- Prep-time: / Ready In:
- Makes 20
- Serving size: 2 pancakes
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Here’s my plant-based version of potato pancakes, a recipe that traditionally consists of shallow-fried grated potato, flour, and egg. My recipe here is free of the ingredients that damage our arteries. As a plant lover, I prefer dairy-free toppings, such as the traditional applesauce, or nontraditional choices like salsa, guacamole, or hummus.
From Plant-Based Katie
This healthy Potato Pancakes recipe and other kid-friendly ideas are also available in our convenient iPhone app and newly released Android app.
By Katie Mae,
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes, grated
- 1 large zucchini, grated
- ½ yellow onion, grated
- ½ cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Spread half of the grated vegetables on a clean kitchen towel, then roll and wring the towel to draw out the excess moisture. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining vegetables.
- In a small bowl, combine the oat flour, baking powder, and pepper. Add to the vegetable bowl, and mix well, using your hands to evenly distribute the flour and baking powder.
- Scoop about ¼ cup of potato mixture, and hand-shape it into a semi-tight ball. Flatten with your palms, and place the pancake onto the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining mix, spacing the pancakes about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Flip and bake for another 12 minutes, or to your desired level of crispness. Serve at once. Top with the condiment of your choice.
Per serving (2 pancakes): 54 calories, 11 g carbohydrates, 1.9 g protein, 0.6 g total fat, 0.1 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 54 mg sodium, 1.2 g fiber, 1.4 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Comments (52)
(5 from 15 votes)I didn't have any trouble with the pancakes falling apart, but I did bake them for much longer than indicated. After doing the first side for 12 minutes, and seeing that they didn't brown at all, I flipped them and cooked the second side for about 30 minutes. My problem has to do with the taste. And, the problem is that there really isn't any, even though I did use salt, which the recipe does not list as an ingredient. I can't imagine what they'd taste like without salt. Certainly nothing I'd ever make again.
I prefer sweet potatoes 🍠 or yams to white potatoes so I will sub the russet potatoes with 2 sweet potatoes and think they will be great since I love sweet potato fries. Also to keep it vegan, to bind the veggies together with the oat flour, I will make a flax ‘egg’. I love it savory so I’d have them with guacamole 🥑.
What a fascinating range of responses. There is no accounting for taste, much less condemnation , so why bother? Personally, I like flavorful food. So if the base is bland, I come up with a zesty topping. I go Italian, herby tomato or a n authentic Mexican salsa, toppings like chopped green onions and olives. my wife goes Asian ( soy sauce and ginger) Lighten up and have an excellent adventure, y’all. This an excellent recipe for something that can be prepared in advance, and be modified as preference dictates.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am Polish, just started going plant-based but I can’t live without potato latkes! You just made my day. I was going to be plant-based except for when I crave my potato latkes-LOL!!
My husband loves these. He eats them with ketchup like hash browns. I don't tell him how healthy they are. Great way to use up my garden produce! I freeze extras and reheat them in the toaster oven to crisp them up again. For those who said they are bland - this is most likely because the recipe contains no salt. I add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. And I use garlic powder instead of black pepper. I agree that "large zucchini" is a bit vague (to me, this means something that grew to the size of a baseball bat in my garden). However, this is quite a forgiving recipe, so don't worry too much about exact quantities. I aim for roughly equal amounts of potato and zucchini. If the mixture isn't sticking together (which can happen if you use oversized veggies), just work in more flour.
Easy to do, cheap to make since ingredients are staple in my house. I added turmeric & cooked in air fryer. Lovely, I would certainly make again. Thank you.
Can these be dry fried on the stove top too?
I wonder if I could add chia or hemp seeds(and maybe some juice squeezed from veggies) to pump up the protein...?
One of my favorites - love this with apple sauce
The apple sauce sound good with these!! I will try this for sure!!
Likely won’t make again. Some things can get away with not being fried, baked falafel is definitely good, baked potato pancakes isn’t.
I also would like to know if you can freeze these, and if so, should you do it before cooking? Or if after cooking, how best to reheat them? Thank you!
Hi Barbara, Yes, you can freeze these—cook them before freezing. To reheat them, defrost them first, then put them in the oven or under the grill for a quick blast, or heat them on the stovetop in a non-stick pan or cast iron skillet for a couple of minutes on each side.
These were good. although, I did use two egg whites to hold them together. My husband liked them too!
I don’t have oatmeal or oat flour. What other flours will work best?
Hi Sara, You could use whole wheat flour here or any other neutral-tasting flour that you like, the flour is just used as a binding agent for the pancakes. Let us know how it turns out!
