Easy eggless latkes

Easy eggless latkes

eggless latkes fried

Welcome to Lazy Cat Kitchen Latkesfest 2.0 😉 . They are much, much simpler than my original version and they taste better too! If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is! They taste so good in fact, that on the day of the photoshoot, I ate so many that I had to skip supper! This never happens and I am not proud (and running with close to a dozen latkes bouncing around in your stomach is tough….rookie error, Ania!!), but they are SOOOOO GOOD – I could and would not stop!!

Even though I don’t really cook traditional Polish dishes, these eggless latkes took me back home instantly and I realised that I missed having them lots. We used to have them fairly regularly at home when I was growing up. Even though my mum shares my dislike for frying things and using too much oil, she would make an exception in this case. They are my Dad’s absolute favourite food. I often joke that he is about 75% latkes and the rest is probably red wine 😉 . He likes them so much that when Mum lost her love of cooking when me and my brother left home, he found a restaurant that makes them to his liking and takes mum there to get his monthly latkes hit.

Latkes, which Polish cuisine owes to its Jewish population, are very divisive. Everyone has their unshaken preferences when it comes to these golden potato cakes. Some like them grated finely, with only a little crispy edge and some like them thick and ‘meaty’ in the middle, more like pancakes. Others like them grated coarsely, crispy all over. Some people eat them with a dollop of sour cream (I’m defo in this camp) while others prefer them with all kinds of sauces – a meaty gravy called ‘hunter’s sauce’ and a mushroom gravy are both popular. I also know that some people like to have them with applesauce, but that’s not so popular in Poland, as far as I know.

These super easy eggless latkes are just the way I like them, I hope you don’t mind?! I combined coarsely and finely grated potatoes for a textural contrast of generous crispy edges (which many people refer to as ‘koronka’ meaning ‘lace’ in Polish) and some ‘toothiness’ in the middle. They are best fresh off the pan but they can also be reheated in a warm oven if you have any leftovers – I very much doubt that 😛 . I serve mine with a thick cashew cream generously seasoned with lemon juice and a pinch of salt for a dairy-free sour cream alternative. It’s quick to whip up and especially after it has been refrigerated, it brings this lovely creamy and cooling quality to the hot and crispy latkes.

So…If you love latkes and are looking for an uncomplicated vegan recipe, I hope these will hit the spot. And if you have never had latkes, what are you waiting for? Get frying!! You’ve got nothing to lose and I can guarantee that they will steal your tastebuds. I mean POTATOES. FRIED. GOLDEN. What’s not to love?!

eggless latkes potato prep

eggless latkes fried stack

eggless latkes plate

makes
16
PREP
30 min
COOKING
45 min
makes
16
PREPARATION
30 min
COOKING
45 min
INGREDIENTS
SOUR CASHEW CREAM

  • juice of 1 lemon, adjust to taste
  • 1 cup raw cashew nuts, soaked in boiling water for 30 min
  • salt, to taste

LATKES

  • 1 kg / 2 lb starchy potatoes (I used Maris Piper)
  • 1 small onion, very finely grated or diced
  • 1 tsp fine salt, more to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp flour (I used Dove’s Farm free from to keep the latkes GF, but rice flour or all purpose wheat flour works well too)
  • oil, suitable for frying (I used rice bran oil)

METHOD
SOUR CASHEW CREAM

  1. Pour 60 ml / ¼ cup of water and the juice of half a lemon into the blender. Add the drained and rinsed cashews and blend.
  2. Taste the mixture. If you want more tanginess, add more lemon juice, otherwise add more water to get the mixture smooth, but still thick (I added 120 ml / ½ cup liquid in total). Season with salt and set aside in the fridge (overnight if you can, but it is not necessary!)

