Jewish Crispy Potato Pancakes (Latkes)
on Nov 30, 2019, Updated Oct 23, 2024
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The best potato pancakes: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Make more Latkes than you think you'll need!
We love the candles and the stories, but for my family, the very best part of Hanukkah is the potato pancakes, also known as latkes. I’m a little famous for these in my circle; our annual latke party is something to behold. This is one of the Jewish dishes my family looks forward to the most. On more than one occasion, I have made about 8 to 10 pounds of potatoes into latkes for 12 people, and they were GONE.
The big debate in my house is sour cream vs. applesauce, or both — another very personal decision. If you want to have the best latkes ever, make some Homemade Applesauce to go with them (but still offer sour cream on the side, too!). See below for more on that!
A little crispy potato pancake makes a wonderful appetizer or side dish as a fun alternative to smashed, mashed, or scalloped potatoes. Serve alongside — or follow these up with — either some classic brisket or brisket with mushrooms. By the way, you don’t have to be Jewish or actually celebrate the eight days of Hanukah to think about latkes.
Table of Contents
Jewish Crispy Potato Pancakes (Latkes): The best potato pancakes: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Happy Hanukkah!
Ingredients
- Russet potatoes – This variety of potatoes is perfect for this recipe because their high starch content helps bind the latkes together. Make sure to use a starchy variety of potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes are also good and can be mixed with the baking potatoes.
- Eggs – Bind the latkes together and give them their signature texture.
- Onion – Mince it finely to get a little of that delicious onion flavor in every bite.
- Matzoh meal or flour – If you can’t find matzo meal in your local grocery store, try flour. The natural starch of the potatoes works well, too, but this little bit of extra starch helps hold the potato pancakes together. You can also use panko breadcrumbs or regular unseasoned breadcrumbs. Use a gluten-free version of any of these if needed.
- Salt – Don’t skimp on the salt. Potatoes, especially fried potatoes, need a lot of salt to bring out their flavor.
- Pepper – Freshly ground pepper is best here.
- Olive oil – It’s a little indulgent, but I like to cook the pancakes in mostly olive oil (pure, not extra-virgin). However, olive oil does burn at high temperatures, so keep an eye on the heat level. You want it high enough to cook up crisp pancakes but not so high that it smokes and turns brown.
- Butter – A little butter in the frying oil adds richness and flavor to these latkes. Indulgent, sure. Delicious, OMG, yes.
- Applesauce and/or sour cream to serve – Serve the latkes with sour cream and applesauce so people can choose or mix and match.
Why Serve Potato Latkes With Apple Sauce or Sour Cream?
Some people have very strong opinions about one vs. the other. Traditionally, applesauce is a better option for the kosher crowd as old-school latkes are sometimes fried in chicken fat (schmaltz) or served alongside brisket, and those things cannot be mixed with dairy if the meal is kosher. Also, apples are often eaten during Jewish holidays, whether dipped in honey at Rosh Hashanah or in charoset on Passover. Homemade apple sauce with homemade latkes is a treat!
However, Rabbi Phyllis Sommer argues that sour cream is more appropriate because of a story of a Jewish woman winning a military victory using cheese. But it doesn’t have to be either or: My family likes to switch back and forth and even mix a little of each topping on every latke.
How to Make Homemade Latkes
- Prepare the potatoes: Peel and shred some all-purpose potatoes using a box grater or the grating blade on a food processor. Let them sit in a bowl. They may discolor a bit, but that’s fine; they will brown up in the pan anyway. Grab handfuls of the grated potato and squeeze over the bowl with all the potatoes in it, squeezing out as much liquid as possible back into the bowl (see Cooking Tips below). Place the squeezed potatoes in another large bowl.
- Make the batter: In another large bowl, mix the eggs and minced onion. Add the potatoes to the eggs and onion, season, and mix well. Drain off the liquid from the potatoes, leaving behind any potato starch that settled in the bottom of the bowl. Add that to the egg mixture, along with a bit of flour or matzoh meal, if desired.
- Begin cooking: In a large skillet, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon or so of butter over medium heat until the butter has melted and the fat is hot. Add spoonfuls of the potato mixture — as big or small as you wish — and gently press them into round, flat shapes in the pan.
- Cook until brown and drain: Cook until golden brown and crisp for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. (You’ll need to keep a close eye on the heat.) Drain briefly on paper towels and transfer to a serving platter. Repeat until all of the potato mixture is used.
