Wonderfully crispy and flavorful, these air fryer potato latkes are a delicious twist on a Hanukkah classic! As a healthier, easier, and quicker alternative, this recipe is perfect for your next holiday celebration.
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📋 About the Recipe
- With only 7 ingredients, air fryer latkes are an easy way to celebrate the Hanukkah season.
- And with less oil, no frying, and fresh ingredients, this recipe is a healthy way to enjoy the traditional food.
- With the help of your air fryer, the potatoes get perfectly crispy and golden brown, while the potatoes inside remain soft and chewy.
- Latkes are traditionally served with applesauce and sour cream. The homemade applesauce is the best addition. It is made with only 4 ingredients in under 30 minutes from start to finish!
As an Added Bonus
For those that have made latkes the traditional way before by frying in large amounts of oil, there is minimal "frying smell" with this recipe!
When frying latkes, the house typically gets overwhelmed with the smell of fried potatoes and onions. After making a batch, you can smell it on your clothes, your couch, your dog, LITERALLY ANYTHING! And even worse, it lasts for days!
However, with this air fryer recipe, the smell is fairly contained. Now, you can make homemade latkes without the dreaded long-term smell!
🛒 Ingredients
For the Air Fryer Potato Latkes
For the Homemade Applesauce
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Russet potatoes - russet potatoes are the best potatoes for latkes. They're perfectly starchy and soft in texture. Yukon golds are too waxy and would become rubbery, whereas red skin potatoes aren't starchy enough to hold together.
- Yellow onion - onion gives the latkes flavor and separates them from traditional hashbrowns. You can adjust the amount of onion based on your tastes.
- Eggs, breadcrumbs - eggs and breadcrumbs hold the air fryer latkes together and prevents them from crumbling. You need a perfect balance of both to bind the potatoes and onions together.
- Applesauce - applesauce and sour cream are traditionally served with latkes. I prefer homemade applesauce because it is SO easy to make! This version is a cinnamon applesauce, but you can leave the cinnamon out if you prefer.
📓 Instructions
For the Homemade Applesauce
1. Peel, core, and chop all the apples into large chunks. Add them to a large stockpot, along with water, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to coat the apples.
2. Place the pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Allow the apples to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the apples soften, stirring intermittently so the bottom doesn't burn.
3. Once the apples are tender, turn the heat to low and mash them with the back of a heavy spoon or a potato masher until you reach your desired consistency.
4. Slowly add more water if the applesauce gets too thick. Adjust the cinnamon and sugar to your taste.
5. Let the applesauce cool and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours or until you’re ready to serve the latkes. This recipe makes about 1 ½ quarts of applesauce.
For the Air Fryer Latkes
1. Grate the potatoes and onion with the large holes of a box grater. Run a knife through the potatoes to cut them into shorter pieces.
2. Place the potatoes and onion in a colander. Rinse them under water and drain.
2. Add a small amount of potato/onion mixture to a cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Wring out all the moisture into a large mixing bowl. Set aside the wrung out potatoes and onions. Then, repeat with the rest of the mixture.
3. Allow the liquid in the mixing bowl to settle, then drain most it, reserving the potato starch at the bottom.
4. Add potatoes and onions, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper to the mixing bowl and stir to combine.
5. Spray air fryer basket or tray with nonstick oil spray. Scoop ½ cup of the potato mixture and add it to the basket. Flatten with your hand or the back of a spoon to form a patty. Continue with a few more scoops of the mixture, leaving space for air to circulate around each one.
6. Spray the tops of the latkes with nonstick spray. Air fry at 380 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove the basket from the air fryer and flip the latkes. Air fry again for another 5 minutes, or until the latkes are golden brown.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all of the mixture is used up. Serve with a side of sour cream and homemade applesauce.
❄️ How to Store
To store: Latkes are best when made the same day and eaten fresh from the air fryer.
To freeze: If you have leftover applesauce, or would like to make it ahead of time, you can freeze it in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To defrost, place it in the refrigerator overnight.
🔍 FAQs
Latkes closely resemble the taste and texture of hashbrowns. However, they are formed into circular patties and flavored with onions to give them some extra flare.
Latkes fall apart when they are either too dry or too wet. If the batter feels too moist and won't hold its shape, add some additional breadcrumbs or matzo meal. If the batter feels a bit too dry, add in some more egg.
