good or the hash browns stick too much.

Not only did it take a long time to prepare but the clean up was not something that was easy. I followed the instructions to a T but the muffins stuck so bad that they no longer looked a a muffin when I finally got them out of the tin. I'll have to pass on this one. Hope you have better luck than I did with this.

Changes I made were sausage instead of bacon and deleted a lot of the salt. I would suggest to prep everything the night before, bottoms came out soggy,so squeeze hash brown with paper towels several times,did have issues getting them out of the muffin tin. Let the nest sit for about 15 min. They will come out of tin easier,served with salsa Verde.

DELICIOUS!!

I made these for my boys this weekend and we all loved them. I like that you can add different ingredients and make these more to your taste. I elected not to add salt; as the salt in the bacon and the cheese is plenty for us. I added some Penzy's Arizona Dreaming seasoning in addition to the pepper to the potatoes. The only difficulty I had was figuring out the correct amount of egg mixture to add to each cup. To the top is too much, just below the nest was to little. I would say just over the nest was just right. Thanks for the great recipe.

These tastes super great. Although we used paper liners and the potatoes got stuck to them. This recipe also called for way too many potatoes. We only used about half a a package.

Great grab and go breakfast, I like that I can freeze these and leave them in our work freezer for those mornings that I forget breakfast. Also so easy to modify to my own tastes and prep isn't very difficult.

I used ham instead of bacon. They were good, but my muffin pan is still soaking. It was impossible to get them out of the pan without leaving hashbrowns behind. Soaking and scrubbing, and more soaking and scrubbing has not worked yet. I liberally sprayed the pan with PAM, but they still stuck. I won't do that again.

Made this for a Bible study. The theme of the dinner was Breakfast for Dinner. The recipie worked out great, very tasty. Should have added a little more salt and pepper, but sometimes less is better. My one snafu was useing paper cup liners. They don't peal off very easily. Hint1: use silicone liners, Hint 2: don't use your friends as guinea pig for new recipies.

Very salty! Also should revise recipe to say how much salt and pepper goes in hashbrowns and in eggs.

Agree with mlcoates... A lot of preparation for little reward. Made exactly according to the recipe for a New Year's Eve Brunch this morning. Nests were hopelessly fused to my greased and non-stick pan. So mad. Completely ruined the experience for me. If I make a similar concoction again, I will be using silicon baking cups. Tasteless. I wish I had seasoned the eggs with dry mustard or something. The dish as made to the recipe really lacked flavor.

Needs chopped onion. Less work if you use a 9x13 pan instead of muffin cups (not as much fun tho)

My family loved this! I used diced ham instead of bacon. Next time I will decrease the salt.

I am not a cook! I made these and they turned out amazing and delicious! Even my kids (who only eat pop tarts and frozen pancakes for breakfast) loved them!

this would have turned out really yummy but there was WAY to much salt. I even tried putting in a quarter of the salt. Other than that, it was good. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Relatively easy. I was looking for a volume item for a function. This should be easy as I have a couple of 24 cupcake pans. I would put the meat in before the eggs as they have a tendency to sit on top. Good grab and go food.

I added peppers & onions also, definitely will make again, great food for on the run

I made this as an experiment for Easter brunch. Everybody loved it and said it was a keeper! I didn't add any salt, some I sprinkled bacon and some I left without. I definitely used the parchment paper to avoid any sticking to the muffin tin. This also made many more than 8 nests. I was able to make 16 nests with this recipe. Also I made the nests the night before and placed covered in the frig. Easy assembly in the am. Yum!

I used a bigger 12 pc muffin pan and added turkey and green onion to mine. Arguably turned out better then the recipe. They came right out of the pan,and their twice the size making them a better portion for a breakfast.

Deeeeeeeelish! Made this for myself and four kiddos from 4 years old to 12, and it was a knockout hit!

Just no. Too hard to get out of the muffin pan. Too salty. Too much trouble. Cute idea though. Will not make again.

I really like this recipe! I cut the salt by half and did use parchment cupcake liners. This is a perfect grab and go breakfast for school days!

My seven and a ten year old love them. I can customize them to their liking and they freeze well. What's not to love!

It is so nice the freeze and you can microwave them anytime you want them.

Too much pepper and hash browns did not crisp enough

Made this exactly as the recipe stated and had a terrible time getting the nests out of the muffin tins. I lost at least a third of each even using a knife to loosen and having well greased tins. I think I'd use the foil cupcake papers if I made them again. Also much more pepper in them than I'd have preferred, though my son thought they were fine.

