Traditional Irish Boxty Recipe (2024)

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Learn how to make traditional Irish potato pancakes. This easy boxty recipe is as tasty as any in Ireland, perfect for St. Patricks Day or everyday.

Traditional Irish Boxty Recipe (1)

Learn more about what you will find in an Irish Pantry.

The potato is my favorite vegetable. It’s probably yours too if you are smitten with french fries. It’s amazing to think about how many different ways we cook potatoes.

We fry them for french fries, latkes, hash browns, and diced with onions. We boil them for mashed potatoes, soup and served as whole boiled baby potatoes. We roast them on a sheet pan, bake them in the oven and smother them with butter, sour cream and chives. I am sold on almost any recipe that includes potatoes, especially if it’s the main ingredient.

This recipe is my new favorite. Fortunately hubby gave this Irish food two thumbs up because he is going to see this regularly plated out for him. This potato pancake re-heats really well. I have tried it both in the microwave and throwing it on a hot griddle, it didn’t lose flavor or texture. I do like reheating in a pan much better though, no need to add oil, there’s plenty still on the boxty from its first go ’round in the pan.

These are great served with eggs in the morning, kinda like a pancake-hashbrown side. I am going to make a big batch of these and freeze them. If you do this, be sure to freeze them on a single layer on a sheet pan. Then once frozen solid, place them in a freezer bag. By freezing Boxty in this manner, you will be sure they aren’t frozen stuck together in a solid block.

Want to go to Ireland? Check out Planning a Trip to Ireland!

What is Irish Boxty?

Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake that uses both cooked mashed potatoes and grated raw potatoes. It typically consists of flour, eggs and baking soda. The baking soda gives it that pancake-like rise while the raw grated potatoes imparts a nice ‘bite’ similar to a latke. The combination of the two is what makes boxty the perfect potato pancake.

Like most Irish cuisine such as coddle,champ,colcannon and Irish soda bread, boxty was developed by the common people, not professional chefs. It is believed boxty came about in order to make their food stretch a little further and feed more people. My parents would add more potatoes to stew to stretch a dish. What tricks did your parents use to make food go a little farther?

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How is Boxty served?

Boxty is traditionally served as a side. Serving this Irish food with pan fried sausages and sautéed greens is common. Some restaurants are amping up boxty by filling it with signature ingredients and smothering it with a sauce. I prefer the taste and texture of this potato dish to stand on its own.

Boxty would also be a great side to traditional Irish Stew.

A non-traditional way of serving boxty is to treat it like a wrap, stuff it and pour some sauce over it. Some American pubs are stuffing it with sausage and garnishing it with a stout reduction sauce.

This would also be a great side to serve with fish such as salmon. It is delicious as a quick snack anytime of day. It’s a vegetable so it’s healthy right?

If you have an inventive way to serve boxty, leave a comment below and share with the community.

Do you know of any other types of pancake recipes from other countries? What are they called?

Bon Appetit!

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Traditional Irish Boxty Recipe

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake that uses both cooked mashed potatoes and grated raw potatoes. It typically consists of flour, eggs and baking soda. The baking soda gives it that pancake-like rise while the raw grated potatoes imparts a nice 'bite' similar to a latke.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb russet potatoes, about 3 large, peeled and cut into 1/2 pieces
  • water for boiling
  • 4 Tbs salted butter plus more for frying
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup of diced green onions
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbs cooking oil
  • Optional Garnish:

Optional Garnish:

  • sour cream
  • green onions or chives

Instructions

  1. Place half of the potatoes in a large dutch oven pan and cover with water. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender.
  2. While potatoes are boiling, grate the other half of the potatoes with a large grater. This can be done in a food processor if you have the grating attachment. I used a box grater and used the side with the large holes.
  3. Place the grated potatoes in a sieve and place sieve over a bowl. Toss potatoes with 1 tsp salt and let potatoes rest so the moisture will be drawn out. Toss the potato water.
  4. Once the boiling potatoes are done, drain off water and return potatoes to pan. Add butter and milk to pan, mash with a potato masher. Add eggs and green onion, stir.
  5. In a separate, small bowl add the dry ingredients (salt, pepper, flour, baking powder), stir until well combined, add to the pot. Add the shredded potatoes. Mix all ingredients well, you should have a lumpy, thick pancake-like batter. If it's too thick, add more milk.
  6. In a large skillet, heat up 2 Tbs of oil until it starts to smoke, add 1 Tbs of butter. Using a measuring cup, scoop batter into pan making 4 inch rounds, tamp down if needed to flatten.
  7. Cook on each side until golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels. Serve while hot.

