Irish Colcannon

Home » Recipes » Side Dish Recipes » Irish Colcannon
| |

Last year we were on a healthy rainbow foods kick for St. Patrick’s Day, and this year I thought I’d experiment with a few “classic” Irish recipes.

Colcannon is one of my favorite comfort foods – creamy, buttery mashed potatoes loaded with bits of cooked ham and buttery cabbage – and today, I’m sharing my favorite way to make this delicious dish with you!

Irish Colcannon is the ultimate comfort food. Creamy, buttery mashed potatoes loaded with bits of ham, buttery cabbage and scallions - there's a reason the Irish are known for their potatoes

I first shared this Colcannon Mashed Potato Recipe on my friend’s blog, Amanda’s Cookin’.

Even if you’re not usually a fan of cabbage, I really encourage you to try this recipe – just only add the sauteed cabbage to a small portion to test it out, but I guarantee you’ll be surprised at how truly delicious it is.

This was a fun recipe to include Ella in making – she loved mashing up with potatoes and helping to stir in all of the mix-ins. She’s not usually a fan of cabbage, but I find involving her in making food gives her some extra motivation to actually try it afterwards.

If you’re a fan of super-creamy mashed potatoes and also like loaded potatoes, Irish Colcannon is going to be the perfect side dish for you. (Although, we’ve been known to just eats bowls of this for supper… it’s just soooo good.)


Ingredients to Make Colcannon

  • 3 pounds potatoes
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/4 cups hot milk
  • 1/2 head of cabbage
  • 1 lb cooked ham or bacon
  • 2 scallions or 4 green onions
  • Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

 

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

  • 2 large stockpots
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Sharp knife
  • Potato masher
  • Microwave-able measuring cup

How to Make Irish Colcannon

Chop up potatoes – you can peel if desired.

Steam or boil them for 30 minutes – steaming allows them to retain a bit of their starchiness, but boiling is easier.

Meanwhile, chop up the cabbage, ham and scallions.

Boil the cabbage over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until it turns slightly darker. Drain out the water and add 2 Tablespoons of the butter to the pot and return to heat. Saute for 5 minutes.

Reheat the ham however you prefer – you can add it to the pan with the cabbage, boil it, or heat it in the microwave.

When the potatoes are ready, drain and start mashing to remove all of the lumps, adding the butter in as needed to make mashing easier.

Heat the milk (either on the stove or in the microwave) and add it to the potatoes.

Season with salt and pepper and then stir in the cooked cabbage and ham, and sprinkle in the scallions.

Serve with generous Tablespoons of butter and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

Pin our easy and delicious recipe for colcannon potatoes:

An easy and authentic recipe for Irish Colcannon - the creamiest and butteriest mashed potatoes, loaded with delicious mix-ins

Print your free copy of our colcannon recipe here:

Colcannon

Colcannon

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds potatoes
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/4 cups hot milk
  • 1/2 head of cabbage
  • 1 lb cooked ham or bacon
  • 2 scallions or 4 green onions
  • Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Chop up potatoes - you can peel if desired.
  2. Steam or boil them for 30 minutes - steaming allows them to retain a bit of their starchiness, but boiling is easier.
  3. Meanwhile, chop up the cabbage, ham and scallions.
  4. Boil the cabbage over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until it turns slightly darker. Drain out the water and add 2 Tablespoons of the butter to the pot and return to heat. Saute for 5 minutes.
  5. Reheat the ham however you prefer - you can add it to the pan with the cabbage, boil it, or heat it in the microwave.
  6. When the potatoes are ready, drain and start mashing to remove all of the lumps, adding the butter in as needed to make mashing easier.
  7. Heat the milk (either on the stove or in the microwave) and add it to the potatoes.
  8. Season with salt and pepper and then stir in the cooked cabbage and ham, and sprinkle in the scallions.
  9. Serve with generous Tablespoons of butter and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

Pin this Recipe for Later

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Have you ever had colcannon potatoes? What are your favorite comfort food recipes?

For more delicious recipes perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, check out our kid-made rainbow grilled cheese recipe or our Corned Beef & Cabbage recipe.

Check out our other Vegetable Recipes here:

Vegetable Recipes

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.