These Irish-style Potato Cakes are a super easy way to up your brunch game. They're fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside with a wonderfully savory flavor. Serve these Potato Cakes with eggs, bacon, and sausage topped with sour cream and chives to take them a step further.
Not only is this recipe easy to make, but it's an incredible way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes. In addition, if you use my recipe for Mashed Potatoes, you'll have one of the creamiest, most flavorful potato cakes ever.
Don't worry; if you need to adjust things due to the texture of the mashed potatoes, that's okay. Adjust the amount of flour used in the recipe. So if your mashed potatoes are thicker, use a little less flour, and I they're runny, then use a little more. However, if you're using leftover mashed potatoes, they tend to thicken up as they sit, so this probably won't be an issue.
The World of Potato Pancakes
- Ireland: (Boxti), Are what these potato cakes are based around. They're very similar to Britain's Potato Cakes with the addition of Baking Soda and Buttermilk.
- United Kingdom: (Potato Cake), Is made up of Mashed and Shredded Potatoes, Diced Onion, Flour, and Egg.
- Germany: (Kartoffelpuffer) These will contain Shredded Potatoes only, Egg, Flour, and Garlic. It is very traditional to serve topped with Applesauce and CInnamon.
- Switzerland: (Rösti) Not only do these Potato Cakes not contain all the other ingredients, but the potatoes MUST be parboiled, then chilled, and then grated for authentic Rösti.
- United States: (Hash Browns) In the United States, Hash Browns are prepared and preferred in all sorts of different ways. Some say crispy all the way through, others crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, while others prefer tater tots!
How to Make Potato Cakes
Potato Cake Ingredients
- Mashed Potatoes - Prepared, leftover, and cold are the best.
- Russet Potatoes - Peeled and Grated like Hashbrowns.
- All Purpose Flour - Follow the recipe closely; this is just the right amount. However, as stated above, adjust the flour based on the texture of the mashed potatoes.
- Baking Soda - This is what keeps these potato cakes fluffy!
- Kosher Salt - Don't be afraid to season your dishes. But don't go crazy, especially if using already salted mashed potatoes.
- Butter Milk - This adds a delicious creamy flavor and texture to the inside of these Potato Cakes.
- Vegetable Oil or Crisco - These are interchangeable and only used for frying.
Equipment Needed
In addition to anything you need to make a great mashed potato recipe, you'll need some straightforward kitchen staples to make the potato cakes.
Cheese Grater & Potato Peeler: These kitchen tools will be used to peel and grate the russet potatoes. This adds an extra texture and heartiness to the potato cakes you won't regret!
Mixing Bowls: I think these are pretty explanatory. However, you'll need something to mix the ingredients in before forming the cakes.
Cast Iron Skillet: I honestly don't believe a kitchen is complete without Cast Iron. This goes for skillets, dutch ovens, burger presses, etc.
Cooling Racks: It's essential to allow the potato cakes to cool on racks to keep them crispy and will enable the grease to drip off. The last thing you want is some soggy, greasy cakes.
Directions
This is such a simple recipe and can go so far. Follow these directions, and you'll be serving up some beautiful potato pancakes in no time!
Be sure that you have everything prepped ahead of time. A little pro tip: When grating the potatoes, add them to ice cold water to keep them from discoloring. Once you're ready to add them to the mixture, strain them using a tea towel.
Begin by preheating a Cast Iron Skillet over medium-low heat. Next, add all the ingredients except the buttermilk into a mixing bowl and stir it up to thoroughly combine.
Add the Crisco or Oil to a Cast Iron Skillet and let the oil heat up until shimmering or test it with a drop of water.
Now, Pour the Buttermilk into the mixing bowl and stir the mixture continuously until a thick batter has formed.
Using a medium kitchen spoon, drop the batter Into the frying pan. Lightly press the potato cake down and form a circle with a metal spatula. After about 3-4 minutes, flip the Potato Cake over and fry until golden brown.
Remove the potato pancakes from the skillet and place them on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This will allow the grease to drain and the potato cakes to remain nice and crispy.
In Conclusion
Whether you make these for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner doesn't matter. Regardless, they can be a great side dish or part of the main presentation.
So, the next time you have some leftover mashed potatoes, hopefully made from the Chicken Fried Kitchen recipe, whip a batch of these Irish-style potato cakes the next day.
I promise you won't regret it!
You may also consider looking at his recipe for Corned Beef Hash. Instead of using the fired potatoes in the recipe, top these potato pancakes with some slow-cooked corned beef and onions, then with a final layer of Sunny Side fried egg!
OMG YUMM! I just came up with that, and I'm gonna do it!
Anyway, I'd love to hear in the comments how these Potato Cakes turned out for you and if you made any changes that you feel took them to the next level.
I hope you love them as much as I do and as usual...
Happy Cooking!
-Jeremy
Potato Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Cup Mashed Potatoes - prepared
- 1 ½ Cup Russet Potatoes - peeled and grated
- 1 ½ Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- Vegetable Oil or Crisco for Frying
Instructions
- Begin by preheating a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Next, add all the ingredients except the buttermilk to a large mixing bowl and stir it up to thoroughly combine.
- Add the Crisco or Oil to the skillet and let the oil heat up until shimmering, or test it with a drop of water.
- Now, Pour the Buttermilk into the mixture and stir continuously until a thick batter has formed.
- Using a medium kitchen spoon, drop the batter Into the frying pan. Lightly press the potato cake down and form a circle with a spatula. After about 3-4 minutes, flip the Potato Cake over and fry until golden brown.
- Remove the potato pancakes from the skillet and place them on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This will allow the grease to drain and the potato cakes to remain nice and crispy.
- Serve topped with sour cream, apple sauce, eggs, or however you wish.
Paula Kimball says
I found your I found your recipe for asparagus frittata in the Hideaway living, but it failed to say how many eggs to use
Jeremy says
Hi Paula,
My apologies for accidentally leaving that out of the recipe. I used 6 large eggs. Also, if you ever need to reach out to me feel free to email me or send me a direct message on Facebook or Instagram. Which ever is easiest for you!