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Colcannon is the ULTIMATE comfort food and how I like to turn my usual mash into something a little extra. This traditional Irish mashed potato side dish is made with spring onions, cabbage, cream, plenty of butter and seasoning, then topped with chives.
I first came across Colcannon on a trip to Ireland many years ago, and I could not believe this wasn’t how we were all eating mashed potato as standard!
It’s so delicious, creamy and full of flavour – and luckily so easy to make too.
I knew I had to create my own version of this divine side dish that has been a staple in Ireland’s ancestral diet for a few centuries. Now I make this all of the time for simple family dinners – it goes really well served up with Chicken Thighs, Lamb Chops or Sausages.
Why you’ll love this Colcannon recipe
⭐️ Budget-friendly ingredients
⭐️ Simple but special
⭐️ So easy to make!
Best recipe I’ve found for this dish. Easy to follow, prepare and make. Great tips on how to use leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have any). Going to making more just to freeze ready for next time! Definitely want to try the ‘cakes’. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
What is Colcannon?
It’s traditionally made with fluffy, light mash mixed with either curly kale or Savoy cabbage and spring onions (scallions).
Often recipes also feature milk, cream and butter, which is added to really elevate that consistency and flavour into something special.
Colcannon has links to Halloween as an Irish traditional dish as well as St Patrick’s Day, but it’s perfect as an addition to a comfort food meal any time of the year.
This article in the Smithsonian magazine has an interesting delve into the origins of the dish.
Colcannon Ingredients
- Potatoes – I like to use King Edwards or Maris Piper (or Russet or Yukon Gold in the US) as they seem to give the best and fluffiest mashed potato. These will need to be peeled and cut into large chunks. Find out more about which kind of potato is good for what on the Love Potatoes website.
- Garlic – Fresh or frozen pre-prepared is fine.
- Cabbage – I like Savoy but choose your favourite. Finely slice this up.
- Spring onions – Otherwise known as scallions in other parts of the world! Finely chop these too.
- Single cream – I use this instead of milk to make it extra creamy, but feel free to use milk instead.
- Butter – Use what you have or use up homemade butter from the freezer.
- Extras to taste – Finely chopped fresh chives and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
How to make Colcannon
1. Place the potatoes and garlic in cold water in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer until cooked, as per the full recipe below.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the cabbage and spring onion in melted butter in another pan.
3. Drain the potatoes and mash.
4. Add the cabbage and spring onion to the potatoes and mix well.
5. Warm the remaining butter and cream until melted, then add into the potato mixture.
6. Add the chives and plenty of salt and pepper until thoroughly combined.
Hint: If you’re not serving this straight away, you can keep it warm in the oven in an ovenproof dish. It will get a nice crispy topping.
Storing
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or oven before serving.
Does Colcannon freeze well? Yes! Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Leftovers
Colcannon cakes can made with leftovers, shaped into patties or even one large cake to fill a frying pan, and they’re SO GOOD.
How to make them:
➡️ Shape the leftover Colcannon, coat in flour and fry until crispy all over.
They are a bit like Bubble and Squeak and are perfect served with crispy bacon and a poached egg.
You could always use any leftovers to top a Cottage Pie, Shepherd’s Pie, Cowboy Pie or Fish Pie too!
TOP Tips
Mashing your potatoes
I sometimes use a potato ricer for mashing my potatoes. I find that this simple piece of kit gives the PERFECT mash every time, as it eliminates the chance of any pesky lumps getting through.
Using a ricer also avoids the risk of that DREADED gluey mash potato which comes from too much beating or mashing.
This one – Commercial Grade Potato Ricer – looks slightly different to mine (more sturdy in fact!) and is highly rated on Amazon.
Cooking
Always start your potatoes off in cold water and bring them to the boil so that the water starts to make its way through them as it warms up.
This stops the potatoes getting soggy and overcooked on the outside before they’ve had a chance to cook on the inside.
Serve with…
FAQs
I like to use King Edwards or Maris Piper as they seem to give the best and fluffiest mashed potato. Find out more about which kind of potato is good for what on the Love Potatoes website.
Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk. Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.
Yes! Potatoes, milk, butter, cream and veggies are naturally gluten-free, so go ahead without concern if you need to eat this way.
This recipe serves roughly 6 people, so you can either adjust your ingredients accordingly to make more, or if you have fewer people, simply save some for the freezer for another day.
Yes, you can. Either cook it and refrigerate or freeze, then reheat when it’s time to serve. Or if dinner isn’t too far away, you can keep it warm in the oven in an ovenproof dish. It will get a nice crispy topping.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Colcannon {PERFECT Irish Mashed Potatoes}
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) Potatoes, Peeled and cut into large chunks
- 4 Garlic cloves, See notes
- 200 g (7 oz) Butter
- 300 g (10 oz) Cabbage, Finely sliced
- 100 g (3.5 oz) Spring onions, Finely chopped (including the green parts)
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) Single cream
- 20 g (4 tsp) Fresh chives, Chopped finely
- Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, Use plenty
To garnish:
- A pat of butter and a sprinkling of fresh chives
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes: Boil the potatoes with the garlic for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Saute the veg: While the potatoes are cooking, melt 100g/3.5oz of the butter in a small frying pan and saute the cabbage and spring onions for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Drain the potatoes and mash (leave the garlic in).
- Mix together: Add the cabbage and spring onions (including the butter they were cooked in) to the potatoes.
- Creamy mixture: Meanwhile warm the remaining butter and cream until the butter is melted (I do this in the pan I fried the cabbage in). Add to the potato and cabbage mixture.
- Time to serve: Add the chives and plenty of salt and pepper and stir until throughly combined. Serve immediately with extra butter and chives to garnish.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on March 11, 2018 and updated later to make improvements.
I couldn’t bring myself to do it exactly as set out. Despite being a small country there are a lot of different ways of doing things in Ireladn. Mashed potatoes would be a hard pass. Boiled, with skins on, and broken up with hands has been how my family as made these for generations. And kale or Savoy cabbage. No cream.