These Irish potato cakes, or potato pancakes, are creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They are so easy to make. You just mix some flour into prepared mashed potatoes, Scoop the mixture into a skillet, and heat them in some melted butter until the outsides are brown and crispy.
You can add an egg to the mixture if you like to bind the potatoes together. I skipped this ingredient because I used leftover mashed potatoes from the refrigerator. If you do use eggs, keep the ratio to 1 egg to every two to three cups of mashed potatoes.
These potato cakes can be made in advance, and then reheated in a lightly buttered skillet or your toaster (or regular) oven. They are quintessential Irish pub food.
My husband is Irish (from Dublin), and one of his favorite dishes was his mom's Irish potato cakes. Every time we visited his parents, his mom always made us these, and they were always such treat.
As an Irishman, he loves potatoes. The stereotype is true, at least in our house. In fact, when I made the mashed potatoes for these potato cakes and tucked them into the fridge for later, he immediately noticed them. I assured him that potato cakes were in his future as long as he kept his hands off the mashed potatoes.
These can be served plain with melted butter, or with onions, sour cream, and smoked salmon. It's up to you. I had some leftovers for breakfast with some of this homemade ketchup. Ah-maze-ing.
More Delicious Irish Recipes:
Yield: 10 pancakes

Irish Potato Cakes
ingredients:
- 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 egg, optional
- 4 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper
instructions:
- Mix the mashed potatoes with the flour.
- Melt the butter in a skillet until bubbly. Scoop the potatoes with a half cup cookie scoop onto the surface of the skillet and gently press down with an oiled spatula. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Pan fry the potatoes for several minutes over medium low, until browned. Flip the potato cakes over, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and continue to cook until the other side has browned. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes. Serve immediately.
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Love potato pancakes and this recipe sounds like a winner.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy. It's super easy.
Deleteexcellent way to deal with leftover mashed potatoes - I tried something similar with sweet potatoes, but managed to end up with an epic failure, as far as looks were concerned
ReplyDeletewe still called them side dish, though
;-)
It's the flavor that matters, right? You should see the photos of the Irish rarebit I made for this post. Ugly bugly. We still ate it!
DeleteHa ha ha I love that you had to tell your husband to stay away from the leftovers. These potato cakes look so good. Time for a second breakfast lol.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how quickly he noticed them =)
DeleteThese potato pancakes look divine! I love potatoes as well, in every possible way, and as a pancake even better! Pinned and yummed too!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Nicoletta!
DeleteBeautiful photos Karen! I could really use some potato cakes right about now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tara =)
DeleteWe love potato pancakes! Yours look gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Sarah!
DeleteMmm, they look wonderful! I always say the mark of a true good cook is the ability to turn leftovers into something wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bernice! We love leftovers!
DeleteOh wow! What a delicious way to elevate leftover mashed potatoes! This is definitely going into my recipe rotation. I can think of all sorts of things to put on top of them. Mmmmm. . . .
ReplyDeleteThank you! Me too.
DeleteOh my goodness - do these sound amazing or what? I definitely need to give them a try!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy!
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