Reibekuchen: German potato pancakes
Reibekuchen, or traditional German potato pancakes, are the perfect dish to try when visiting Cologne with a child and are so easy to make at home.
My mother-in-law has lived in this area her whole life. I knew which traditional recipe I wanted to make to go with our Cologne post, and I knew she would be the right person to ask. So this is Miss M’s Oma’s recipe for Reibekuchen: German potato pancakes.
She has been making this recipe for so long, she just makes it by feeling. So when I asked her for the recipe, she actually went and found me some old recipe books so that I would have the amounts I would need. The first was a book published in 1939 about cooking with electricity – “Das elektrische Kochen,” which probably tells you something. The one that I used was new the year she got married: 1968. It’s called “Das
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What are Reibekuchen?
Reibekuchen (literally: grated cakes) are German potato pancakes. They are also known as Kartoffelpuffer, Kartoffelpfannkuchen, Kartoffelplätzchen or Reibeplätzchen.
Reibekuchen
How are Reibekuchen served?
Reibekuchen
My mother-in-law grew up eating them with Apfelkraut, a highly concentrated form of apple sauce that is also a traditional food from the Rhineland. She still eats them this way. Her father apparently would eat them on rye bread with the Apfelkraut.
You can also find the German potato pancakes at fairs served with sour cream and smoked salmon.
Sometimes – and this is how I served them tonight – they are served with pork dishes, though crispy Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes), Spätzle (an egg
We had roast pork with Reibekuchen, apple sauce, sautéed snow peas and a creamy sauce with oyster mushrooms and bacon. Miss M, our picky little eater, ate her Reibekuchen and apple sauce, but would not even let me put the rest on her plate.
They are also a great alternative side dish for Christmas or Thanksgiving Dinner.
Tips for the perfectReibekuchen
There are a number of alternative versions of this recipe for German potato pancakes.
You can substitute the flour for semolina or polenta or another type of flour in the case of allergies.
Some recipes also suggest substituting the grated onion for grated apple. This, of course, makes the potato pancakes sweeter but means you don’t need any apple sauce.
The recipe I found in “Das
Whatever you do, there are two things you need to ensure:
- Really squeeze the liquid out of the potatoes. It will be quite brown and you might get more than you expect. If you leave it in, it will make the Reibekuchen soggy and they will fall apart.
- Use starchy potatoes, the kind that you would use for mashed potatoes, gnocchi or baked potatoes in their jackets. In German, these are called
mehligkochend , or, literally, floury potatoes. Russet, Idaho and Yukon gold are all good examples of starchy potatoes.
Are you going to serve your Reibekuchen sweet or savoury?
Reibekuchen, or traditional German pancakes, are an easy-to-make meal or side dish. They are delicious served with apple sauce or Apfelkraut, or as a side dish with roast meat: the perfect recipe for Autumn.
How are you serving your Reibekuchen?
Reibekuchen – German potato pancakes
Equipment
- Grater
- spatula
- Tablespoon
Ingredients
- 500 g potatoes peeled
- 1 large egg
- half a white onion
- approx. 25 g plain flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated nutmeg to taste
- oil and/or butter for cooking
Instructions
- Grate the raw potatoes into a bowl. Thoroughly squeeze off any liquid.
- Grate the onion into the bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well to form a ‘slurry’.
- Heat the oil and/or butter in a frypan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add an overflowing tablespoonful of the potato mix, spreading it around until it is less than 1 cm thick.
- Bake on both sides until golden.
- Remove from the pan and place on some paper towel to soak up any excess fat before serving.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Seeing this brought back great memories for me! My parents lived in Germany before I was born and learned some of the recipes like this one – growing up, my Mom would make us potato pancakes and serve with applesauce. It sounds so weird if you’ve never had it, but I love the combination so much!
If we go to a fair or something where they are making some, we have to bring some home for my MIL. It is definitely a little strange, but very delicious!
My mother who came from the rhineland used to make these for tea we had them on swartzbrot or with reubenkraut feeling like making them now
That is exactly how my husband’s aunt likes to eat them! This is definitely the recipe for you then! Enjoy!
These were perfection Thank you. I recently had a sauerkraut from Rhineland area. It was red and a bit on the sweets idea. Looking for a recipe for that…thank you.
Hi Debbie,
Glad you enjoyed them!
You’re probably looking for a “Rotkraut” recipe. It is normally made with apple and sometimes black or red current jam, which makes it rather sweet. I normally cheat and get mine from a jar, but if you want to make some, try this recipe:
Remove the outside leaves from a red cabbage cut in half and remove the white “stem”. Finely slice the cabbage (use a mandoline if you have one). Finely dice a brown onion. Core and dice 3 apples (like a granny smith).
Add a little olive oil to a saucepan and add the onion; let it sweat over medium heat until the onion is transparent. Add the cabbage and let it sweat for about 5 minutes. Add the apple, 400ml red wine, 250 ml orange juice, 350ml water and 30ml apple cidre vinegar. Add two bay leaves, 4 cloves, 6 juniper berries, 1 tsp cinnamon and 60g sugar. Bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer, covered, for about 90 minutes until the red cabbage is soft. Season, and add 1-2 dessert spoons of black or red currant jam, if desired.
Hope that helps!