A little late to the party, but if you have regular rolled oats, all you have to do is blend it in a blender.
Looks like a good recipe but can I use Whole Wheat flour instead of Oat flour. Elizabeth Ketchum
I wish my mother was still alive, she was always looking for great potato pancake recipes. She would have loved this and I might finally understand what she was after.
Hard to rate with no time to test it, but sounds wonderful and going to make it
Siri knows the conversions …..
Why would you rate something that you have NOT made or tasted??? I will never understand why people do this. Makes zero sense.
Is it possible not to use Farenheit for temperature or cup metrics ? Nobody outside US understands them. Grams and Celsius please!
There are lots of caclulators online for going back and forth between the two systems.
Woohoo! My first recipe that the hub's REALLY liked. It was a definitely a hit. I agree with some of the previous comments about using cups of each of potatoes and zucchini. I actually used the shredded potatoes in a bag you find by the eggs and just used the same amount as the zucchini after I squeezed it. Came out great.
Love the ease of the ingredients and simple technique. I made a few tweaks (leftover mashed potatoes, diced jalapeno, Spike, nutritional yeast, cayenne and dill) and served with sauerkraut and a honey-mustard dressing. Wow :)
What is Spike?
How big are the 2 Russett Potatoes? How big is the "Large Zucchini"? A recipe like this is very frustrating. A "Large potato in your part of the world might be quite different from my part of the world. Ditto for the zucchini. The best recipes use weight or (second best) volume. How about 600 grams grated potatoes or 150 grams grated zucchini? Recipes like this are promising but frustrating.
I agree with John Lacroix! But absent that, I note the weight of whatever it is I do use and take it from there. I'm a fanatic! And I'll come back here with the details.
Can you freeze these? After cooking, I guess. I’m thinking between layers of wax paper or parchment paper. This recipe makes entirely too much for 2 people. Maybe I will just half the recipe….
The first time I made these, they were a bit bland. The second time I added in Bragg's spices, nutritional yeast and a bit of cayenne pepper. I also cooked them in the copper basket that Forks Over Knives recommended for air baking in the oven. I didn't have to flip them because of the basket.
How would you make these in an air fryer?
For variety you can replace the zucchini with grate carrots. These can also be cooked in sandwich maker or waffle iron.
I find it helpful for a zucchini recipe to either list the number of cups or the number of ounces of grated zucchini after squeezing out all of the water. The same goes for the amount of potatoes and onion. I make "regular" potato pancakes using this oven method and they have been great. I can't wait to try this one. My Polish grandmother served potato pancakes drenched in maple syrup and, then, sprinkled with white sugar! These days, I prefer to serve them with apple sauce!
Made them tonight and my zucchini probably wasn’t as big as I should have had and I cooked 15 minutes each side by mistake but I still enjoyed them with some unsweetened apple sauce. My spouse is 100% Polish so I have had plenty of potato pancakes in the last 30 years. These are not upsetting my stomach from the oil and there is no oil smell in the house which makes me happy. This is a winner here. Will definitely be making them again and again
Oh this sounds so good, I’ll come back once I’ve tried, an update taste.
My husband is a polish immigrant and grew up eating potato pancakes. He really liked these as is the first time I made them. The second time I made them I told him they are oil free and then he didn't like them all of a sudden. So now I fry them in a little oil to make him happy.
Love you guys
Spice it up a bit if you say it’s “grossest”. Be creative and nice.
So I e
As someone who is highly tolerable of bland food and just eating to survive on a plant based diet, this is the grossest thing I have ever had in my life
I'm quite new to this type of eating. This looks like it would be reasonably good, what exactly was so gross about it
Sounds like someone who may still get upset at having to eat a no-fat, whole food diet. It takes time for your taste buds to recalibrate. I get it, it's not easy. Or it just tasted bad to them. Taste is subjective.
As an Irishman I feel attacked. Lol
I doubt that.
If you're "just eating to survive" then what is good food? Deep lard fat frozen french fries? Reset your taste buds and eat for delight.
Try adding a little onion granules, garlic powder, nutritional yeast for a greater depth of flavour. Maybe you didn’t add enough seasoning… they would taste bland without the right level of seasoning. Try to be a little less rude next time perhaps?
Great, glad you found out not to eat it again then, cheers!
the reason you're tolerable of bland food and eating to survive is because you can't tell when you need to add some spices for personal flavor.
What a rude expression of your very subjective take on plant-based foods. Show a little gratitude.
You should use different spices and experiment with stuff or you’ll never enjoy your food. Why eat bland food? Live a little or take a forks over knives cooking class.
you had me at oat flour