The Art of Making Classic Amish Haystacks (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Ah, if you are like me and you like "plate piler" meals, you'd feel right at home among the Amish. Haystacks are quite popular among the Amish because large gatherings are common and this kind of mealis a great way to feed a crowd.

☑️ Why Do The Amish Like Haystacks?

Flip through any Amish cookbook and you'll stumble on a haystacks recipe. Haystacks are super popular among the Amish as evidenced by the recipe's appearance all over the place. But why are haystacks so popular, here are some reasons I have compiled:

• Crowd-friendly: Haystacks are perfect for feeding a crowd and Amish gatherings often involve a crowd. Just make a "buffet" line of all sorts of topics, people move through and pile their plates and what could be easier than that?
• Kid-Friendly: The Amish also generally have a lot of children around, and there is not much more kid-friendly than piling a plate with a gazillion different ingredients.
• Inexpensive: Well, they can be anyway, if you have a garden. A lot of haystacks are veggies which most Amish have in abundance in season, pile on some meat and cheese and there you go!

📖 The Story Behind Haystacks

It seems like most Amish-themed fiction novels incorporate haystacks into the storyline in some ways just to add a veneer of authenticity to the story.

Classic Amish Haystack proportions can be increased or downsized according to how many people you are expecting. Haystacks for a long time were a common supper dish, but as time has gone by "breakfast variations" have evolved and even dessert versions. Nothing like piling a bunch of s'more-type ingredients on a plate, dousing them with chocolate and caramel syrup, and diving in!

Here is what Amish Cook columnist Gloria Yoder says about Classic Amish Haystacks:

"It’s the type of thing I prefer for guests rather than having so many different items. Also add or omit anything to suit your taste buds. For example you may want to add cheese to your scrambled eggs rather than having a separate cheese sauce. The peppers and onions may be fried with the eggs if desired. Ingredient amounts are not given so that you can adjust according to how many you are trying to feed."

Step-By-Step Amish Haystacks

Haystacks really are part art, part meal. I mean, you can use your imagination on the variations. But crackers - or something with crunch - should always be a part of it. There's just something about "crunch" in a dish like a haystack that makes it stand out.

The most "difficult" part of a haystack is preparing the veggies, but you can cheat and use pre-cut store-bought if you want. And use paper bowls or plates to serve from if you don't want to have 20 dishes left to clean after this is done.

Fry the ground beef,but if you want to try something other than classic hamburger, feel free to use ground turkey or, well, I've never done a haystack with chicken, but why not?

Then pile it all on your plate and enjoy! The name "haystack" by the way, probably comes from what it looks like if you pile shredded cheese over it. If you do that, yeah, it looks like a giant haystack!

🍲 More Amish Haystack Recipes

Breakfast Haystacks

Mennonite Haystack

Haystack Salad

🖨️ Full Recipe

More Amish Casseroles