This Irish Colcannon Potato Recipe is a true Irish comfort food. With a potato base and salty bacon, with a hefty dose of vegetables, how can you go wrong?
What’s in the Mix
You can easily find all of these Irish colcannon ingredients at your local grocery store. A full list of ingredients with measurements is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Mashed potatoes – You can use your favorite mashed potato recipe, seasoned or even plain or instant. My Garlic Dill Mashed Potatoes offer some unexpected herbs and flavors to traditional colcannon.
- Small head green cabbage – make sure this is cored and chopped. Cabbage can be somewhat bitter at tomes; the trick is to boil the cabbage and then add butter to soften and take bitterness out.
- Butter – Butter helps to soften the cabbage when boiled, but we also use it as a garnish you can never have too much butter in my book!
- Scallions – I like to use both the greens and whites. They add flavor and texture to our Irish colcannon.
- Bacon – In Ireland, you’ll most likely see boiled ham. I prefer crumbled bacon. Very American, I know, but I like it better that way. You can also use a pancetta or prosciutto for an Italian fusion.
- Maldon sea salt – Depending on how salty your potatoes already are, I like to garnish these with a sprinkle of ea salt. This is optional, of course.
Time to Make the Magic Happen
Making Irish colcannon might just be easier than you think!
- Boil water, add cabbage and butter. Fill a large saucepan or Dutch oven about just over halfway with water, bring to a boil. Add chopped cabbage and butter.
- Allow cabbage to soften. Boil until cabbage turns a bright green hue and has softened, but still has some texture and holds its shape. Drain cabbage in a colander.
- Heat potatoes and add butter, cabbage, scallions and bacon. Heat mashed potatoes (if cold) in a large saucepan. Add butter, cooked cabbage, scallions and bacon. Mix well, but don’t overmix so the ingredient start to fall apart.
- Serve with butter, sea salt and parsley. When plating, crate a well and place another pat of butter in the center. Top with Maldon sea salt and chopped parsley.
5S Philosophy 👩🏻
- Salt – I use unsalted butter in this recipe so that I can control the salt content. A sprinkling of sea salt at the end really finishes it off nicely.
- Seasonings – I love the flavor of the potatoes, bacon and cabbage, so I don’t add much seasoning to this recipe. But feel free to throw in some garlic, onion powder or fresh cracked black pepper.
- Sauces – Just like with regular mashed potatoes, these ones would be great topped with a gravy of some sort. You could also try a garlic butter sauce.
- Swaps – Try swapping the bacon for pancetta. You can substitute kale for cabbage, simply follow the same recipe, but instead of boiling the kale, you just want to wilt it in a skillet, still with butter. Kale will wilt more and not have the same toothiness as cabbage.
- Senses – With crispy bacon, smooth butter and rich potatoes, your senses will be overloaded with a sense of homey goodness.
Tasty Companions
It served as both an entree and a side dish. In the states, Colcannon is served primarily on St. Patrick’s Day, but in Ireland it is a staple year round.
You can serve this Irish colcannon with just about anything you would usually serve mashed potatoes with. If you’re sticking with the Irish theme, I like to serve mine with corned beef. You can also serve some bacon fried cabbage alongside it too.
However, you don’t have to stick to Irish food! These potatoes would be perfect with any comfort food such as meatloaf, salisbury steak or beef stroganoff.
Storage and Freezing
These potatoes stay fresh for several days and are easy to warm back up. Just place them in an oven-safe dish, dot the top with some fresh butter, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes until heated through.
How to Store
You can store any leftover Irish colcannon in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge. They can be made into mashed potato cups or even used in a loaded baked potato casserole.
Can I Freeze Irish Colcannon?
Freeze leftover potatoes for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe container or resealable freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat on the stove, adding a small amount of milk and butter to make them creamy again.
Quick Q&A
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or kale, butter, and milk or cream. It is often seasoned with salt and pepper and sometimes includes scallions (green onions) or leeks for extra flavor.
By definition, potatoes are gluten free and so is colcannon, this recipe specifically. That doesn’t mean that all colcannon recipes are gluten free.
You sure can! Make sure your colcannon is cold, then mix with 3-4 whisked eggs. Form into patties. You can coat the patties with bread crumbs or fry them without.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet, fry each colcannon cake until golden brown. The are delicate, so be mindful of that.
More Irish Recipes
Whether celebration St. Patrick’s Day, your Irish heritage or just craving Irish food, these recipes are for you.
Colcannon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups mashed potatoes , prepared
- 1 small head green cabbage , cored and chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter , divided
- 4 scallions , cut greens and whites
- 1 cup bacon , cooked and crumbled
- butter , for topping
- Maldon sea salt for topping
- parsley for topping , minced
Instructions
- Fill a large saucepan or Dutch oven about 3/4 with water, bring to a boil.
- Add chopped cabbage and 2 tablespoons butter.
- Boil for 3-4 minutes or until cabbage turns a bright green hue and has softened, but still has some texture and holds its shape.
- Drain cabbage in a colander.
- Heat mashed potatoes (if cold) in a large saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon butter, cooked cabbage, scallions and bacon. Mix well, but don’t overmix so the ingredient start to fall apart.
- When plating, crate a well and place another pat of butter in the center. Top with Maldon sea salt and chopped parsley.
- Come back and let us know how it was!
Nutrition
Love it all (except beacon)
So of course its going to be prepared often….i would just add pepper , i like mildly hot.
Thank you so much for sharing this. God bless you
I have wanted to try this recipe and finally got all of the ingredients yesterday. I can’t wait to make it tonight.
My mouth waters just looking at this delicious recipe! I seriously can not wait to make it again!!