Vegan Potato Pancakes

Here you will find classic recipes from German cuisine. Have you ever tried vegan potato pancakes? If not, then you should definitely try this recipe. These vegan potato pancakes are easy to prepare and taste incredibly good.

What is a vegan potato pancake?

The vegan potato pancake is also called potato pancake and it is a popular German pan dish. Originally it consists of grated potatoes and other ingredients such as eggs and onions. Potato pancakes are widespread in many Eastern European countries.

A potato pancake is a flatbread made from raw potatoes and fried on both sides in hot fat.

Anyone who is now hesitant and says: “But wait a minute, that means…”, let me tell you: That is also correct.

The German specialty has as many names as regions: In the north-east it is usually called potato cake, in Bavaria it is called Reiberdatschis or Täschlis. In central Germany people order buffers or potato pancakes and in the Rhineland they bake potato pancakes.

To be more precise, it has so many different names that the fritters (and the potato pancakes and the backes and, and, and…) made it into Heinz Küpper’s Illustrated Lexicon of German Colloquial Language (1984).

There you will also find other regional treasures such as Krumberkiechelcher (Saarland) or Klitscher (Ore Mountains).

Incidentally, the name “buffer” describes the rising of the dough during baking, the “puffing”.

Where do vegan potato pancakes come from?

Vegan potato pancakes come from German-speaking cuisine, i.e. from Germany, Austria and Bohemia – so it’s no wonder that we all have grandma’s potato pancakes first in our heads.

However, they have made their way into other European countries and their kitchens. Eastern European cuisine in particular has adopted the puffers and refers to them as “latkes”. In America they are a common breakfast as “hash browns”.

With its Röstis, Switzerland has its own variant that even does without egg and flour and is therefore practically the forerunner of vegan potato pancakes.

In Spain and Portugal, not only the recipe but also the name has found its way: There, too, the flat cakes are called “grater cakes”.

The basic recipe for potato pancakes and variants

Potato Pancakes come from the “Quick & Easy” kitchen category.

The basic recipe for potato pancakes is:

• 1g peeled potatoes (mainly waxy)
• 2-3 eggs
• Oil or butter for frying
• 1 pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons flour

Depending on your taste, you can add an onion, some nutmeg or some pepper.

The work steps are quick and easy:

1. Wash and grate potatoes.

The finer the grater, the more watery the resulting dough will be – and the more watery the dough, the less crispy the potato pancakes. Under certain circumstances, you should therefore work over a sieve to let the potato grates drain. But the following also applies: the more water the potatoes retain, the stronger the taste of the potato pancakes.

1. Add eggs, salt and flour.

The flour binds the watery potatoes and can therefore be left out if the friction is very coarse. 1 tablespoon of baking powder makes the dough more airy and is particularly suitable for fine grating.

1. Heat oil or butter in a pan and pour in the batter using a large spoon.

Immediately flatten the flatbreads and fry the resulting pancakes over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes until crispy, turning once after 3 minutes.

The motto is: a lot helps a lot. Around 300 ml of oil should be used. The potato pancake patties should be able to swim in the oil or butter.

What variants of potato pancakes are there?

Basically, there is no limit to the variety of ideas.

If you want it to go more savory, spices add flavor and spiciness. Chili flakes and pepper give things a little zing, herbs give an intensive addition.

But sweet potato pancakes are also worth trying. A little sugar, vanilla aroma or grated lemon or orange peel give the potato pancakes their very own touch.

How does the dough stay white

The dough should always be used immediately, as the potatoes will turn it brown within 1 to 2 hours. In addition, the potato pancakes taste better the fresher the dough is.

If you have to let the dough stand longer for organizational reasons, you can add low-fat quark or yoghurt to the dough. However, the liquid should be balanced again before processing with some binding agent such as flour or oatmeal.

Brushing the grated potatoes with olive oil or submerging them in cold water with a dash of vinegar or lemon juice is often recommended.

How do I make vegan potato pancakes?

To bake vegan potato pancakes, you only need a substitute for the egg in the basic version and you should use oil instead of butter for baking. Dairy products are also no longer used as dough whiteners, but most substitute products are not suitable for this use. Alternative dough whiteners should therefore be used for vegan potato pancakes.

However, the question of what to replace the eggs with is tricky and is based on the question of which flavor the vegan pancakes should have.

The reliable classic

Potato starch is of course ideal for the pure basic recipe. This does not change the taste and the opened pack can be used in many other vegan recipes.

If you really want to bake “hands on” and make vegan potato pancakes like grandma, you can also use the starchy water drained from the grated potatoes. But beware: Due to the additional liquid, you will need another binding agent, for example more flour or oatmeal.

Did someone say oatmeal? Tender oat flakes are also a great binding agent for your vegan potato pancakes, they are also very healthy and you can use them to replace the flour. The rule of thumb is 3-4 tbsp per egg replaced. But they should be soaked beforehand – you can use the potato water for this too.

Anyone who already feels at home in the vegan kitchen usually already has vegan egg substitute powder in the kitchen cupboard. Typically, the mix is ​​1 tsp egg replacer powder and 2 tbsp water per egg replaced. Depending on the manufacturer, this can also vary, so be sure to check the information on the packaging.

The right seasoning

If you want something heartier, you can use tomato paste. 1-2 tbsp replace an egg. The highlight: They give the vegan pancakes a brown-reddish color that the usual recipes for potato pancakes or potato pancakes do not match. In addition, they hardly change the taste, but go well with herbs and spices.

Turmeric also changes the color and hardly the taste. You can process the ginger plant as a powder or fresh. However, it should be used sparingly because the yellow color is very intense.

