Rich, creamy mashed potatoes loaded with cooked cabbage and green onions. Colcannon is a traditional Irish recipe that puts a tasty twist on the classic mashed potato.
Ever heard of colcannon?
We never had, until we traveled to Ireland a few years ago.
Dublin was amazing and my family had the best time exploring. Especially when it came to exploring restaurants and new to us foods.
Colcannon was one of those foods that everyone fell in love with and I immediately came home and set out to recreate it. Same goes for our Irish soda bread.
There are a million different ways to make colcannon – with cabbage or kale being the standard.
Ingredients:
Potatoes – You may use either Yukon gold or russet. We prefer Yukon gold ourselves.
Cabbage – You’ll want to finely chop it so that it almost melts into potatoes after cooking.
Butter – Lots of it. 😉
Milk
Cream
Green Onions – We cook the green onions with the cabbage and also sprinkle more on top before serving.
What does colcannon taste like?
You might be a little leary about adding cabbage to your beloved mashed potatoes, but somehow it truly does make them even better!
Cabbage is pretty mild flavored and sweet when cooked down and the green onions add a lot of fresh flavor.
The cabbage adds a bit of texture, of course, but we cook the cabbage until it’s nice and soft so it doesn’t take away from the creaminess of mashed potatoes.
This is truly a universally loved dish and it’s definitely worth giving a try!
How to Make:
Cook the potatoes: The first step is to get those potatoes cooking. Boil them until fork tender, drain, and set aside.
Cook the cabbage: Add butter to the pot that had the potatoes and let it melt. Stir in the cabbage and cook until it’s softened and wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green onions.
Combine: Add the potatoes, milk, and cream to the pot with the cabbage and start mashing the potatoes until they’re smooth and creamy.
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: Taste your potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. Top with pats of soft butter and dig in!
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.
More potato recipes to try!
- Funeral Potatoes
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Amish Potato Salad
- Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
- Baked Potato Salad
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 over low heat 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.
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.