Potato Pumpkin Pancakes (Latkes) that easily become the base for a Breakfast Pizza!
It’s my first pumpkin recipe of the season, yo!
Except it’s not pumpkin… It’s butternut squash… And I’m embarrassed to have said yo! Please don’t tell my kids!
Anyway, pumpkins… butternut squash… they’re the same thing, right?
Wrong!!
Butternut squash are much, much more delicious!
Why else would canned pumpkin be made of butternut squash? What, you didn’t know that?!
Well, newsflash, yo! If you think you’ve been eating pumpkin all this time, you really have been eating butternut squash. Or something similar… And I guess I’m not that embarrassed to say yo!
The truth is, most of the pumpkin purée you buy in a can is more likely a mix of different winter squash, mostly the butternut type, even if it says 100% pumpkin.
And the truth is, the USDA thinks that’s okay. And the truth is, they belong to the same family, botanically speaking, anyway.
I realize this is all so confusing…
I tell you what. Just think of butternut squash as pumpkins and pumpkins as… uhm… Halloween or Thanksgiving decoration and you’ll be just fine.
Whenever a recipe calls for pumpkins, just use butternut squash, instead. Or canned pumpkin, which is really butternut squash, and you’ll be just fine.
Think butternut squash = food, and pumpkins = jack-o’-lantern, and you’ll be just fine.
Less confusing now, I hope?
Of course, if you insist on eating your jack-o’-lantern, knock yourself out. I’m not one to advocate waste.
And definitely, definitely, eat the seeds! They’re the best part!
Okay, now onto the pancakes and pizza, yo!
When I said pancakes, I didn’t mean like breakfast pancakes you get from IHOP, but more like latkes. And when I said pizza, I didn’t mean like pizza you get from Pizza Hut, but more like breakfast pizza.
I realize this is all so confusing… It’s National Confusing Post Day, yo!
I made these pancakes on Thanksgiving while waiting for the turkey. I was already peeling potatoes for the mash. And I had all those squash in my centerpiece. And we had to eat something. That turkey took the whole morning, yo!
I wasn’t going to blog about them since it’s such a simple recipe. But then Hanukkah happened.
And so I told myself, “Hey, yo, Angie, those potato pumpkin pancakes are perfect for Hanukkah.”
In reality, this was what I heard, “Hey, yo, Angie, here’s the perfect excuse to eat fried food.”
So I did the only sensible thing to do. I made them again…
To share with you…
At first I tried to make them small and cute, perfect as pre-meal appetizer, by the way.
But then I told myself, ” Hey, yo, Angie, quit wasting time and just dump the entire thing and be done with it!”
So I did the only sensible thing to do. I went big.
But then when I saw it naked, I didn’t like it.
So I clothed it with a bunch of toppings and it became a pizza. A breakfast pizza, yo!
- 2 cups shredded potatoes (Russet or Yukon)
- 1 cup shredded butternut squash or pumpkin
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 green onions, sliced thinly
- Olive oil
- Soft scrambled eggs
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
- Manchego cheese, shredded
- Ham or Canadian Bacon, sliced thinly
- Cooked bacon, crumbled
- Sweet pepper, sliced thinly
- Chives, chopped roughly
- Use a kitchen towel to squeeze dry shredded potatoes and squash.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more as needed.
- Drop by the spoonful to make pancakes.
- Fry on medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Reduce heat if the squash pieces turn overly brown too quickly.
- Drain on paper towels before serving.
- To make the pizza base, just spread the mixed ingredients thinly on the pan. Cook just as the pancakes, adjusting cooking time as needed for the bigger piece (about 1-2 more minutes on each side).
- Top pizza base with soft scrambled eggs, cheddar and manchego cheese, ham, and peppers.
- Place under the broiler just until the cheeses melt, about 4 minutes.
- Sprinkle bacon as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Add chives and more cheese (if desired) before serving.
I’m sharing these with my good friends at Throwback Thursday.
Oh my god, Angie! These look so amazing! I love how crispy they look! And I can just imagine how delicious they’ll be as pizza. Can’t wait to give these a try. Breakfast solved!
Thanks! They were very crispy when served immediately. So these aren’t something that I recommend you make ahead of time. But they were easy and quick to make. The breakfast pizza was really delicious! I highly recommend it, Andrea. I hope you’ll give it a try!
Angie, Wow!! love the latkes and the breakfast pancake, a simply marvelous idea. Also using some pumpkin or squash in the latkes is such a great idea. They look just beautiful and delicious and I am so glad to see you post a recipe again. YAY!!!
The pizza, especially, was so good! One thing though, make sure the eggs are really soft, almost runny b/c they’ll firm up a little more under the broiler. But yes, I highly recommend this! Thanks, Suzanne! 🙂
Stunning – they look and sound amazing, Angie! Glad to see you back 🙂
Thanks, Steffi! They really are very delicious. I hope you’ll give them a try! 🙂
These look amazing Angie! They remind me of the rosti we had in Switzerland and fell in love with! Perfect for any meal!
Yes, they are very much like rosti! And yes, they’re perfect for any time of the day! Thanks, Julie! 🙂
You have me laughing this mornig Angie but so happy to have you in your glory, cooking creatively with gorgeous photos to entice us to try your very creative fusion latke-pancakes! Love love love this concept! Had no idea canned pumpkin was not all it was thought to be! all the things you learn at FF!
Then my work here is done! That’s what it’s all about, Johanne, making people laugh 😀 I LOVE it when I can do that! The breakfast pizza was terrific! Give it a try!
