When we talk with fellow Minnesotans about the Lunds & Byerlys chain of upscale grocery stores, there’s one question that comes up over and over again: “Have you tried their Company Hash Browns?” Well, yes, we have tried them. If you go into a store, you can buy a hot, steaming plate of the stuff and try it for yourself. (We’re not sure this applies to every single L&B store, but it applies to the ones we’ve been to.)
However, there’s also a frozen version of these hash browns that you can take home and cook later. So today, we’re going to see how the frozen version of Lunds & Byerlys Company Hash Browns compare with the ready-made version you can buy in a store.
These hash browns are pretty easy to heat, though they do take a while. You’ll have to preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit, then unwrap the Company Hash Browns and stick the aluminum tray onto a cookie sheet. Pop them into the oven and let them cook for 50-60 minutes.
We should point out that there are also microwave instructions on the box, but we’re not sure how that would work. Since these come in an aluminum tray, you certainly don’t want to pop them into a microwave as is. And since they’re frozen, removing them from the tray seems like a good deal of work. So we just stuck with the oven instructions. We figured they’d turn out better this way anyway.
Keep in mind that these aren’t just your typical hash browns. These come loaded with sour cream and cheddar cheese, which is what makes them so famously irresistible. If you’re expecting the standard stuff that you dip in a side of ketchup, you might be surprised to learn that that is not what these are.
In case you’re wondering, the hash browns themselves don’t get crispy, like you’d expect from a typical plate of hash browns. These are drowning in cheese, so they stay pretty starchy, with just a bit of firmness to them.
The cheese and sour cream blend really makes these suckers pop. They’re oh-so-ooey-gooey and delicious. Be careful, because it’s hard to stop eating these once you’ve started.
As you probably guessed by now, these hash browns are not diet-friendly. A tray of these is supposedly five servings, yet we think it’s more realistic to divide this into two. The image above shows what half a tray looks like in a serving dish. As you can see, that’s about a pretty decent serving size.
If you stick with the recommended portion, these aren’t bad, which just 180 calories and 320 mg of sodium. However, if you eat half a tray, that becomes 450 calories and 800 mg of sodium. And, if you somehow manage to eat a full tray in one sitting (we think it’s possible but extremely unlikely that you will), you’ll end up with 900 calories and 1,600 mg of sodium.
The Lunds & Byerlys Company Hash Browns are delicious whether fresh or frozen. The next time you’re in the Minneapolis area, we strongly recommend stopping into a Lunds & Byerlys store and checking some out for yourself. We think you’ll be quite impressed.
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in these L&B hash browns, check out our package scan below.