Anke
You are in for a real treat. My authentic German potato pancakes (Kartoffelpuffer) are a classic German dish that is loved by almost everyone. German potato pancakes are especially trendy during the colder season.
You’ll find them typically at outdoor markets, food stalls, or traditional Christmas markets, usually with a long queue.
Not only are these German potato pancakes so tasty with their crunchiness but they are also incredibly easy to make.
Best of all, they are ready to eat in no time.
Here are more of my traditional German recipes:
The Best German Potato Salad
Authentic German Apple Cake With Streusel Topping
German Meatloaf [Leberkaese]
Crusty German Bread Rolls
All you need to make my yummy German potato pancakes are raw potatoes, salt, a little bit of flour, and a neutral oil for frying.
Oh, I almost forgot, and you will need some manpower to grate the potatoes. But don’t worry, it is not too bad.
If you don’t like the sound of grating the potatoes by hand, you could also check out this electric shredder/slicer on Amazon.
Please use the small teardrop holes on your four-sided grater for a finer result. It should only take around 5 minutes to grate 3 large potatoes.
If you want to make more German potato pancakes, simply grate more potatoes and adjust the amount of flour. I count 1 tablespoon of flour for one medium-sized potato
You will only need to add two to three tablespoons of flour plus 1 teaspoon of salt. Traditionally, we eat Kartoffelpuffer with sugar and/or apple sauce.
If you prefer a savory version of the potato pancakes, simply add pepper and finely grated onion to the potato pancake mix. Serve with a green salad on the side and you have a perfect vegetarian lunch.
By the way, don’t worry if the grated potatoes change their color a little bit. They will look greyish after a while. That is normal and won’t affect the taste or quality of the German potato pancakes.
Now for the frying part: make sure to add a good amount of neutral-tasting cooking oil to a non-stick frying pan. But please, don’t drown the pancakes in the oil.
You can choose how big or small you want the pancakes to be. It is up to you…
Gently fry them on medium heat until you see when a brown edge is forming. That is the sign to flip the pancakes. It can take a few minutes so you need to be a bit patient.
Once they are cooked, keep them warm in the oven until you have used up the whole batter. Make sure to keep the pancakes in a single layer so they don’t lose their crunchiness.
Watch my cooking video here, to find out for yourself how crunchy these German potato pancakes are.
I do love my German potato pancakes with sugar and apple sauce. I would say that’s how most Germans enjoy them.
As mentioned earlier, for a more savory pancake, you could add pepper and a finely grated onion. Serve with a green salad for a great lunch or light dinner option.
I do hope you will enjoy this recipe and give it a try. Please let me know in the comments how you liked this classic German dish.
Guten Appetit!
Authentic German Potato Pancakes [Kartoffelpuffer]
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German Potato Pancakes – Deutsche Kartoffelpuffer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large raw potatoes, peeled
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Start off by peeling the raw potatoes with the vegetable peeler.3 large raw potatoes, peeled
- Put the peeled potatoes in a bowl with cold water while peeling the other potatoes.
- Once finished, drain off the water and use the same bowl to grate the potatoes.
- Use the small tear-drooped holes on your grater to grate the potatoes.
- Add the salt and the flour to the grated potatoes and mix well.1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Now add some oil to a non-stick frying pan and heat it up.3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
- Once the oil is hot, add spoonfuls of the potato mix to the pan.
- Pat it down lightly. Make the pancakes as big or small as you like.
- Gently fry on medium heat until you can see a brown edge form on the pancakes.
- This is the indication that you can now flip the potato pancakes.
- Fry on the other side for around three to four minutes until golden brown.
- When cooked, place the pancakes onto a cooling rack in a single layer. Keep them warm in the oven until you have used up the pancake batter
- Enjoy with sugar and/or applesauce. Sooo GOOD!
Video
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