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Why choose between crispy latkes and juicy schnitzel when you can have both?! Experience the crispiest, juiciest twist on a classic, Potato Latke Shnitzel. It’s a new way to elevate the classic potato latke into a whole main dish. Great for Shabbat Chanukah or any night!

Potato Latke Shnitzel

Name: Potato Latke Shnitzel
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Gluten Free
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast; 3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled; 1 large onion (around 1/3-pound), peeled; 1 1/4 cups potato starch, divided; 4 large eggs; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; peanut, avocado or refined olive oil for frying; 1 baby carrot

There are some things in life you just don’t mess with: a good story, a warm hug, and Bubbe’s cooking. But what happens when you take two perfect, classic comfort foods and put them together? You get something truly meshuga, like Potato Latke Schnitzel! It’s a crispy, golden combination that’s like getting the best of both Hanukkah and a hearty Friday night meal. It’s simple, it’s a twist on traditional, and it’s the kind of dish that’s perfect for celebrating the miracle of Chanukah!

One of the latest trending crazes is Potato Latke Shnitzel! It’s enticing because you’re taking two amazing dishes and combining them for an incredible chicken dish that’s especially perfect for Shabbat Chanukah, or any night. Here’s how I made mine.

Yum. Just Yum.

Making Potato Latke Shnitzel

Making Potato Latke Shnitzel is actually pretty straightforward. While I’m a big proponent of using Hash Browns in a pinch (as in my original recipe for Hash Brown Potato Latkes created in 2011!), for the Potato Latke Shnitzel I went old school. I pulled out my peeler and hand grater, some excellent Midwest Idaho potatoes and got to work.

Prepping potatoes by hand is the way to go for Potato Latke Shnitzel.

I also grated an onion with the potatoes. It’s a critical step when using fresh potatoes for latkes or a potato kugel. The onion keeps the potatoes from turning brown while you’re prepping them. As I expected, eating them in the Potato Latke Shnitzel was the best of times and the worst of times. The Potato Latke Shnitzel with onions was delicious but my body was pretty upset with me… It was completely worth it!

A few more essential tips:

Make sure to squeeze out the potato onion liquid

Squeezing out the excess liquid from the grated potatoes and onion helps the Potato Latke Shnitzel brown to an awesome crispiness that you wouldn’t necessarily get with wet grated potatoes/onion. You may still get some liquid in the mixture after squeezing it out, but at least there won’t be a lot.

Super Crispy Potato Latke Shnitzel. Squeeze out the liquid first.

Adding some oil to the egg

This is a trick I always use when making any kind of breaded chicken, fish or beef. I add some oil to the egg. It helps to blend the egg more homogeneously, gives an extra layer of oil to crisp the protein, and helps the breading/coating stick better to the egg.

Unfried Potato Latke Shnitzel. The potato mixture really does stick to the chicken better.

The Chicken

I defrosted a two pound package of Empire frozen chicken breasts to make the Potato Latke Shnitzel. I was a little disappointed. The pieces in the package were not uniform in size, so I ended up with some larger and some smaller pieces. Some pieces were also thicker than others, causing me to actually throw the pan into the oven for around 20 minutes to make sure all the pieces were cooked through evenly.

While that did work in my favor, as not everyone wanted larger pieces, if you are looking for a more uniform result, get a package from your local kosher grocery store or butcher and make sure in advance that the pieces are uniform in size.

I used the frozen Empire Chicken Breasts making this batch of Potato Latke Shnitzel. You can see that the pieces weren’t terribly uniform in size. Delicious though!

Make sure to fry the Potato Latke Shnitzel in a high smoke point oil

You want the oil to get hot for the crispiest Potato Latke Shnitzel. I recommend using peanut, avocado or even refined extra virgin olive oil. I recently read an article on Simply Recipes, that talks about the fact that using refined extra virgin olive oil gives you a high smoke point as well. While I haven’t actually tried it, it’s worth considering.

I used good old peanut oil when frying my Potato Latke Shnitzel. No peanut allergies here thank G-d!

Here’s the recipe for Potato Latke Shnitzel

This is a great recipe, especially for Shabbat Chanukah! It’s hot and crispy for Friday night and even good cold for Shabbat lunch (think fried chicken). If you do decide to re-warm the Potato Latke Shnitzel, make sure to vent the cover of the pan, otherwise the chicken will get soggy.

In case you were wondering, here’s how I set up my prep station:

Making Potato Latke Shnitzel – everything sticks where it’s supposed to for the absolute crispiest, best tasting Potato Latke Shnitzel ever!