Photo: Claire Lower
Let’s get one thing straight: I know that “breakfast pizza” is not “real pizza,” but that doesn’t mean it’s not delicious. Much like Chicago-style deep dish, my favorite kind of breakfast pizza is “more of a casserole.” (I went back and forth on whether or not I should file this to the “Will It Casserole?” series, and ultimately decided it was the most honest move.)
Most pizzas are famously built on a crust made with a flour-based dough, and taking the toppings off that crust will often trigger the nearest Italian or Italian-American in the area. But breakfast pizza is already such a rule breaker, I don’t see any reason to not break one more. Lean in and bake your breakfast pizza on a hash brown crust.
Photo: Claire Lower
Gluten-free gentlefolk will enjoy the lack of traditional flour, but the main reason to make this crust is that it tastes really good. It’s like a firmer, handheld version of the Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole, which is very high praise. Egg and cheese help the shredded potato stick together to form a cohesive crust, and the whole thing gets baked off in a 400℉ oven until it’s a nice golden brown. It’s savory, crispy, and just a little doughy—a perfect vehicle your favorite breakfast foods.
The toppings are up to you. Once you make the crust, you can go pretty wild. Bake the mixture into mini rounds and use them as the base for a Benedict, or smush it into a quarter sheet pan and top it off with scrambled eggs and bacon. You could also do what I did, and use Italian sausage gravy as the “sauce,” then crack whole eggs directly onto that “sauce.” There are a lot of options, and almost no wrong answers.
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Photo: Claire Lower
Hash Brown Crust Breakfast Pizza
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 pound frozen shredded hash browns, thawed2 eggs1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese3/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt (decrease to 1/4 teaspoon if using table salt or fine sea salt)1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper, depending on how much you like white pepperFor the toppings:
1 cup shredded mozzarella1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar1 cup prepared sausage gravy (either regular or Italian)3 eggsPreheat your oven to 400℉. Add all crust ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and press the hash brown mixture into the pan to create an even layer. Bake until golden brown on top, 30-40 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven, and sprinkle both cheeses on top (I do the cheese first to keep the gravy from making crust soggy). Dollop the sausage gravy over the cheese and press it down with the back of a spoon if needed to spread it out. Make three little divots in the gravy with a spoon, then crack an egg into each divot. Season each egg with a pinch of salt and crack of pepper, then bake for 15 minutes for runny eggs, or 20 minutes for a firmer yolk. Serve immediately with lots of hot sauce.
