How to make potato latkes

Potato pancakes, also known as latkes, are a Hanukkah staple, but ever wonder how to make the best pancakes even better? Learn the secret to irresistible potato pancakes!

What you’ll need

Most potato pancake recipes require the same ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Vegetable oil or olive oil for frying
• Eggs
• Salt and pepper
• Flour
• Onions (optional)

Once you find the recipe that suits you and your family the best, use these five tips to create the best potato pancakes for your Hanukkah celebration.

Step 1: Do not overuse

The No. 1 mistake preparing latkes is overdoing some of the ingredients. Flour, eggs and onions are the top offenders. Make sure to measure just enough egg and flour to bind the pancake batter (usually two tablespoons of flour and one egg), but not so much that they are too doughy.

Step 2: The power of oil

Hanukkah is, after all, the festival of lights, which involves loads of oil, so don’t be shy when cooking your potato pancakes. Use generous amounts of oil to avoid burning your pancakes. Vegetable oil and olive oil are commonly used, but many latke experts like peanut oil, which will not burn while you cook.

Step 3: Work fast

Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to go before you begin to shred the potatoes. You can keep peeled potatoes in water while you prepare the other ingredients, but once you begin to shred the potatoes, everything else must be done quickly to prevent potatoes from turning brown. To shred quickly, use a food processor with a grating blade.

Step 4: Squeeze

Once the potatoes are shredded and ready for cooking, remember to squeeze all the water out of them. Cooking the potatoes with the starchy water still in the potatoes will make for soggy pancakes, and nobody wants that!

Step 5: Serve immediately

To keep your pancakes perfectly crispy, serve them right after they are done. You can warm them in the oven, but you risk losing the crisp texture that makes potato pancakes so irresistible.

More Hanukkah ideas

A hip and modern Hanukkah menu
How to host the ultimate Hanukkah party
Hanukkah activities for kids