Air Fryer Latkes Recipe

Name: Air Fryer Latkes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 3 to 4 russet potatoes; 1 medium yellow onion (peeled and quartered); 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons matzo meal (or unseasoned breadcrumbs); 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons olive oil; For serving: sour cream, apple sauce, chopped chives

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Total: 50 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Yield: 12 latkes

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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.

Air Fryer Sufganiyot (Jam-Filled Doughnuts) Recipe

“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

2 medium or 3 small russet potatoes
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons matzo meal, or plain breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, as needed
Sour cream, for serving, optional
Applesauce, for serving, optional
Thinly sliced chives, for serving, optional

Gather the ingredients.

Preheat the air fryer to 400 F.

The Spruce / Leah Maroney
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
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
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
Whisk together the eggs, matzo meal, salt, pepper, and reserved potato starch.

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Add the egg mixture to the potato and onion shreds. Mix together to combine.

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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.

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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.
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

Hash Brown Latkes

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
286	Calories
13g	Fat
36g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
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.