Ok so one thing about me is that I am not even remotely a good morning person. This often means that I stumble through the morning routine half awake with a cup of coffee and am lucky if I get a bowl of cereal before the kids and I head out the door (don’t worry I always make sure they are well fed). The thing is though I love breakfast foods, and these vegan sweet potato pancakes are near the top of the list. We just usually have them for supper or late Sunday brunch.
This recipe started out as just ordinary potato pancakes. They did not have nearly as much flavor, similar in taste to hash browns. Not a bad addition to breakfast by any means, but one day I decided I wanted something more.
This was around the time that I was experimenting with shallots quite a bit. I discovered a love for them as they have a milder flavor than onions and are much easier to add into food without overpowering it. I decided to add in some caramelized shallots to my potato pancakes to give them a bit more flavor and a bit of sweetness.
Since I was looking to add flavor and I was going try shallots I figured why not add in a bit of garlic. The whole thing turned out pretty well, but the garlic flavor was a little bit sharp.
The next time I made them I decided to do it the same way, but instead of mincing the garlic I roasted it. This helps it to have a milder flavor and to mix in with the rest of the ingredients better. I also used this method with my sweet potato gnocchi and it worked well.
This time the potato pancakes were amazing! Full of flavor and delicious. This was how the recipe stood for quite a while until at some point I decided to start adding sweet potato to it.
With that these vegan sweet potato pancakes were born and have been a favorite treat in our house since. Crispy but still a little soft on the inside, and the combination of potatoes and sweet potatoes adds an extra level to the traditional potato pancake. They are a great dish for any meal, but I personally love having them for supper and then saving enough leftovers for an easy and delicious breakfast the next day.
Serve with a dollop of your preferred vegan sour cream or homemade cashew cream cheese, add a side of sauerkraut, or just dig into them as they are. Sweet potato pancakes are just plain great!
What you will need:
- 1 Pound of Potatoes (2-3 med potatoes)
- 1 Pound of Sweet Potatoes (1 large sweet potato)
- 2 Shallots (caramelized)
- ¼ cup Flour
- ½ Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 3 Cloves Roasted Garlic
- 2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
How to Make Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes:
Dice shallots and place in a small frying pan, with a little oil, on low heat for approx 45 minutes until caramelized.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Put a small amount of oil on a pan and place the garlic cloves on the oil. Roast for 5-8 minutes. Set aside until it cools enough to touch.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
Peel and grate the potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Take the clove of garlic and remove the skin. Smash the garlic into a paste and stir into the dry ingredients. Then add the grated potato and sweet potato and mix well.
Add oil to a medium sized frying pan and heat to medium. Using your hands form the potato mixture into cakes about the size of your palm. I find that thinner sweet potato pancakes make for a better ratio of crispy outside and soft inside.
Fry each side until golden brown. Now you have a delicious meal of vegan sweet potato pancakes! Top with ketchup, hot sauce, or whatever you prefer. Dig in and enjoy!