Notes

This recipe is best when using leftover mashed potatoes. Next time you make mashed potatoes for dinner, make extra for boxty the next night. The reason is that this recipe takes time when made from scratch. By doubling up on your mashed potato game, you can make boxty easily the next night.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10Serving Size: 1 pancake
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 210Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 477mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 3gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g

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Traditional Irish Boxty Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Irish boxty made of? ›

Boxty is a thick pancake of mashed and shredded potatoes, flour, baking soda, and buttermilk fried in butter or lard. These are traditionally formed into a circle and cut into quarters or triangles and are usually served as a side dish or appetizer. These are a great way to use up any leftover mashed potatoes.

What is the difference between boxty and latkes? ›

Boxty is different from other potato pancakes or latkes, and you'll see that once you bite into one and notice the crispy hash brown-like outside and soft, dough-like inside.

What is the Irish word for boxty? ›

'Boxty' originates in the 1700s and may get its name from the Irish 'arán bocht tí', meaning 'poor house bread', due to its humble ingredients, making it a staple in Irish households where potatoes were relied upon to survive.

What country invented boxty? ›

Boxty is an authentic Irish dish which originated in the 1700s. It was a staple food in Irish households where potatoes were relied upon to survive. Blight during the famine destroyed the potato crop and affected the consumption of Boxty.

What to eat with boxty? ›

Serve your Boxty with:
  1. Poached Eggs and Crispy Bacon.
  2. Poached Smoked Haddock and parsley sauce.
  3. Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream.
  4. Smoked Bacon and Melted Cheese.

What is a fun fact about boxty? ›

The most noticeable difference between boxty and other fried potato dishes is its smooth, fine-grained consistency. An old Irish rhyme is: "Boxty on the griddle; boxty on the pan. If you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man!" As the interest in Irish cuisine has increased, so the popularity of boxty has risen.

What is coddle in Ireland? ›

Coddle (sometimes Dublin coddle; Irish: cadal) is an Irish dish which is often made to use up leftovers. It most commonly consists of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly sliced, somewhat-fatty back bacon) with chunky potatoes, sliced onion, salt, pepper, and herbs.

What is a traditional Irish potato basket? ›

The Skib by Joe Hogan is a traditional Irish basket used for straining and serving potatoes. After use it was washed and hung on the kitchen wall to dry and in this way began to be seen as a decorative object.

What ethnicity is latke? ›

A latke (Yiddish: לאַטקע latke; sometimes romanized latka, lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah.

What is the Irish slang for cookie? ›

Common Irish Slang

Biscuit = Cookie – not to be attempted with gravy!!

What is hamburger in Irish? ›

nounburgar masc1 c m uburgar mairteola c m u.

What is potato slang for in Irish? ›

Spuds. We can't talk about Irish slang without mentioning potatoes! “Spuds” is another word for potatoes.

What is the difference between Farl and boxty? ›

It differs from boxty as boxty is made of raw potatoes whereas potato cake is made from cooked potatoes. In Ireland potato cakes are typically known as potato bread and are served in traditional breakfasts along with eggs and bacon.

Did mashed potatoes originate in Ireland? ›

Mashed potatoes are a staple in almost every Irish household, but the side dish has a long and storied history that has little to do with Ireland. They were first a staple for the Inca Empire, and for the Spaniards who conquered the Incas and remained in Latin America mining silver.

Is boxty low fat? ›

Drummully Boxty is a family produced traditional low fat potato dish, slimmer's delight and made from the very best Irish potatoes. A tasty healthy, low fat convenient and versatile meal solution.

What is the difference between boxty and potato bread? ›

It differs from boxty as boxty is made of raw potatoes whereas potato cake is made from cooked potatoes. In Ireland potato cakes are typically known as potato bread and are served in traditional breakfasts along with eggs and bacon. The Recipe: Boil potatoes in hot water until they are completely soft.

What is Irish champ made of? ›

Champ (brúitín in Irish) is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes with scallions, butter and milk.

What is Irish potato candy made of? ›

The candies have a coconut cream inside (generally made from some blend of coconut, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and cream or cream cheese) and are rolled in cinnamon on the outside, resulting in an appearance reminiscent of small potatoes.

What are the components of an Irish breakfast? ›

A traditional full Irish breakfast comprises bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, beans, soda bread or toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, and white or black pudding. For those wondering, black pudding coagulates the pig's blood into a sausage form. The white pudding is simply a pork sausage, usually flat.

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