German Farmer's Breakfast

German farmer's breakfast with potatoes, eggs, green onion, bell peppers, parsley, and chopped ham. Also called Bauernfruhstuck.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
German Farmer's Breakfast
Elise Bauer

One of my mother's favorite breakfasts to prepare for our family has always been German Farmer's Breakfast, also known as Bauernfruhstuck.

I remember eating this several times a month as a kid. It's sort of like a large breakfast hash of potatoes and ham or bacon, with onions and bell pepper and some egg mixed in.

It's a hearty meal, and I imagine just the sort of breakfast that a German farmer might eat.

Our last name being Bauer, no wonder we like foods like this! I love mine with a lot of ketchup. A great use of leftover ham.

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German Farmer's Breakfast

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 large potatoes, skinned and quartered lengthwise
  • 3 tablespoons bacon fat or extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups roughly chopped green and white onions (include the greens from the green onions)
  • 2 cups roughly chopped bell peppers
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 cups chopped ham
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 4 eggs, whisked

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes:

    in a saucepan of lightly salted water for 10-15 minutes until just cooked (test for doneness). Drain, rinse with cold water to cool. Cut into 1-inch squares. Set aside.

  2. Brown the onions and bell peppers:

    Heat 2 Tbsp bacon fat (or olive oil) in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and chopped bell peppers. Increase the heat to high. Brown the onions and bell peppers, stirring frequently, about 2-3 minutes.

  3. Add the potatoes and then the ham:

    Push the vegetables to the side of the pan, add the potatoes and another Tbsp of bacon fat (or olive oil) to the pan.

    Brown the potatoes for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle on salt to taste as you cook.

    Add the ham to the potatoes and cook, stirring frequently until the ham is heated through, 1-2 minutes.

  4. Add parsley, eggs:

    Mix all of the vegetables, potato and ham together and mix in the parsley. Add the eggs, stirring to distribute the eggs among the vegetables and ham.

    As soon as eggs begin to firm up, remove from heat.

    Serve immediately. Great with ketchup on top.