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.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
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.
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 you are 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.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
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.
Grate the potatoes before getting started with anything else. (See Expert Tips)
Once you're ready, add them to the mixture.
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.
Expert Tips
- 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; if they're runny, 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.
- When grating the potatoes, add them to ice-cold water to keep them from discoloring.
- To thoroughly remove all water from the shredded potatoes, strain them with a tea towel or cheesecloth. Be sure to squeeze as much of the water out as you possibly can.
Recipe FAQs
Irish Boxty potato cakes use shredded and mashed potatoes, whereas all other potato pancakes are made with mashed potatoes as the main ingredient.
Scottish and Irish have their versions of potato cakes, such as boxty in Ireland and potato scones in Scotland.
A potato cake is commonly known as a potato cake or potato pancake in America. Not to be confused with scalloped potatoes or hash browns, two entirely different things.
No, potato cakes use mashed potatoes as the main ingredient, while hash browns are pan-fried shredded potatoes.
More Recipes You'll Love
If you made this Irish Potato Cake recipe or any other of my recipes, please leave a Star Rating and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Don't forget to tag @chickenfriedkitchen on Instagram, Subscribe on YouTube, and Follow on Pinterest and Facebook! I'll see you there!
📖 Recipe
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.
Notes
- 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; if they're runny, 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.
- When grating the potatoes, add them to ice-cold water to keep them from discoloring.
- To thoroughly remove all water from the shredded potatoes, strain them with a tea towel or cheesecloth. Be sure to squeeze as much of the water out as you possibly can.
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!