How to create a latke charcuterie board to celebrate Hanukkah

With just a couple of nights left of Hanukkah, you’ll want to get to making a latke board immediately. It’s the perfect way to feed a crowd at all of your holiday festivities.

Forget the traditional cheese ball or deli meats. A latke board has everything you love about charcuterie boards. It holds savory, sweet and salty handheld bites that are the perfect way to toast to a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas, or any day of the year.

After TikTok inspired a whole new era of delicious-looking food displays starting about three years ago, many people have been getting creative with charcuterie boards, putting down everything from hot chocolate fixings and loaded pancakes to French fries. It’s only natural that someone would think to add another type of fried potato to the list.

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To make the latke board, you want to think small. Latkes can range in size, but for a latke board, you’ll want to scoop up no more than a tablespoon’s worth of potato mixture before you drop it into hot oil. (If you already have a favorite latke recipe, you can use that, or try this classic recipe from Tori Avey.)

Or, if you don’t want to make your latkes at home, you can use store-bought latkes from the frozen section of stores like Trader Joe’s.

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Next, it’s time to think of flavors. Traditionally, latkes are served with applesauce or sour cream, but the sky is the limit. After all, almost everything tastes good on fried potatoes!

Jackie at Simmer and Sage offers a step-by-step guide for creating your own latke board. She points out that as Hanukkah is a holiday celebrating the miracle of the oil burning for eight days, Jewish families often eat foods fried in oil. So along with inclusions such as caviar, pickles and hard-boiled eggs, you might want to include other fried items, such as doughnut holes.

And, if you ever struggle with figuring out where to put everything on your board, don’t worry: Jackie walks you through the easy steps of creating a latke board that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is yummy.

Here’s her Facebook post on the topic that shows the final product:

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You’ll want to create a latke board that includes a combo of proteins, veggies and spreads so guests can customize their latkes however they like. Provide fresh chopped herbs like dill or chives, or honey or jam for dipping. You might also want to include hard-boiled eggs or deviled eggs for more variety and protein.

This one from @amanda.wilens on TikTok incorporates clusters of latkes, sour cream and applesauce, lemons, cucumber, salmon, what looks like flavored cream cheese and more.

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Make a few latkes Tex-Mex style with smashed avocado, cilantro and black beans. Or, go Greek by spreading latkes with hummus then topping them with feta cheese crumbles, olives and chickpeas. Add some kosher tinned fish, as is customary at many Jewish meals.

The key is to create a variety of flavors and combos so that there is something for everyone at your party. Enjoy!