Grandma's Potato Latkes Recipe - Debra Klein (2024)

Why do Jewish people eat Latkes on Hanukkah?

It’s Jewish tradition to commemorate the Hanukkah miracle that just a little oil, lasted for 8 days by consuming food that have oil in them or their preparation.

Hanukkah food usually includes livivot (fried latkes), sufganiyot (jelly donuts that are fried in oil), and chocolate gelt (foil wrapped chocolate coins). Every family has their own preferences as to what else is on the menu.

Grandma’s Potato Latke Ingredients

• Potatoes: Russet potatoes are my preference for making potato latkes. See above for other potato suggestions.
• Onions: Use white or yellow onions. Shredded onions is what gives these latkes a flavor advantage of other latke recipes. Especially if you’re not going to use chicken shmaltz to fry your latkes, you’ll want to use both the shredded onions and the liquid they produce for the best tasting latkes.
• Eggs: Latkes with eggs taste most like my Grandmothers, so that’s what I usually make for Hannukkah.
• Matzo meal: Matzo meal will produce lacy, crispy latkes. (Tell me you also have half a container in your pantry leftover from Passover?)
• Fat: Avocado oil is my preference over heavily processed vegetable oils like canola oil.
• Salt: I use kosher salt or coarse sea salt. You can use less sodium and still get the salty taste you’re looking for in fried food if you salt your latkes after they’re cooked.

What type of potatoes are best for Latkes?

• The best potatoes for latkes are those with a higher starch content. It’s the potato starch that produces the crispiest latkes, with tender insides.
• Russet: This is what my grandmother used. They’re large potatoes with white flesh, dark brown skins and few eyes. Russet potatoes have a high starch content and are ideal for frying into latkes (or french fries).
• Idaho: Potatoes that are grown only in Idaho, where growing conditions include rich soil and ideal climate conditions. Idaho potatoes are generally varieties of Russet Potatoes, known to be low in moisture and high in starch—perfect for latkes.
• Yukon gold: the multi-purpose white potatoes. They’re often used for hash browns….a close cousin of the latke. Yukon gold potatoes tend to have a rich, buttery flavor that makes rich tasting, kinda nutty latkes.
• Sweet Potatoes: These don’t emit much water, so, if you’re going to use them, mix in with some white potatoes that will give excess liquid plus potato starch to help hold them together.

Prepare one baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack into another baking tray. I like to line the second tray with a brown bag. Set aside.

You’ll need a food processor or a box grater to shred the onions and potatoes. My grandmother’s shredder works really well too, you can find a similar shredder on amazon.

Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in about ¼ inch of oil to heat. You’re going to shallow fry these, adding more oil as needed, not deep fry.

Step 1: Use the shredding disc of your food processor to grate the onions. Don’t wash the bowl, you’ll use it for the potatoes soon.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy and then mix in the grated onion, plus any juices.

Step 3: Scrub potatoes, you do not need to peel them, but cut out any bruises or eyes. Cut lengthwise and then into quarters.

Step 4: Grate the potatoes. It’s quick and easy with a food processor, but I have done it by hand many times, and you can too!

Step 5: Add the grated potatoes to the large bowl with the egg mixture. Mix well, then sprinkle on the matzo meal and mix again.

Step 6: Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out the latke mixture into the hot pan. If excess moisture develops as time passes, mix in an additional tablespoon of matzo meal.

Step 7: Use the back of a spatula to flatten each latke into a round shape.Wait for the bottom to turn golden brown, then flip to the other side.

Step 8: Transfer finished latkes to tray with paper towels. If needed, add enough oil to continue to fry until all the latke batter is finished.

Step 9: Sprinkle finished latkes with salt. The excess oil will drain quickly onto the paper towels. Transfer to the prepared pan with the wire rack after a couple minutes.

Step 10: If you won’t be serving the latkes right away, place the baking sheet with the wire rack into a 200 degree oven to keep warm.

Tips for making crispy latkes

• Use a heavy skillet with high edges to keep most of the oil splatter in the pan.
• I do not recommend a nonstick pan. Use cast iron if you have one, if not use your heaviest stainless steel frying pan.
• Make sure your skillet and oil are HOT before you scoop the latke batter into the pan.
• If you can, have 2 skillets going at once to make even quicker work of it.
• Scoop latkes into the skillet and flatten with the back of your spatula. Thick latkes will burn on the outside before they’re cooked through on the inside.
• If you let them sit on the oily paper towels or brown bags to too long, you will have soggy latkes. Transfer drained latkes to a wire rack after a couple minutes.

Latke Toppings

• Sour cream. It’s so easy to make homemade dairy-free sour cream….perfect for when you need a pareve topping for your latkes.
• Applesauce: Nothing beats cold apple sauce on top of homemade latkes. Use my no sugar added applesauce recipe for delicious applesauce every single time.
• Ketchup….yeah, I know. Wouldn’t be my preference either, but it’s a popular choice.
• Guacamole: I can totally get behind this option….guacamole is always a good choice.

What’s the difference between potato latkes and potato pancakes?

Potato latkes are made from grated potatoes, but are similar to potato pancakes as they are one piece, shaped like a pancake that is held together with eggs and a binding agent. Potato pancakes are made from mashed potatoes or dried potato flakes that are formed into patties and then fried.

Debra’s Pro Tips

• Be prepared to move quickly from shredding the potatoes to frying the latkes. Have your potatoes scrubbed and dried, eggs whisked, onion added, matzo meal measured, paper toweled pan and your pan with the wire rack ready, pan heated, salt handy before you shred the potatoes.
• Use your heaviest, biggest skillet, or consider doing two pans at once to get through the latke batter quickly.
• Wait until the latkes are cooked to sprinkle with salt. They’ll taste saltier with less sodium than if you incorporate the salt into the batter.

How to Store, Freeze and Reheat Latkes

• Store: Cool completely on a wire rack. Transfer cold latkes into an airtight container in a single layer. Use unbleached parchment paper to separate layers.
• Refrigerator: Latkes will stay good in the fridge for up to a week.
• Freeze: Use freezer safe containers and make sure layers of latkes are separated by parchment.
• Reheat: Lay in single layer on sheet pan with a wire rack on top. Heat in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Or, reheat in a heavy skillet with a lid, over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes per side, until heated through.

Grandma’s Potato Latkes

My Grandma's Potato Latke Recipe is the BEST. Full stop. They're crispy and tasty, you can easily make these gluten-free potato latkes by using gf flour, corn meal, oat flour or chickpea flour.

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Nutrition

Calories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 5gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 260mgPotassium: 519mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 82IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!