Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes)
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Delightfully crispy and flavorful, these authentic German potato pancakes, Kartoffelpuffer, are fun to make and even more delicious to eat! They can be sweet or savory depending on the toppings you choose or what you serve them with. Made the way my Mutti and Oma made them in authentic German fashion!
A quintessential German treat beloved across every region of Germany, Kartoffelpuffer (German potato pancakes) are not only a favorite dish to serve at home but are also a popular street food found at local Volksfests and holiday events like Fasching, Karneval and Christmas markets.
In particular these German potato pancakes bring back memories of going to my Oma and Opa’s house. Throughout my childhood and through young adulthood my Oma would regularly make these when we went over to their house. My brother and I would play cards at kitchen table with my Opa while my Oma stood over the stove with the crackling sounds and smells of frying Kartoffelpuffer filling the air. Before long, plates of hot Kartoffelpuffer were set out on the table and we helped ourselves to a sprinkle of powdered sugar and generous heaps of applesauce. My Oma knew to make big batches of these Kartoffelpuffer because my brother and I could rarely get enough of them.
What Are Kartoffelpuffer?
Depending on the region of Germany, Kartoffelpuffer are also known as Reibekuchen, Reibeplätzchen, Reiberdatschi and Grumbeerpannekuche.
You may also be familiar with Swiss Rösti. But those are something different. The key difference lies in the size of the grated potatoes: Rösti are shredded whereas Kartoffelpuffer are finely grated. Also, with Rösti the potatoes are sometimes grated raw but more often are parboiled whole in their skins for a few minutes so that the center is still hard, then peeled and grated once they’ve cooled down. Because the potatoes are grated/shredded on the largest setting (in German, “grob geraspelt”) to get large, long strands, parboiling them first prevents the outside of the Rösti from burning before the potatoes are thoroughly cooked through. Grated onions are usually added and sometimes bacon and cheese, depending on the region. Rösti are also fried longer until they are light brown and crunchy.
Kartoffelpuffer on the other hand are made from potatoes that are grated raw and grated finely (allowing them to cook quickly and evenly). The shredded potatoes are wrung out in a clean dish towel and then mixed with egg, finely grated onion and flour and then fried to light golden. The end result is a crispy exterior and soft interior.
How to Serve German Potato Pancakes
Kartoffelpuffer can be served either sweet or savory. Most commonly they’re served dusted with powdered sugar and/or some apple sauce or other fruit compote. But in some areas of Germany they are also served with savory toppings such as herbed Quark, yogurt-herb sauce, or smoked salmon. Or served as a side with beef or pork and drizzled with gravy like Rahm Sauce, Mushroom Gravy or Onion Gravy and accompanied by Rotkohl or Sauerkraut. Try your German potato pancakes both sweet and savory style, they’re delicious both ways!
Kartoffelpuffer Recipe
Let’s get started!
Use a grater or food processor to finely grate the potatoes. You don’t want thick strands. Either place the grated potatoes in a colander and thoroughly squeeze the liquid out with your hands or place them in a clean dish towel and wring it to squeeze out the liquid.
Place the drained grated potatoes in a bowl along with the grated onion, eggs, flour and salt. Use your hands to knead the mixture together until you have a thick, tacky mass. Don’t let this mixture sit for long before frying it.
Heat some oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1/3-1/2 cup (depending on size preference) of the potato mixture to the frying pan and flatten it with the back of a spoon to form pancakes. Fry the Kartoffelpuffer on both sides (about 3-5 minutes) until golden brown. Place the fried potato pancakes on paper towels to briefly blot them and then immediately serve them while hot.
Serve with applesauce, fruit compote, or powdered sugar or serve it savory-style with some herbed yogurt, quark or creme fraiche or with meat and gravy.
Guten Appetit!
For more authentic German recipes be sure to try my:
- Spaetzle
- Kaesespaetzle
- Schnitzel
- Jagerschnitzel
- German Goulash
- Schweinshaxe
- Currywurst
- Sauerbraten
- Rouladen
- Rotkohl
- Maultaschen
- German Potato Soup
- German Potato Salad
- Semmelknödel
- Königsberger Klopse
- German Potato Dumplings
- Zwiebelkuchen
- German Bread (Vollkornbrot)
- Obatzda
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Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled and very finely grated (RAW, not cooked)
- 1 small yellow onion, very finely grated
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or more if needed)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- neutral-tasting oil for frying
Instructions
- Thoroughly wring out the liquid in the grated potatoes by placing them in a colander and squeezing them with your hands or by placing them in a clean dish towel and wringing out the liquid.
- Place the drained grated potatoes in a medium-sized bowl with the grated onion, eggs, flour and salt and use your hands to work it into a tacky mixture. Add a little more flour if needed. Do no let the mixture sit for long before using it, use it immediately.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the mixture (depending on size preference) in the hot pan and flatten into pancakes with the back of a spoon. Fry on both sides for 3-5 minutes until the Kartoffelpuffer are golden. Place them briefly on paper towels.
