These Zucchini Potato Pancakes are classic potato pancakes spiked with beautiful green zucchini. They're golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and really delicious! A great way to use up some of that garden zucchini!
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It's officially zucchini time at my house! I just picked my first few zucchini of the year this past week, and my plants are cranking them out now like crazy!
That means zucchini everything for the next few weeks. I love making the old favorites and finding new zucchini recipes to try!
These Zucchini Potato Pancakes are one of my all-time favorite zucchini recipes, and I've been making them for a really long time. They aren't the prettiest food you'll see here on the blog, but what they lack in looks they totally make up for in flavor!
Potato pancakes are kind of a thing up here in Northeast PA where I'm from. Everybody's grandma and/or mom seemed to make them. You'll find them at every community picnic, carnival, and fair. There are even a few restaurants that specialize in them.
David says his grandma made the best potato pancakes. Sadly, I never got to meet her or taste a potato pancake that she actually cooked herself, but I am lucky enough to have her recipe! They are sooo good!
So as I was grating up some zucchini for zucchini bread one day, it reminded me of grating the potatoes for potato pancakes, and I thought why not try adding some zucchini to grandma's potato pancakes?
It turned out to be a great success!
Ingredients You Need
- Zucchini
- Potatoes (I use Russets)
- Onion
- Egg
- Flour (all-purpose)
- Salt and pepper
- Vegetable oil
How to Make Zucchini Potato Pancakes
Tips & Tidbits
- Grate the potatoes, zucchini, and onion on the smaller side of your grater. This will ensure that they cook through while the pancakes still getting brown and crispy on the outside.
- As you can see there in the photos, the potatoes will likely get a little pinkish-brown soon after you grate them and while they are draining in the colander. That is just a reaction of an enzyme in the potato with the air. Normally, you would put the potatoes in water to stop that from happening, but since you need to drain the liquid from the potatoes, that's not an option. No worries, though. It won't affect the taste of your potato pancakes at all.
- Make sure you drain off and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If your mixture is too wet, your pancakes will not hold together well.
- I can only fit three pancakes at a time in my 12-inch cast-iron skillet, so I keep the cooked pancakes on a wire rack over a baking sheet in a 200°F oven. This keeps them nice and crispy until I'm ready to serve them (although, usually, we are eating them as soon they are done cooking because we just can't resist!).
These Zucchini Potato Pancakes are a great side dish or appetizer. You could even eat them for lunch or a meatless dinner with a nice green salad.
We usually eat them with sour cream. YUM! David also likes them with applesauce (and sometimes both). How do you like yours?
Stay tuned for more zucchini recipes!
I hope you try this Zucchini Potato Pancakes recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
More Zucchini Recipes to Try
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went! Please leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Zucchini Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely grated zucchini (keep skin on)
- 2 cups finely grated potato (I use Russets)
- ¼ cup finely grated onion
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup vegetable oil (You may need more or less depending on the size pan you are using. You want the oil to be no more than about ¼ inch deep in the pan.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place a wire cooling rack on a large baking sheet.
- Place the grated zucchini, potatoes, and onion in a colander or fine mesh sieve over a bowl and allow the liquid to drain for 10 minutes. Note: Your potatoes may turn pinkish-brown. This is normal and is just a reaction of an enzyme in the potatoes with the air which won't affect the flavor of your pancakes.
- Using the back of a spatula or large spoon, press down on the zucchini, potatoes, and onions and squeeze out any remaining liquid. Note: It's very important to remove as much liquid as possible. If your pancake batter is too wet, they will not hold together well.
- Place the zucchini, potatoes, and onion in a large bowl. Add the egg, flour, and salt and pepper to taste (I usually add 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). Mix until well combined. If the mixture seems way too wet, add a little more flour.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat until hot (I use a 12-inch cast iron skillet, and the 1 cup of oil is just the right amount for this size pan). To test the oil, you can drop a small amount of the batter into the oil. If it immediately sizzles and bubbles vigorously, the oil is hot enough.
- Using a ¼-cup measure for each pancake, carefully drop the batter into the hot oil. Immediately flatten out the pancakes with the back of a fork (they should be about ¼-inch thick; you don't want them too thick or else they will get too brown before they cook through). I can fit 3 pancakes in my 12-inch cast-iron skillet.
- Fry the pancakes until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Watch the heat and adjust up or down as needed. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until golden brown and crispy, about 2 more minutes.
- Remove the pancakes from the oil and place on a wire rack placed on a baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with salt to taste. Place the cooked pancakes in the preheated 200°F oven to stay warm and crispy while you cook the remaining pancakes.
- These are best when served immediately! Serve with sour cream or applesauce (or both) for dipping.
Notes
- Estimated calories shown are for 1 zucchini potato pancake.
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