I made vegan latkes for the first time because Hanukkah is coming up! I’m sure many of you celebrate Hanukkah and have been wondering if hot for food would ever deliver?! Well, this is it!
My memory of eating latkes was when I was in grade 2. I had a best friend who was Jewish and her mom would make them for us all the time. I remember thinking they were pretty magical! That's probably the last time I ever ate them, come to think of it?
It's time we introduce y'all to vegan latkes! Typically latkes have egg as the binder and would be served with dairy-full sour cream. We'll use flax and matzo meal for the binder in the vegan latkes and I've made a cashew-based cream sauce flavored with lots of lemon and dill. It's so tangy and delicious! Try serving the lemon dill sour cream with other stuff, like these smashed potatoes, mashed potato waffles, or two-way baked potatoes!
a little latke history
Latkes, derived from the Ukrainian word "oladka," meaning a small fried pancake, have a rich history dating back centuries. Their origin story is intertwined with various cultures, but it's the Ashkenazi Jews who have popularized these crisp wonders during Hanukkah.
The tradition of eating fried foods during Hanukkah has its roots in the miracle of the oil in the ancient Temple of Jerusalem. According to the story, there was only enough oil to light the menorah for one day, but miraculously, it lasted for eight days. To commemorate this miracle, Jews around the world indulge in foods cooked in oil, and the latke has become a symbol of this tradition.
what you need
For the latkes:
- russet potatoes
- white onion
- sauerkraut
- ground flax meal
- water
- matzo meal
- fresh dill
- sea salt & ground pepper
- garlic powder
- vegetable oil
For the lemon dill sour cream:
- raw cashews
- lemon zest & juice
- nondairy milk
- apple cider vinegar
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- sea salt
- white pepper
- fresh dill
- garlic cloves
- green onions
how to make vegan latkes
The trick to perfect vegan latkes is getting the potatoes extremely dry because you need the final latkes to be super light and crispy! I’ll walk you through all the steps below and then you can dive into your own big stack of vegan latkes.
You can make the lemon dill sour cream in advance and keep it refrigerated until serving the latkes.
Shred the potato on the grating disc of a food processor. You can also do this on a box grater.
It's important to squeeze out all the excess water from the shredded potatoes and sauerkraut. Do this with a nut milk bag or clean dish towel over a mixing bowl.
To get the shredded potato and sauerkraut even drier place it in a salad spinner and pull it apart with your hands.
Add seasonings, thickened flax egg, and matzo meal to the mixture.
It's easiest to combine it really well using your hands.
Portion out ¼ cup amounts of mixture and place in a pan of shallow hot oil. Fry latkes for 4 to 5 minutes each side until golden.
equipment you need
- food processor with a small grating disc OR box grater
- salad spinner
- clean dish towel, nut milk bag, or cheese cloth
- mixing bowls
- liquid measuring cup
- dry measuring cups and spoons
- cast iron pan, for frying
- slotted spoon
- sharp knife
- cutting board
- wire rack or large platter lined with paper towel
- high-powered blender
- spatula
This Hanukkah, embrace the rich history of latkes while adding a modern twist with these scrumptious vegan latkes. Wishing you a Festival of Lights filled with love, laughter, and the irresistible aroma of sizzling latkes. Happy Hanukkah!
vegan latkes with sauerkraut
Ingredients
lemon dill sour cream
- 1 ½ C raw cashews oaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest from about 2 lemons
- ½ C lemon juice from about 2 lemons
- ½ C nondairy milk (or water)
- ¼ C apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 C fresh dill
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 green onions ends trimmed and roughly chopped
potato & sauerkraut latkes
- 1 ¼ lbs russet potatoes peeled
- ½ a large white onion
- 1 C sauerkraut drained and tightly packed
- 1 tablespoon ground flax
- 3 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon matzo meal regular or gluten-free (can sub panko breadcrumbs)
- ¼ C fresh dill finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ C vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- To make the lemon dill sour cream, drain and rinse the raw cashews from the soaking water. Place in a high powered blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until very smooth.
- Refrigerate the sour cream until ready to serve with the latkes. If you have leftover sour cream, it makes a great green goddess salad dressing if you thin it out with a bit of water!
- The best way to shred the potatoes and onion for the latkes is with the small grating disc in a food processor. If you don’t have that, you can hand grate using a box grater.
- Combine the flax mixture with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken while you finish preparing the potatoes and onions.
- Once the potatoes and onion are shredded, do the following in 2 batches. Using a clean dish towel, nut milk bag, or cheese cloth squeeze the moisture from the potato shreds, onion shreds, and sauerkraut. Ideally, you will use a second clean dish towel to squeeze even more moisture out. The more moisture you remove, the crispier the latkes.
- Set potato mixture aside in a large salad spinner or a mixing bowl. If using a salad spinner, spin the potato, onion and sauerkraut mixture to remove even more residual moisture. Either continue to mix up the latkes with remaining ingredients in the bowl of the salad spinner or a clean mixing bowl. Add the thickened flax mixture, matzo meal, dill, sea salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Use your hands to combine well and evenly.
- In a cast iron pan, on medium-heat, pour the vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Start forming the first batch of latkes by using a ¼ measuring cup to scoop out some of the potato mixture. Pour it into your palm and slightly flatten it using your fingers from the opposite hand. Once the oil is hot, use a spatula to slide the latke into the hot oil away from you to minimize splashing.
- The latkes should be about 3-inches wide. Cook about 3 to 4 latkes at a time, uncrowded. Do not touch the latkes or flatten with a spatula. Let them fry untouched for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown on the edges. Then flip and fry for another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan onto a plate lined with paper towel. Continue frying in batches.
- You may need to add a bit more vegetable oil to the pan for the last 1 to 2 batches of latkes to achieve even browning.
- Serve immediately with dollops of the lemon dill sour cream and extra dill fronds, as garnish.
Angi
This was my first recipe I tried from this site. It was super! The cream alone is worth it, but the whole thing goes together wonderfully. I halfed the recipe and regret it.... because I will surely be making another this week. Thank you!
Lauren Toyota
so glad to hear! Thanks for following along 😀
Lisa
I made this a few weeks ago and it was so great, so I came back to make it again...and the recipe is gone. Where did it go?!?!
Oliva Brown
Hi Lisa! Sorry about that, and thanks for the comment. The recipe is back up. Enjoy the latkes!
laura
Anyone have any idea if i can premake these and freeze them or something and then recrisp them in the oven or something before serving?