LATKES

  1. Grate half of your potatoes coarsely and half very finely. Place the grated potatoes in a large bowl filled with water. This prevents discoloration and it also allows you to separate the potato starch from the potatoes easily.
  2. Once you are done grating, remove the potatoes from the water with a slotted spoon and place them on a fine sieve. Using the back of a spoon, keep on pressing the potato mixture into the sieve gently to allow excess water to drain away. Additionally, you may want to wrap the drained potatoes in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much water out of them as you can. You can also use your hands and squeeze little handfuls of them instead – it’s more time consuming but easier on the cleaning. This step is very important as the drier the potatoes, the crispier your latkes will be.
  3. Gently tip the bowl that the grated potatoes were sitting in and drain away the water to reveal a pool of potato starch set at the bottom of the bowl. Don’t throw that away, we will add it to the latkes mixture to maximise crispiness.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the dry grated potatoes, grated onion, salt and pepper. Then add the flour and the dry potato starch that has gathered at the bottom of the bowl, making sure you don’t add any water back in. Mix it up really well.
  5. Heat up a wok or a frying pan on the stove. Pour enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat up the oil. Once the oil is hot, scoop a tablespoon worth of the latkes mixture and press it between two tablespoons to make the mixture nice and compact. Lie the mixture on the hot oil (you should hear a loud sizzle as soon as the mixture hits the pan) and flatten the latke a little. Depending on the size of your pan and the size of your latkes, fry 3-4 latkes at a time.
  6. Fry on one side for about 3-4 minutes. Do not flip the latkes over until they are browned all over on one side – you’ll notice the edges will turn brown, that’s the time to flip. Flip them to the other side using a flat spatula. Fry until the other side turns golden brown too (about 3-4 minutes). Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak away any excess oil.
  7. Put the ready latkes in a warm (100º C / 210º F) oven while you fry subsequent batches.
  8. Serve warm, topped with chilled cashew sour cream.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
109
5%
sugars
2 g
2%
fats
5 g
7%
saturates
1 g
5%
proteins
3 g
5%
carbs
15 g
6%
*per latke
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5.0
11 reviews, 26 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Arielle:
I’ve made these for the last 3 years for my daughter’s school because of egg allergies. I get SO many compliments every year and people tell me they look forward to them. Really appreciate how easy the recipe is and how delicious they come out. Everyone is always shocked there’s no egg!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw thanks Arielle, I am so happy to hear that this recipe has served you so well and that your daughter is able to enjoy them despite the allergy. That is really lovely to hear! Thank you for taking the time to write this review – I really appreciate it. Ania
Joanna:
This is an awesome recipe and is just like Mi mom’s placki.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw thanks so much, Joanna. I am so happy to hear that :) x Ania
Rachel K.:
These were the most delicious latkes I have made or eaten in my recent memory! Their flavor is fantastic. For the sour cream I subbed sunflower seeds for the cashews to make it more cost-effective. All my guests loved the latkes and the sour cream was such a hit that people were eating it on its own.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you so much, Rachel! I am so pleased to hear that these latkes were such a hit with you and your guests - that makes me so happy. And thanks for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it. x Ania
Elena:
Eggless latkes YUM
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks Elena :) x Ania
Charlotte:
Can they be frozen and reheated in the oven?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Charlotte,
    I have not tried but I've had them reheated from baked and they get dry. You could freeze the unbaked mixture formed into latkes, but I would not recommend freezing baked latkes for later. Hope this helps! Ania
Best latkes ever and really easy to make. Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you so much, I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed them and thanks for taking the time to leave this review - much appreciated! x Ania
Rony:
Omg yay! It is now Hanukkah and latkes are a holiday staple, but always with eggs in the batter. I’m having people over today for lighting holiday candles together and I’ve been looking all over for vegan latkes, so glad I found your recipe cause I trust your recipes more than any other blogger’s!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Rony, I hope you and your friends will enjoy them. They are totally fine to make without eggs. x Ania
