How to shred potatoes

Shredded potatoes are the foundation of many delicious recipes, including fried potato pancakes, baked casseroles, or crispy hash browns. Learn how to quickly peel and shred potatoes for your cooking using a hand grater (without a food processor).

➜ Tools you need

To start grating potatoes, you don't need any fancy kitchen appliances, just a little skill and the will to do it. These are humble but necessary requirements for your success.

Potato peeler

Before you start shredding the potatoes, you must first clean them of any remaining dirt and remove their top layer of skin. A solid peeler is a smart investment if you enjoy cooking and need to peel not only potatoes but also carrots or apples.

Hand box grater

A hand grater is best suited for quick, uncomplicated shredding of potatoes and other vegetables, fruit, or even cheese. While there are many grating tools on the market, one of the most popular and versatile is the box grater. 

The box grater has four sides, each of which is designed for a different task. To shred potatoes, you want to use the side with small or large holes.

Next, you will need two large plastic bowls to clean and peel potatoes and a sieve. The sieve helps you get rid of excess moisture from the grated potatoes.

➜ Shredding potatoes

STEP 1: Place the raw potatoes in a bowl and cover them with lukewarm or cold water. Take each potato in your hand and remove its skin using a peeler. 

If you find any blemishes on the potato's surface, peel them off using the short blade on the peeler.

Rinse the potato in water, shake off the water, and transfer it to the second bowl.

When you've peeled all the potatoes, carefully drain off the excess water and discard the skins.

STEP 2: Place the box grater in the bowl with the prepared potatoes. Shred each of the potatoes on the side with small holes.

If the recipe calls for coarsely grating the potatoes, use the side with the larger holes.

STEP 3: Put a sieve over the bowl where you peeled the potatoes. Place the potato shreds in the sieve. Press down lightly with your fingers to squeeze out the excess liquid.

All done, the freshly shredded potatoes are now ready to be used for further cooking!

➜ Useful tips

• All-purpose Gold Yukon or starchy Russet potatoes are best suited for shredding.
• Medium-sized potatoes are easy to hold and work well for grating by hand because of this.
• When shredding, be careful not to injure the tops of your fingers, especially when shredding the rest of each potato.
• A hand grater with small holes is also a great helper for shredding cooked potatoes, for example, to make the dough for potato dumplings.

➜ Shredded potato recipes

• Bramboraky potato pancakes
• Placky potato flatbread
• Chicken stuffed potato pancakes