Animal Style Breakfast Potatoes are a fun weekend California brunch recipe, loaded with cheese, onions, and an easy animal style sauce! This is a fantastic way to jazz up your hash browns or home fries and have a fun fast-food-feel meal at home.
I’m not a big fast food person, but when I moved to California I would go to In N Out every chance I could! I took every opportunity (within my tight grad student budget) to save up and splurge on really good burger & fries… and I always loved the sweet and tangy sauce.
This is my homage to an animal style breakfast – instead of French fries, you get animal style hash browns or home fries! The potatoes are cooked on a sheet pan with the caramelized onions, so this simple breakfast is ready in about 40 minutes start to finish! Make (and eat) your breakfast animal style.
These Animal Style Breakfast Potatoes Are:
- Decadent
- Creamy
- Tangy
- Sweet
- Fun to Make At Home
- A Great In-N-Out inspired brunch recipe
- Vegetarian and Gluten Free!
What Are Animal Style Potatoes?
The phrase “animal style” refers to a secret menu option at In-N-Out fast food restaurants. You can get your fries or burger done animal style meaning they will load ’em up with cheese, grilled onions, and a creamy tangy sauce. When I lived in California I would go there all the time to get my food animal styled, so this is my fun breakfast interpretation of these ingredients you can make at home.
What’s In These Animal Style Breakfast Potatoes?
- Hash Browns: I LOVE hash browns, it’s one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes. I grew up in the Midwest and when I lived there and the west coast, all the breakfast diners served hash browns. When I moved to New England… I couldn’t find a single hash brown on the menu, it’s all home fries out east. I like to buy frozen hash browns for this recipe, as they are inexpensive and way more convenient than shredding your own potatoes.
- Onions – roasted in the pan with the potatoes!
- Olive Oil: I like using Zoe Olive Oil which has a great flavor, and is a really great deal if you can get it online. I coat the hash browns in this olive oil which helps them crisp on the sheet pan. Zoe olive oil is about $10 for a liter (which is amazing!) and is a really great value for the quality.
- Garlic: I use fresh when I can, but I love this jarred organic chopped garlic too. Super easy to have pre-chopped garlic ready when you need it.
- Montreal Steak Spice: our absolute FAVORITE spice blend! We use it on any and every potato we cook: hash browns, fries, wedges, baked potatoes, roasted root vegetables, etc. Montreal Steak Spice is a really nice blend of garlic, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, and dill. It’s our go-to seasoning for everything.
- Ketchup – I like this Annie’s Organic Ketchup for a healthier option with really great flavor!
- Dill Relish – a great dill relish is perfect in this sauce, sweet relish makes this a little too sweet (trust me, I tried it!). So make sure you use dill relish and not one with loads of sugar or sweeteners.
- Granulated Sugar: I like this organic sugar for my recipes, I’d recommend Anthony’s organic sugar for cooking and baking.
- Apple Cider Vinegar, which gives this dressing a little extra tang which is really fantastic! I love using this organic apple cider vinegar with the mother which has a great flavor. I think it gives a nice extra sweetness and depth.
- Tellicherry Peppercorns: Like the salt, it’s amazing the flavor difference you can get with really good tellicherry black pepper. Amazon has a generic brand tellicherry peppercorn which is the same price is buying pre-ground, and has a million times more flavor… so I use these really great tellicherry peppercorns, which I would definitely recommend.
Make Brunch Vegetarian for a Healthy Version
These vegetarian animal style potatoes are a simple way to get extra veggies in your diet. I’m all about making recipes plant-based when I can. Vegetarian cooking does NOT have to be bland, boring, or flavorless… It’s quite the opposite when done right. By building meals around vegetarian pantry staples and swapping in a few plant-based ingredients you can make healthier meals for you and your family. I made a list of my 125 favorite vegan pantry ingredients that we use on a weekly basis, and check out all my vegetarian recipes here that are on The Herbeevore. These easy and healthy recipes are fantastic meatless meals for your table.
How Do I Make Animal Style Potatoes?
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook the Potatoes and Onions: On a sheet pan, add the hash browns or home fries to one side of the pan, and the onions on the other. Add the olive oil and Montreal Steak Spice and toss the potatoes and the onions separately until each is coated in oil and spices. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping half way.
- Make the Sauce: In a bowl, add all the sauce ingredients and stir well to combine. If your relish is too chunky and you prefer a thinner sauce, you can blend it to a smooth consistency.
- Once potatoes and onions have finished cooking, carefully remove the sheet pan from the oven. On a plate, add the potatoes, a layer of American cheese, the onions, and topped with sauce. Dig in and enjoy!
Sheet Pan Breakfast Recipes For the Win!
This sheet pan animal style hash browns recipe is the perfect sheet pan breakfast or brunch! I love a good sheet pan meal, especially during these winter months when the weather starts to turn cooler. Cooking on a sheetpan is one of my favorite ways to get a meal on the table fast! All the food gets cooked on a single pan, which makes cleaning up a breeze. And the oven does all the work for you, so you can focus on other kitchen prep (like making coffee!) while the food cooks. Sheetpan meals are awesome for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – check out my link here to see other healthy sheet pan meals that are ready in no time!
Other Fun Brunch Recipes You’ll Love!
Make Ahead Freezer Quiche Recipe (Vegetarian, Gluten Free Option)
Get the Same Ingredients for These Animal Style Potatoes
I got the fresh produce for this recipe from my garden and from my Misfits Market box – they sell all organic produce at a super discounted price, and it’s purchased direct from the farmers. We get Misfit Market boxes every month and love picking out our favorite seasonal produce for delivery. You can get $10 off your first box by clicking here!
As always, if you make this vegetarian and gluten free animal style potatoes recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Animal Style Breakfast Potatoes
Ingredients
For the Potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb frozen home fries or hash browns about 4 cups
- 1 teaspoon Montreal Steak Spice
- 2 sweet onion sliced
- 4 slices American Cheese
For the In N Out Sauce Recipe
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup dill relish
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Tellicherry Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook the Potatoes and Onions: On a sheet pan, add the hash browns or home fries to one side of the pan, and the onions on the other. Add the olive oil and Montreal Steak Spice and toss the potatoes and the onions separately until each is coated in oil and spices. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping half way.
- Make the Sauce: In a bowl, add all the sauce ingredients and stir well to combine. If your relish is too chunky and you prefer a thinner sauce, you can blend it to a smooth consistency.
- Once potatoes and onions have finished cooking, carefully remove the sheet pan from the oven. On a plate, add the potatoes, a layer of American cheese, the onions, and topped with sauce. Dig in and enjoy!
Nutrition
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