Are you a fan of one-pan meals? It’s great to be able to put together a whole meal in just one pot, pan, or skillet. When our family goes camping, the fewer dishes there are to clean, the better. Can you relate? The recipe I’m going to share with you today is ideal for camping, hunting, or an easy weeknight meal. This hearty camping breakfast skillet is made with bacon, scrambled eggs, and hashbrowns. It’s not just for breakfast. Read on for the simple instructions!
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Table of Contents
The Easy Camping Breakfast Skillet Backstory
I first learned of this breakfast skillet recipe from a retired teacher who was also an avid hunter. My husband and I were on a camping trip with him and decided to add the recipe to our camping menu on our next adventure. It’s been a family favorite ever since. Now that it’s usually just my husband and I eating breakfast together, we cut the recipe in half. We usually use the other half of the ingredients later on the camping trip. That way, the deliciousness is spread out over a longer period of time.
Essential Equipment for Camping Breakfast Skillet
For this skillet breakfast, you need (no surprise) a large skillet. Most of the time, now that my husband and I are doing a lot of camping on our own, I only make half a recipe at a time. I can get away with using a 12-inch skillet that’s not very deep. However, if I want to make the entire recipe, with the full bag of hash browns, I would definitely use a deep skillet like this 5-quart version with a lid. Lids are great for keeping things warm on a cool camping or hunting morning.
You can also use a 14-inch skillet. It’s tough to find a 14-inch pan with a lid. If you find one, please let me know!
Ingredients for Easy Camping Breakfast Skillet
1 16-ounce package of bacon, chopped
1 32-ounce bag of frozen potatoes O’Brien (hashbrowns with chopped peppers and onions)
12 large eggs
Instructions for Easy Camping Breakfast Skillet
Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces. In a large skillet, on medium to medium-high heat, cook the bacon until browned.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate with a paper towel on it to absorb grease.
If there is a lot of bacon grease in the skillet, drain about half of it out. Pour the bag of potatoes O’Brien into the skillet and cook it in the grease.
When potatoes are cooked (they don’t really get crispy, just cook for about 10 minutes), crack the eggs on top of the potatoes.
Stir the eggs in with the potatoes. Continue stirring and cooking until eggs are cooked through. They will look like scrambled eggs.
Stir in the bacon.
Keep everything in the skillet and serve while hot.
Can I Use Fresh Ingredients Instead of Frozen?
Yes, you can definitely use fresh ingredients. If you are making this at home and have the time to chop up potatoes, peppers, and onions, great! If you are not a fan of frozen foods, this is certainly an option.
Will This Recipe Work with Sausage to Make a Sausage Skillet Breakfast?
This skillet breakfast recipe would be very tasty with sausage. The one thing to keep in mind is that there will not be very much grease to cook the hash browns in. You could always add a little vegetable oil or canola oil to the skillet to supplement the grease left behind from cooking the sausage. You might find you prefer the flavor of the sausage option.
What Are Some Good Seasonings, Condiments, and Spices to Add to this Skillet Breakfast?
Some people like to add garlic to their breakfast skillet. You could stir in some salsa for a bit of spice. I’m a big fan of sour cream with any type of potatoes. Ketchup is another popular condiment you could add after serving.
Can I Add Gravy or Grated Cheese on Top?
Yes, you can add your favorite country gravy to make a country breakfast skillet. Actually, any kind of gravy would work. I’m a big fan of gravy, but if you are camping or hunting, you might not want to have an extra pan to clean. Grated cheese on top would be excellent. For convenience, while hunting or camping, you could use pre-shredded cheese. If you are at home, grating the cheese yourself is an easy option. Cheese makes so many things better!
Healthier Breakfast Skillet Variations
Want to make the breakfast skillet healthier? Exchange the regular potatoes for chopped sweet potatoes. Spinach is another great addition. You could also sprinkle in some dried kale, which is one of my favorite ways to sneak some extra veggies into a meal. I even wrote a whole post about sneaking vegetables into food.
A Vegetarian Option
You can add kidney beans or pinto beans instead of the bacon for a vegetarian option. You will just need to cook the potatoes in vegetable or canola oil since you won’t have the bacon grease for cooking the potatoes. I love the versatility of this breakfast skillet recipe!
