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German Vegan Potato Pancakes or Kartoffelpuffer

These delicious German vegan potato pancakes or Kartoffelpuffer are crispy from the outside and tender on the inside and only require 3 staple ingredients and 30 minutes of your time. They are perfect for a quick and filling breakfast, lunch or dinner meal that everyone will love!
Course Dessert, Breakfast, lunch, Main course/starter/side dish
Cuisine American, German
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 266kcal
Cost $2

Ingredients

  • 5 medium size Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes about 600 g or 1.3 lb
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • ¼ cup or 40 g all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • oil to fry see notes
  • Chopped chives to serve
  • Maille Dijon Originale Mustard to serve

Instructions

Peel and grate the potatoes

  • Peel the potatoes and remove all the eyes with the tip of the vegetable peeler. Use a box grater or a shredder attachment of your processor to grate the potatoes.

Squeeze the shredded potatoes

  • Transfer into a bowl or colander that is prepared with a clean dish towel laid into it. Take the edges of the towel and twist the top until it squeezes the potatoes and drains the excess liquid. Make sure to squeeze as hard as you can!

Finely grate the onion

  • Use the other side of your box grater to finely grate the onion. Alternatively, chop it or use a tablespoon of onion powder.

Make the pancakes mixture

  • Transfer the squeezed potatoes to a medium bowl and add onion, flour, salt and pepper.

Form the fritters

  • Prepare a large plate dusted with flour. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and form a patty. It’s a good idea to moisten your hands with water before doing that. Put it on a plate and repeat with the rest of the mixture (This recipe makes about 10 potato pancakes). Dust them with a bit of flour. and press with your fingers until it’s flat.

Fry the potato pancakes on a pan

  • Heat a lug of oil in a large frying pan or skillet to medium heat. Use a spatula to transfer the pancakes to the pan and press them down to make them flat. Don’t overcrowd the pan. I recommend cooking them in batches so they don’t stick together. Use the spatula to form the edges. Cook them for up to 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy. To keep them hot before serving, put them in the warm oven (70 °C/160 °F), while you fry the next batch.

Serve

  • Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately with Maille Dijon Originale Mustard, ketchup, vegan sour cream, apple sauce or your favorite dip. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Top Tips

  • These vegan potato fritters are great as a breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, side dish, appetizer or even dessert.
  • They only require 3 staple ingredients and 30 minutes to make.
  • To make these vegan potato pancakes, you’ll need to get the excess liquid out of your potatoes (see instructions above).
  • Starchy potatoes like Russets or Yukon Gold are the best for potato fritters ensuring that they don’t fall apart. If you don’t have these types, you can use any other kind of potatoes and add a bit of extra flour or potato starch.
  • If your pancakes aren't sticking together while you form them, you can put the mixture to the fridge to firm up.
  • Vegan hash browns are best served fresh but they will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them on a pan to keep them crispy.
  • If you wish to freeze them, let them cool completely, put them on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until solid (about 1 hour), then transfer them to a ziplock freezer bag or container. Keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, fry them (frozen) on the pan until heated through and crisp again. Alternatively, preheat the oven to 400F (200C) and cook them on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes until they look crisp.
  • Serve the with mustard, ketchup, vegan mayo, apple sauce or your favorite dip. They are great alongside a bowl of soup or with a salad.

Recipe Variations

  • Use whole grain flour instead of all-purpose flour. Alternatively, use a 1:1 ratio to make the potato pancakes more nutrient-dense.
  • To make them gluten-free, use rice or chickpea flour.
  • Add grated veggies like carrots, broccoli or cauliflower to make the potato pancakes extra nutritious. Replace a third or a half of the potatoes with the veggies of your choice or make these delicious vegan zucchini corn fritters.
  • You can skip the onion or use onion powder instead. Add garlic for more flavor.
  • For frying use neutral oils like canola oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, corn oil, peanut oil or vegetable oil.
  • Chopped parsley or dill can be substituted for chives.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 1164mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 3mg