Best Spices for Hash Browns

Classic hash browns need almost nothing beyond salt and pepper. Cook’s Illustrated seasons a whole pound of grated russets with just 1/4 teaspoon of table salt and some black pepper, then fries them in butter.¹ From there, garlic and onion powder, smoked paprika and parsley build things up. Old Bay is a fun one: its first ingredient is celery salt, so it can stand in for the salt.

At a glance

Seasoning	When it goes in	Job
Salt	Tossed with the dried potato before frying¹	Seasoning
Black pepper	With the salt, or ground over at the end¹	Pungency from piperine²
Garlic powder	Mixed into the potato³	Savory depth
Onion powder	Mixed into the potato³	Savory depth
Smoked paprika or paprika	Mixed into the potato³	Color and a mild pepper flavor⁴
Parsley, dried	Mixed into the potato³	Herbal note, green flecks
Cayenne pepper	A pinch, mixed in or sprinkled on	Heat from capsaicinoids⁵
Old Bay	In place of salt, or at the table	Salty, celery-led blend⁶

Two recipes, side by side

There’s no single recipe for hash brown seasoning. Here are two named versions, one minimal and one built up:

	Cook’s Illustrated, Classic Hash Browns¹	Brynie Greisman, Kosher.com³
Potato	1 pound high-starch potatoes (russets or Idahos), grated coarse and squeezed dry	6 medium potatoes, grated on the large holes
Salt	1/4 teaspoon table salt	3/4 teaspoon
Black pepper	Ground black pepper, to taste	1/4 teaspoon
Garlic powder	none	1 teaspoon
Onion powder	none	1 1/2 teaspoons
Paprika	none	1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Herbs	none	1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Fat	1 tablespoon butter	1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
Binder	none	1 tablespoon cornstarch; 1 egg white, optional

Cook’s Illustrated tosses the fully dried grated potato with salt and pepper just before it goes into the pan, and found high-starch russets worked best.¹

Garlic

Garlic powder is the easy route in hash browns. Greisman’s recipe uses 1 teaspoon for six potatoes.³

One caution from America’s Test Kitchen: garlic powder used dry, straight from the jar, hasn’t developed its full flavor. In a mashed-potato test, dry garlic powder tasted harsh and garlicky but not particularly complex, so ATK recommends hydrating it in a little water first.⁷⁸ ATK didn’t test hash browns, so we don’t know whether hydrating matters as much there.

Garlic salt works too. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources makes it at home with 4 parts salt to 1 part garlic powder,⁹ so cut back on plain salt if you use it. See garlic salt.

Onion

Onion powder goes in just like garlic powder. Greisman’s recipe uses 1 1/2 teaspoons for six potatoes.³ You can also go fresh: diced onion fried with the potato browns right along with it, and sliced green onion or chives make a good raw topping. For the powder, see onion powder and onion salt.

Black pepper

Cook’s Illustrated adds ground pepper with the salt before frying.¹ Grind a little more over the finished hash browns for a fresher, sharper hit.

Paprika and cayenne

Paprika brings red color, and Greisman’s recipe uses the smoked kind.³ Cayenne is mostly about heat, without much flavor of its own. Start with a pinch.

Old Bay

Old Bay is McCormick’s Maryland seafood seasoning. Its label lists celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices including red pepper and black pepper, and paprika. McCormick’s description says it combines celery salt, 18 herbs and spices, and paprika.⁶ The full spice list isn’t published. Among many other uses, McCormick suggests it for fries.⁶

Since its first ingredient is celery salt, Old Bay can replace the salt in hash browns instead of going on top of it. Taste before you add any more.

The cooking fat

Cook’s Illustrated fries its hash browns in butter, browning it before the potato goes in.¹ Greisman uses avocado or olive oil.³ Go with what you like.

Classic Hash Browns, Cook’s Illustrated (America’s Test Kitchen). americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Black pepper, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com · Reference work ↩
Hash Browns, Brynie Greisman, Kosher.com. kosher.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Paprika extract, FAO/WHO JECFA. fao.org · Regulator ↩
Measuring Chile Pepper Heat, New Mexico State University. pubs.nmsu.edu · Reference work ↩
OLD BAY Classic Seafood Seasoning, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
Experiment: Bringing Out the Best in Garlic Powder, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩
For Great Garlic Bread, Hydrate Your Garlic Powder First, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩
Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. ccfruitandnuts.ucanr.edu · Reference work ↩

The Best Spices for Hash Browns: From Salt and Pepper to Old Bay