These boxty are traditional Irish potato pancakes with a twist! Loaded with Irish cheddar, sweet onion and served with a savory sausage and mushroom gravy, they take β€œbreakfast for dinner” to another level.

plate of potato pancakes, mushroom gravy and chives on a white plate with a cup of coffee to the right. this recipe
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Type of potatoes to use

Russets! They have a high starch content, which helps to bind the pancakes together. Don’t substitute red or yellow potatoes, they are more waxy and won’t hold together as well.

I like to wash my potatoes and then leave the skins on before grating, but you can just as easily peel them. Whichever you prefer!

Use either a box grater or a shredding disc for a food processor to finely grate the potatoes. Don’t use a larger or coarse shred, because again, we want the pancakes to hold together in the oil. Larger chunks have a tendency to break away.

Prep the grated potatoes

For the crispiest boxty, make sure you do two things. Immediately after grating, add the shredded potatoes to a large bowl of cold water to rinse off the excess starch. Use a fine mesh sieve to drain the potatoes and continue rinsing them in cold water until you see that it’s running clear out of the sieve.

Use your hands to really agitate the potatoes as you rinse them. Yes, your fingers will be numb. And YES, these boxty are worth it!

After the potatoes are rinsed, squeeze out as much water as you can. I squeeze the shreds while they’re still in the sieve and let the water drain out as much as possible. To get them extra dry, sandwich them between several layers of paper towel and squeeze more water out.

I like to lay down 2-3 layers of paper towel, spread the potatoes out, then add another 2-3 layers of paper towel on top. Carefully roll them up and squeeze until the paper towel is completely wet, and then repeat with dry paper towels.

It’s a lot of work, for sure. But any extra starch will make your boxty soggy rather than crispy.

Prep the mashed potatoes

The easiest step! Peel, chop, and boil in salted water until tender, usually about a half hour. For the smoothest mashed potatoes, use a ricer to eliminate lumps.

I set the mashed potatoes to boil, and then prepped the shredded potatoes while waiting. That worked out really well for the workflow in this recipe, so I wrote the recipe card to reflect that. Work smarter, not harder!

Cheese & onion

Traditional boxty don’t include either cheese or onion, but I added them here because they are just too delicious to leave out. I used an Irish cheddar and a medium sweet onion, finely grating both so that they seamlessly blended into the batter.

When the pancakes are hot, those little pockets of cheese are melted and gooey and SO GOOD!!

plate of potato pancakes, mushroom gravy and chives on a white plate with a cup of coffee to the right.

Binding ingredients & frying tips

A good amount of flour, whole milk and an egg pull everything together and give the boxty a soft, tender texture. Season with plenty of salt and pepper! I used at least a tablespoon of salt.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees before starting the boxty, so that you can keep the finished pancakes warm and crisp while you finish the gravy.

Use a large skillet for frying that holds heat well, like a stainless steel or cast iron. Start by adding a few tablespoons of oil and heat your pan on medium. Be patient and give the oil time to come up to the right temperature. If you add the batter when the pan is too cold, the boxty are just going to soak up the oil like sponges and steam rather than fry.

You should hear and see a good sizzle when the batter hits the pan. After dropping the batter, use the back of a spoon or bottom of a measuring cup to flatten out the pancakes to 1/4 inch thick. This makes it easier to cook them through without burning.

I found that 3 minutes per side is the sweet spot for golden, crisp and cooked through, but your stove may be different. Start with 2 minutes, and see if you need to adjust the cook time. Add another tablespoon or two of oil between batches as needed.

Gravy

I could have this gravy as a soup, it’s that good. The best part? You don’t even need another pan. After the boxty are done frying, add the sausage right to the hot skillet in the leftover oil from the pancakes. After the sausage is done, cook the mushroom, onion and garlic in the leftover fat/juices. I love this because you don’t lose any flavor from the pancakes, sausage or anything. It all shows up in the final dish.

The liquid for the gravy comes from Guinness stout and beef bone broth. A sprinkle of brown sugar and some whole grain mustard add even more delicious flavor. This whole deal is seriously SO GOOD.