- Serve immediately while hot with applesauce, fruit compote or powdered sugar. For a savory version serve with herbed yogurt, quark or creme fraiche or with meat and gravy as part of a meal.
Nutrition
Originally published October 24, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
This is the first recipe for potato pancakes that is close to my dads. My dad never used onion, not sure why, I was a teenager when he and my mom died. We used peaches on ours, the syrup was just sweet enough and the peaches were awesome. The peaches are best cold. Thanks
wonderful childhood memories as mom did all the work and we just enjoyed them. While she ate them with applesauce we would sprinkle ours with sugar.
I know some would be appalled, along with my mom, but the potato patties sold frozen in the markets, I now nuke them and serve them to my grandchildren with the sugar they like since they were toddlers. They now call them potato pancakes and if I make the real ones we will have to see their reaction would be to the real ones.
But if in a hurry..give them a try this way with your favorite topping.
Hi Kimberly, my dad was born in Hamburg (1912) absolutely loved potato pancakes. Your recipe is an exact replica of what my mother made with one MAJOR difference. In their early years of marriage my mother could never get them right. No matter what she did he said they did not taste right. Finally she asked his mother and was told “you must fry them in lard”. This was the difference. Also the only way we ever had them was with applesauce and bacon – fabulous.
By the way, are you familiar with raw-chopped-beef, another German delicacy; here in Milwaukee we call them cannibal sandwiches. On Friday night my mother would mix one or two raw eggs with a pound of raw chopped beef and my dad would have it on rye with raw onions and salt and pepper. Anything left over and we kids would have hamburgers the next day. Hard to find raw chopped beef today due to sanitary conditions.
I probably have over 75 soup cookbooks and yours are some of the best recipes I’ve ever seen. I’ve tried to follow your idea of recipes from the national dishes of every country. Developed over centuries the recipes are invariably delicious, extremely nutritious, and relatively easy to make.
Please keep up the excellent work.
Hi Frederick, thanks so much for your comment and for your generous compliment, you made my day :)
I agree completely, frying these Kartoffelpuffer in lard is the way to go for both texture and flavor. I’m no stranger to using lard, I have a tutorial on how to render lard here on my site and have several recipes on here that use it. It’s what I use for making oven-roasted potatoes and nothing beats the crispy texture, so good.
The raw beef with chopped onions on bread – yes, in Germany it’s also made with raw pork and is called Mett and in northern Germany (e.g. Hamburg) it’s called Hackepeter.
Thanks again, Frederick, and have a wonderful weekend! Kind regards, Kimberly
Duck fat is also very good. Easily available, here in France, rendered from a roast duck.
It sure is, Brian, and I have several jars of it stockpiled in my cupboard that I always bring back with me from France! :)
I love them! However, in Germany, potato pancakes are not served with gravy. They are served with sour cream and or applesauce. Always applesauce; but it depends upon your region or affiliation in Germany whether the sour cream comes into it. Spatzle are served with gravy. I don’t doubt though, that you can eat them whatever way you enjoy them.
Applesauce, sour cream and yogurt are the most common for sure but they’re definitely served with gravy/sauce as well. Champignon-Sahne-Soße (creamy mushroom sauce) is one popular example.
when it’s served with a sauce – and some meat – it’s not the German potato pancake, then it is the swisse “Roesti” – it’s a bit different (the onions are fried and some parsley is added). Otherwise it’s the same.
This was nice…
Oh nono… Rösti are made using cooked potatoes. But yes, no gravy with Kartoffelpuffer :)
in east germany, it seems they serve it with nothing else but sugar…ha. (half joke, half true)
My dad used to make these for us every now and then. They were delicious.
wonderful memories of my dad. He used to make these for us when we were children. We called them boofers. So yummy!
Can you use frozen shredded potatoes
Hi Dana, yes, just make sure they’re thawed and thoroughly squeeze out the liquid.
When making latkes you use matzo meal. With these you are using flour. Comes out the same. My Polish grandmother used to make them all the time with flour.
I’ve always thought of Latkes and Kartoffelpuffer as more or less the same thing, and I’m guessing there’s also some Polish or Russian version… Are you sure that using matzo meal makes a difference? It’s basically just about adding some starch for cohesion, no?
Either way, I can’t really remember having a potato pancake I didn’t like. I use the starchy sediment from the potato water (just because it makes sense), and some extra potato starch or flour. Also a spoon or two of sour cream doesn’t hurt at all! So good with smoked fish. Or applesauce.
I’d say you are right about there being no difference between using matzoh meal or flour in one’s Kartoffelpuffer. So delicious. And smoked fish, yum!!