Easy Potato Latkes
Easy Potato Latkes are the crispy, crunchy, onion flavored potato pancake you crave during the holiday season, but delicious enough to be enjoyed anytime!
Easy potato latkes are not something that I grew up eating.
They are the traditional old world eastern European recipe that is best known around Hanukkah.
Potatoes and onions are grated together and combined with a binder and then fried until crispy golden perfection.
They are traditionally served with sour cream and apple sauce.
How to Make Easy Potato Latkes
Kitchen Equipment You’ll Need:
Start by grating peeled potatoes on a box grater. I like to grate them directly over a flour sack towel, placed in a stainless steel bowl.
So your potatoes don’t go brown, keep them in a bowl of cold water while you grate them.
What potato should you use?
I prefer russets — their starchy texture performs better than a Yukon Gold.
First, you’ll start by grating your potatoes and onion.
In a big bowl, drape a clean porous kitchen towel, like this one, over the bowl.
We’re going to grate the potatoes directly into the towel.
Place the grater inside the bowl, on top of the towel, and grab your peeled potato.
After you’ve peeled your potatoes, run them over a box grater, on the large hole side.
Watch your fingers! Potatoes grate really quickly, and we don’t want any knuckles or fingernails added.
After you’ve grated your potatoes into the big bowl, grate an onion over top of the potato.
Now, take the corners of the towel. and bring them together.
Ring the water out of the potatoes, squeezing over and over, they hold a ton of water, so keep going!
After you’ve done one ringing out, unwind the towel, and give the potatoes and onions a good fluff. Moving the middle potatoes and onions to the outside.
Then, give it another good squeeze.
Pour out this liquid, and plop the potatoes and onions back in the bowl.
Second, we’ll add the other items to make super crispy latkes.
Now is the time to crank your oil on your stove. You want to fry in 350˚
In your bowl with the potatoes and onions, add an egg, some flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
Gently mix all these together, and get each potato strand coated.
Form into meatballs sized potato latke balls.
We’ll add each ball into the oil, and smoosh down, just to give you a heads up.
Once you’ve got all your balls ready to fry, head over to your skillet with oil.
Not sure if your oil is hot enough?
- Grab a strand of potato and add to the oil.
- If it starts to wiggle and dance, the oil is ready!
Third, we’ll fry the latke balls
Place one latke ball into the hot oil, and gently press flat(ish) with your metal spatula.
I prefer a ‘fish’ spatula — it’s a thin metal spatula that flexes easily to flip things well.
Keep going around the pan until you’ve got enough to fry evenly. For my 10.25″ Lodge Cast Iron Skillet, I’m able to fit three latkes.
You want them to fry really well, so don’t crowd your pan.
Cook each potato pancake for about 3 minutes on each side.
You want them to be evenly golden brown before flipping.
We’re frying at a lower temperature for a longer time period giving the flour a chance to cook and the baking powder a chance to rise up.
Fourth, remove the latkes
Once the latkes have fried for about 3 minutes on each side, you’ll remove them and place them on a paper towel.
Sprinkle some salt on top and keep going while you finish the rest.
If you’ve got a lot to fry up, I suggest placing the fried latkes on a cooling rack, over a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
In a 225˚ oven, keep the latkes warm and crispy.
Finally, serve your piping hot, crispy latkes!
Add them to a big platter with sour cream and apple sauce, and serve.
You won’t believe how delicious this combo of tangy sour cream and sweet apple sauce is!
How do you serve Potato Latkes?
- You can have them as an appetizer with sour cream and caviar!
- Serve them as a side dish to any main dish!
- Or serve them all on their own with sour cream and apple sauce!
When do you serve latkes?
These may be best known at Hanukkah, but I enjoy them year-round.
Need some Main Dish Inspiration to go along with your Potato Pancakes?!
- Lemon & Garlic Chicken Thighs with Sour Cream
- Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Legs
- Grilled Chicken Thighs with Sloppy Joe Sauce
- Red Wine & Herb-Marinated Steak
- Tarragon Shrimp
Do Potato Latkes Keep in the Fridge?
Sort of — if you absolutely cannot finish all the latkes you made, the next morning heat them in a skillet or in the oven until crisp.
What is the best oil to use for frying Potato Latkes?
Use a neutral oil like vegetable oil
Save this graphic to your favorite potato board on Pinterest!
Easy Potato Latkes
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: frying
- Cuisine: jewish
- Diet: Kosher
Description
Easy Potato Latkes are the crispy, crunchy, onion flavored potato pancake you crave during the holiday season, but delicious enough to be enjoyed anytime!
Ingredients
-
4 large russet potatoes
-
1 medium Vidalia or yellow onions
-
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-
1 teaspoon kosher salt
-
2 teaspoons baking powder
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1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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1 large eggs
-
vegetable oil, for frying
-
Applesauce and sour cream (for serving)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 225°.
Peel potatoes.
Using the large holes of a box grater or the grater disk on a food processor, grate potatoes and onions.
Transfer to a large kitchen towel. Gather ends of towel; twist over sink and squeeze firmly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Open towel; toss mixture to loosen. Gather towel; wring out once more.
Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, pepper, and egg in a medium bowl to blend. Add potato mixture. Using your fingers, mix until well coated. Latke mixture should be wet and thick, not soupy.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Set a wire rack on top of the paper-towel-lined baking sheet.
Heat enough oil to come about 1/8th of an inch high in a 12 inches nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drop a strand of potato in the skillet — if it wiggles and dances your oil is ready.
While your oil preheats, shape the potato mixture into meatball sized ‘latke balls.’
Working in batches add a latke ball to the oil, pressing gently with the back of a spoon or spatula to flatten slightly. Add and flatten more latke balls until your skillet is full, but not overly filled.
Cook latkes 3 minutes per side. You want each side super golden brown. You may need to rotate each latke while it fries so you get even crisping before flipping over.
Transfer latkes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain, then transfer to prepared wire rack. Place sheet with latkes in the oven to keep warm and crisp while cooking remaining latkes.
Serve warm latkes with applesauce and sour cream.
Notes
These are great for appetizers at a party, served with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of caviar!
This recipe brings back memories. We used to have these all the time when I was a kid. I’ve never made them as an adult. I can’t wait for my kids to try them. I will be making them tonight!
Yay!! They’re quite nostalgic, but I love having them every few weeks!
I love how easy these Latkes are to make! They’re so beautifully golden brown!
Thanks, Shanika!
These were super easy! Great recipe and a total crowd-pleaser!!
Woo hoo!!
This looks like a great way to use up all the potatoes we have.
Your Potato Latkes look delicious. I love the sound of the crispy crunchy finish with the combo of sour cream and apple sauce. Thanks for sharing.
I love Potato Latkes! My family and I make them every year together as a tradition! They are always so crispy and flavorful I can never get enough!
Sinply delicious potato latkes. We also did not grow up eating these potato delights but they have become a favorite in our household.
One of my favorite ways to start a day – fantatic latkes and a great recipe to keep handy. Super simple and just great on instructions!