This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
Rich, creamy Colcannon potatoes are buttery mashed potatoes that are loaded with cooked cabbage and green onions. We fell in love with this traditional Irish dish on one of our trips to Ireland and now we love to make it at home. This classic Irish recipe puts a tasty twist on mashed potatoes.
Let me introduce you to a new way to potato.
We Traveled To Ireland for These Colcannon Potatoes!
Ever heard of colcannon?
We never had, until we traveled to Ireland back in 2016.
Dublin was amazing and my family had the best time exploring. Of course, my favorite place to explore is the local restaurant scene, regardless of where I go. 😉
Colcannon was one of those foods that everyone fell in love with and I immediately came home and set out to recreate our own colcannon recipe, aka Irish mashed potatoes with cabbage! Same goes for our Irish soda bread.
There are a million different ways to make colcannon – with cabbage or kale being the standard.
Our recipe uses Yukon gold potatoes because, during the recipe testing process, we found that they mashed up to be rich and fluffy and buttery. Still starchy, but creamy. The perfect potato to mash up with some cabbage and green onion!
What We Love About This IRISH COLCANNON Recipe:
- Comfort Food: Is there anything more comforting than a big pile of buttery mashed potatoes? Colcannon potatoes are no different, but we amp them up with some sauteed cabbage. It adds a little texture and a little flavor – both surprisingly good!
- Gatherings: This is a great side dish to serve up for a St. Patrick’s Day gathering, or really for any holiday occasion! It’d be just as good on Thanksgiving, or for weeknight dinners.
Colcannon Ingredient Notes:
Potatoes – We’ve tested this colcannon recipe with a variety of potatoes and our personal favorite is Yukon gold. They are a nice balance of starchy and creamy with a mild buttery flavor – perfect to mash!
Cabbage – We’ve tried colcannon with both kale and cabbage. Either will work here, but my personal preference is cabbage because of the milder flavor.
Butter – Highly recommend staying on theme and using an Irish butter. It has a higher fat content than most American butter. We like Kerrygold.
Milk & Cream – Personally, I think it’s illegal to skip the dairy when making mashed potatoes. We use both cream and milk here.
Green Onions – We cook the green onions with the cabbage and also sprinkle more on top before serving. If you dislike onions, you can skip these. I often leave them out for my husband.
Step by Step Photos:
Peel and quarter the potatoes so that they are all similar in size. Add to salted water and boil until tender.
Dump the potatoes into a colander to drain and return the pot to the stove with some butter. Saute the cabbage until soft and then stir in the green onion.
Return the potatoes to the pot with the cabbage. Add in the milk and cream.
Mash the potatoes until they’re smooth and creamy. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.
Helpful Tip!
Mashing Potatoes
- You can do a rough mash for more texture in your potatoes or mash longer until they’re creamy.
- Add additional milk or cream until they’re as loose as you’d like.
- Season to taste! We’ve found that potatoes need a decent amount of salt, so if they’re bland just keep adding salt, a sprinkle at a time, until you get them where you want them.
What To Serve With Colcannon:
This Irish mashed potato recipe will go well with whatever you’d normally serve with mashed potatoes. Which, in my house, is just about anything!
Enjoy this creamy colcannon recipe with some of my favorite entrees:
Karly’s Leftover Hack!
Ever had a potato pancake? Mix 1 cup of cold potatoes, 1 egg, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Fry in butter until golden brown on each side. Top with sour cream, if you like. Absolute heaven.
More Easy Potato Recipes!
- Funeral Potatoes
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Amish Potato Salad
- Baked Potato Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes
Colcannon
Ingredients
- 8 medium Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 8 tablespoons butter divided
- 4 cups lightly packed shredded cabbage
- 3 green onions minced
- 1/2 cup milk plus more as needed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover the potatoes. Add the salt to the water.
- Bring water to a boil and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- Return the pot to the stove along with 3 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter has melted add the cabbage to the pot and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Add the green onions and cook for 1 minute more.
- Return the potatoes to the pot along with the milk and cream. Mash until smooth and creamy. Add additional milk or cream to reach your desired consistency.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with remaining butter.
rose Ahern says
i can use any potato,like roosters
Karly Campbell says
Any potato that is good for mashing should be fine here.
Dawn Hanson says
Question: Do you drain the cabbage before adding & mashing the potatoes? Seems like there will be a lot of liquid, making the mash runny.
Karly says
Nope! There isn’t a lot of liquid. 🙂
Carla G Skidmore says
This recipe from Ireland is fantastic and so easy. I use the already mashed potatoes to which I add the soft cabbage that I sauteed in butter and we had a new way to serve a veggie to those who dislike veggies.