Potato Latkes
Shredded potato pancakes fried until lacy and golden — crisp edges, creamy middles.
Ingredients
- 4 Potatoes
- ½ Onion
- 2 Egg
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 120 ml Neutral oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black pepper (optional)
- 4 tbsp Sour cream (optional)
Method
- Peel the potatoes.
- Grate the potatoes and the onion on the coarse side of a box grater into a bowl.
- Tip the gratings into a clean towel and wring hard over the sink until no more liquid drips out.
- Beat the eggs in the empty bowl with the salt and pepper.
- Stir the dried gratings and the flour into the egg until everything is coated.
- Heat a half-centimeter of oil in a wide skillet over medium-high until a shred of potato sizzles on contact.
- Drop heaped spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil and flatten each gently with the back of the spoon.
- Fry until the edges are deep golden, about 4 minutes, then flip and fry the second side 3 minutes more; work in batches.
- Drain the latkes on paper towels and salt them lightly while hot.
- Serve hot with sour cream or applesauce on the side.
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About Potato Latkes
Potato latkes are shredded-potato pancakes fried in a shallow pool of oil until lacy and deep gold — a dish rooted in Ashkenazi Jewish cooking and inseparable from Hanukkah, where foods fried in oil carry symbolic weight. At their heart they are little more than grated potato and onion bound with egg and a bit of flour, but the contrast is everything: shatteringly crisp brown edges giving way to a soft, almost creamy interior. Grating the onion in with the potato does double duty, seasoning the mixture and helping keep the shreds from oxidizing while you work.
The single step that makes or breaks a latke is wringing the grated potato bone-dry in a towel before it ever meets the egg — squeeze out the liquid and the pancakes fry up crisp instead of steaming into soggy patties, which is exactly what this method insists on. Fried in oil hot enough to sizzle on contact and pressed thin, they emerge with the lacy, ragged edges that are the whole appeal. They're traditionally served hot from the pan with sour cream or applesauce, the cool tang cutting the richness of the fry. Though associated with a holiday, they make a fine savory breakfast or side any time you want something golden and crisp.
Potato Latkes: frequently asked questions
Where do potato latkes come from?
Latkes are shallow-fried pancakes traditionally associated with Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine of Central and Eastern Europe, eaten especially at Hanukkah, where the oil recalls the holiday's miracle of the Temple lamp. The word "latke" comes from Yiddish (borrowed from a Slavic root meaning "little patch" or "small pancake"). Notably, the pancakes were originally made from cheese or other ingredients, and the now-standard potato version only became common after the potato spread widely in Eastern Europe in the 1800s.
How many calories are in Potato Latkes?
A serving has about 424 calories — 7.1g protein, 32.6g carbs, 30.2g fat, 3.7g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is Potato Latkes gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is Potato Latkes dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Sour cream. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
Do I need every ingredient to make Potato Latkes?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out black pepper, sour cream — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Potato Latkes make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.