Well, since I don’t have to keep kosher, it might be fun to enjoy these during the Hannukah season. Or try them with duck bacon. Yum. 🙂
Duck bacon sounds even more amazing than regular bacon! And you know, I think the pizza will be good even without meat. It’s the combination of potatoes, eggs, and cheese that makes the dish. Thanks, Julia! Where have you been? 😀
Super busy moving and adjusting to a new town where my kids have way more homework (which often requires my help) and I have more shuttling duties. I’ve missed Fiesta Fridays. Glad I could pop in this week!
What a delicious looking breakfast or brunch!! I love the pizza! Yummy, yummy …I am going to try this one, I think my sons would love it. Thanks Angie and Happy FF!! 🙂
Oh, give it a try please, and let me know what your sons think! You know their opinion is what really counts! 😀
Love your train of thought! I didn’t know that about canned pumpkin, good to learn something new. And I much prefer butternut squash anyway. Great idea for a breakfast pizza.
Well, I found out about canned pumpkin b/c one time I did try making pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin purée. Let’s just say it just wasn’t worth the trouble. But I think it has a lot to do with the variety of pumpkins. Some I assume are as good and sweet as butternut. They can’t all be that bad. Thanks, Liz! 🙂
Yo?! I’m telling yer kids! Actually, this tickled me. I guess it’s time to get away with using that wretched word. Is it a word? Anyway, loving the idea of both the latkes and breakfast pizza. But what are you using to shred the potatoes and pumpkin/squash (the latter best in flavour for pumpkin pie, no less). And I especially love that photo of the latkes in the pan/skillet.
It’s a word my kids aka tweens and teenagers use and I’m much too old to be considered either ? I used a super sharp mandolin to shred. Be careful! My skin got scraped a couple of times! Next time I’ll use a food processor! I’m glad you like that photo. I struggle with a dark/black background, but it makes for more dramatic photos. I’m going to keep learning! Thanks, Johnny! 🙂
Now, I don’t even know if I am confused or not. Hahaha! Good one, Angie! You had me laughing during this lazy day of mine (translation: sleepy). The breakfast pizza really looks good and such a wonderful idea. Now, I want some! 😀
Oh yah, that always happens. When you’re sleepy, everything is funny, haha… You should really make the pizza. You can use turkey ham and bacon, or omit the meat entirely. You can add onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms! 🙂
Yo dude! Loving those pancakes and even better as a pizza base – nice!
I’ve got to be honest, it’s all about butternut squash for me, I really don’t like pumpkin, I keep trying it, but I’d really rather have the butternut 🙂
Nice to see you post again xx
Yo, Elaine!! Haha…I sound like my son! The pancakes were nice but the pizza the best. You should try it. Top it with lots of roasted veggies and your excellent dips! Mmm…maybe I should try that myself! Same here with pumpkins, I do keep trying to like them. Some are better than others but really, none can best butternut 😀
Get you getting all veggie!! ?? x
Yo, Angie!! I love your new take on pancakes and pizza! And seriously? I had no idea that I have been eating butternut squash pie all of these years! 🙂
Hey, yo, Julianna! How is the new house coming along? More importantly, the kitchen! I’m still holding on to your share of Twinkle 2.0. Let me know when to send it. Email me your address. I’ve been making sourdough this and that all this time, many of them quite successfully. Just haven’t been able to blog about them. So yeah, you should definitely jump on the band wagon. Just say it and I’ll send you some! 🙂
Hey Angie, Wow, so nice of you to hold on to that for me. I will email you my address this weekend! And maybe over the holidays I can start trying some recipes!
Angie these are so clever and so hip right now – is that still an acceptable word? Probably not!!
I hope you’ll bring these by to Throwback Thursday – it’s about 4 posts down on my blog, that is if you’d like to party there, too! 🙂
Oh yah, I forgot to link. I’ll do that right now. Thanks for the reminder! I have no idea what words are acceptable or not these days. Sometimes things come out of my mouth and I get these looks from my kids!! 😀
What a fabulous recipe Angie, I so have to try these. I love anything with butternut squash or pumpkin & these look delicious, I’ve got a few homegrown butternut squash stored in my pantry, pinned for later 🙂
Oh how nice to have homegrown butternut squash. I planted black futsu squash this year and got one, you read that right, ONE squash! And that’s why in my other life (read: blog) I’m known as TheNoviceGardener, haha… I hope you’ll give this a try, Sarah. It really was fantastic! 🙂
I don’t want to sound like I’m promoting our party on your page, but the more the merrier, I think!
Of course! I totally agree! 🙂
Hi Angie! So glad you stopped by and shared this on TBT!! I love it and can’t wait to try it~! Happy Holidays and thanks for sharing on Throwback Thursday and I’ll be pinning this to our TBT pinterest! Hope to see you next Thursday!!
Thanks, Molly! 🙂
What a spectacular breakfast! And some confusion makes for a perfect accompaniment! (In the meantime I’ll work on increasing my coolness by incorporating yo into my vocabulary as well, yo.) 🙂 Love the recipe post Angie!!
Thanks, Laurie! I think you’re pretty cool without ever saying yo, lol! XOXO
A latke becomes a pizza. I’ll have to try this next Hanukkah- they would probably be neat in mini form as an appetizer, too. Your site is looking great, and I really like the format of your recipe card. 🙂
Oh hey, Shanna, where you been? The site is a long, slow work in progress. In fact, I’m trying to create a new header as we speak. How’s the family doing? The kids must be big now. XOXO
I agree, please send any tips my way. We are wonderful and enjoying life after surgical residency. Blog still up and going. 🙂 Will check out your Fiesta Friday posts manana.
Potatoes and cheese are my top favourite foods, and the “winter squash” (?) sounds perfect.