Like matzo balls, latkes are seemingly simple but provoke endless debate. Should they be thin and lacy or thick and craggy? Fried in schmaltz or vegetable oil? Made with Yukon Gold potatoes or russets? Should vegetables like carrots and zucchini be allowed to join the festivities? And what about breadcrumbs versus matzo meal? No matter which path you take (or which recipe you choose), one thing is certain: On Hanukkah and throughout the year, latkes should be fried in oil and must be eaten when sizzling-hot (or, at the very least, kept warm on a wire rack in a low oven until ready to serve).
(View our complete collection of latkes here. For even more Hanukkah recipes, see this collection.) 
Credit…Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Melissa Clark’s recipe for a “classic, unadorned” latke bears her trademark: smart, thoughtful touches that practically guarantee success. Russet potatoes and onion are quickly shredded with the food processor’s grating disk and then squeezed in a dish towel to remove excess liquid before mixing with eggs, flour, salt and pepper — along with a dash of baking powder for a bit of loft. A final sprinkling of sea salt right after the latkes emerge from the pan makes them especially snackable.
Recipe: Classic Potato Latkes
Credit…Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
Latkes have always benefited from a touch of tang, usually in the form of sour cream or sweet-tart applesauce. Here, Carolina Gelen brilliantly deploys kosher dill pickles, sliced into long matchsticks and tossed right in with the potatoes, to deliver an even zippier contrast. Top these latkes with a sprinkle of fresh dill to bring out that pickle flavor even more.
Recipe: Pickle Latkes
Credit…Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Latkes are traditionally fried in schmaltz (rendered poultry fat) rather than vegetable oil, which adds another layer of savory flavor and an especially robust crispiness. In this recipe from Melissa Clark, our resident latke expert, she suggests using homemade schmaltz made with onions to add a “lovely caramelized sweetness,” and she uses shallots in the latkes instead of onion for even more depth.
Recipe: Schmaltz Latkes
Credit…Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
There’s no need to choose between applesauce and sour cream when making this clever take on latkes from Melissa Clark — the apples are in the latkes themselves. For maximum crispiness, be sure to squeeze out all the liquid from the grated mixture, since apples tend to have a lot of moisture. The cinnamon sour cream, sweetened with a bit of maple syrup, complements these almost dessertlike latkes nicely.
Recipe: Apple-Potato Latkes With Cinnamon Sour Cream
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Most latkes rely on eggs (along with matzo meal, flour or breadcrumbs) to hold the potato mixture together. In this inspired vegan recipe, Melissa Clark uses just flour (no flax seeds or aquafaba needed) as a binder and cooks the latkes until they’re well browned on the first side before flipping them in order to ensure structural integrity (a thin metal fish spatula works well for this). For even crunchier latkes, Ms. Clark suggests saving the starch left over from squeezing the grated potatoes and then stirring it back into the mixture.
Recipe: Vegan Latkes
Credit…Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Potatoes aren’t the only root vegetable that benefits from the latke treatment. In this recipe from Noah and Rae Bernamoff, the former owners of Mile End Deli in Brooklyn, sweet parsnip and earthy celery root stand in for potatoes, adding layers of gentle vegetal flavor and showcasing just how versatile latkes can be.
Recipe: Celery Root-Parsnip Latkes
Credit…Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Yes, Mark Bittman’s recipe for latkes is just that — a recipe for latkes. But like snowflakes, latke recipes have subtle variations that make each one unique. Mr. Bittman’s recipe makes a larger batch (two to three dozen latkes) and calls for breadcrumbs or matzo meal rather than flour — a more traditional option that yields a slightly less caky result.
Recipe: Latkes
Credit…Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
This recipe, from the Jewish cooking doyenne Joan Nathan, offers a bit of a magic trick: latkes made from potatoes, and potatoes only (no eggs, breadcrumbs or onions needed). Ms. Nathan learned the make-ahead-friendly technique from Nathaniel Wade, the former chef of Outermost Inn on Martha’s Vineyard. To make these latkes, potatoes are parbaked, cooled and grated, creating particularly starchy shreds that hold together nicely when formed into cakes. Can’t conceive of onionless latkes? Follow this reader’s advice: “For those who insist on onion, do what I do: Use Joan’s NYT recipe for fried shallots. Use the shallot oil to fry the latkes in, then sprinkle fried shallots on top of the sour cream. Absolutely delicious.”
Recipe: Pure Potato Latkes
Credit…Matt Roth for The New York Times
Potato pancakes come in countless guises, and this French-style version from Daniel Rose, an American-born, Paris-based chef, makes large-format potato cakes that are cut into generous wedges for serving. Since no eggs or other binders are needed, this recipe could easily be made vegan if you swapped out the melted butter for oil (and used plant-based sour cream or just applesauce for serving). Be sure to take your time as you cook the pancake on both sides — since it’s thicker than a typical latke, you may need to lower the heat and cook it longer to make sure it’s cooked through and well browned on both sides.
Recipe: French Potato Pancakes
Credit…Hannah Whitaker for The New York Times. Prop Stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.
This mash-up between Japanese okonomiyaki and latkes from Sawako Okochi and Aaron Israel, the husband-and-wife chefs of Shalom Japan in Brooklyn, combines the best of both worlds. The starchy goodness of grated potatoes plays remarkably well with the classic Japanese vegetable pancake, packed with treasures like bean sprouts, thinly sliced onion and cabbage. Serve these treats with crème fraîche, scallions, a squeeze of lemon juice and a dollop of salmon roe, or do as one reader suggests and make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, rice vinegar and scallions.
Recipe: Okonomi-Latke
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
This golden mashed-potato cake from Claire Saffitz is more of a distant cousin to latkes than a close relation, but it’s an ideal alternative for those who would prefer not to spend their evening in front of the stove. Tender bits of just-baked potato are folded into a skillet of golden-brown, garlicky butter, seasoned generously with salt and pepper and enriched with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream. Once the mixture is patted down into a cake, it’s cooked in the skillet until browned and crispy on the bottom and then transferred to the oven to bake until gorgeously golden.
Recipe: Garlicky Mashed Potato Cake
Credit…Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times
These easygoing latkes from Joan Nathan, made from a base of mashed baked potatoes, may not be able to compete with the classic grated-potato version when it comes to crispiness. But as Ms. Nathan points out, this recipe has its own charm. “The flavor of the potatoes shines through, punched up with the pronounced seasoning of dill and parsley.” Even better, the mixture for these latkes can be made up to a day ahead of time.
Recipe: Mashed Potato Latkes With Dill and Shallots
Follow New York Times Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest. Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice.
