Boxty, or Irish Potato Pancakes, are incredibly easy to make and perfect dinner side dish or snack recipe!  

Boxty on the griddle,
Boxty in the pan,
If you can’t make boxty,
You’ll never get a man.
Boxty on the griddle,
Boxty in the pan,
The wee one in the middle,
That’s the one for Mary Anne.” -(Traditional Irish Rhyme)

These traditional Irish potato pancakes come from the northern regions of Ireland.

The word “boxty” comes from the Irish phrase ‘aran bocht ti’ meaning ‘poorhouse bread.’

This tells us a lot about the origins of the dish, which started out as a peasant food. In the early 1800, before the Great Famine, often potatoes were nearly the only thing the Irish poor and those in the work-houses had to eat.

Boxty were a simple and plain Irish recipe that was filling and made the best use of what they had on hand.

The Best Potatoes to Make Boxty

For boxty, you will want to choose starchy or floury potatoes, like Russets. (Not waxy potatoes like Red Potatoes or Yukon Golds.) The starchy potatoes really absorb the buttermilk and create a nice pancake batter. 

Using a combination of mashed potatoes and raw, grated potatoes gives the pancakes a nice texture, something like a cross between a pancake and a hash-brown fritter.

When you grate the raw potatoes, they will start to release a lot of moisture. It is important that you wrap the grated potatoes in a tea towel and wring them out well. The drier the potatoes the better your pancakes will turn out.

Since there are raw potatoes in the pancakes, you need to be sure to cook them low and slow, so that the potatoes cook through. The last thing you want is to bite into raw potatoes!

Keep your pancakes at medium heat, just hot enough that they sizzle in the butter.

Topping Irish Potato Pancakes

Flavor-wise the boxty are very plain. (Image a plain pancake, without all the sugar we typically add in the States.)

This means that they go well with nearly any meal. Breakfast to dinner. Sweet or savory.

When we were reading up on boxty and how it is served, we kept seeing that it was suggested to serve with butter or jam.

Jam? On potatoes? Of course, we had to try it.

We were actually quite surprised by how well the potato pancakes went with sweeter spreads like jam (or even apple butter).

They truly are incredibly versatile.

Seasoning Your Boxty Recipe

This recipe is also a great starting point for getting creative with boxty.

Add in some chopped scallions, crumbled bacon, or a bit of cheese and see where the flavors take you!

More potato pancake recipes

If you love the idea of potato pancakes, you need to try Swiss potato rosti, and make sure you don’t miss British bubble and squeak!