      Rony:
      They turned out delicious! So glad I didn’t get lazy and followed your instructions to drain and squeeze out all the excess liquids. They turned out so crispy, and the dip was fantastic too! Thanks!
        Ania
        Ania:
        Thank you, Rony! I'm so happy to hear that and I really appreciate you taking the time to review. x Ania
Leonie:
These recipes sound good!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you! Hope you'll enjoy them! Ania
Devorah Moldovsky:
You don't say how much flour to use.. Thanks.
    Ania
    Ania:
    It's in the ingredients column, approximately 3 tbsp. Hope this helps! Ania
Joshua Samuel Brown:
Our Hot-air deep fryer came today, and this was the first recipe I tried in it. Mixed about a teaspoon of Brazilian nut oil into the batter, but otherwise similar ingredients. 400 degrees for 20 minutes, turned 'em halfway and ... voila, perfect. Zero grease. No wasted paper towels. Arteries as happy as taste buds. JSB
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great stuff, Joshua! I am very pleased to hear that you enjoyed them and thank you for letting me and my readers know that they work well in an air-fryer. I am sure that someone will find this information useful. Ania
Mahda:
Czy jest szansa, żeby pisała Pani bloga również po polsku (np na sole tłumaczenie). ZnajdujePani stare przepisy wlasnie po polsku. Ja sobie jakoś radzie z tłumaczeniem, ale sporo pomagał koleżankom zmieniać nawyki żywieniowe. Polki tez potrzebują wsparcia weganskich dobrych przepisów 😉😍❤
    Ania
    Ania:
    Dzięki, bardzo mi miło, że moje przepisy się przydają! Tak, kiedyś prowadziłam ten blog w dwóch językach ale chyba dlatego od lat nie mieszkam w Polsce (i na przykład nie wiem jakie produkty są w Polsce łatwo/trudno dostępne), polska wersja była od zawsze dużo mniej popularna niż angielska a że takie tłumaczenie zabiera sporo dodatkowego czasu to zdecydowałam, że skupię się jedynie na angielskiej wersji bloga. Wklejenie przepisu w GoogleTranslate powinno dać w miarę zrozumiały rezultat a poza tym w Polsce też jest sporo wegańskich blogów z tego co słyszę od znajomych. Pozwodzenia! Ania
Kariina:
Tried them out, and they are superb! Will definitely make some more. Thank you for the recipe!
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you!
Agata:
Super przepis, nie próbowałam jeszcze weganizować placków ziemniaczanych, chociaż zawsze były jednym z moich ulubionch dań :'D Jako dziecko uwielbiałam je jeść posypane cukrem hahaha
    Ania
    Ania:
    A to ciekawe, nigdy nie spotkałam się wcześniej z taką preferencją wśród moich rodaków. Ciągle się uczę! x Ania
Sarah:
Hello Ania
I love your gluten-free recipes and like you, I also LOVE latkes. To get the grated raw potatoes really dry, have you tried pressing them through a potato ricer?
It is my go-to solution. I am going to try putting the potato in water to prevent discolouring. Thanks for that hint.
Sarah
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure, Sarah and thanks for your kind words! Good idea about the ricer, I bet it gets them bone dry! Ania
Helle:
Could one also bake them in the oven without any or veery little oil? We are trying to eat next to no oil.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Helle,
    I've tried baking my latkes for my earlier recipe (link here) and they are not bad at all although fried are obviously nicer. You can use this method for these, much simpler, vegan latkes. Hope that helps! Ania
Steffi:
Ok, I'll remedy that for you then... I like mine with a sprinkling of sugar and LOTS of applesauce, 'cause that's how I grew up eating them (of course, they weren't latkes, but their German cousins, Kartoffelpuffer). That is how you will typically find them at fests, too, although recently, they've started to be available with sour cream, too (if I remember correctly). Considering that applesauce was the only thing they did NOT offer at the Chicago Christmas Market, I'd say that was a serious faux-pas!
    Ania
    Ania:
    hahahah, so fascinating how similar foods are eaten/served so differently all over the world - what a perfect metaphor for we are all essentially the same, but beautifully different from each other at the same time! I shall definitely try the applesauce on them next! xoxo
ELAINE:
Hi Ania
Sour cream sounds delicious but I must say I grew up eating latkes with cinnamon and sugar and loved it.
Sometimes we had them with applesauce.
Try it, you may be pleasantly surprised Xx
matahari:
I was so afraid that you will write: I like my latkes with sugar... :) this is something I will never understand :D I am definitely in the sourcream team! and I had my latkes two days ago, yummy for wintertime
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hahahah, no, I must say I have never even heard of anyone who does...x
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