These crispy Air Fryer Shredded Potato Pancakes are economical, as well as quick and easy to make with shredded potatoes and a few pantry ingredients! They make a great breakfast, dinner, breakfast for dinner, side, or snack!
These Shredded Potato pancakes made in the air fryer are really popular around December, but great for any time of the year. And making them in your air fryer means they won't heat up your kitchen in the summer! And they cook up nice and crispy, without using much oil, so they are healthier than frying on the stovetop.
This easy recipe was originally my Grandma's recipe (and in our family cookbook), but I have made some changes to it and adapted it for the air fryer. They pair wonderfully with Air Fryer Turkey Sausage and Fruit Salad.
🍒Reader Review
"Very good- thanks for the recipe!! I dipped mine in Greek yogurt, and it was delicious. Also, I added red pepper flakes to the potato pancakes mixture. Great tip!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jump to:
- 🍒Reader Review
- 🥘Ingredient Notes
- 📖Variations & Substitutions
- 🔪Step-by-Step: How to Make Air Fryer Potato Pancakes
- Expert Recipe Tips
- 🥗 What to serve with Air Fryer Potato Pancakes
- 🥔🥞Toppings for Shredded Potato Pancakes:
- 🌡️Storage
- 👪 Serving Size
- 🔢WW Points
- Top tip
- ❔ Recipe FAQ's
- 🥔More Potato Recipes
- 📋 Air Fryer Shredded Potato Pancakes Recipe
🥘Ingredient Notes
You'll need the following simple ingredients for these Air Fryer Potato Pancakes:
- Potatoes - Ideally, you'll want to use Russet potatoes, as they have more starch and less water content, but you can use any type of potato you have on hand. I used red potatoes for this recipe because that's what I had, but they were a bit watery.
- Onion. Grate the onion finely or use the small holes of a box grater. This helps distribute the flavor more evenly and prevents large onion chunks from falling out of the pancakes.
- Spray cooking oil. I use canola or avocado oil because both oils have a higher smoke point. *You can read about smoke point here, if you're not familiar with it
*Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Gluten-free - use a gluten-free flour
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes (in the potatoes or as a topping)
- Onion - you can use white onion, red onion, or green onions. You can just chop them finely instead of mincing or grating, if preferred.
- Oil - you can use aerosol or non-aerosol, but I recommend using canola or avocado oil (with no propellants - see TOP TIP) because both oils have a higher smoke point. *You can read about smoke point here, if you're not familiar with it . However, you can also use olive oil.
🔪Step-by-Step: How to Make Air Fryer Potato Pancakes
- Step 1: Grate potatoes through the large holes of a box grater (or if you want the easy way, use a food processor). *Drain off any excess liquid through a sieve
- Step 2: In a large bowl, combine shredded potatoes with flour, eggs, onions, and salt. *Don't worry if your potatoes start to turn pink- it's normal (see FAQ). Mine did too, but you can't tell in the final result.
- Step 3: Spray the bottom of the air fryer basket or drawer with a few pumps of spray oil.
- Step 4: Make the potato mixture into 8 potato patties. *Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may only be able to cook about 4 at once.
- Step 5: Place potato pancakes in drawer or basket in a single layer.
- Step 6: Cook time: Cook on Air Fry mode at 390 degrees F/198 degrees C for 10 minutes until golden brown on one side. *Be sure to set 'match cook' if you have a Ninja Foodi and are using both drawers
- Step 7: Flip over, then spray with another few pumps of spray oil.
- Step 8: Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F/74 degrees C. Serve with salsa, ketchup, or a dollop of sour cream (see "toppings" below for more ideas)
Expert Recipe Tips
- Use Russet potatoes for the best texture. They have a higher starch content and lower moisture, resulting in crispier pancakes.
- Drain grated potatoes well before mixing. Excess moisture can make the pancakes soggy and prevent them from crisping up in the air fryer.
- Grate the onion finely or use the small holes of a box grater. This helps distribute the flavor more evenly and prevents large onion chunks from falling out of the pancakes.
- Let the mixture sit for 2–3 minutes before forming patties. This allows the flour to absorb some of the moisture and helps bind the pancakes better.
- Preheat your air fryer for optimal results. A hot air fryer basket gives the pancakes a better initial crisp and more even cooking. * If you are using a Ninja Foodi you don't need to do this.
- Don't overcrowd the air fryer basket or drawers. Leaving space between pancakes allows for better air circulation, which helps them cook evenly and get crispy on all sides.
- Flip the pancakes gently using a silicone spatula. This prevents them from breaking apart, especially while they're still soft in the middle.
- Use a food thermometer to ensure doneness. Potato pancakes should reach an internal temperature of 165°F/74°C to be fully cooked and safe to eat.
- Avoid using aerosol sprays with propellants. These can damage your air fryer’s nonstick coating over time; opt for a refillable oil spray bottle instead.