Love this recipe.. I did cut the salt in half. you can always add it later..and I used Sausage instead of bacon..

This is a family favorite breakfast, I love making this over the holiday's because it travels well!

I didn't have frozen shredded potatoes so I shredded 5 big potatoes I had. I put the shredded potatoes in cheesecloth to strain the excess water. I also used foil to line my muffin tins and sprayed the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Was a huge hit with my teenagers!!

This has become one of my favorite recipes to make ahead and freeze. Just reheat individual cups in the microwave for 45 seconds. I added a little onion for more flavor and reduced the salt by a teaspoon as well the second time I made it. Delicious!

Didn’t have cheddar cheese so used Swiss gruyere cheese; didn’t have olive oil so used melted butter; didn’t have bacon so used crumbled cooked breakfast sausage...

It's too much work for the outcome and they're not that tasty. The directions tell you shape the hashbrown nests and then take them out of the muffin cups and then "I guesss" you put them back in again to cook the eggs. That's what I did.

I made it this morning for our Easter breakfast and it was great! I followed the recipe almost exactly, adding a little less salt as stated by other reviews. I did not use cupcake liners, I just made sure to use plenty of Pam and it worked fine for me. My entire family loved this!!!

Family is commercial salmon fishing here in Alaska, I'm camp cook- and when they come in at all hours, they are starving. This was a huge hit! So easy with dehydrated hash browns, you can always have these on hand (like for camping) and crank these out with short notice. Thanks SO much!!

I I put some extra cheese and bacon bits and it tasted great!

This is delicious!! I added some diced green peppers and ham to mine, and it was the perfect breakfast cupcake!

Love how butter wasn't used like so many others...I can't have potatoes so I used zucchini...besides that delicious thnx for sharing

I didn’t have hash browns so I used thawed tater tots and they were delicious!

To me they seem a bit bland. The potato mixture needed a little something. I had a terrible time with it sticking in the muffin pans. I used canola nonstick spray, it wasnt a good idea. Clean up was a hassle.

Good general recipe that lends itself well to personalizing of ingredients.

My 10 yr old son wanted to make these for breakfast, so I helped him. They were a bit time consuming to prepare, but my son enjoys cooking, so time with him made it enjoyable. I sprayed the pan with Pam, some stuck, some slid right out. Definitely too much salt and pepper for our taste. My son didn't like that they were so "spicy." The leftovers will make for a convenient, grab and go breakfast.

I liked these a lot! They are great to make ahead of time and eat throughout the week. I used less salt, per other's reviews and used a little less cheese as well. I made fresh hash browns and soaked as much water from the potato as possible. The nest wasn't super crispy, but I didn't have a problem with sogginess : ) I would make this again, and experiment with the fillings!

no

Made as stated, only added some ham. The hash brown cups were a fail. I had no issues with sticking, and they came out of the oven crispy and brown. After adding the egg mixture and baking, they lost all crispness and actually ruined the whole thing. No one in my house would eat these unfortunately.

I ended up throwing away the muffin tin I was using. the portions are all off. it made 12 muffins and a whole size pie.

I made them for a cover-dish breakfast, so made a double batch and used paper cup liners. I froze the left overs and found that 2 minutes on high for a single one worked well in my microwave.

Made these for my family with and without bacon. They loved them. What I would like to do next time is to make the hash browns and eggs separate because I really like crispy hash browns. They were super crispy when I cooked them alone but when the egg was added to them it absorbed the egg some. My family still loved them. It probably would be good with veggies added too.

This was a big seller. Skip the salt or go very light on it. Great to have handy for morning. I used a large muffin pan so made 12 instead of 24.

They are delicious but I will cut back on the salt next time. Also, I did not use baking cups. I will try that next time as I'm considering throwing out my muffin tin. I used bacon grease to grease the cups thinking that would be the trick. Not!

So good! A little salty, of course, but decadent and fancy. Lovely.

Good and even better left over and warmed in the microwave.

The recipe shown leaves out some important details when it comes to putting these together. The how to video that is available shows exactly how it should be done. Squeezing out all the moisture from the potatoes would have been very helpful in directions - so would've the use of paper muffin cups and cooking spray. 1st time I made these I followed the recipe directions and the potatoes weren't crisp and very hard to get out of muffin pan - 2nd time follow video directions and they came out perfect. Highly suggest that you watch the video 1st before making these for best results.

