Air Fryer Hanukkah Latkes
They're just as crispy and delicious as traditional fried latkes.
Makesabout 20 latkes
Prep10 minutes
Cook16 minutes
If you’ve never had a latke, it’s about time we change that. Traditionally served during Hannukah, these crispy fritters — often made with grated potatoes, onion, eggs, and matzo meal — are cooked in an air fryer and are sort of impossible not to love.
Traditionally latkes are fried in oil (or chicken schmaltz!), but I wanted to see if I could make them using the wildly popular air fryer. And guess what? It was a smashing success. Since the air fryer is a high-heat convection oven, the high-fan speed and concentrated heat yields a crispy potato pancake that’s also soft in the center. Here’s how to make them.
Why You’ll Love It
- They’re perfectly crispy. For perfect air fryer latkes, you do still need some oil, which allows the latkes to crisp and “fry” correctly. You can either lightly coat the raw potato pancakes with cooking spray, or lightly brush them with vegetable or canola oil before frying in your air fryer oven.
- Serve them with your favorite toppings. You’ll want to top them with a variety of fun and classic toppings, like applesauce, sour cream, smoked salmon, or even pimento cheese!
Key Ingredients in Air Fryer Latkes
- Russet potatoes: Russet potatoes are best for latkes because they’re high in starch, which helps crisp them up.
- Yellow onion: Yellow onion is grated with the potatoes so that they’re thoroughly combined.
- Eggs: The eggs helps to bind the ingredients together.
- Matzo meal: Matzo meal absorbs moisture.
How to Make Air Fryer Latkes
- Grate the potatoes and onion. Grate the potatoes and onion on the large holes of a box grater. Place together on a clean kitchen towel, pull up the sides of the towel to form a bundle, and squeeze out excess moisture.
- Combine the ingredients. Transfer the potato mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, matzo meal, kosher salt, and black pepper, and stir to combine.
- Air fry. Preheat an Instant Vortex Plus 7-in-1 Air Fryer Oven to 375ºF and set to 16 minutes. Coat the air fryer racks with cooking spray. Drop the latke mixture in 2-tablespoon dollops into the air fryer, flattening the tops to make a patty. Spray the tops of the latkes with cooking spray. Air fry, rotating the trays halfway through, for 8 minutes total. Repeat with the remaining latke mixture.
- Serve the latkes. Serve with sour cream and applesauce.
Storage Tips
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days.
More Latke Recipes to Try
Air Fryer Latkes Recipe
They're just as crispy and delicious as traditional fried latkes.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 16 minutes
Makes about 20 latkes
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds
russet potatoes (2 to 3 potatoes), peeled
- 1/2
medium yellow onion
- 2
large eggs
- 1/4 cup
matzo meal
- 2 teaspoons
kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
Sour cream and applesauce, for serving
Instructions
Grate 1 1/2 pounds peeled russet potatoes and 1/2 yellow onion on the large holes of a box grater. Place together on a clean kitchen towel, pull up the sides of the towel to form a bundle, and squeeze out excess moisture.
Transfer the potato mixture to a large bowl. Add 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup matzo meal, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and stir to combine.
Preheat an Instant Vortex Plus 7-in-1 Air Fryer Oven to 375ºF and set to 16 minutes. Coat the air fryer racks with cooking spray. Drop the latke mixture in 2-tablespoon dollops into the air fryer, flattening the tops to make a patty. Spray the tops of the latkes with cooking spray. Air fry, rotating the trays halfway through, for 8 minutes total. Repeat with the remaining latke mixture. Serve with sour cream and applesauce.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Note: This recipe was tested in the Instant Vortex Plus 7-in-1 Air Fryer Oven. It will work with any air fryer, but timing may differ slightly.