Achieve Diner‑Style Hash Browns At Home With This Frozen Aldi Find

If you've ever struggled with hash browns at home, you're not bad at cooking, nor are you alone. Homemade hash browns aren't easy for many people. With all the peeling, grating, and squeezing that goes into them — with no guarantee they come out crispy instead of steamed and sad — sometimes, they just don't feel worth it.

This is exactly why frozen hash browns exist. Aldi's Season's Choice Frozen Shredded Hash Browns are about as straightforward as it gets, being nothing but shredded russet potatoes (with a few additives to ensure shelf stability). At just $4.09 for a 30-ounce bag, they're an inexpensive item to keep in the freezer that you don't feel precious about using for a little at-home experimentation.

However, they're not a miracle product. You still need a hot pan and enough oil or butter to get them properly browned and crispy. As always, avoiding crowding the pan (that's the quickest way to end up with soggy streamed hash browns) and don't rush the cooking time. There's still a little technique involved, but by eliminating all that annoying prep time, this is a solid shortcut.

The homemade hash brown problem is part of a bigger, more universal truth: Some foods, such as hash browns and even pancakes, just taste better from a diner. We're not quite sure why; maybe it's the way the griddle is seasoned, that some hash browns are deep-fried, or how generous the portions can be. Regardless, if that's the style you're chasing, Aldi's frozen shredded hash browns shine whether you use them in breakfast with eggs and bacon or as a base for loaded hash brown toppings.

Having been shredded in a food factory, the thickness of the pieces is guaranteed to be much more uniform, which helps them brown evenly. Once they're browned and crispy, they can hold anything from melted cheese to fried eggs without collapsing into mush — something that can be hard to achieve with homemade hash browns.

The only downside is flavor. They're unseasoned and neutral tasting straight out of the bag, so you have to make sure you season them well and cook them in enough fat to give them a boost. However, that neutrality is also what makes them useful. Once you have them as a base, you can adapt them to whatever recipe or style you like. A big bag of shredded potatoes that crisp up easy is all you need when you're craving diner-style hash browns at home.