Boxty (Irish Potato Pancakes)
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:About 12 pancakes
- ½small red onion
- ¼cup apple cider vinegar
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
- 2pounds all-purpose potatoes, preferably Rooster or Yukon gold
- 1cup buttermilk
- 1½cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- 4 to 6tablespoons unsalted butter, as needed
- Smoked salmon and sour cream, for serving (optional)
For the Pickled Red Onions
For the Boxty
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
180 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 301 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Prepare the pickled red onions: Slice the red onion thinly from stem to stem, then transfer slices to a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt and ½ cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally, until sugar and salt dissolve, then pour on top of onions; set aside.
- Step 2
Prepare the boxty: Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water; season generously with salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Step 3
Peel half the potatoes, then cut them into 1-inch cubes, tossing the cubes into the water as you go. Once the water comes to a boil, continue to cook until potatoes are soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 4
While the diced potatoes boil, peel the remaining potatoes, then grate them coarsely using a box grater. Season the grated potatoes generously with 2 teaspoons sea salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, toss to coat, then transfer them to a clean, dry kitchen towel. Squeeze the grated potatoes over a sink to remove the excess liquid, then transfer them to a large bowl.
- Step 5
Once the diced potatoes are soft, transfer them to a colander to strain, then transfer to the large bowl with the grated potatoes; mash until creamy, and mashed and grated potatoes are well combined.
- Step 6
Pour the buttermilk on top of the warm potato mixture and stir briefly just to combine.
- Step 7
Add the flour and baking powder and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Step 8
In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Working in batches, spoon in the potato mixture using ⅓ cup measure to form small 3- to 4-inch-wide pancakes, leaving at least 1 inch of space between pancakes. Cook until nicely browned on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining pancakes, adding more butter between batches as needed.
- Step 9
Serve pancakes topped with pickled red onions, and smoked salmon and sour cream, if you like.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Lock McShane
No need to peel the potatoes.
rick H.
Add a spoonful or 2 of plain yogurt to regular milk as a substitute for buttermilk.
Alexa Weibel, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking
Hi Rose! Yes, me too — trying to be creative in the kitchen. You can definitely use other dairy products: Heavy cream or half-and-half would work well. You could also use milk, or even sour cream or yogurt for tanginess! If using sour cream or yogurt, because they are thicker, I would use only 2/3 cup of either and whisk that with 1/3 cup water to form a 1 cup mixture that is more similar to buttermilk in texture. Hope you enjoy! It's a super easy, super forgiving recipe.
harriet
can flour other than wheat flour be used in boxty potato pancakes? It would be helpful if substitutes for wheat could be mentioned for recipes that can utilize them sucessfully.
Jen
Good, but would be better with 1/2 cup less flour.
nikkileeks
Yes to the flour Question it’s only a binder so any type will do !!
Erin
I added chopped scallions and parsley to the boxty mixture. Very good recipe
R Sachs
Shredded hash browns work well as long as one thaws them first. I move them from the freezer to the icebox the night before. They work well for latkes, too.
FrenchNutcraker
Oui oui oui! This boxty recipe was the real deal! My grandmother in County Mayo used to make boxty and it's deliciousness has never been replicated- this came amazingly close. Highly recommend (though skip the pickled bits-- go with Kerry Gold butter-- classic!)
JimSmithOnline
Agree with others there was no need to peel the potatoes. It sounded like "too much work" but turns out to be a great dish to prepare with kids. They cut up chunks for boiling, I managed the dangerous grating part. Cooked in two pans, one non-stick and one cast iron. Pancakes in the cast iron turned out much crispier even tho used same amount of butter. We didn't have the salmon, but sour cream was a lovely accent. Kids also used pancake syrup, but I won't judge :-)
Beth JL
Used about 10 oz of left over mashed potatoes plus about 14.5 oz of 2 partial bags of Trader Joe’s frozen hash browns lingering in the freezer. As was mentioned in another comment, and because I was starting with less weight in potatoes, only used 1 cup of flour. Added an egg because they seemed heavy. Came out great!
ButteryBabe
I followed others notes and used about 1/3rd cup of flour. I mixed in some chopped scallions as the window box was overflowing. Fried in ghee. We were very pleased.
Laurel
Question for the pickled onions- I’d like to make a large batch to keep and add to other meals. After cooking the vinegar/water mix and pouring over sliced onions should I leave the container on the counter for a few days or immediately transfer and store it in the fridge?
Durk
Used leftover Colcannon/Champ mash made with garden kale, collards, winter scallions and stored spuds. Didn’t peel taters for either prep. Sub Greek yogurt, Bobs Red Mill gluten free 1 to 1 Flour. Added a beaten egg and a little water. Fried in butter and EVOO, low and slow for deep browning as shown, on my gas range in nonstick pan. No “bready” texture, due to GF flour, which always seems a hint “gummy” to me. But…Still tasty. I do some form of potato pancake any time I have leftover mash.
Amy K
These were delicious, as is! I’m adding them to our big Christmas morning menu. Starting a new tradition. Thank you for this recipe! xx
Chris Garrett
Boxty is common in the northwest of Ireland; less so in other parts of the country. In Leitrim they make it like this with shredded & mashed potatoes; in Donegal they just use shredded potatoes only.
Emme
In Ireland I came across a couple of older boxty recipes that called for the mashed potatoes (nothing added) to ferment for two days resulting in a slight, but purposeful production of lactic acid. This seemed the more common method of preparation. Fresh grated potatoes and other ingredients were then added to the mix when ready to cook. I’ve yet to find these versions again in searches. Are others familiar with this?
Peter Schuyler
Just made these for New Years. Had a little trouble regulating the frying temp so we had some lightly scorched outsides on a few, but a really great recipe, and reminiscent of one of the best meals we had while in Ireland! We'll definitely be making them again come St Patrick's Day.
Barbara Whiting
I serve these on St Paddy’s to my vegetarian friends. I wrap around asparagus and spoon over a light white sauce.
ButteryBabe
I followed others notes and used about 1/3rd cup of flour. I mixed in some chopped scallions as the window box was overflowing. Fried in ghee. We were very pleased.
Erin
This was my first time trying boxty, so I don’t have anything else to compare them against. I agree with others, though. I was very careful with measuring and sifting the flour, avoided overmixing, but they were still gummy. I also cut the salt in the shredded potatoes to 1tsp, and the seasoning was just right.
CC Baker
These are amazing, I made with a mix of white (mashed) and blue (shredded) new potatoes from our CSA. I cooked the mashed potatoes with a Parmesan rind and added some crushed garlic to the batter. They’re basically grown up tater tots, so good!
t mak
Has anyone made this on the griddle?
Baconchniffer
I made a vegetarian version of this recipe by taking the smoky tomato sauce from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021789-fried-tagliatelle-with-chickpeas-and-smoky-tomatoes?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page®ion=all&rank=32 and using that as the topping.
FrenchNutcraker
Oui oui oui! This boxty recipe was the real deal! My grandmother in County Mayo used to make boxty and it's deliciousness has never been replicated- this came amazingly close. Highly recommend (though skip the pickled bits-- go with Kerry Gold butter-- classic!)
Makenzie C
Too much flour. These were heavy and gummy.
Raca
Sadly these didn’t work out. A little ‘gluey’ in texture.
Tyler
I’d recommend about 1/2 cup less flower.
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