Baked Sweet Potato Latkes

Baked sweet potato latkes

These vegan baked sweet potato latkes look a bit like sea urchins, vibrantly colored with spiky extensions. But, they are gentle to the tongue and delicious. The key to making these vegan was using aquafaba instead of eggs. Aquafaba is simply the leftover juice from chickpeas and is a versatile binder in baking and cooking. The sweet potatoes don’t have as much starch as regular potatoes, so I added a bit of one along with some matzah meal. In comparison to these baked ones, I made a few that I fried in a skillet filled with canola oil. They didn’t hold their form as well and were soggy with oil. I also appreciate that the baked latkes were all ready at once, as opposed to when fried, there are slowly batches of them that are ready to eat (and someone always left in the kitchen cooking more!). Add a dollop of vegan sour cream or applesauce (try my chai tea spiced apple sauce), as a delicious topping to these latkes.

Baked Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded (I left part of the skin on them)
1/4 large yellow onion minced
1 large potato, shredded and water squeezed out
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 matzah meal
1 pinch salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup aquafaba (drained from a can or two of chickpeas)

Ingredients before mixing in the aquafaba

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Wash and peel (I left part of the skin on because it’s nutritious) the sweet and shred them (I used a Cuisinart which makes it a much quicker process). Add to a large mixing bowl.
3. Wash the potato and shred separately from the sweet potatoes. Squeeze as much excess water as possible. Add to the sweet potato mixture.
4. Either manually or by machine, mince the onion and garlic (I did by hand). Add to the potatoes.
5. Add the matzah meal, salt, pepper, baking powder and mix well.
6. Add the aquafaba and mix well. You don’t need much aquafaba to keep the ingredients together (ie it shouldn’t feel sticky or very wet,  but depending on the size the sweet potatoes you used, you might need to adjust how much aquafaba you add).
7. On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, take a large tablespoon of the mixture and place on the tray and slightly flatten it.
8. Baked for about 20 minutes and then flip them over. Continue baking for another 15-20 minutes until crispy on both sides.

Chai tea apple sauce

B’tayavon!

PS: If you’re looking for more Chanukah recipes including apple sauce, olive oil cake, awame (a Syrian-Lebanese Chanukah treat) and more, click here!