Mountain Breakfast Skillet

Fried potatoes, peppers, onions, cheesy scrambled eggs, and sausages, what more could a hungry camper ask for for breakfast?

A cross between a potato hash and a cheesy frittata, this classic camping breakfast is often referred to as a “Mountain Man Breakfast”. We have no idea where the name came from (and neither does Google apparently) but what we do know is it’s incredibly easy to make, super satisfying to eat, and quick to clean up. All you need is a single skillet!

For the flavor profile of this recipe, we wanted to keep things firmly within the “Classic Americana” category, so we went with golden potatoes, green bell pepper, yellow onion, garlic, maple sausage, and cheddar cheesy eggs. The end result is a mash-up of some of the greatest savory breakfast flavors, all in a single bite!

So if you’re looking for a simple, one-skillet breakfast that’s full of protein, then you will definitely want to give this breakfast skillet a try!

Ingredients

Potatoes: We suggest using waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold, Red, New, or even fingerling potatoes. They will keep their structure, even when pan-fried.

Peppers & Onion: Use any color bell pepper if you want to keep the flavor mild, or, for some extra heat, consider using an Anaheim or Poblano pepper. For the onions, we like go with a classic yellow. But white or red would work as well.

Cheese + Eggs: One of the signature parts of this breakfast are the cheesy scrambled eggs.

Breakfast Sausage: Lots of options here to choose from: links or crumbles, mild or spicy, meat or vegan. They will all work, so it’s up to you.

Spices: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder.

Toppings: Sliced scallions, jalapeños, cilantro, hot sauce, more cheese… The sky’s the limit!

Equipment

Cast Iron Skillet: For breakfast hash like this we recommend using a large cast iron skillet. We used our 12” Lodge skillet (a 10” would work as well). You can use it over a camp stove or a campfire and it does a great job radiating heat up, which can help speed up the cook time for the potatoes. Just be sure to add some extra oil before you try to scramble the eggs.

Prep the Potatoes, Peppers, and Onion

The smaller you cut your veggies, the quicker they will cook, but if you go too small, they will be hard to pick up with a fork. We aim for roughly 1/2” cubes, which we think is big enough to pick up easily but won’t take all morning to cook.

Start with some oil and the potatoes. Once the potatoes have gotten a 5 minute head start, add the peppers and the onions.

Recipe modification: You can swap the potatoes out for frozen shredded potatoes, like in this hash brown breakfast casserole. They will need a little less time to cook.

Add the Sausage

If you are using uncooked meat sausages, you’ll want to get them around the same time you add the onions. But if you’re using pre-cooked or veggie sausages, you can wait until all the veggies are starting to looking nearly done and then add them just to warm them up.

Scramble the Eggs

For the scrambled eggs, be sure to beat the eggs thoroughly. You want to make sure the whites and yolks are fully integrated. This is also a great time to add in some shredded cheese (although reserving some extra for topping is highly encouraged).

Before adding the egg mix, reduce the heat, bank the veggies to the side of the skillet, add some oil to the middle, and then pour the mixture in. Keep the eggs moving with your skillet until they start to firm up and then integrate with the rest of the veggies.

Toppings

You have a lot of options in terms of additional toppings. Sliced scallions and extra cheese is what we went with. But cilantro, jalapenos, hot sauce, or bacon bites would all work!