These crispy vegan potato latkes aka potato pancakes are easy to make and delicious. Serve with chunky homemade applesauce and/ or vegan sour cream. These are great for Hanukkah or for any meal of the day.
We are big potato lovers in my family. My kids can eat it in any shape or form without complaining. I have tried recipes from all over the world, like Ecuadorian Llapingachos or Chinese potato fries or Italian fried potatoes.
So what are latkes? They are basically Jewish style potato pancakes that are shallow fried and are eaten during Hanukkah festival. They can served with variety of condiments, like applesauce, sour cream etc.
Traditionally, eggs are used for binding the potatoes and form the pancakes. But this latke recipe is made with no eggs and is completely vegan.
These vegan potato pancakes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I have included tips of how to make the best, crispy latkes. I also made some chunky applesauce to serve with them – recipe included below.
Why I love this recipe?
- the best eggless latke recipe
- very easy to make with just a few pantry ingredients
- amazing texture – the crispy bits are to die for
- can be served as a side to any meal
- can be made ahead of time
Ingredients
These eggless potato pancakes need just a few ingredients:
Potato – I found most potato varieties work in this recipe – russet, Idaho, red etc. would all be perfect.
Other ingredients needed are:
- Onion
- All purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Parsley
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
Grate potato and onion using the large holes on the grater. Alternately you can use the food processor to shred the veggies — this will be helpful when working with a larger batch.
Place the grated veggies in a colander that is in turn placed on a plate or bowl to catch the excess liquid.
Use your hands to squeeze as much as liquid as you can from the grated potato & onions. Collect the drained liquid and let it stand for a few minutes so that the potato starch settles in the bottom.
Add the squeezed out potato & onions to a mixing bowl. Add the flour, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Also add the potato starch from the bottom of the bowl. Mix well.
Heat oil in a nonstick pan on medium flame. Scoop ¼cup of potato mixture into the skillet and spread it into a even flat disc. Cook until the bottom is golden. Press with spatula lightly to crisp up the edges. Flip gently and continue cooking until golden and crispy on the second side.
Remove the pancakes onto an inverted wire rack that is placed on a paper lined plate. Serve immediately.
Tips
- I have found most potato types work in this recipe – so try russet, Idaho, red and so on.
- Potatoes can be grated using the large holes of a box grater or use a food processor with shredder/ grater attachment.
- Make sure to squeeze all of the water from the grated potatoes.
- Do not touch the latkes while cooking to make sure that they crisp up evenly. Gently press on them with a spatula to ensure they cook up crispy.
- These vegan potato latkes can be made ahead of time. Completely cool cooked pancakes, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, bake them in the oven at 375°F for about 7~10 minutes or until heated through and crispy.
- Serve them with applesauce and/or sour cream.
- Use crisp sweet-tart apples like Fuji, Braeburn, Jonagold to make the applesauce.
More pancakes recipes from around the world
Here are some of sweet and savory pancakes from all over the world to try:
- Parsi style crepes (Chapat)
- Oats and sour cream pancakes
- Mofo gasy (Madagascar yeasted pancakes)
- Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Mung bean pancakes)
- Apam Balik (Malaysian Crispy Pancakes)
- Fluffy whole grain pancakes
- Basic sheet pan pancakes
Potato Latkes
Ingredients
For Potato Latkes:
- 4 Medium Potatoes, peeled
- 1 Medium Onion
- ¼ cup All purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 tablespoons Parsley, finely chopped
- To taste Salt & Pepper
- ¼ cup Oil
For Applesauce:
- 2 teaspoons Oil
- 2 Medium Apples*, peeled and chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch Ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
Instructions
To make Potato Latke:
- Grate potato and onion using the large holes on the grater. Alternately you can use the food processor to shred the veggies — this will be helpful when working with a larger batch.
- Place the grated veggies in a colander that is in turn placed on a plate or bowl to catch the excess liquid.
