Crispy on the outside, tender potato goodness on the inside- we’re talking Crispy Potato Pancakes! This simple, old fashioned recipe makes the perfect side dish for brunch and dinner, as well as a filling snack any ol’ time. Plus, I’m sharing all my tips for the crispiest, no fail potato cakes around!
If you love all things tater tots and hash browns, then this fried potato pancake recipe is for you! Made with grated potatoes and punctuated with sweet onion, these little potato patties are nicely seasoned, carefully fried to a crisp, golden brown and primed for dipping.
This recipe is similar to latkes or poletskies. But since I am neither Jewish nor Polish, just a southern girl who is 100% down with salty, fried potatoes (as I am sure you are), we respectfully call these potato pancakes and humbly enjoy every glorious bite.
What to Serve with Potato Pancakes
These pan-fried potato cakes are traditionally served with a sprinkle of chives and sour cream or apple sauce for dipping. This is great, especially of you’re serving them as a snack or appetizer. But here are a few more ways you can incorporate this recipe into your menu rotation.
For dinner, serve them with-
- Roasted Buttermilk Chicken and a Southern Garden Salad,
- Pecan Crusted Apple Cider Ham and Classic 7 Layer Pea Salad
- Fried Apples, Roasted Cabbage and Pork Chops.
For brunch, try them with-
- Ham and Swiss Quiche and Old Fashioned Fruit Salad
- Ham Sliders with Quick Pineapple Red Pepper Jelly and Green Chile Sausage Balls
As an appetizer/snack, dip them in-
- Louisiana Remoulade Sauce
- Campfire Fry Sauce
- Ranch Dressing
Recipe Ingredients & Overview
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- Russet potatoes (I can’t recommend frozen hash browns because I haven’t used them.)
- sweet onion
- all purpose flour
- eggs
- salt & pepper
- minced garlic
- cornstarch (helps with crispiness)
- baking powder (brings a little lightness to the pancakes)
- cooking oil (an oil with a high smoke point like canola or avocado oil)
Recipe Variations: Add thinly sliced green bell pepper for an extra punch of flavor, zucchini for extra veggies or apples for a little sweetness.
We also like to make this recipe with sweet potatoes. Sweet potato pancakes just might be our favorite!
How to Make Crispy Potato Pancakes
Peel the Potatoes. I only peel 2 of the 4. You don’t have to peel any at all if you don’t want to. Just wash them really well.
Grate the Potatoes & Onions. Use a box grater or food processor. I prefer the food processor because it makes really short work of this task. You should have 9-10 cups of grated potatoes. Add the potatoes and the onions to a large colander. Toss with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 15-20 minutes to draw out excess water.
Squeeze Out Excess Water. Place about ⅓ of the potato mixture in a cheese cloth or clean, thin kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible over the sink or another bowl. Repeat until all of the liquid has been removed from all of the potatoes.
Whisk Together the Binder. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, salt, pepper, garlic, cornstarch and baking powder. Add the potatoes and onions. Mix well.
Heat the Cooking Oil. Add cooking oil to your skillet, enough to fill the pan about ¼ inch. Heat over medium high heat. The oil is ready when you add a bit of potato and it sizzles.
Scoop & Smash. Using a ¼ measuring cup, scoop out the potato mixture and gently place the potatoes in the hot oil. Use a spatula to mash the potatoes out into about a 3 inch circle. (You should be able to add about 4 scoops to your skillet without overcrowding it.)
Flip. Cook until the edges begin to brown and gently flip to cook the other side (about 2 minutes on each side). Watch your heat. Turn it down if your pancakes brown too quickly or the oil begins to smoke.
Remove & Serve. Remove golden browned potato pancakes from the skillet and let them drain on a paper towel covered cooling rack. You can also place the cooling rack in a preheated oven to keep the pancakes warm. Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.
Tips for Making Crispy Potato Pancakes Every Time
- Moisture is enemy #1 to making crispy pancakes. So make sure you squeeze as much water as you can out of your grated potatoes. (Potatoes hold a surprising amount of water!) This will also keep your pancakes from falling apart as you fry them. (See video for more about this.)
- Make sure your oil is hot. When the cooking oil isn’t hot enough, the pancake will soak it up and be greasy instead of crispy. The oil should have a lively sizzle when you test it with a little piece of potato.
- Don’t pack the potatoes. When scooping up the potatoes in the ¼ measuring cup, don’t pack them in. Just fill the cup loosely. This will also keep your potato pancakes from being tough.
- The thinner the better. After placing the scoop of potatoes in the oil, flatten them out into about 3 inch disks using your spatula. They should only be about ½ inch thick or less in the center.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Too many pancakes in the cooking oil at once will drop the temperature of the oil, leaving you with greasy cakes (see tip 2). I usually cook 4 at a time in a 12 inch skillet.
More Useful Tips
- A slotted spatula or skimmer are the best tools for flipping and removing your pancakes from the oil.
- I do a “2 utensil flip.” With a spatula I slowly flip my pancake against a spoon, then use the spoon to guide the pancake down into the oil. It creates zero splash (see video).
- I also use a cast iron braiser pan in lieu of a traditional skillet. Its sides are higher, cutting down on splatter and keeping my stove top cleaner, but not so high it makes flipping difficult.
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
Store any leftover potato pancakes in a zip top bag in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Reheat them in the air fryer at 375° F for 5 minutes (I like this method best for crispiness) or in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.
More Delicious Potato Recipes To Love
Crispy Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 4 Russet potatoes
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- cooking oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200℉.
- Peel potatoes. (I only peel 2 of the 4. You don't have to peel any at all if you don't want to. Just wash really well.) Grate using a box grater or food processor. You should have 9-10 cups of grated potatoes. Add to a large colander. Toss with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 15-20 minutes to draw out excess water from the potatoes.
- As the potatoes are sitting, go ahead and cut the onion into quarters. Slice the quarters very thinly, add them to the potatoes and allow them to sit together as the salt draws out the water.
- At the end of the 15-20 minutes, place about ⅓ of the potato mixture in a cheese cloth or clean, thin kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible over the sink or another bowl. Repeat until all of the liquid has been removed from all of the potatoes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, rest of the salt, pepper, garlic, cornstarch and baking powder. Add the potatoes and onions. Mix well.
- For your draining station, place a cooling rack in a baking sheet. Cover the cooling rack with a paper towel and set aside.
- Add cooking oil to your skillet, enough to fill the pan about ½ inch. Heat over medium high heat. The oil is ready when you add a bit of potato and it sizzles.
- Using a ¼ measuring cup, scoop out the potato mixture and gently place the potatoes in the hot oil. Use a spatula to mash the potatoes out into about a 3 inch circle. (You should be able to add about 4 scoops to your skillet without overcrowding it.)
- Cook until the edges begin to brown and gently flip to cook the other side (about 2 minutes on each side). Watch your heat. Turn it down if your pancakes brown too quickly or the oil begins to smoke.
- Remove golden browned potato pancakes from the skillet and place them on your cooling rack to drain. Don't stack them. You can also place the cooling rack in the preheated oven to keep the pancakes warm.
- Serve warm with sour cream and chives or apple sauce.
Nutrition
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