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Crunchy Potato Pancakes are one of my best potato side dish recipes. Learn how to make Potato Pancakes to top with sour cream, applesauce, or to load up with protein to make them a meal.
Depending on where you were raised and the culinary traditions of your ancestors, Potato Pancakes might be more like mashed potatoes in consistency. But my family traditions always involved Potato Pancakes that were more akin to latkes.
When I originally learned how to make Potato Pancakes, I was taught to shred the potatoes and the onions, and as a fan of all things crunchy and texture-rich, I still swear by that method.
Today, I’m sharing my easy Potato Pancake technique that will walk you through how to shred, mix, and fry crunchy Potato Pancakes. Then I’m dishing up ideas for how to top them as a side dish or how to dress them up to make Potato Pancakes an entree. If you ask me, I certainly think this Potato Pancake recipe is delicious enough to be the star of the meal!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Potatoes: You can “pancake” any potato, but the starch content of Russet and Idaho potatoes make them among the best for crispy results. The high amount of starch yields a better texture. Those starches break down and get darker when cooked, so the fresher the potato, the better.
- Onion: This offers a bit more flavor and moisture.
- Flour and baking powder: In tandem with the egg, these pantry staples help bind the potato mixture together enough so that you can form patties or “cake” shapes.
- Vegetable oil: Choose any neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, peanut, vegetable, or grapeseed oil.
Step-by-step instructions
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a large plate with paper towels. In a food processor fitted with a shredding disc, or with a boxed grater, shred the potatoes and onions. Pour on to a clean kitchen towel.
- Gather the towel around the potatoes and onions and squeeze over a sink or bowl to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Transfer the shredded potatoes and onions to a large bowl. Stir in eggs, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix until uniformly combined (I like to use my hands).
- Heat oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy duty skillet to 325 degrees. Drop heaping rounded tablespoons of the shredded potato mixture in to the oil and flatten with a heatproof utensil. Do not overcrowd.
- Fry until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully flip using a fish turner or other heatproof spatula. Continue to cook until the second side is golden brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Transfer to the plate lined with paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt, to taste. Repeat with remaining shredded potato mixture until all potato pancakes are cooked (you should have about 24 potato pancakes). Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to keep warm. Serve with applesauce and sour cream if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 24 Potato Pancakes, enough for six, 4-pancake side dish or hearty appetizer servings.
- Storage: While Potato Pancakes are best enjoyed hot, as soon as possible after cooking, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Aim to eat the pancakes within 2 days.
- Make ahead: Reheat in a 350 degree oven until pancakes reach 165 degrees, or for about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Freezer: Place cooked pancakes in an even layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Transfer to a freezer-friendly bag and store up to 3 months.
- Potato Pancakes with Pulled Pork (appetizer idea):
- In a small bowl, whisk together 8 ounces sour cream and ½ teaspoon seasoned salt. Fold in 3 finely sliced scallions. Warm 2 cups of shredded pork in barbecue sauce.
- To assemble, arrange the potato pancakes on a serving platter. Place a dollop of seasoned sour cream on top of each, and then nestle a small mound of barbecue pork into the sour cream.
- Garnish with sliced scallions and serve immediately. The seasoned sour cream may be prepared the night before and stored covered in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
For a classic, simple preparation, serve potato pancakes warm and with bowls of cool sour cream and applesauce for dolloping on top.
Or to make them more of a heavy appetizer, I like to pile on some protein. For Pulled Pork Potato Pancake bites (pictured), in a small bowl, whisk together 8 ounces sour cream and ½ teaspoon seasoned salt. Fold in 3 finely sliced scallions. Warm 2 cups of store-bought or homemade shredded pork in barbecue sauce.
To assemble, arrange the potato pancakes on a serving platter. Place a dollop of seasoned sour cream on top of each, and then nestle a small mound of barbecue pork into the sour cream. Garnish with sliced scallions and serve immediately. The seasoned sour cream may be prepared the night before and stored covered in the refrigerator.
There are three keys to crispy Potato Pancakes.
1. After grating or shredding the potatoes and transferring them to a clean kitchen towel, try to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Excess moisture is the enemy of crunch.
2. Use a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil. It’s tough to score a crispy exterior if you are frying at low temps.
3. Immediately after frying, allow the pancakes to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. This will soak up the excess oil (rather than allowing it to pool under, and eventually soak into, the Potato Pancakes).
I totally get it; hot oil is a real safety hazard! The key is to use a skillet that’s large enough for the food you are frying, and allows for enough space on top of the pot for oil to bubble up as it cooks. Yes, this will happen, especially since the volume of the food will raise the oil level in the pan. As you fry food, try to not overcrowd the pan and monitor the oil temperature as you cook with a digital thermometer. Dialing in that temperature to as close to 325 is key to score golden brown results. As always and just in case, keep a fire extinguisher handy and keep kids and pets away from any hot kitchen appliances.
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Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes peeled (see note 1)
- 1 large onion peeled and halved (see note 2)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (see note 3)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying (see note 4)
- applesauce for serving, optional
- sour cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a large plate with paper towels.
- In a food processor fitted with a shredding disc, or with a boxed grater, shred the potatoes and onions. Pour on to a clean kitchen towel.
- Gather the towel around the potatoes and onions and squeeze over a sink or bowl to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the shredded potatoes and onions to a large bowl.
- Stir in eggs, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix until uniformly combined (I like to use my hands).
- Heat oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy duty skillet to 325 degrees. Drop heaping rounded tablespoons of the shredded potato mixture in to the oil and flatten with a heatproof utensil. Do not overcrowd.
- Fry until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully flip using a fish turner or other heatproof spatula. Continue to cook until the second side is golden brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to the plate lined with paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt, to taste.
- Repeat with remaining shredded potato mixture until all potato pancakes are cooked (you should have about 24 potato pancakes). Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to keep warm. Serve with applesauce and sour cream if desired.
Notes
- Potatoes: You can “pancake” any potato, but the starch content of Russet and Idaho potatoes make them among the best for crispy results. The high amount of starch yields a better texture. Those starches break down and get darker when cooked, so the fresher the potato, the better.
- Onion: This offers a bit more flavor and moisture.
- Flour and baking powder: In tandem with the egg, these pantry staples help bind the potato mixture together enough so that you can form patties or “cake” shapes.
- Vegetable oil: Choose any neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, peanut, vegetable, or grapeseed oil.
- Yield: This recipe makes 24 Potato Pancakes, enough for six, 4-pancake side dish or hearty appetizer servings.
- Storage: While Potato Pancakes are best enjoyed hot, as soon as possible after cooking, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Aim to eat the pancakes within 2 days.
- Make ahead: Reheat in a 350 degree oven until pancakes reach 165 degrees, or for about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Freezer: Place cooked pancakes in an even layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Transfer to a freezer-friendly bag and store up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