Sweet temptation

The banana is a hit in vegan cuisine and therefore also for vegan potato pancakes. It gives the typical banana taste and therefore creates a pleasant sweetness. Serve with apple compote and one day your grandchildren will say: “Grandma’s vegan potato pancakes are the best.”

Nut butter also has a slightly different taste. But you have to like sweet and nutty in combination with potatoes – try it out and let me know how this variant suits you.

Ingredients for our vegan grated cheese

• 4-5 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 80g chickpea flour

How do I make gluten-free potato pancakes?

Gluten-free potato pancakes are much easier than vegan potato pancakes: the wheat flour, which anyway only acts as a binding agent, is simply thrown out or replaced with gluten-free flour.

As with the vegan potato pancakes, oat flakes can in principle also replace the flour. However, it is important to ensure that the packaging clearly labels the oats as gluten-free. Because the packaging of the oats can come into contact with gluten-containing flours.

Anyone who lives with celiac disease, i.e. gluten intolerance, should therefore use rice flour, soya or millet flour, for example, to be on the safe side. Chickpea flour is also gluten-free, but gives off a strong taste of its own to the fritters and is therefore only for chickpea fans.

If you only want to eat gluten-free, you can mix the recipe for vegan and low-gluten potato pancakes and use oatmeal.

What are the nutritional values ​​of a potato pancake and how many calories?

The exact nutritional values ​​of course depend on what you add to the base dough.

As a basis you can assume the following:

Since the classic for potato pancakes is applesauce, you can add the following nutritional values:

What side dishes are there for potato pancakes?

The good news: Vegan potato pancakes taste great with almost anything.

The variant with homemade apple compote is particularly popular. It really tastes like grandma’s vegan potato pancakes!

To do this, peel, core and dice 500g of apples and bring to the boil in a saucepan with 150ml of water, 4 teaspoons of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, mashing the diced apples with a fork. Allow to cool and serve mixed with a little extra sugar and cinnamon.

This recipe is also vegan and therefore great for your vegan potato pancakes.

A few more ideas for you:

Sweet:

• Red fruit jelly
• Cinnamon & Sugar
• caramelized fruit
• thin melon slices
• sugar beet syrup
• chocolate sauce

Hearty:

• smoked salmon
• North Sea crab salad
• Herb quark
• sauerkraut

How do I prepare potato pancakes – oven vs. pan?

Traditionally, potato pancakes are pan fried, with lots of butter for lots of flavor.

However, if you don’t like it that greasy, the oven offers an alternative. It has the pleasant side effect that the vegan buffers are significantly lower in calories and the smell of fat is not so strong in the air.

When frying, however, the roasted aromas come out more, which is why many reject the oven potato pancakes as too tasteless.

As always, the right thing is what tastes good. It’s best to try both and decide for yourself. After all, vegan potato pancakes don’t just taste good once a year!

The batter is no different from the pan variant. The preparation is also quick:

1. Preheat oven
2. Brush the baking paper on the baking tray with a little oil so that the potato pancakes don’t stick
3. Form hand-sized plates on the baking sheet with the dough
4. Bake at 180 degrees and circulating air for about 15 minutes until the vegan potato pancakes are lightly golden brown on the edges
5. Flip the potato pancakes and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown

Can I make potato pancakes in the microwave?

In small apartments in particular, where the smell of grease from the pan almost never goes away, there is a great temptation to bake the potato pancakes in the microwave or to heat them up the following day.

However, the result is mostly disappointing. The crispiness disappears and what remains is a rather soggy, limp flatbread with little taste. Although there are complex, highly specialized grill inserts for microwaves that counteract this effect, these can only be found in very few kitchens.

It is therefore advisable to defrost vegan potato pancakes in the microwave at best, but leave the baking process in the pan or in the oven.

How long do potato pancakes keep?

The batter for vegan potato pancakes should be used immediately and not stored.

Freshly baked potato pancakes will keep fresh for up to 2 days if refrigerated. For a longer shelf life, however, they can be frozen and thawed without any problems.

How do you prepare potato pancakes with the Thermomix?

Of course, the potato pancake batter can also be conjured up in seconds with the Thermomix – the tiresome task of grating is history.

All you have to do is put the peeled potatoes and, if necessary, the onions in the mixing bowl and chop them up for 5-10 seconds at level 5. The following applies here: The longer the “chopping time”, the finer the friction.

Then the flour and eggs or the corresponding substitutes are added. Set the Thermomix to level 3 and mix for 30 seconds – voilá!

The preparation continues in the pan or the oven.

How do I get the greasy smell out of the apartment?

No one likes the smell of grease from the kitchen – even the neighbors.

Instead of doing without potato pancakes, you can actively combat the smell of fat. Grandma’s home recipe for this is the vinegar scent bomb: Bring a glass of water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. This will neutralize the smell of grease.

If you want, you can add rosemary, lemon or cinnamon sticks to the vinegar, not only to get rid of the greasy smell, but also to spread a pleasant scent in the apartment.

Stainless steel soaps are also often found in modern kitchens. These not only remove the odor on hands, but also in the air. To do this, you put them in a bowl of water and let them work in peace. However, this method takes much longer and is therefore particularly suitable for overnight removal.

Fragrance fresheners provide very short-term help. However, these usually only drown out the smell, so that the smell of grease is only slightly weakened after it has subsided.

Finally: All methods are most effective if an open kitchen window ensures good ventilation during preparation and the minutes after. In wintry temperatures, at least a brief airing should take place during or shortly after preparation.

The vegan version of the potato pancake is definitely an experience. They’re quick and easy to make and taste great.