Easy Skillet Breakfast
Equipment
- a large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce package of bacon
- 1 32-ounce bag of potatoes O'Brien
- 12 large eggs
Instructions
- Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large skillet, on medium to medium-high heat, cook the bacon until browned.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate with a paper towel on it to absorb grease. If there is a lot of bacon grease in the skillet, drain about half of it out.
- Pour the bag of potatoes O’Brien into the skillet and cook it in the grease.
- When potatoes are cooked (they don’t really get crispy, just cook for about 10 minutes), crack the eggs on top of the potatoes.
- Stir the eggs in with the potatoes. Continue stirring and cooking until eggs are cooked through. They will look like scrambled eggs.
- Stir in the bacon. Keep everything in the skillet and serve while hot.
Notes
What Are Your Favorite Skillet Breakfast Variations?
Thanks for taking the time to read through this recipe post. I hope you get the chance to try making this easy breakfast skillet recipe sometime, with or without added mix-ins. What do you like to add to your favorite recipes? Anything interesting or unusual you think might go well with a breakfast skillet? I sometimes like to mix in (sneakily) extra vegetables with certain casseroles or soups, which I wrote about in my sneaky vegetable blog post. I’d love to know about any favorite skillet breakfast variations you like to make.
Other Easy Breakfast Recipes
It’s always nice to have a few easy breakfasts in your menu rotation, especially when you have guests. One easy and delicious option is School Breakfast Pizza. For a make-ahead meal try making Super Simple Breakfast Casserole. These recipes are stress-free winners!
Are You Now Craving Easy Skillet Breakfast?
If you are like me, you are always looking for new, easy recipes to try. I get many of my ideas from Pinterest. If I find a recipe I’d like to try, I save it to my Recipes to Try board.
My family members have been beneficiaries of my many Pinterest experiments. Most of them have turned out well. Do you have a Pinterest account? If you like to collect easy recipes as well, I’d love to follow you.
More Food Inspiration
It’s always nice to have a plan when it comes to meals. If you’re looking for a way to get more organized with your meal-planning efforts, I’ve got something for you. Free, editable meal planners! The templates can be used over and over, as often as you need them. You can make as many duplicates as you like, and you’ll be able to save old meal plans for future reference. I hope it simplifies things for you.
Get my digital, editable, printable templates!
Enjoy making this easy skillet breakfast recipe, and may all of your cooking endeavors meet with great success!
Lisa Mitchell is a wife, mom, and school librarian who likes to create and share recipes, often using fresh ingredients from her family’s small Pacific Northwest farm. To get more easy recipes, click on over to the Food page.
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This looks like a delicious and easy breakfast idea for camping! I like that it only has a few ingredients.
Yes, it is a favorite camping meal because it is so simple. It always disappears quickly!
This easy hearty breakfast skillet meal sounds perfect for camping and a yummy breakfast at home. I love that it’s ready in only 30 minutes. Great tip to add some of my favorite country gravy to make a country breakfast skillet.
I am a gravy gal for sure and in my opinion, gravy makes anything, especially this camping breakfast skillet, even better.=)
Delicious! We eat so many eggs and potatoes. We have almost 30 chickens!
Wow, you have a lot of chickens! We only have 6, so I can imagine you like any recipes that call for eggs like this hunting skillet breakfast does. I hope your family enjoys this breakfast idea.
This looks delicious, and I love that it’s simple! Thanks so much for sharing, I’ll definitely be making this this weekend!
Terrific! I hope you like it.
This looks great and very easy to make. I know what to make for the next big breakfast.
You are becoming a kitchen wizard! I hope it turns out well for you.
Hi Lisa,
I have been playing around with cooking something different for breakfast for my husband than the usual eggs, sausage. My grandmother used to make these years ago who is from Ireland- the casserole-style one pan originates from the Irish.
pinned-
Kathy
How nice that this recipe brought back memories of your grandmother making something similar. I appreciate you sharing that.
This sounds wonderful and so easy! My kids love hashbrowns so this would probably be a hit. And I’m always on the lookout for one-pot meals. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You are most welcome! Any meal that is easy is a winner to me.
Thanks, Lisa for sharing this recipe! It looks very tasty and the preparation is quite easy and time-saving!
I appreciate your positive words, and I hope this recipe is useful to you.
This looks great! I like the way it can be prepared in one skillet. Less mess! Thanks for the recipe.
You are most welcome. I agree, less mess is best!