Sheet-Pan Latkes with Store-Bought Shreds
Refrigerated shredded hash browns squeezed dry, mixed with grated onion, egg and flour, and baked on a well-oiled sheet pan at 425°F, flipped once: twelve latkes, no grater and no skillet.
Frying latkes in batches means standing at the stove with hot oil for most of an hour. America's Test Kitchen's kids' cookbook team bakes them instead, on a baking sheet coated with oil, flipping them once, with applesauce and sour cream on the side. This weeknight version also skips the grating by using a bag of refrigerated shredded potatoes.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Refrigerated shredded hash browns squeezed dry, mixed with grated onion, egg and flour, and baked on a well-oiled sheet pan at 425°F, flipped once: twelve latkes, no grater and no skillet.
🕎 The original
The Eastern European original is grated potato and onion, squeezed dry, bound with egg and a little matzo meal or flour, and fried in oil for Hanukkah. See the Classic Potato Latkes recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Oil on the pan, not around the latke
A thin layer of hot oil on the sheet fries the bottom of each latke like a skillet would, and the oven heat cooks the tops, so twelve cook at once.
Squeeze even store-bought shreds
Packaged shreds still hold water, and the drier they are, the crisper the latkes (ATK Kids says crispness depends on squeezing).
Step by step
- Step 1
Put an oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 425°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with oil spray, pour on the 1/2 cup oil and tilt the sheet until it is evenly coated.
- Step 2
Pile the shredded potatoes and grated onion in the center of a clean dish towel, gather the ends and twist hard over the sink to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Step 3
Put the potatoes in a large bowl and mix in the flour, egg and salt with a spatula until evenly combined.
- Step 4
Scoop 12 mounds with a 1/4-cup measure onto the oiled sheet, leaving space between them, and press each flat to about 1/2 inch.
- Step 5
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the bottoms are deep golden brown.
- Step 6
Carefully flip each latke with a metal spatula (the oil is hot) and bake 5 to 8 minutes more, until the second side is golden.
- Step 7
Move the latkes to a paper-towel-lined platter, let drain 5 minutes and serve with applesauce and sour cream.
Sheet-Pan Latkes with Store-Bought Shreds
Serves 4 · 12 latkes · 40 min total
- Vegetable oil spray
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 bag (20 oz) refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes (plain, not seasoned)
- 1 small onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 1/4 cup (35 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp salt
- Optional, to serve: applesauce and sour cream
Method
- Put an oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 425°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with oil spray, pour on the 1/2 cup oil and tilt the sheet until it is evenly coated.
- Pile the shredded potatoes and grated onion in the center of a clean dish towel, gather the ends and twist hard over the sink to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Put the potatoes in a large bowl and mix in the flour, egg and salt with a spatula until evenly combined.
- Scoop 12 mounds with a 1/4-cup measure onto the oiled sheet, leaving space between them, and press each flat to about 1/2 inch.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the bottoms are deep golden brown.
- Carefully flip each latke with a metal spatula (the oil is hot) and bake 5 to 8 minutes more, until the second side is golden.
- Move the latkes to a paper-towel-lined platter, let drain 5 minutes and serve with applesauce and sour cream.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Kids, "Oven-Baked Latkes". ATK Kids shreds 1 1/4 lb Yukon Gold potatoes and an onion, mixes them with 1/4 cup flour, 1 egg and 1 tsp salt, and bakes 12 mounds on a sheet coated with 1/2 cup oil at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes, then 5 to 10 minutes after flipping (about 1 hour in all). Our changes: a 20-oz bag of refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes in place of the fresh potatoes, a grated small onion, and a hotter 425°F oven with shorter times (15 to 20 minutes, then 5 to 8 minutes), which we give as a starting point; check for deep browning before flipping. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Refrigerated shreds are drier than frozen ones; if you only have frozen, thaw them completely and squeeze extra hard.
- Use a dark or heavy rimmed sheet pan for the best browning, and don't line it with parchment.
- Keep the first batch warm in a 200°F oven if you double the recipe on two pans.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Baked latkes are still latkes. Folklore: purists say Hanukkah latkes must be fried for the oil; these are baked in a thin layer of oil, which is the compromise.
- Use refrigerated, not frozen, shreds. Disputed: a Weight Watchers sheet-pan recipe says refrigerated shreds bake crisper because they are drier (search results only), while many recipes use frozen ones; both work if squeezed.
- Squeezing is what makes them crisp. Documented (ATK Kids).
Every other potato pancake
Classic Potato Latkes
Shredded russets and onion, wrung dry, bound with egg and the potato's own starch, and shallow-fried at 350°F into lacy, golden Hanukkah latkes with applesauce and sour cream.
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Rhineland Reibekuchen with Applesauce
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The Texas German take on Kartoffelpuffer: towel-wrung russets, onion, egg and a good half cup of flour, fried in 1/4 inch of oil into big, lacy 4-inch pancakes with sour cream and applesauce.
Sweet Potato Latkes with Horseradish Cream
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