Swedish Potato Waffles (Potatisvafflor)

Name: Swedish Potato Waffles (Potatisvåfflor)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 150 g starchy potatoes (cooked, cooled and grated); 180 g all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 large egg; 150 ml milk; 150 ml cold water; 100 g butter (melted and cooled); Powdered sugar; Fresh strawberries or other fruit; Jam

Last month I was in beautiful Sweden, and of course trying some delicious local dishes was high on my to-do list. One of the things we tried was ostkaka (Swedish cheesecake), and another was Swedish potato waffles, or potatisvåfflor.

When I went looking for a recipe to recreate them at home, I found so many different versions that I ended up combining a few ideas. Either way, the end result was delicious!

Tip from Simone
Recipe Ingredients
How To Make Swedish Potato Waffles
Storing Potato Waffles
FAQ Swedish Potato Waffles

Tip from Simone

For this recipe, you’ll need cold, grated potatoes, so it’s handy to cook them a day ahead.

I didn’t cook mine as long as I normally would because you still need to grate the potatoes afterward. And since you’re using floury potatoes, that’s not going to work very well if they’re completely cooked and falling apart.

So make sure the potatoes are still nice and (a bit) firm!

Recipe Ingredients

If you ask me how to pronounce the name of this recipe… I can’t help you there. Swedish is one of the trickiest languages when it comes to pronunciation, if you ask me! Anyway, here’s what you need for these potato waffles.

Potatoes – Use floury or starchy potatoes, such as Russets, but don’t cook them until they’re completely soft. I boiled mine for about 10 minutes, although the exact time depends on the size of your potato pieces. You should be able to pierce them with a fork with a little effort, but the fork shouldn’t slide in easily.
Butter – Melt the butter first and let it cool slightly before adding it to the batter.
Flour – Regular all-purpose flour is all you need here.
Baking powder – This gives the waffles a little lift.
Egg – You’ll need one egg.
Milk – Traditionally, these are made with whole milk. I didn’t have any, so I used almond milk instead. That worked perfectly well, although I wonder if that was why my waffles didn’t brown quite as quickly. I’m not sure, but they tasted delicious either way.

And, of course, you’ll need a waffle iron. I used a heart-shaped waffle iron because the waffles we had in Sweden were heart-shaped too, and I thought that would be fun. But it’s definitely not a requirement. A regular waffle iron works just fine.

How To Make Swedish Potato Waffles

For this recipe, I used cold, grated potatoes. Cook the potatoes well ahead of time, let them cool completely, and then grate them coarsely.

They’ll continue cooking in the waffle iron, so you won’t end up with chunks of undercooked potato in your waffles.

The batter itself is super easy to make. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly.

Add the milk, water, and egg and whisk until smooth. Pour in the melted butter, stir to combine, and finally fold in the grated potato. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.

Bake the waffles in a well-greased waffle iron until cooked through and golden brown.

As you can see in the photos, mine are a little paler than the ones we had in Sweden. I suspect the Swedish version may have had some sugar in the batter, which would make them brown more quickly. You could certainly add a little sugar if you’re planning to serve the waffles sweet.

Storing Potato Waffles

Swedish potato waffles are definitely best eaten fresh. That’s when they’re at their crispiest. Once stored, they tend to soften.

You can let the batter sit for a little while before baking, but I’m not sure what would happen if you stored it for an extended period, so I’d recommend making the waffles fresh and eating them right away.

If you do have leftovers, store the cooked waffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat them in the oven or air fryer to help crisp them up again.

Can You Freeze Potato Waffles?

Yes, you can freeze the cooked potato waffles. Let them cool completely before freezing. Thaw them and then crisp them up in a toaster, oven, or air fryer.

FAQ Swedish Potato Waffles

Use floury or starchy potatoes, such as Russet potatoes. Don’t cook them until completely soft; they need to stay firm enough to grate once they’ve cooled. Cooked potatoes from the day before are perfect for this recipe.

Grate them. Let the cooked potatoes cool completely and then grate them coarsely. This gives you the right texture for the batter without turning the potatoes into mashed potatoes.

Not with this particular recipe. These Swedish potato waffles are made with partially cooked, cooled, and grated potatoes. Using raw potatoes would change both the texture and cooking time.

Make sure your waffle iron is fully heated before adding the batter and grease it well. Give the waffles enough time to become golden and crisp before opening the waffle iron. Keep in mind that the type of waffle iron you use can also affect browning.

You can let the finished batter rest for about 10 minutes before baking. For longer storage, I’d rather prepare the potatoes ahead of time and mix the batter shortly before you want to bake the waffles.

I like these with powdered sugar, fresh strawberries or other fruit, and jam. You can also leave out the sweet toppings and serve the waffles savory.