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The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney
No Hanukkah celebration is complete without crispy golden latkes, but frying up a big batch can be messy and very time consuming. Enter the air fryer, which gives you perfectly cooked potato pancakes with a lot less oil. Of course, there is some oil involved—as there should be for the tradition and flavor of this recipe—but it's significantly reduced. This means fewer calories and grams of fat so you can enjoy more latkes without the added guilt.
The latkes are prepared in the traditional way by grating the potatoes and onions, squeezing out the liquid, and preparing the binding ingredients. Then the cooking is simply done in the air fryer. The basket of the air fryer and the top of each latke is brushed with olive oil for flavor and extra crunch.
Serve these crispy latkes with sour cream and applesauce and a few chopped chives for a little color and zing. You can enjoy potato latkes year-round as a side for your favorite roast or as part of a vegetarian meal.
“If you’re really that averse to frying but still need the delicious crisp taste of a latke, then this will serve you well. I really enjoy something like smoked salmon on my latkes the most so if you’re feeling ritzy try it.” —Noah Velush-Rogers
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Ingredients
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2 medium or 3 small russet potatoes
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1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
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2 large eggs
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2 tablespoons matzo meal, or plain breadcrumbs
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1 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
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1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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Olive oil, as needed
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Sour cream, for serving, optional
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Applesauce, for serving, optional
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Thinly sliced chives, for serving, optional
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
Preheat the air fryer to 400 F.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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Scrub the potatoes and grate them on the large holes of a box grater. You can also use the grating blade in your food processor.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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If you prefer, you can chop the shreds into smaller pieces. This will help make the latkes into more compact rounds.
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Grate or chop the onion. Combine the potatoes and onion in a colander. Rinse the shredded mixture with cold water.
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Place the mixture onto a few layers of cheesecloth and squeeze the liquid out over a medium bowl. Twist and squeeze as hard as you can until almost all of the liquid has been removed. Put the potato and onion shreds into a large separate bowl.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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Let the liquid settle. Pour off and discard most of the liquid, leaving behind the thick potato starch gathered at the bottom of the bowl.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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Whisk together the eggs, matzo meal, salt, pepper, and reserved potato starch.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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Add the egg mixture to the potato and onion shreds. Mix together to combine.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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Generously grease the bottom of your air fryer with some of the olive oil. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 200 F. Set a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
Dollop 1/4-cup portions of the latke mixture onto the greased air fryer basket. Make them as thick or as thin as you would like. Sprinkle them with more salt. Brush the top of each latke with more olive oil.
The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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Cook in the air fryer for 8 minutes.
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Flip and cook until golden brown and crisp, an additional 5 minutes.
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Transfer to the rack and keep warm in the oven while you make the remaining batches. Re-grease the air fryer with olive oil and cook in batches until all of the latke batter is cooked.
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Serve hot with applesauce, sour cream, and chopped chives, if desired, and enjoy.
Creative Latke Toppings
Although sour cream and applesauce are traditional toppings, these crispy potato pancakes are the ideal base for a wide range of ingredients.
- Smoked salmon and crème fraîche
- Guacamole
- Pomegranate seeds and Greek yogurt
- Caramelized onion and sour cream
- Thinly sliced apple and honey
- Poached egg
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
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286 | Calories |
13g | Fat |
36g | Carbs |
7g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 4 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 286 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 13g | 16% |
Saturated Fat 2g | 11% |
Cholesterol 93mg | 31% |
Sodium 366mg | 16% |
Total Carbohydrate 36g | 13% |
Dietary Fiber 3g | 12% |
Total Sugars 3g | |
Protein 7g | |
Vitamin C 13mg | 66% |
Calcium 42mg | 3% |
Iron 2mg | 12% |
Potassium 784mg | 17% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
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