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Potato Latkes Recipe (Draniki)

Potato Latkes Recipe or Draniki as Russians call them are pancakes made of finely shredded potatoes, egg, and some flour. They are delicious served with some sour cream or applesauce.

Potato latkes on a blue decorative plate with a side of sour cream.

Names for Potato Latkes

The wonderful fried potato pancakes go by many names. In my home, we called them draniki, or kartoflyaniki, some people call them potato pancakes, and in the Jewish cuisine, they’re called potato latkes.

Different name, but all the same deliciousness.  All made with shredded potatoes and all equally wonderful.

Potato Latkes taste just like pan-fried potatoes, but crispy in every single bite. Add sour cream to that, and you’ve just transferred yourself to potato heaven. It really doesn’t get any better than this. To me, they’re the ultimate comfort food. It’s what my grandma used to make for breakfast and that was just one of the many reasons, why I loved my grandma. She was awesome like that.
Top view of potato latkes on a blue decorative plate with a side of sour cream.

How to make the perfect Potato Latkes

When frying the potato latkes, make sure to spread the batter relatively thin, as that makes the pancakes crispy and which is the best part about these!

I always fry and serve them at the same time. Meaning, my daughter and husband are right there ready to get them super crispy, right from the skillet.

Having two skillets going at the same time makes this process faster. As the potato pancakes sit, they become softer, that is why having a conveyor belt of frying and eating right away works out the best, ha!

I make Potato Latkes extremely rare, but when I do, I make sure to make a lot and invite some family over to enjoy them together. I mean, with the amount of calories this thing has, might as well feel guilty as a group, ha!

Potato latkes with a side of sour cream on a blue decorative plate on a red napkin.

Hope you make them and treat your family to my favorite recipe of these Jewish Potato pancakes or draniki!
Enjoy!

Try these other Breakfast recipes:

Potato Latkes (Draniki)

5 from 3 votes

Potato Latkes or Draniki are made by mixing shredded potatoes with egg and flour, then frying on both sides until crispy. Serve them with sour cream or applesauce - your choice! Make sure to double the recipe if you're making them for a family, that is if you want to get a taste yourself 😉 

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Course: Appetizer, dinner, Snack
Cuisine: Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: mashed potato pancakes, potato pancakes
Calories: 62 kcal
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

Ingredients for Potato Latkes (Draniki)

Instructions

How to make Potato Latkes (Draniki)

  1. Combine 4-5 potatoes, 1 onion, 1 egg, 1 garlic clove, 2-3 Tbsp flour, 1½ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp pepper in a food processor and grind until it resembles batter with no large chunks, about 4 minutes.

    Alternatively, grate the potatoes and onion on the star grater until a fine puree form. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together. 

  2. Heat couple tablespoons of oil in a skillet, add a large spoonful of ‘potato pancake batter’. Brown on each side (about 3-4 minutes per side) covered with a lid.

  3. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve right away, with sour cream or applesauce.

  4. Finish the rest of the batter, in the above-described manner.
    You should get about 16-20 potato latkes.

Nutrition Facts
Potato Latkes (Draniki)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 62 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Sodium 222mg10%
Potassium 185mg5%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin C 5.4mg7%
Calcium 14mg1%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

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  • Danuta

    Do i grate The potatoes on grater or in Food procesor ? This looks amazing thank you

    · Reply
    • Hi Danuta,
      You can grate the potatoes on a grater or in the food processor.
      There are many variations of this recipe and you can grate them non either the finest holes (they look like teeth) or on the big holes of the grater. I prefer the tiniest ones that produce an almost pureed potatoes, it is also what I used when I made the ones on the pictures above.

      · Reply
  • Jessica

    Hello, can you give an estimate for how many this makes? It says 4 servings, about how many per serving?

    · Reply
  • Enno Kasischke

    We know and make this for 70 years as Kartoffelpuffer. It has different names all over Europe!

    · Reply
  • Patrick Moore

    I saw Draniki being served on a YouTube video and decided to investigate.

    I’ve made potato pancakes before, but not with garlic, and not processing using fresh ingredients.

    This is a great recipe, and I am making my 4th batch, and will serve with the Solyanka Soup, which it complements greatly.

    Thank You

    · Reply
    • 4th batch, wow! Makes me happy that you’re enjoying this recipe! Thanks for sharing your feedback and the star rating.

      · Reply
  • DX

    Hello! Am I missing something? You mention egg throughout the article but the recipe doesn’t include any.

    · Reply
    • Thanks for the heads up!

      There’s one egg in this recipe and it is added in with the potatoes before blending.

      · Reply
      • DX

        Thank you! I’m surprised that no one else who made the recipe noted the absence of egg.

        · Reply
        • 000

          It’s Belarusian, you ding dong

          · Reply
          • Patrick Moore

            Seriously? – Russian….. Belarusian……. Potayto….. Potahto…… many Slavic countries make this and call it their own……. 😉

  • cindy

    How do you keep the potatoes from turning grey towards the end. I make a triple batch and by the time I get to the last few to cook they are grey. Thank you

    · Reply
    • I usually make only one batch and so this is not too bad, but I heard a squeeze of lemon juice can help.

      · Reply
  • Stacy

    Thank you for this recipe. I just cooked these tonight. I followed the recipe just as you dictated and I was very happy. I have always loved potato pancakes, but outside of IHOP I have lost track of places to order them. On top of which, every recipe I ever saw indicated grating the potatoes on a box grater and then straining. I was discouraged by these steps and so I was really pleased to see your version. Thanks again.

    · Reply
  • Isabelle

    Do you have to cook the potatoes before you put them in the blender?

    · Reply
    • Nope, you put them raw. Just quarter them and put in the blender, then process until they’re puree-like. They cook when you fry them on the frying pan.

      · Reply
  • Hideko

    Dale Dec 14, 2012 – Been frying our latka’s ouisdte for years. Got a GIANT frying pan to fit on our deep fryer burner. Can do about 18 at a time and no stink in the house!

    · Reply
    • That’s an awesome idea! Now I just need to find a house with a back yard first))
      Thanks for your comment!

      · Reply

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