Vegan and Gluten-free Beetroot and Sweet Potato Latkes with Cashew Cream are savory and delicious, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or breakfast-for-dinner!
Latkes (fried potato pancakes) are typically enjoyed during Hanukkah festivities in December, but whether or not you celebrate Hanukkah, latkes are a delightful recipe idea, especially if you’re looking for a warm dish to start your day.
Originating in the Eastern European countries (Russia, Poland, Austria, and Germany), latkes were created due to the abundance of potatoes. Potatoes were also inexpensive and easy to store, making them a wonderfully accessible starchy vegetable for meals.
This Beetroot and Sweet Potato Latkes recipe is a twist on traditional latkes, utilizing nutrient-dense root vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and beets in place of potatoes and offering a vegan and gluten-free option. Keeping the traditional taste, Beetroot and Sweet Potato Latkes are seasoned with garlic, onion, and black pepper, a fabulous pairing with the natural starchy sweetness from beets and sweet potatoes.
Besides the scrumptiously savory taste, these latkes are also extremely healthy, offering vast nutrition with each bite. Both beets and sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin C, A, and K, beneficial for boosting immunity, strengthening bones, and building strong eyes and skin. Hooray for superhero root vegetables!
Latkes are traditionally vegetarian (formed with a combination of grated or ground potato, matzo meal, breadcrumbs and/or flour, and sometimes eggs), but this recipe uses egg replacement and gluten-free flour to create a vegan and gluten-free option.
These Beetroot and Sweet Potato Latkes are baked rather than fried, another variation on traditional latkes. Potato pancakes are usually fried to celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah; however, these latkes are oven baked. You may absolutely fry these latkes; however, it’s important to remove all excess moisture from the mixture as the patties will not stick together if too wet. Both beets and sweet potatoes are moist vegetables, so it is important to blot or squeeze out any extra moisture before frying or baking.
Garnish Beet and Sweet Potato Latkes with green onions, applesauce (a traditional topping for latkes), or homemade vegan cashew cream. Yum!
Homemade vegan nut cream is so delicious and versatile. It can be light and fluffy like a sour cream or have a thick consistency similar to cream cheese. Use it on latkes, spread on bagels, dollop on tacos, or pair with pickled beets for a scrumptious appetizer: Roasted Beets and Vegan Cashew Cream Crostini recipe.
Serve latkes hot and make extra! They tend to disappear fast from the table.
Beetroot and Sweet Potato Latkes with Cashew Cream (Vegan / Gluten-free) Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2-3 medium red beets
1 sweet potato
1 small yellow or white onion
1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
3 to 1 chia subsitute (egg substitute)
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
green onions, garnish (optional)
Vegan Cashew Cream (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Grate sweet potatoes and beets. If you have a food processor to grate your sweet potatoes and beets, go for it! It’s a much quicker option.
Place grated sweet potatoes and beets in large bowl or sieve to squeeze out extra moisture. Because beets and sweet potatoes are moist vegetables, it is important to eliminate all excess moisture by soaking up moisture with a paper towel or squeezing ingredients together and pushing down through a sieve.
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients, adding egg substitute at the end.
Spray parchment paper with non-stick spray or rub coconut oil.
Take about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and form a thick flattened disc, placing on parchment paper.
Place in oven and cook patties for about 30 minutes. Flip halfway.
Bake until crisp.
Serve warm and fresh from the oven. If you wish to re-heat latkes, you may heat them in a pan over medium heat. This may add some extra crispiness to the latkes too.
STILL HUNGRY?
