Cast Iron Gluten Free Latkes

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I am a fan of potatoes whatever way they come but these crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, gluten free latkes may just be my favorite!

The Story of Gluten Free Latkes

You know when you spend hours preparing a meal. It turns out great and you are so excited to serve it. Everyone sits down to eat and no one is nearly as excited as you are. And, to add fuel to the fire, your kids won’t even touch it. I think if you have kids, we have all experienced this in some way, shape, or form.

For me, this was my experience with one of my kids and potatoes. Every time I made them, he refused to eat them. French fries, roasted, mashed, hashbrowns, it didn’t seem to matter how they were prepared. He just wouldn’t touch them.

Normally, I’d just move on and accept all the other foods that he did enjoy and not make a big deal about it. Except, in our case, we had just grown over a thousand pounds of potatoes and they are a main staple in our diet. So, I was determined to find a way that he would enjoy eating potatoes.

And, my friends, these gluten free latkes were just the ticket.

What is a Latke?

Latkes are another name for potato pancakes. Latkes are a traditional Jewish food known for being served at Hanukkah. In Yiddish, latke translates to “little oily.” It’s one of those foods that each family generally has their own special recipe for that has been passed down from generation to generation.

While there can be different exact ratios and nuances to each recipe, they are generally some combination of potatoes, onion, egg, flour, and breadcrumbs. They are best served hot off the griddle and then the question is, are you team applesauce or team sour cream?

The Magic Potato

Since potatoes were discovered, they have been a prized food for a number of reasons. They are easy to grow and do well under varying conditions and climates. Potatoes also store very well for several months.

Nutritionally speaking, potatoes have a lot to offer. They are energy packed, filled with nutrient rich complex carbohydrates. They are also an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin B6.

In our house, we love growing potatoes. There’s something so cool about taking a real potato, watching it sprout eyes, planting it, and seeing what happens. The beauty of flowering potato greens erupts above ground. An abundant web of spuds sprawls below. Digging down into the soil to go on a potato treasure hunt is one of the greatest adventures.

Last year, we went a little potato crazy. You can learn all about that story here. But the short of it is, we planted roughly 50 lbs of potato seeds, expecting to get around 400 pounds of potatoes. Instead, we were shocked when we started digging up those potatoes and filling up basket after basket in our pantry. In all, there were well over a thousand pounds of potatoes and here we are in March, still working our way through hundreds of pounds of potatoes.

Notes about Making Gluten Free Latkes

This recipe is pretty flexible if you keep a few important things in mind: 

• Begin with COLD mashed potatoes. This will create the right texture and consistency of your pancakes without them falling apart. 
• You can definitely substitute flours here for regular wheat flour or a gluten free flour. You just want something that is going to help bind them together. 
• We like sautéing onion and garlic and adding those, but you could also just add onion and garlic powder.

Tips For Cooking in a Cast Iron Skillet

While you certainly don’t need to cook these in a cast iron skillet, it is my preferred method. A few important tips about cooking in cast iron. 

• Let the cast iron fully preheat before dropping your potatoes on the pan. If the pan is not hot enough, you risk having your latkes stick to the pan and be totally unable to be flipped.
• After the potato mixture is dolloped onto the pan and pancakes are formed, let the pancake sit undisturbed. This process always takes longer than I think it should. So, resist the urge to flip the pancakes too soon. Flipping to soon is a sure-fire way to have pancakes that completely fall apart.

What Fat to Fry Them In?

This is up to you but the important thing here is to make sure you have a fat that stands up to cooking at higher temperatures. Coconut oil, lard, tallow, or olive oil are all excellent choices.

Serving Gluten Free Latkes

For us, these delicious potato delicacies make the perfect side for any meal of the day. Serve alongside eggs and bacon with breakfast, a sandwich at lunch, or a piece of meat or roast for dinner. They are best served warm and topped with your choice of sour cream or applesauce.

This recipe makes quite a few pancakes and can easily be halved. You can store these potato pancakes in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze for later use.

Now, we will often make mashed potatoes just so we can turn them into these yummy gluten free latkes. On with the recipe!

Gluten Free Latkes Recipe

Ingredients:

4 Cups Mashed Potatoes, COLD
1 Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Eggs
½ Cup Almond Flour
¼ Cup Arrowroot Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil of choice for frying

Directions:

1) Sauté onion and garlic together.
2) Mix all ingredients together until smooth so everything is incorporated and there are no lumps.
3) Preheat cast iron skillet on burner set to med-high heat.
4) Once hot, add oil and drop spoonfuls of potato mixture onto hot pan. Press down with a spoon to form flatter pancakes. 
5) Cook on each side for roughly 3-5 minutes. Wait to flip until completely cooked on that side.

Serve and enjoy!

For another favorite cast iron side dish, check out our gluten free cornbread!

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