McGuire's Irish Boxty Recipe Copycat (2024)

This copycat McGuire’s Irish Boxty Recipe is perfect for making this delicious Irish Pub appetizer at home! These Irish boxties feature cheesy garlic mashed potatoes rolled in a crispy panko coating lightly fried until golden brown. Delish!

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I figured now was the perfect time to share one of my all-time favorite Irish restaurant copycat recipes!

This rockin’ recipe utilized leftover mashed potatoes and is inspired by the crispy fried mashed potato balls at one of my favorite restaurants in Pensacola Florida, McGuire’s Irish Pub. I’ve lived their twice now thanks to Paul’s former job in the Marine Corps and this must-visit restaurant has always been a favorite of ours.

Both the Pensacola and Destin McGuire’s have Boxtys on the menu year round and they’re easily one of their best selling and most raved about appetizers. Betcha can’t eat just one!

Now that we live in Texas, I’ve had to resort to making them at home. They’re every bit as amazing as I remember!

In this post I’ll highlight the ingredients you need to make this awesome app as well as some delish dip options, process shots, and all my boxty making tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the years. Let’s do this!

Irish Boxty Ingredients:

1. leftover mashed potatoes (aim for 1 + 1/2 cups)
2. chives or scallions
3. grated cheddar cheese
4. garlic powder
5. one large egg
6. all purpose flour
7. panko breadcrumbs
8. salt + pepper
9. chopped parsley and grated parmesan for topping

For the mashed potatoes, this recipe will works with any kind you have handy and can be made with homemade or store bought mashed potatoes. Garlic mashed potatoes are my favorite to use as they taste most like the restaurant version! I love making boxties whenever I have leftover homemade mashed potatoes and have totally gotten in the habit of making enough to make sure I have a cup and a half leftover every time.

I could probably argue that it’s in the name of recipe testing and quality control but it’s pretty much because mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods ever and I literally leap at the chance to make a plate of boxtys.

For extra crisp and stability, I use a combination of flour and panko coating on these mashed potato balls. I find it gives them a lovely crust to support the creamy mashed potato center. If preferred, you can 100% make them with just the panko coating.

For the cheese, I like to use medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, or pepper jack.

Delicious Dipping Sauces for Boxties

McGuire’s serves their boxties alongside a trio of dipping sauces: fresh salsa, avocado crema, and creamy horseradish sauce.

For the salsa, my easy Restaurant-Style Salsa is a great option, or you can use your favorite store bought variety.

To make the avocado crema, simply mash (or blend with a processor or immersion blender) avocado into sour cream and season with a little sea salt and garlic powder. You can also use my Spicy Guacamole or Jalapeño Dip for your dipping sauce. SO GOOD!

Now that you have your ingredients and dipping sauces sorted, let’s dive into the process shots and all my tasty tips!

How to Make Fried Mashed Potato Balls

I tried to make as many step by step photos of this recipe as I could, but feel free to leave me a comment if you need any assistance as I am happy to help you go from boxties??? to BOXTIES!!!

STEP 1: Prep the Mashed Potatoes

In a medium bowl, combine cold leftover mashed potatoes (straight from the fridge is best) with cheddar, chives, and garlic powder. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well with a large spoon.

STEP 2: Scoop Boxty Filling into Balls

For bite-sized balls use asmall cookie scoop with a 2 teaspoon capacityto easily scoop mixture into small balls. For slightly larger boxties with a bit more mashed potato filling per ball, use a 1 TBSP scoop per boxty.

If you don’t have an easy-release cookie scoop, no worries! You can absolutely measure out per mashed potato ball using a regular measuring spoons or simply eyeball it, rolling the filling into 1-inch balls.

For best results, keep the mashed potato balls to be no larger than 1 inch in diameter.

Roll each scooped portion into balls. If they aren’t cold and keeping their shape, place in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to set so they will hold their shape when fried.

STEP 3: Prep the Crispy Coating

Place flour, egg, and panko each in their own shallow bowl. Whisk the egg until the white and yolk are well combined.

Roll each ball in flour, then dip/dredge into the egg, then roll and cover with panko. For less mess designate one hand for rolling the mashed potato balls into the dry ingredients and the other for dredging in the whisked egg.

STEP 4: Fry the Boxties in Oil

I like to use a small sauce pot so I use less oil. But a larger pot works too especially if you plan on doubling the recipe.

Heat about 2-3 inches of oil to 375℉.

Carefully drop in the mashed potato balls into the hot oil, frying just 3-4 at a time.

Use a slotted spoon to lightly stir in the beginning to prevent sticking. Fry each batch for 2-3 minutes or until they are fully browned and crispy. Use the slotted spoon to remove from the oil and place on a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the remaining boxties.

Copycat McGuire’s Irish Boxty Recipe

I am so excited for you to try this recipe! 1 + 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes will be enough to make 19-20 boxties. If you happen to have as much as 3 cups of leftover mashed potatoes on hand and need to serve a crowd at your next party or game day, you can absolutely double the ingredients in the recipe card below and make approx. 40 fried mashed potato balls.

NOTE: If you are making homemade mashed potatoes with the hopes of turning them into these marvelous mashed potato balls, your best bet is to make the mashed potatoes the night before and chill in the fridge overnight so that they’re nice and cold. This helps them keep their form when coated and fried.

Writing up this McGurie’s Irish Pub inspired recipe inspired me to do a little deep dive on Facebook and I found some photos from our early days of frequenting this pub with friends and family.

DYING over this throwback photo of Paul and I at McGuire’s during flight school and who would have guessed after snapping this pic of the “Laughlin Funeral Home” sign that I’d wind up marrying into the Laughlin name. Hah!

If you get a chance to try this copycat McGuire’s Irish Boxty Recipe, let me know!

You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!

This recipe is my FAVORITE way to use up leftover mashed potatoes and is part of my love your leftovers series! We’re all about eliminating food waste around here!

Here are some past installments to help you turn last night’s leftovers into something new and delicious!

1. Recipes to Make with Leftover Buffalo Chicken Dip
2. 7 Delicious things to do with Leftover Chili
3. 15 Recipes for Leftover Chipotle Peppers
4. Recipes to Make with Leftover Spinach Dip