- Serve immediately for the best texture. Potato pancakes are crispiest right after cooking and tend to soften as they sit.
🥗 What to serve with Air Fryer Potato Pancakes
These delicious Potato Pancakes are similar to a homemade shredded hash brown patty, so they can be a breakfast or 'breakfast for dinner' along with Healthy Eggs Benedict (shown below), Turkey Sausage in the air fryer, and Old- fashioned fruit salad!
If you're not sure what to serve with potato pancakes, there are so many possibilities! They can also be served as a side for lunch or dinner with a meaty main dish like chicken, beef, or pork, or even soup! These are some of my other favorite main course dishes to serve with Shredded Potato Pancakes are Air Fryer Kiebasa, Old-fashioned Meatloaf (no egg or milk), and Ninja Air Fryer Roast Chicken.
🥔🥞Toppings for Shredded Potato Pancakes:
- Ketchup
- Garlic Mayo Sauce
- Salsa or Pico de Gallo
- Avocado Cream sauce
- Sour cream
- Apple Sauce
- Melted cheese
- Loaded - you can treat it like a loaded potato and add bacon bits, cheese, green onion or chives, and sour cream
- Tzatziki sauce
- Mushroom gravy/sauce
🌡️Storage
Store these crispy potato cakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
You can freeze these pancakes in a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds. If you are reheating from frozen, microwave them for 1 minute- 1 minute and 15 seconds.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes 8 small potato pancakes, depending on how large you make them and how big your potatoes are. You can make about 4 at a time in the air fryer. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 1 ww point per pancake.
Top tip
Spray your Potato Pancakes (and anything you put in the air fryer) with a light spray of cooking oil (aerosol with NO propellants or a non-aerosol spray bottle filled with oil), but do NOT use an aerosol cooking spray with propellants (like Pam).
This can cause damage to the surface of your air fryer and cause the coating to flake off and potentially onto your food. *The label will tell you whether it has propellants or not.
Avocado oil and Canola oil are good choices, as they have a higher smoke point than some other oils. *You can read about smoke point here, if you're not familiar with it
❔ Recipe FAQ's
Potatoes turn a pink color when grated because there is a chemical reaction that happens when enzymes in the potato are exposed to air. It's the same type of reaction that happens with fruit; for instance, when apples turn brown after they're cut. Don't worry - it won't affect the final result.
Russet potatoes are the best potatoes for potato pancakes because they have a high starch content. This means they are less watery when you grate them. This helps the shredded pieces hold together better, and the high starch content translates into crispier potatoes.
A Potato pancake is made with raw shredded potato and calls for fewer ingredients *(potato, flour, eggs, and sometimes onions), whereas latkes also include baking powder, matzo meal, and often milk.
Yes, you can make these on the stovetop if you don't have an air fryer (see directions in recipe card)l
If you are looking for a quick, easy, and economical meal, you'll love these Air Fryer Potato Pancakes!
🥔More Potato Recipes
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📋 Air Fryer Shredded Potato Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated raw potato about 4 potatoes
- 3 teaspoon onion, grated, minced, or finely chopped about ½ a medium onion (I grate the onion through the smallest holes on the box grater)
- 2 whole eggs
- 6 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Shred potatoes using a box grater through largest holes (or in a food processor).2 cups grated raw potato
- Combine grated potatoes with flour, eggs, onions and salt. *Don't worry if potatoes start to turn pink (see FAQ's at bottom of post for explanation)3 teaspoon onion, grated, minced, or finely chopped, 2 whole eggs, 6 tablespoon all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Make into 8 patties.
- Spray inside of air fryer with oil.
- Place patties in a single layer and spray the tops of the pancakes with 2-3 pumps of oil.
- Air fry on 390 degrees F/ 198 C for 10 minutes until golden brown. *Make sure you set 'match cook' if you have a Ninja Foodi and are using both drawers.
- Turn and spray the pancakes with 2-3 pumps of oil
- Air fry on other side for another 3-5 additional minutes or until the internal temperature of pancake is 165 degrees F/74 degrees C.
- Garnish with fresh herbs (I used parsley ) if desired and serve with desired toppings (see Toppings in post),
Stove top
- Follow first 3 steps
- Drop mixture onto hot grill or frying pan.
- Flatten each cake with spatula and cook to golden brown on each side (internal temperature will be 165 degrees F/74 degrees C)
Katie Devine
Very good thanks for the recipe!! I dipped mine in Greek yogurt and it was delicious. Also, I added red pepper flakes to the potato pancakes mixture. Great tip
Terri Gilson
Hi Katie,
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe and were able to 'spice it up' a bit! 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Terri
Terri Gilson
I'm so excited for you to try these air fryer shredded potato pancakes! They're a twist on my Grandma's recipe that I've adapted to be even easier and healthier. You'll love how crispy they get in the air fryer, using barely any oil. They're perfect year-round - no need to heat up your kitchen in summer!