What to Serve with Potato Pancakes: 10 Perfect Side Dishes

We have often thought about what to serve with potato pancakes. Those fluffy, sweet, and savory pancakes deserve to be part of an incredible meal!

Potato pancakes make us think of holidays and traditions. Any meal made with potato pancakes should evoke this feeling of nostalgia and happiness.

Comfort foods like warm soups or buttered vegetables are a great match.

You should also think about the history behind potato pancakes when searching for the perfect side. They are a staple in the Jewish community, and kosher foods often pair well with savory potato pancakes.

What Goes With Potato Pancakes?

It is a good idea to consider what goes into a potato pancake as you look for a complimentary recipe.

Potato pancakes are made with grated onions, shredded potatoes, flour, and cream. The potato mixture is fried in vegetable oil to make them crispy on the outside and tender in the middle.

Potato pancakes have savory and sweet flavors, so they pair well with both sugary and salty dishes.

We searched and searched to find these 10 incredible side dishes that go perfectly with potato pancakes. Choose one, and you are sure to have an amazing, complete meal.

1. Spinach Salad

Our easy spinach and strawberry salad makes a wonderful, healthy side dish for potato pancakes. Those golden brown pancakes need a great vegetable to go with them!

The crisp spinach and sugary strawberries are very tasty with warm, pan-fried potato pancakes. We add fresh goat cheese to the salad, making it a little salty.

The sweet and salty ingredients in the salad are perfect with the potato pancakes’ sweet and savory flavor.

Serve this easy dish any time of year! Latkes and salad are always a good idea.

2. Beef Stew

Hearty beef stew and latkes is a delicious meal that everyone is sure to enjoy. Try our favorite recipe for beef stew from Spend with Pennies.

It is a total winner!

The beef stew is made with tender pieces of beef cooked in a beef broth. Onions, garlic, carrots, and peas are added to the main course to make it healthy and filling.

Skip the potatoes in the recipe since you will be serving the stew with grated potatoes in the pancakes.

While the stew simmers on your stove, use a box grater to grate your potatoes for pancakes. Soak the shredded potatoes in cold water, then drain them on paper towels before tossing in flour.

This will help remove some of the starch and excess water, making the potato pancakes even crispier!

A dollop of sour cream on the pancakes and a big bowl of warm stew sounds like an incredible dinner. Save us a dish!

3. Roasted Chicken

A whole roast chicken is a great way to easily feed a large crowd. Make this whole roasted chicken from Dinner at the Zoo and serve it with some warm potato pancakes.

This is a dinner fit for a holiday and with only a few required ingredients.

The chicken is seasoned with fresh chopped garlic and herb butter. A little salt and pepper give it just the right touch.

Whole roast chicken does take a longer cook time, so plan ahead so nothing will go wrong.

Make the latkes right before the chicken is done cooking, so everything is warm and ready to serve.

4. Smoked Salmon

Smoked salmon and warm potato pancakes are a classic meal in the Jewish community. Use this recipe from Honest Food to make an incredible sliced smoked salmon right at home.

The salmon is soaked in salt and brown sugar brine, making it sugary and savory. It is slow-cooked to get the perfect texture and flavor.

There is no oil or butter needed, which means this is a very healthy dish!

Try making the brine with white wine to add an even more interesting taste to the meal. Smokes salmon is great cold or warm.

Add some other veggies to your plate, slice the salmon and serve up the latkes to make a complete meal.

5. Buttered Vegetables

Buttered vegetables are a delicious and healthy side for potato pancakes. This easy recipe from Cooking Classy can be made using almost any kind of vegetables you’d like.

Most roasted veggie recipes use carrots, pepper, onion, or even zucchini. Get creative with your cooking and toss in some butternut squash, asparagus, or broccoli.

Recipes like this are meant to be changed and served the way you like them.

While the vegetables bake in the oven, grab your box grater and start making shredded potatoes. The latkes can cook on the stovetop while the veggies roast.

We love meals that come together at the same time with little effort!

6. Homemade Applesauce

Applesauce and latkes are a match made in heaven. They are a classic combo that is always served together, and we just can’t get enough!

The sweet, cinnamon taste of apple sauce is just so good with golden brown, crisp potato pancakes.

Try this recipe from homemade apple sauce from Cookie and Kate. It has the perfect blend of cinnamon, sugar, and apples.

Make the applesauce creamier by pureeing it in a food processor. Choose to leave some apple chunks in your applesauce for an interesting texture.

Either chunky or smooth applesauce will be delicious with your homemade potato pancakes!

7. Caramelized Onions

Top your latkes with a sweet pile of caramelized onions, and you are sure to smile. A little sour cream, creme fraiche, or cream cheese on those potato pancakes with the onions, and you will be in heaven.

This recipe for caramelized onions from Simply Recipes is very easy to make. Pan-fried red onion turns a beautiful golden brown in just a few minutes.

Fry the onion dish longer to make them even more caramelized. Add a splash of white wine or water to make more sauce.

Try adding some sliced red peppers to caramelize with the onions. Cooking the two veggies together will make an incredible topping for potato pancakes.

Make the onions ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Reheat the onions in a skillet when you’re ready to serve the dish and eat!

8. Coleslaw

A beautiful coleslaw is a tasty, easy side to serve with potato pancakes. Serve the coleslaw as a side dish or right on top of the warm pancakes.

We love this recipe for creamy coleslaw from Barefeet in the Kitchen. It is made with mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and mustard.

Try using sour cream in place of mayo for a tangier, lighter side dish.

9. Sour Cream Dip

Latkes are traditionally topped with sour cream, cream cheese, creme fraiche, or applesauce. Change up that topping a little by making this tasty sour cream dill dip.

It is the perfect toppings for your warm potato pancakes.

This sour cream dip recipe from Good Cheap Eats is super easy to make. Simply mix all the ingredients together and serve. Potatoes are always good with tangy sour cream!

Make the recipe ahead of time and store the dip in the fridge until your pancakes are hot out of the oven.

10. Poached Eggs

A perfect poached egg and a hot plate of latkes sound like a dream breakfast. Add some bacon, and you will have a picture-perfect meal!

Latkes are not just for dinner but breakfast as well. Learn how to make a perfect poached egg using this recipe from Downshiftology.

Poached eggs need no butter or oil to cook. This makes the eggs a super healthy dish. They are still full of flavor and only take a few minutes of cooking time.

The soft, runny yolk makes a great sauce for potato pancakes. Break the yolk of the egg and dip your cooked potatoes right into the yolk.

You will never want to make breakfast potatoes again- latkes are the new trend!

Perfect Side Dishes for Latkes, From Sour Cream to Smoked Salmon

Give one of our incredible potato pancake side dishes a try, and let us know which one is your favorite.

Do you like classic applesauce on top of your pancake, or are you more interested in a perfect poached egg?

All the dishes in our blog post are great! Which will you try first? Enjoy.