- Serve: Serve warm with applesauce and sour cream.
FAQs
You can really use any cooking oil to fry latkes. However, while it’s a little indulgent, I like to cook the pancakes in mostly olive oil, with a tiny bit of butter added in for flavor (which is NOT kosher, so don’t do that if you are keeping kosher). You can also use just olive oil, or vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil.
And do not whip out the fancy bottle of extra-virgin olive oil for this purpose. You will want to save that for your vinaigrettes and glug in the less expensive olive oil when you are frying.
Latkes and hash browns look similar because they are both made from grated potatoes, but they are actually quite different preparations. Hash browns are usually made of just seasoned diced or shredded potatoes, sometimes with the addition of onion or starch. Sometimes, the potatoes are cooked before they are griddled up.
Latkes always contain eggs, which combine with the potato starch, flour, or matzoh meal to form a pancake with more substance than a hash brown. Additionally, hash browns are often cooked on a flat top, plancha, or in a skillet with a small amount of oil. Jewish latkes are either pan-fried or deep-fried in a larger amount of oil.
Latke Cooking Tips
- Make sure your potatoes are squeezed until they are very dry. If there is too much moisture in the potato pancakes, they will fall apart. After you have squeezed the liquid out of the potato pancakes, the natural starch from the potatoes will settle to the bottom of the bowl. Pour off the water that has risen to the top, and scrape the settled dense starch from the bottom of the bowl. Add that to the bowl with the grated dried potatoes, egg, and onion. This will serve as a thickener for the pancakes.
- If there is only a tablespoon or two of the starch, you’ll also want to blend in the matzoh meal or flour. Add salt and pepper (be liberal; the pancakes will be quite bland without enough seasoning).
- Because of the way the heat is dispensed from the burner, you may notice that the potato pancakes on the outside of the pan cook faster than the inside (true of all kinds of pancakes). When you flip them, you may want to shuffle them around a bit so they cook more evenly. Or just know that the middle one will take a bit longer.
- Use the back of the spatula to press down on the pancakes so the bottoms of the pancakes get more contact with the hot pan.
- Add more oil and bits of butter as needed to cook the pancakes. Periodically, you may want to dump out the pan, give it a quick wipe, and start over if you’re finding that the oil is getting kind of dark and that too many bits of charred potato and onion are floating around.
- The potatoes will continue to release liquid as they sit. As you get to the bottom of the bowl, just give the potato mixture a quick squeeze before putting it in the hot pan to avoid splattering. They will also start turning darker as they sit, but when you cook them up, it won’t be very noticeable.
Also try Mashed Potato Pancakes, a different type of delicious pan-fried potato pancake!
Storage and Reheating
Leftover latkes will last for 2 days, well wrapped in the fridge. You can reheat leftover latkes by placing them in a wire rack placed on a baking sheet and warming them in a preheated 350-degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes.
What to Serve With Latkes
If you’re feeling a little fancy schmancy, you might serve these up with some cheap caviar, smoked salmon, or gravlax. Think about swapping out the sour cream for crème fraiche.
More Recipes for the Jewish Holidays
- Noodle Kugel
- Beef Brisket with Wild Mushrooms
- Monday Night Brisket
- Chicken Marbella
- Chicken Thighs with Onions and Green Olives
- Jelly Doughnuts
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Jewish Crispy Potato Pancakes (Latkes)
Ingredients
- 5 pounds russet baking potatoes (peeled)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large onion (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons matzoh meal or flour (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Olive oil (1 to ½ cups)
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (optional, but recommended unless you want the pancakes to be kosher and are serving meat)
- Applesauce and sour cream (to serve; sour cream is not kosher if meat is also served)
Instructions
- Using a food processor or a handheld grater, grate the potatoes on the large-holed blade, or side of the grater. Place the grated potatoes into a large bowl and let them sit while they release their liquid.
- In another large bowl, mix the eggs and minced onion. With your hands, grab handfuls of the grated potato and squeeze over the bowl with all the potatoes in it, squeezing out as much liquid as possible back into the bowl. Transfer the squeezed potatoes into the bowl with the eggs. Repeat until all of the potatoes have been squeezed and transferred. Stick your finger into the liquid left in the other bowl. You’ll feel a firm layer of potato starch at the bottom. What you need to do is carefully pour off the liquid and then scrape up all that valuable starch from the bottom of the bowl and mix it well with the egg and potato mixture (best to use your hands). This natural starch helps bind together the potatoes. If there is only a tablespoon or two of the starch, you’ll also want to blend in the matzoh meal or flour. Add salt and pepper (be liberal; the pancakes will be quite bland without enough seasoning).