Serve with beer, serve with coffee, serve with all of the above. If you have leftovers, you can refrigerate them for up to a week, and even freeze the pancakes (not the gravy) for several months.

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plate of potato pancakes, mushroom gravy and chives on a white plate with a cup of coffee to the right.

Irish Boxty with Cheddar & Guinness Gravy

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  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 8–10 pancakes & 2 cups gravy 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American, Irish
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Description

These boxty are traditional Irish potato pancakes with a twist! Loaded with Irish cheddar, sweet onion and served with a savory sausage and mushroom gravy, they take β€œbreakfast for dinner” to another level.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the boxty:

  • 2 lbs russet potatoes, divided (8-10 small/medium potatoes)
  • 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 medium sweet onion, finely shredded (1 cup total)
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 TB salt
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 2 TB olive oil, plus additional oil for more frying

For the gravy:

  • 8 oz pork sausage links
  • small sweet onion, peeled and sliced
  • 8 oz sliced mushrooms
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp garlic paste)
  • 2 tsp fresh minced thyme
  • 1 1/2 cups Guinness beer
  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth
  • 1 TB brown sugar
  • 1 TB whole grain mustard
  • 1 TB Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 TB cornstarch
  • 1 TB water

Instructions

To make the boxty:

  1. Peel 1 lb of of the potatoes (4-5 small/medium potatoes) and chop them into 1 inch pieces. Add them to a medium saucepan (I used a 3 quart size) and cover with water.
  2. Generously salt the water and bring the saucepan to a boil. Allow the potatoes to cook for 30 minutes, or until you can pierce them with a fork and not feel resistance.
  3. While the saucepan boils, prepare the grated potatoes. Use a box grater or fine shredding disc with a food processor to grate the potatoes. You should have about 1 1/2 cups.
  4. Immediately rinse the shredded potatoes in cold water to wash away the extra starch. Use a fine mesh sieve to drain the potatoes. Continue to rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear from the sieve.
  5. Squeeze out as much excess water from the potatoes as possible, and add the dry shreds to a large mixing bowl.
  6. After the boiled potatoes are tender, drain them thoroughly and pass them through a ricer. Alternatively, use a potato masher to smooth them out. Set aside to cool slightly.
  7. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towel. Place a cooling rack on top the the paper towel and set aside to catch the finished pancakes.
  8. Set a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 TB of olive oil. Allow the oil to heat up while you finish the boxty batter.
  9. Scoop 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes into the bowl with the grated potatoes. Add the cheese, onion and flour. Whisk the egg into the milk until blended and pour into the bowl, along with the salt and pepper. Mix well until incorporated, the batter will flow a bit like thick lava, but should not be soupy.
  10. Once the oil starts to shimmer and you can just barely see wisps of smoke, drop the batter into the skillet, 1/3 cup at a time. Use the bottom of the measuring cup or the back of a spoon the flatten the pancakes to about 1/4 inch thickness, or 6 inches across.
  11. Fry the pancakes for about 3 minutes per side, working in batches of 2 pancakes. Add more oil between batches as needed, transferring the finished boxty to the prepared baking sheet.
  12. After all the pancakes are done, transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven to keep them warm and crisp while you make the gravy.

To make the gravy:

  1. In the same hot skillet, add the sausages and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until fully cooked through to a safe temperature of 145 degrees. Remove the sausages to a paper towel lined plate and set aside to rest.
  2. Add the onions and mushrooms to the hot fat in the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and started to sizzle, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute.
  3. Stir the Guinness, beef broth, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce together and pour into the skillet. Slice the sausages and add back into the skillet and allow the gravy to come back up to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. After 10 minutes, stir the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry, and whisk into the gravy. It will thicken up immediately. Remove the gravy from the heat.
  5. Serve boxty hot with Guinness gravy. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to a week, and freeze the boxty for up to 6 months.

Equipment

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 pancake with 1/2 cup gravy
  • Calories: 392
  • Sugar: 5.5 g
  • Sodium: 708.1 mg
  • Fat: 16.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5.7 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 41.2 g
  • Fiber: 2.6 g
  • Protein: 18 g
  • Cholesterol: 91.3 mg

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