Crispy German Potato Pancakes
The crunch is all in squeezing out the water. Grated potato releases a great deal of liquid, and if it goes into the oil wet it steams instead of browning. Squeeze it hard in a cloth, let the liquid settle, and take the starch from the bottom and put it back in the mixture.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Calories
- 230
Kartoffelpuffer is a classic German street food sold at Christmas markets. Fried grated-potato pancakes, eaten sweet with apple sauce or savoury with sour cream. Cheap, fast, and they always work if you squeeze the water out.
Method
-
1
Grate
Grate the potatoes and onion on the coarse side. The onion is not only for flavour — its acidity stops the potato going dark.
⏱ 10 min -
2
Squeeze — the critical step
Put the grated mixture in a clean cloth and squeeze it with all your strength over a bowl. You will get a cup of liquid or more.
⏱ 5 min -
3
Recover the starch
Let the squeezed liquid settle for two minutes, pour off the clear water from the top, and take the white starch at the bottom and return it to the potatoes. That is what binds the mixture.
⏱ 4 min -
4
The mixture
Add the eggs, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir. The mixture should hold together, not run.
⏱ 4 min -
5
Fry
Heat plenty of oil (at least half a centimetre) over medium-high heat. Add a large spoonful of the mixture and flatten it into a thin disc with the back of the spoon.
⏱ 3 min -
6
Brown
3 to 4 minutes a side until deep golden with crisp lacy edges. Do not crowd the pan.
⏱ 22 min -
7
Serve
Drain on a wire rack and serve hot with apple sauce (the traditional way) or sour cream.
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Tips that actually matter
- Squeeze the water out hard — the difference between a crisp pancake and a rubbery one.
- Return the settled starch. It binds the mixture without extra flour.
- Spread them thin. Thick ones stay raw in the middle.
- Fry immediately after mixing — the mixture weeps again if it sits.
People also ask
Why does the mixture go dark?
Natural oxidation of grated potato. The onion slows it, and frying immediately after mixing prevents it entirely. A squeeze of lemon also helps.
Sweet or savoury?
Both are traditional in Germany. Apple sauce is the most common (the sweet-savoury pairing is deliberate), and sour cream with garlic and dill is an excellent savoury option.
Can I use an air fryer?
You can, but they will not be as crisp — the generous oil is what creates the lacy edges. 180°C for 15 minutes, brushed with oil.
Cook mode
Crispy German Potato Pancakes
-
1
Grate
Grate the potatoes and onion on the coarse side. The onion is not only for flavour — its acidity stops the potato going dark.
-
2
Squeeze — the critical step
Put the grated mixture in a clean cloth and squeeze it with all your strength over a bowl. You will get a cup of liquid or more.
-
3
Recover the starch
Let the squeezed liquid settle for two minutes, pour off the clear water from the top, and take the white starch at the bottom and return it to the potatoes. That is what binds the mixture.
-
4
The mixture
Add the eggs, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir. The mixture should hold together, not run.
-
5
Fry
Heat plenty of oil (at least half a centimetre) over medium-high heat. Add a large spoonful of the mixture and flatten it into a thin disc with the back of the spoon.
-
6
Brown
3 to 4 minutes a side until deep golden with crisp lacy edges. Do not crowd the pan.
-
7
Serve
Drain on a wire rack and serve hot with apple sauce (the traditional way) or sour cream.
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