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British Irish

Irish Boxty Potato Pancakes

Traditional Irish boxty pancakes made with grated potato, mashed potato, flour, egg, and buttermilk.

Published and reviewed by Kitchgrow on 1 September 2026Updated

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Irish Boxty Potato Pancakes

40 mintotal

Prep 20 min · Cook 20 min

Serves
2
Difficulty
Easy
Spice
None
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Ingredients

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

No inactive time, and the raw potato should be grated and squeezed dry at the last moment — it discolours and weeps if it stands.

Method

  1. Boil half the potatoes until tender, drain well, and mash until mostly smooth.

  2. Grate the remaining raw potatoes and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

  3. Mix the mashed potato, grated potato, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

  4. Add the beaten egg and buttermilk, then mix into a thick spoonable batter.

  5. Heat butter and oil in a pan over medium heat.

  6. Spoon small rounds of batter into the pan and flatten lightly.

  7. Cook until golden underneath, then flip and cook the other side until the centre is cooked through.

  8. Serve hot while the edges are crisp and the centres are soft.

How to tell it's done

Boxty should be golden and crisp outside, with a moist potato-rich centre.

Getting it right

Tip

A mix of mashed and raw grated potato gives boxty its classic soft-chewy centre and crisp edge.

What to serve it with

Serve for breakfast or brunch with butter, sour cream, eggs, or a simple salad.

Common mistakes

The pancakes are heavy and grey.
Wring the grated potato out properly in a cloth. Boxty depends on the contrast between raw and cooked potato, and water left in the raw grating makes a batter that steams rather than fries — the greyness is the potato oxidising in it.
The middle is raw.
Keep the rounds small and thin, at a steady medium heat. Thick boxty browns outside long before the raw potato inside has cooked.

Substitutions

  • Use Milk instead of Buttermilk if needed, but add a few drops of Lemon Juice for mild tang.
  • Use Cooking Oil alone for frying if you want less browning from butter.
  • Do not skip squeezing the grated potatoes; excess moisture makes the pancakes heavy.

Storing and reheating

Keeps two days in the fridge and reheats well in a dry pan — boxty is traditionally fried again the next morning. It freezes cooked for two months. Raw batter does not keep; the potato darkens within the hour.