Traditionally, latkes are made and eaten on Hanukkah to commemorate oil that was thought to only last one day, but lit up the holy temple for 8 days instead.
It symbolizes the miracle that happened in biblical times, as well as celebrates the perseverance of the Jewish people.
Therefore, on Hanukkah, many traditional foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot (jelly filled donuts), are fried as a symbolic representation of the oil.
These air fryer latkes are a more modern way to represent the miracle that happened with a healthier twist.
There really isn’t a one-size-fits-all definition of a “traditional Hanukkah dinner.” Instead, Jewish families celebrate by eating latkes, filling their homes with joyous celebrations, and by eating foods that bring them comfort.
Since Hanukkah lasts for 8 days, the meals change constantly. For some families, they consume more traditional Jewish foods, such as sweet brisket and matzo ball soup, and others choose to eat a dairy spread full of bagels, lox, tuna fish, and an assortment of cheeses.
💭 One More Tip
Make sure to remove as much moisture from the potatoes as possible. This will allow them to become extra crispy in the air fryer.
If there is too much moisture, the potatoes may fall apart or steam instead of turning brown and "frying."
For best results, use a cheesecloth or nut milk bag to be able to wring out all the moisture. Reserve the liquid so you can use the potato's starches to help bind the grated potatoes together to form latkes.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
Air Fryer Latkes with Simple Homemade Apple Sauce
Ingredients
For Homemade Applesauce
- 5 apples (5 cups diced) mixed variety, such as granny smith, fuji, and gala
- 1 cup water plus more if sauce is too thick
- 2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For Air Fryer Latkes
- 3 to 4 medium russet potatoes (6 cups of shredded potatoes)
- 1 medium yellow onion (1 cup of grated onion)
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- nonstick oil spray
Instructions
For Homemade Applesauce
- Peel, core, and chop all the apples into large chunks. Add them to a large stockpot, along with water, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to coat the apples.
- Place the pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Allow the apples to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the apples soften, stirring intermittently so the bottom doesn't burn.
- Once the apples are tender, turn the heat to low and mash apples with the back of a heavy spoon or a potato masher until you reach your desired consistency.
- Slowly add more water if the applesauce gets too thick. Adjust the cinnamon and sugar to your taste.
- Let the applesauce cool and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours or until you’re ready to serve the latkes. This recipe makes about 1 ½ quarts of applesauce.
For Air Fryer Latkes
- Grate the potatoes and onion with the large holes of a box grater. Run a knife through the potatoes to cut them into shorter pieces.
- Place the potatoes and onion in a colander. Rinse them under water and drain.
- Add a small amount of potato/onion mixture to a cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Wring out all the moisture into a large mixing bowl, reserving the liquid for later. Set aside the wrung out potatoes and onions. Then, repeat with the rest of the mixture.
- Allow the liquid in the mixing bowl to settle, then drain most it, reserving the potato starch at the bottom.
- Add potatoes and onions, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper to the mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Spray air fryer basket or tray with nonstick oil spray. Scoop ½ cup of the potato mixture and add it to the basket. Flatten with your hand or the back of a spoon to form a patty. Continue with a few more scoops of the mixture, leaving space for air to circulate around each one.
- Spray the tops of the latkes with nonstick spray. Air fry at 380 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove the basket from the air fryer and flip the latkes. Air fry again for another 5 minutes, or until the latkes are golden brown.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all of the mixture is used up. Serve with a side of sour cream and homemade applesauce. This recipe makes about 10 large latkes.
Storage
- To store: Latkes are best when made the same day and eaten fresh from the air fryer. To freeze: If you have leftover applesauce, or would like to make it ahead of time, you can freeze it in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To defrost, place it in the refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Russet potatoes are the best for making latkes. Their starch content helps to bind the shredded potato together.
- You do not need to peel the potatoes.
- You can substitute the breadcrumbs 1:1 for matzo meal, if you prefer.
- Make the applesauce a day or two ahead so it has time to chill in the refrigerator.
- Make sure to remove as much moisture from the potatoes as possible. This will allow them to become extra crispy in the air fryer.
Nutrition
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Lisa says
Tasted amazing, super easy to follow!
Alana Lieberman says
So happy you liked them 🙂