Make-Ahead Latkes: Fry Early, Freeze, and Reheat Them Crispy

Name: Make-Ahead Potato Latkes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: About 24 latkes, 3 inches each
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: 2 1/2 lb russet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled; 1 medium onion, peeled; 2 large eggs; 1/3 cup all-purpose flour or matzo meal; 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp black pepper; Vegetable or canola oil for frying (about 1 1/2 cups)

Pareve · October 5, 2026 · By Tova's Shabbos Kitchen · Jump to recipe

Fry potato latkes days or weeks before your Chanukah party, freeze them, and reheat them crisp in the oven or air fryer. Exact times for a crowd. Pareve.

A latke party is the most fun night of Chanukah, and the worst night to be stuck at the stove while everyone else is at the menorah. The fix is simple: fry the latkes days or weeks ahead, freeze them, and reheat them in a hot oven. They come out crisp, and your house only smells like oil once.

Why latkes reheat so well

A latke’s crunch comes from the fried crust. As long as you reheat them dry and hot, in an oven or air fryer and never a microwave, the crust comes right back. Freezing them flat first keeps them from sticking together, so you can pull out exactly as many as you need.

The big-batch plan

When	Task
Up to 3 months ahead	Fry several batches, cool on racks, freeze flat, bag and label
Party day, 30 minutes before	Oven to 425 F, latkes onto sheet pans straight from the freezer
10 to 12 minutes later	Flip once, serve hot

One sheet pan holds about 20 latkes in a single layer. Two pans on two racks feed a crowd of 20 in two rounds.

How many to make

Side dish: 3 to 4 per person
Latke bar, latkes as the main event: 5 to 6 per person
This recipe: about 24 latkes, so triple it for 20 guests as a side

Meat or dairy party?

These latkes are pareve, so they fit either way. At a meat meal, serve applesauce. At a dairy party, sour cream is the classic. Just don’t put both on the same table as the brisket.

More make-ahead Chanukah

Holding latkes for a party? See how to keep latkes warm and crispy.
Make the homemade applesauce the same week; it keeps 7 days.
Want a lighter option? Baked sweet potato latkes skip the frying.
For dessert, make-ahead sufganiyot start from frozen dough.
Dairy night? Add cheese latkes.
Chanukah 2026 starts on a Friday night. Here is the Shabbos Chanukah menu.

Plan the whole party

If you are hosting, our printable Chanukah party menu planner has a shopping list, a prep timeline, and a latke bar sign. And if you want more than one kind of latke this year, our latke recipe cards have 8 different recipes, from classic potato to sweet potato and zucchini.

Recipe card · Pareve

Make-Ahead Potato Latkes

Classic crispy potato latkes made with grated potato and onion, fried in oil, then refrigerated or frozen and reheated crisp in a hot oven.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 40 min
Total: 1 hr 5 min
Yield: About 24 latkes, 3 inches each
Kashrus: Pareve

Ingredients

2 1/2 lb russet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled
1 medium onion, peeled
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour or matzo meal
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
Vegetable or canola oil for frying (about 1 1/2 cups)

Instructions

Grate: Grate the potatoes and onion on the large holes of a box grater or with the grating disk of a food processor.
Squeeze: Pile the mixture onto a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth, gather it up, and twist hard over a bowl to squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Let the liquid sit 2 minutes, pour off the water, and keep the white potato starch at the bottom of the bowl.
Mix: Add the potato mixture back to the bowl with the starch. Stir in the eggs, flour or matzo meal, salt, baking powder, and pepper.
Heat the oil: Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers (about 350 F). A shred of potato dropped in should sizzle right away.
Fry: Drop about 2 heaping tablespoons of batter per latke into the oil and flatten gently. Don't crowd the pan. Fry 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp. Add more oil between batches as needed and let it come back to temperature.
Drain: Move the latkes to a wire rack set over a sheet pan, not paper towels, so the bottoms stay crisp. Sprinkle with a little salt while hot.

Make-ahead and storage

Refrigerator: cool completely and store in a container lined with paper towel up to 2 days. Reheat in a single layer at 400 F for 6 to 8 minutes.
Freezer: cool completely, freeze in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan for 1 to 2 hours until firm, then move to freezer bags. Keeps up to 3 months.
Reheat from frozen (don't thaw): single layer on a sheet pan, ideally on a rack, at 425 F for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway, until sizzling. Air fryer: 375 F for 5 to 7 minutes.
Don't freeze the raw batter. Raw grated potato turns gray and watery.

Notes

Squeezing out the liquid is the most important step for crisp latkes.
Never leave hot oil unattended, and keep a lid nearby. Don't use water on an oil fire.
These latkes are pareve. Serve them with applesauce at a meat meal. Sour cream makes them dairy, so skip it if you're serving meat.

Questions people ask

Can you freeze latkes after cooking?

Yes. Fry them, cool them completely, freeze them flat on a sheet pan, then bag them. They keep up to 3 months and reheat crisp from frozen.

How do you reheat frozen latkes so they're crispy?

Don't thaw them. Spread them on a sheet pan, on a rack if you have one, and bake at 425 F for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway. An air fryer at 375 F takes 5 to 7 minutes.

How many latkes do I need for a party?

Plan on 3 to 4 latkes per person when latkes are a side, and 5 to 6 when they are the main event. For 20 people as a side, that's about 3 batches of this recipe.

Save it for Thursday night

Make-Ahead Latkes: Fry Early, Freeze, Reheat Crispy

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