- Use your hands to squeeze as much as liquid as you can from the grated potato & onions. Collect the drained liquid and let it stand for a few minutes so that the potato starch settles in the bottom.
- Add the squeezed out potato & onions to a mixing bowl. Add the flour, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Also add the potato starch and mix well.
- Heat oil in a nonstick pan on medium flame. Scoop ¼cup of potato mixture into the skillet and spread it into a evenly flat pancake. Cook until the bottom is golden, about 2~3 minutes. Press with spatula lightly to crisp up the edges. Flip gently and continue cooking until golden and crispy on the second side, about 2 minutes
- Remove the pancakes onto an inverted wire rack that is placed on a paper lined plate. Serve immediately.
To make Applesauce:
- Heat oil in a saute pan on medium-high flame; add apples and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the ground cinnamon and cloves, mix well. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 15~20 minutes.
- Add 1~2 tablespoons water and break the apples lightly. Uncover and cook for 10 more minutes or until the applesauce thickens.
- Stir in sugar and cook for 2 more minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
- Finally add the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Cool completely and store in the fridge for later use.
Notes
- I have found most potato types work in this recipe – so try russet, Idaho, red and so on.
- Potatoes can be grated using the large holes of a box grater or use a food processor with shredder/ grater attachment.
- Make sure to squeeze all of the water from the grated potatoes.
- Do not touch the latkes while cooking to make sure that they crisp up evenly. Gently press on them with a spatula to ensure they cook up crispy.
- These vegan potato latkes can be made ahead of time. Completely cool cooked pancakes, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, bake them in the oven at 375°F for about 7~10 minutes or until heated through and crispy.
- Serve them with applesauce and/or sour cream.
- Use crisp sweet-tart apples like Fuji, Braeburn, Jonagold to make the applesauce.
Ramya Venkateswaran
This is my favorite and super apple sauce
Priya Suresh
Am in love with that chunky apple sauce, latkes are my all time favourite..
Manjula Bharath
Potato latekes looks very delicious and so perfectly made 🙂 Feel like grabing them from the screen !!
Briju Parthasarathy
Wow yummy pancakes. Snaps look stunning
Priya Srinivasan
love that sauce pavani! I have bookmarked these pancakes for ccc! they look absolutely yum!
Srivalli
I had done these for my ABC series, and yes those were eggless as well..:)..your pictures are so inviting..
Nisha Sundar
They look stunning Pavani. Crisp and intact, perfect pancakes. 🙂 Applesauce with a potato pancake is very interesting.
Veena Theagarajan
looks so interesting..very tasty Latkes
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
never seen eggless latkes before but yours look awesome
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
never seen eggless latkes before but yours look awesome
Harini-Jaya Rupanagudi
Love those crispy latkes and the apple sauce sounds wonderful as well.
Unknown
I’m not sure how to separate the squeezed out liquid from the potato starch that settles at the bottom of the bowl. How much will there be?
Pavani N
Hi Unknown, when the potato water is set aside for a few minutes a layer of potato starch forms at the bottom. It is not a lot, may be about 1~2tbsp. You can slowly drain all the water from the top leaving the sediment behind and use it in the latkes. Hope this helps.
Blu3yy
Good Morning!Wow just what I’ve been looking for this morning to spice up breakfast. I saw your marathon comment and wss wondering..do you run?Have a great day! Marna Marie’ Strauss
Jenna K
Wow! I’ve recently had to go eggless with my husband because he somehow developed an egg allergy at 30 years old. This recipe is amazing! We weren’t missing the egg at all. I really think that the starches helped hold the latke’s together. I didn’t only add the starches but the water too, and they were perfect for us!
Mayuri Patel
Very tempting. Every time I come across latkes on a blogger’s post, I make a mental note to try them out… still haven’t so this time pinning it so hopefully it will be made soon.
best pancake recipe
Will everyone get the same results should they follow the recipe instructions? I tried it and got amazing results. I do want to share too, that will be useful if you intend to cook pancakes. When do you want to publish the next article?