Delicious & so easy!!

This is so easy and my children love it. We all have different ways of eating our eggs and when I make them this way we all get what we want.

Made these this morning, after reading the other reviews, I used parchment liners, didn't have any problems with sticking. I pretty much followed the recipe as written, I only made half of the recipe and used what I had on hand. I did add onions, garlic and additional spices, just use your favorite. This is a great recipe for customizing to your preferences . I will definitely make them again.

I would put parchment paper into each of the muffin cups for easier removal. It is a great idea.

My cups stuck in the pan. Definitely use the cupcake liners.

I skipped the cheese - and turned out very bland. Good presentation with cut up sausage links as the "eggs" in the nest. The hashbrowns at the bottom of the nests were cooked but soggy and hard to remove from the pan. This was a fun breakfast food to make but the kids wouldn't eat it. Someone should tweak this recipe and baking technique so it is tastier and easier to make. It is a fun concept!

A new Saturday morning favorite! Added pico de gallo to get some veggies and some spice. Leftovers make breakfast on the go easy and quick!

Made these this morning for Easter breakfast. I cut the recipe in half since it was the first time making them. Way too heavy on hash browns in my opinion. Nice idea, but I won't be making them again.

These are great! Both my daughters gave a big thumbs up to make these again. I used refrigerated shredded hash browns instead of the frozen because that is what I had on hand. Thanks for a great recipe.

too dry! Not real tasty!

Great recipe. Used turkey bacon, cut the recipe in thirds and enjoying them without guilt!!

I seldom follow recipes exactly. I used a little garlic salt, some pepper and some Italian seasoning. I don’t know how much of each because I judge by how it looks. Not real helpful - sorry. Instead of mixing the eggs with water I just put an egg into each nest. I broke the yoke a little because my experience has been that eggs bake better that way. They came out of the silicone and the ceramic cups quite easily after a ran a knife around the outside edge. Then I used a large serving spoon to scoop them out and onto the plates. My whole family thought they were very tasty. I also served some small tomatoes on the side. Thanks for the recipe.

I give it 5 stars made it for coworkers perfect

Love these! They are now a staple in my house..there's always a couple in the fridge and a bunch in the freezer :-)

I made it as written EXCEPT I used MorningStar Farms bacon (I do not eat meat) also I didnt have any cheddar cheese so I used mozzerella in place of the cheddar and less salt than the recipe states to use, (other reviews stated too salty). Turned out great! Very Good! Even have some to press n seal for grab & go anytime quick meals!

My grand daughter couldn't wait to eat these. I also had some for grab 'n go breakfast the next day. So good!

It is wonderful! I added sautéed minced green pepper and Visalia onion to some. Probably last time I will make it with the hash browns because it takes hours for cleanup.

Not something I would make again. Not bad tasting; just nothing special.

Using this as a base recipe, I did make some changes in the seasoning and veggie department. The cooking times stayed the same though. I made them for a grade 4 kids' potluck and they were devoured. I added about a teaspoon of paprika, a bit of garlic and a touch more pepper to the potatoes. Because the potatoes are so seasoned, I didn't add salt or pepper to the egg mix. I did however add diced tomatoes, dried onion (I prepped my eggs the night before so they softened and add a lot of flavour without salt), shredded spinach and I topped them with turkey 'back bacon'. I will make these again for the family.

Luv this going to try it

I will make it again over and over and changing up the ingredients to variations:-))))

Easy to make, I added diced red onions and green chilies. Would make again, next time will use muffing papers though.

These were super easy and I halved the recipe to make 12. I used PAM cooking spray and the muffins popped right out of the muffin tin. We put in green chiles in the egg mix with bacon bits on top along with the cheese. Took about 15 minutes for the potato cheese (nests) to crisp brown around the edges and I cooked the egg mixture for 17 to make sure everything was cooked through. Great easy breakfast for guests.

I will make it again. I used cupcake inserts, next time I won’t use them. I think it will make better cupcakes.

Yes, definitely need to use less salt, but love the recipe. I added a little green onion & green pepper to a few. You can add so many different ingredients to change them up or to suit everyone's taste! I was looking for a quick, fast, healthier breakfast for grandkids & found something for everyone! Thanks for the recipe!

We added a bit of onion powder and garlic powder to the egg mixture, and used ham instead of bacon.