Far and away one of the most popular breakfast foods at Trader Joe’s, the hash browns that this grocery store sells have an almost legendary quality.
Made from 100% Idaho potatoes and fully cooked – but also fully frozen – these hash brown patties are sold in shrink-wrapped boxes with 10 patties each, ready to be broken out and reheated quickly in a skillet or your oven.
Unfortunately, though, finding these hash brown patties at Trader Joe’s as proven to be more challenging than many ever thought over the last few years. Supply chain issues, potato shortages, and product recalls have all really made Trader Joe’s hash brown patties a little scarce.
If you find some of these tasty patties at your local Trader Joe’s you want to stock up for sure!
Hash Brown Patty Shortage at Trader Joe’s
People online started to notice that Trader Joe’s wasn’t able to keep their legendary hash brown patties in stock as consistently as they were able to in the past starting in late 2019.
There’s a lot of chatter on popular forums (like Reddit) and social media from late 2019 and early 2020 talking about folks having a tough time finding their favorite breakfast snack as regularly as they were able to previously.
Things accelerated through 2020 and into 2021, and 2022 things really snowballed to the point where people stopped talking about Trader Joe’s hash brown shortages and started talking about the rare times they were actually able to find these breakfast treats in stock!
Some people have even gone on to say that the shortage has stopped them from visiting Trader Joe’s as much as they used to before the shortage, not just because of the lack of hash browns but also because of other shortages they’ve discovered in the last few years, too.
This obviously has had a negative impact on Trader Joe’s sales, though it would be impossible to pin any economic downturn over the last few years just on folks not getting there hash browns any longer.
Trader Joe’s is still making north of $500 million in annual revenue, after all.
Still, if the shortage continues – and people start to feel like they just can’t trust Trader Joe’s to have the stuff they want in stock all the time – it would be unreasonable to assume that shopper behavior changes in these customers start to look elsewhere to fill their grocery carts.
Possible Causes of the Hash Brown Shortage
The biggest and most obvious potential cause of the Trader Joe’s hash browns shortage has to be the COVID 19 pandemic and the ripple effect shutting down the global economy had on supply chains everywhere.
When governments around the world (including here in the United States) chose to “flip a switch” and prevent people from going to work for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months – to even a year or longer in some locales – it put a tremendous amount of stress on local, statewide, national, and global supply chains.
The economy today is built around “just-in-time” supply chains instead of stockpiling huge amounts of product that could go unsold, could spoil, or could degrade in one way or another.
That sort of supply chain works fantastic when everything is humming along. But when you have a global pandemic on your hands things start to break down pretty spectacularly.
On top of all of that you have to consider the sky-high demand for these hash browns – we mentioned they are amongst the most popular items at Trader Joe’s nationwide – and Idaho potato crops as well.
In 2021 the average potato crop production rate was down 7% than the previous five-year average, resulting in a significant shortage throughout 2022.
You had better believe this had a huge impact on Trader Joe’s ability to get their hands on the potatoes they needed to make hash browns.
Combine sky-high demand with limited supply and a broken supply chain on top and you’re looking at a perfect storm of conditions that have contributed to the Trader Joe’s hash brown patties shortage for sure.
Alternative Hash Brown Options
Though all grocery stores are struggling to get their hands on potato products right now (just like restaurants), if you can’t find hash browns at your local Trader Joe’s you might want to have a look at other grocery stores in your area.
Every grocery store has their own “house brand”, and many of them are comparable to the taste, texture, and flavor of Trader Joe’s hash browns – even if they are often a little bit more expensive.
You might want to jump online and try to order hash browns from companies like Tyson, Ore-Ida, McCain, and other major frozen food manufacturers, too.
Amazon (after their acquisition of Whole Foods) has become a major player in the online grocery game.
Of course, you might even want to try making your own homemade hash browns if you can get your hands on potatoes (or even grow your own).
Here’s a recipe you want to try:
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Rinse, peel, and grate your potatoes
- Place the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much “juice” as possible
- In a cast iron skillet, heat up your oil over medium heat
- Add the grated potatoes to the skillet
- Season with salt and pepper
- Cook for about 10-12 minutes, or until the bottoms of your hash browns are golden
- Flip and then keep cooking for 8-10 minutes until you’ve got a consistent golden crust all over
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are Hash Browns Out of Stock Everywhere?
Supply chain issues, a hash browns recall in the spring of 2022, and a less than stellar potato crop in 2021 have all led to a lack of hash browns in Trader Joe’s (and most everywhere else, too).
Does Trader Joe’s Have Hash Brown Potatoes?
Trader Joe’s normally have russet potatoes in stock, and those can be turned into delicious homemade hash browns using the recipe we highlighted above!
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, there’s no real telling when the Trader Joe’s hash Brown Patti shortage is going to be over and you can reliably walk into any Trader Joe’s you’d like all over the country and find your favorite breakfast food in stock consistently.
Hopefully, though, supply chain issues are ironed out sooner rather than later and we get back to normal.
A better 2022/2023 crop of potatoes in Idaho will help make that a reality faster, too.