Halloween is a fun time for feasting on spooky treats. These cheesy Irish potato cakes in Halloween shapes are a wonderful side dish for little ones
This recipe is a way to make something wholesome and filling for little trick or treaters before they set out on their Halloween quest.

Cheesy Irish potato cakes in spooky novelty shapes are great for dinner on October 31st.

Table of Contents
Halloween Potato Cakes
My Irish potato cake recipe is one of the most popular posts on my blog, so I thought why not share a little variation on this recipe, using sharp, Irish cheddar cheese to add a kid-friendly tangy flavor to these little morsels.
In fact, depending on your cookie cutter selection, you could adapt this recipe to suit any holiday celebration. Candy canes and stars for Christmas, hearts for Valentines Day, and shamrocks to commemorate St. Patrick's Day - the sky's the limit.
Anyway, time for my Halloween specialty recipe:

The ingredients are very simple - that's why potato cakes were popular in Ireland years ago. Even the poor could make and enjoy these cakes.
Our ancestors had no onion powder, but let's face it, our Irish taste buds just love the combination of cheese and onion (my favorite crisp or chip flavor).
Ingredients for Cheesy Irish Potato Cakes For Halloween
Here's a quick list - exact quantities in US and Metric equivalents are available in the printable recipe at the bottom of this post.
- mashed potatoes
- all-purpose flour (for the dough and for kneading and rolling)
- grated white cheddar cheese (I like sharp Dubliner cheese from Ireland).
- butter (half melted for the dough and half for frying the potato cakes)
- onion powder
- salt
- beaten egg
Directions for Cheesy Potato Cakes
Let's start by making the potato cake dough.

Toss the flour and mashed potato together in a large mixing bowl.
It's best to use drier, floury mashed potatoes for this recipe. Here's how I make them.

Next season with onion powder and salt.

Mix the ingredients together using a potato masher, then add the cheese and mix it through.

Add 1 ounce of melted butter.

Add half the beaten egg. The amount of egg required to form a dough depends on how dry and floury you're mashed potatoes are to begin with.
I find Irish potatoes require more egg than American spuds.

Anyway, mix the wet ingredients through the dry to form a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle the top with more flour. Knead the dough gently.

Then roll it to about 1 inch in thickness.
I make these potato cakes a little thicker than my regular potato cakes, since the cheese makes them a little softer and more prone to breakages.

Cut out shapes with novelty cookie cutters. Gather the dough scraps, re-knead and roll to cut out additional shapes.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. I love to cook these in my cast iron pan.

Fry the potato cakes in the pan for 3 minutes on each side over medium heat. They should turn a light golden brown.

Once browned on each side I like to place the cakes on a baking tray and finish cooking them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, so it'll be nice and hot once you're ready to pop the potato cakes in.
I don't do this for my regular potato cakes but I find the onion and cheese flavors meld beautifully after a little roasting.

We made all kinds of Halloween shapes from pumpkins to owls.
My cookie cutter collection was our only limitation, and if I was a little more artistic I'm sure I could have cut out some more spooky shapes.

We made bats and ghosts. My cookie cutters for these shapes are very small, but they're perfectly sized bites for small mouths.

My little girl loved this Halloween cat. We had great fun cooking and plating these spooky potato cakes.

And Dad loved the bigger sized witch's hat. A few witch's hats and a steak is a satisfying Halloween meal for any man.
My West Cork granny would have had great fun serving these at Halloween. Oh, if only there were fancy cookie cutters back in her day.

Hope you enjoy this spooky Halloween side dish.
Recipe Card for Halloween Potato Cakes
Here's the printable recipe card.
Cheesy Irish Potato Cakes For Halloween
Ingredients
- 3 cups mashed potatoes
- ½ cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup for the dough and ¼ cup for kneading and rolling
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups white cheddar cheese grated
- 2 ounces butter 1 ounce melted for dough/1 ounce for frying cakes)
- 1 medium egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the flour and mashed potato together in a large mixing bowl.
- Season with onion powder and salt.
- Mix the ingredients together using a potato masher, then add the cheese and mix it through.
- Add 1 ounce of melted butter. Add half the beaten egg. Mix the wet ingredients through the dry to form a dough. Add additional egg if needed to form a firm dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle the top with more flour. Knead the dough gently.
- Roll the dough to about 1 inch in thickness. Cut out shapes with novelty cookie cutters. Gather the dough scraps, reknead and roll to cut out additional shapes.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Fry the potato cakes in the pan for 3 minutes on each side over medium heat.
- Place the browned potato cakes on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes in the pre-heated oven.
Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.
Happy cooking wih an Irish twist, from my home to yours.
Samhain blasta libh go léir
( pronounced Sow-in blahs-ta liv go lare)
A Tasty Halloween To Everyone,

Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
Here are some more Halloween stories you might like...
Colcannon - A Traditional Halloween Dish In Ireland
Top Ten Reasons I Love Halloween In America
Plus here's a pin friendly graphic for Cheesy Irish Potato Cakes....

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Maureen O Hanlon
These look lovely, im going to make them, thanks for lovely recipie and directions, :):)
Maureen
Irish American Mom
Hi Maureen - These are easy to make and ever so tasty. We all enjoy these cheesy spuds in our house. Hope you do too.
Happy Halloween,
Mairéad
brian@irelandfavorites
Your hubby must love these special days as he gets his fill of fresh cooked snacks, a ghostly cheesy fry would be the perfect end of trick or treating. If you get this on the 31st I threw up a little hallows eve rhyme on the site you might enjoy.
HH,
Brian.
Irish American Mom
Brian - Irish sausages wrapped up like mummies in pastry strips would definitely be the perfect pairing for these ghostly potato cakes. Love your rhyme on your blog.
Happy Halloween to you too.
Mairéad
Peter
What a fun treat for kids.
Irish American Mom
Hi Peter - Thanks for stopping by and rating this recipe. I'm delighted you like this dish. These potato cakes can be cut into any fun shapes to suit the time of year, and kids always love them.
All the best,
Mairéad