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Irish

Boxty

Vegetarian

Bacstaí

Griddle pancakes made from a mix of grated raw potato and mashed potato bound with buttermilk batter, fried golden in butter.

Boxty is an Irish side dish from Ireland, ready in about 50 minutes and made with potato, all-purpose flour and buttermilk. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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A serving of Boxty
Photo: さえぼー / Wikimedia Commons · CC0-1.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
30 min
Total
50 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
308

Ingredients

4 servings (8 pancakes)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Boil half the potatoes (opens in a new tab) until tender, then mash. Grate the other half and squeeze out as much liquid as possible in a clean cloth.

    Potatoes boiling in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Lionel Ntasano on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Mix the grated and mashed potato (opens in a new tab) with the flour, baking powder (opens in a new tab) and salt, then stir in enough buttermilk (opens in a new tab) to make a thick, droppable batter.

    • 3 min

  3. Step 3

    Melt a little butter (opens in a new tab) in a frying pan over medium heat. Drop in large spoonfuls of batter, flatten slightly and fry until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes a side. Repeat with the rest.

    Food deep-frying in hot oil
    How it looks · Photo: Riya Roy on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
North Midlands and Ulster, Ireland · Well documentedMore food from Ireland
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Side dishes · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Boiled
Taste
savoury, buttery, mild
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Potato · All-purpose flour · Buttermilk · Baking powder · Butter
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom buttermilk, butter
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

308 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 224 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 11%
  • Carbohydrate 69%
  • Fat 21%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy308 kcal137 kcal
Protein8.2 g3.7 g
Carbohydrate53.3 g23.8 g
Net carbohydrate49.6 g22.1 g
Sugars3.9 g1.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.6 g1.6 g
Fat7.1 g3.2 g
Saturated fat4.3 g1.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol18 mg8 mg
Sodium833 mg372 mg
Salt equivalent2.1 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
651 mg
Calcium
148 mg
Iron
2.9 mg
Magnesium
43 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
59 µg
Vitamin C
25 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
131 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Squeezing the grated potato well gives crisp, not soggy, pancakes.

Common mistakes

  • Grating the raw potato too early — it turns grey; grate it just before mixing.
  • Frying over high heat browns the outside before the centre cooks.

Serve with

  • Serve with a fried breakfast, or with sour cream and smoked salmon.

Storage

  • Refrigerate cooked pancakes for up to 2 days.

Reheating

  • Re-crisp in a hot dry pan.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 25 min

    Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

  2. Bake · about 16 min

    Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

  3. Start to finish: about 41 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

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