- In a large skillet (or use two large skillets to make the cooking go faster), heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon or so of butter over medium heat until the butter has melted and the fat is hot. Swirl the pan, and then add spoonfuls of the potato mixture — as big or small as you wish — and gently press them into round, flat shapes in the pan. Cook until golden brown and crisp for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. You’ll need to keep a close eye on the heat: Too low, and they won’t brown properly; too high, and the oil will start smoking. Adjust it as needed.
- Drain briefly on paper towels and transfer to a serving platter. Repeat until all of the potato mixture is used up, adding more oil and bits of butter as you need it (periodically, you may want to dump out the pan, give it a quick wipe, and start over if you’re finding that the oil is getting kind of dark and that too many bits of charred potato and onion are floating around). The potatoes will continue to release liquid as they sit; as you get to the bottom of the bowl, just give the potato mixture a quick squeeze before putting it in the hot pan to avoid splattering. And, they will also start turning darker as they sit, but when you cook them up, it won’t be very noticeable.
- Serve warm with applesauce and sour cream.
Notes
- Make sure your potatoes are squeezed until they are very dry. If there is too much moisture in the potato pancakes, they will fall apart. After you have squeezed the liquid out of the potato pancakes, the natural starch from the potatoes will settle to the bottom of the bowl. Pour off the water that has risen to the top, and scrap the settled dense starch from the bottom of the bowl. Add that to the bowl with the grated dried potatoes, egg, and onion. This will serve as a thickener for the pancakes.
- Because of the way the heat is dispensed from the burner, you may notice that the potato pancakes on the outside of the pan cook faster than the inside (true of all kinds of pancakes). When you flip them, you may want to shuffle them around a bit so they cook more evenly, or just know that the middle one will take a bit longer.
- Use the back of the spatula to press down on the pancakes so the bottoms of the pancakes get more contact with the hot pan.
- Add more oil and bits of butter as you need it to cook the pancakes. Periodically, you may want to dump out the pan, give it a quick wipe, and start over if you’re finding that the oil is getting kind of dark and that too many bits of charred potato and onion are floating around.
- The potatoes will continue to release liquid as they sit. As you get to the bottom of the bowl, just give the potato mixture a quick squeeze before putting it in the hot pan to avoid splattering. They will also start turning darker as they sit, but when you cook them up, it won’t be very noticeable.
- If you’re feeling a little fancy schmancy, you might serve these up with some cheap caviar, smoked salmon, or gravlax, and maybe swap out the sour cream for crème fraiche.
Hello, can you use frozen already shredded potatoes?
I have never tried that but I think yes – though your will have to be extra diligent about squeezing out excess water when they thaw. They might not brown up as well because of that.
Just found you, making my latkes for friend with homemade applesauce, he’s 86 and I’m 76 and I can’t wait to do yours tomorrow
Thanks for the starch tip! Mine have always fallen apart or not cooked till crispy properly but after reading your tips they turned out perfectly.
I also “fry” mine up on a cookie sheet in the oven at 425 with loads of oil and they turn out almost as good as in a frying pan. (I get more done at once with less pans to clean!)
Thanks for the tips!
Have you ever tried Latkes with Plum Sauce? Ummm, delish!
no, but that sounds really good!
Delicious. I use cornstarch instead of flour and they cook up nice and crispy. Also add parsley for fresh taste and color. Thank you for sharing.
THIS IS THE CLOSEST I HAVE FOUND TO MY MOM AND NANA RECIPE FOR POTATO PANCAKES. THE APPEARANCE IS EXACT, AND BEING ABLE TO REDUCE RECIPE AS PER PERSONS IS DEF A BIG HELP. MY NANA WAS FROM POLAND LIVED IN ASTORIA A ALL JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD, WE GREW UP ON ALL JEWISH & POLISH FOOD. MY NANA HAD NO RECIPES IT WAS ALL BY HER EYE. ALL I KNOW IS INGREDIENTS NOT THE RATIO. THIS IS A VERY BIG HELP
I’m so glad to hear than Karan!