Crispy Potato Pancakes with Cheese

Crispy Potato Pancakes with Cheese are packed with the spicy, rich flavors of pepper jack and jalapeños. With a less than 30-minute prep time, they’re delicious for both a busy weeknights and weekend dinner parties.

These Crispy Potato Pancakes with Cheese are packed with delicious Mexican flavors.

What’s in these Cheesy Potato Pancakes?

As with any recipe, starting with good quality ingredients is one of the keys to success.

I know quite a bit about Idaho potatoes and I will always choose them. A few years ago, I traveled with the Idaho Potato Commission to Idaho to learn everything about growing and harvesting them. So yes, the first ingredient is Idaho potatoes. (That journey began here.)

The remaining ingredients are:

• onion
• Pepper Jack cheese
• Jalapeño peppers
• garlic
• chipotle adobo sauce
• egg

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

• It’s really important to remove as much liquid as possible form both the potatoes and onions. After they’re grated, you’ll want to squeeze them with your hands. The liquid content is very high in both. The more liquid you can remove, the crispier the pancakes will be.
• Be sure the pan is super hot when you add the pancake mixture. Imagine you’re searing a steak!
• Chipotles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeño chiles that are canned in a sauce that typically contains tomato puree, paprika, salt, onions, oil, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and oregano. For this recipe, just use the sauce, not the actual pepper.
• If you’d like to make these crispy potato pancakes less spicy, use mild peppers like Poblanos, instead of jalapeños, and use white cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago, or Fontina cheese instead of Pepper Jack.

Serving Suggestions

Here are a few delicious ideas:

• Fried Meyer Lemon Caesar Salad
• Mexican Blackened Salmon
• Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin
• Mexican Chopped Salad with Pepitas and Chipotle Dressing

I hope you love these Mexican Crispy Potato Pancakes as much as I do!

Spicy Potato Pancakes with Cheese

Valentina K. Wein

Crispy Potato Pancakes with Cheese are packed with the spicy, rich flavors of pepper jack and jalapeños. With a less than 30-minute prep time, they're delicious for both a busy weeknights and weekend dinner parties.

Makes 1½ dozen small potato pancakes

Print

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 4 mins

Total Time 24 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 2 to 4

Calories 310 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup grated Idaho Russet Potatoes -- approximately 1 (¾ pound) potato,
• ⅓ cup grated onion
• ⅓ cup grated Pepper Jack cheese,
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Jalapeño pepper, washed and dried, seeds removed
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic,
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo sauce (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• olive oil

Instructions

 

• Grate potato and onion. Use a food processor or hand grater to grate the potato and onion. (The former is much easier!) Then use your hands to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the potatoes and onion.
• Combine all of the ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the potato and onion with the cheese, jalapeño, garlic, chipotle adobo sauce, salt and egg.
• Sauté the pancakes. Generously coat a large sauté pan with olive olive oil, and place it over medium-high heat. Once the pan is very hot, shape the potato mixture into approximately tablespoon-sized pancakes, placing them in the hot pan as you go. There should be at least an inch or so between them. Gently press each one to flatten slightly. Cook until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
• Serve immediately!

Notes

Chipotles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeño chiles that are canned in a sauce that typically contains tomato puree, paprika, salt, onions, oil, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and oregano. For this recipe, just use the sauce, not the actual pepper.

Calorie count is only an estimate.

Keywords great for Cinco de Mayo, best potato sides

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