Choose Your Own Adventure Latkes Are THE Power Hanukkah Move This Year

It is latke time, which quite frankly, should be all year round. These crispy fried potato pancakes are the perfect food. They can be eaten from breakfast through dinner, from a great swap in for hashed browns to cozying up next to your roasted chicken. They can go sweet, dunked in apple sauce or fruit compote, or savory with sour cream or dip. They can be basic, sprinkled with salt and pepper, or ultra-fancy with crème fraiche and caviar; tiny one-bite wonders or giant palm-sized versions they create at the delis. You can make them thin and lacy or thick and hearty.

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Even better? Once you know how to latke, you don’t have to stick with basic potato. You can latke with sweet potatoes, Japanese potatoes, purple potatoes. You can latke with any root vegetable from carrots to beets to celeriac to parsnip. You can add in firm fruits like apple or pear. You can switch up your frying fat from canola to duck fat, lard to coconut oil. And you can season with any herb or spice that hits your fancy.

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This Hanukkah (and year!), go all-in on latkes of every variety. Find a recipe you love and experiment with the base vegetable, fat, and seasoning combination to your hearts' content. Need eight fabulous nights of latkes? Here are eight of our best recipes to inspire you!

World’s Easiest Latkes

This is my family recipe and one that has converted many friends to year-round latke makers. If you have never made latkes before, this is the place to start.

Get the recipe: The Easiest, Quickest Latkes You'll Ever Make

Two-Potato Latkes

Blend sweet potato with regular potato for the best of both worlds. These are particularly good as a side dish to roasted meats.

Get the recipe: Two-Potato Latkes

Sunchoke Latkes

The delicate artichoke flavor of sunchokes along with the sweetness they get when fried makes them a wonderful option for latkes. These are the ones I would make for my foodie pals.

Get the recipe: Sunchoke Latkes

Sweet Potato-Parsnip Latkes

Sweet potato latkes are always good but bringing some parsnip to the party really adds to the complexity. These are terrific at breakfast or brunch.

Get the recipe: Sweet Potato-Parsnip Latkes

Beet Latkes

These gorgeous latkes have a color that is just amazing, and the earthy sweetness makes them a terrific appetizer latke.

Get the recipe: Make Beet Latkes and Have a Happy Chrismukkah

Korean Latkes

Don’t hesitate to get experimental with your latkes! Chef Nyesha Arrington adds kimchi and Korean seasoning to her latkes with amazing results.

Get the recipe: Korean Latkes

Root Vegetable Latkes

A perfect hearty latke with rich flavors, this is the one I would make for the vegetarians or vegans in my life as the basis for a meal.

Get the recipe: Crispy Root Vegetable Latkes with Beet Puree

Cheese Latkes

Don’t think I would leave you without a dessert latke! No vegetables required, these pillowy latkes taste a bit like fried cheesecake pancakes, and you can top with everything from lemon juice and powdered sugar, to jam or Nutella.

Get the recipe: Cheese Latkes