Colcannon

Why You’ll Love This Colcannon

Colcannon- An Irish Mashed Potatoes dish that combines creamy mashed potatoes with scallions, cabbage, and ham for a flavorful meal.

This is a staple around these parts, especially for St. Patrick’s Day when we want to eat all of our Irish favorites. This potato dish is hearty, and Colcannon is a traditional meal in the Irish countryside, as it is everything Irish food should be–hearty, simple, and delicious.

We love celebrating St. Patrick’s day with all the green and rainbow things like this rainbow fruit dip, but I also love incorporating traditional Irish dishes into our St. Patrick’s Day menu. And colcannon definitely fits the bill.

A few years back I was able to visit Ireland with my husband, and kids. And we took my in-laws as well. My in-laws had done a DNA test and had found they had a great deal of Irish ancestry and heritage.

They wanted to visit the land where their ancestors lived.

They did some research and found they had direct ancestors in Cork country, and in County Down in Northern Ireland. So we decided to make a road trip out of it and go explore all the parts of this beautiful country, and visit the cemeteries to find the headstones of their family members.

It was a memorable trip, and the food, of course, was one of my favorite parts.

Irish food is hearty, simple, and delicious. And Colcannon is no exception. I tried colcannon in several pubs and restaurants across the country, and with several variations based on region. Sometimes the meat was ham, sometimes bacon. The dish always contained potatoes, cabbage, and plenty of butter.

So I decided to make my version, which combines some of my favorite parts from the various colcannon recipes I enjoyed during my first and subsequent visits to Ireland.

What is Colcannon made of?

Colcannon is traditionally made from mashed potatoes and cabbage, or sometimes kale. It is made creamy with milk or cream, and topped with butter.

Colcannon has simple seasonings, and usually had leeks, scallions, or onions that are sautéed and deliciously sweet.

Usually colcannon is  topped with more butter, parsley, or chives. And in some cases bacon!

And it usually has some kind of meat mixed in, but doesn’t have to.

There are many regional variations of this dish. My favorite included:

• Creamy mashed potatoes
• Cooked cabbage
• Chunks of salty ham
• Plenty of scallions
• Parsley
• Butter

Is Colcannon Irish or Scottish?

One of the things I love about colcannon is it can serve as a complete meal, or serves as a wonderful side to something heartier, or something else, like fish.

One of the questions I had was where it originates. Colcannon is an Irish AND Scottish dish And it varies based on the region. The variations can include if it is made with cabbage or kale, etc.

Something the origins are confusing because it can be very similar to champs mash, bubble and squeak and rumbledethumps. But essentially they are all very similar, potatoes, onions, cabbage, and butter.

What is Champ Mash?

Colcannon usually has some kind of greens mixed in, such as kale, scallions, leeks or chives and is usually served with boiled ham or Irish bacon mixed into it.

Champ, or Champ Mash, originates in Northern Ireland, is very similar as it is essentially the same mashed potatoes, but is mixed with spring onions and butter. So it varies from colcannon as it doesn’t have the mixes in meat or kale/cabbage component. It works better as a side than as a main.

What do you eat Colcannon with?

The beauty of this colcannon recipe is it can be a stand alone dish. The dish is meant to be kind of a toss together, hearty meal that has everything you need in one. However, it is also really nice served with the following:

• Corned Beef
• As a side along with a nice roast.
• I even really love it as the topping for something like a Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie.

Other Fun Irish Inspired Recipes:

• Irish Soda Bread
• Rainbow bundt cake
• Beef Stew

Colcannon

Colcannon is an Irish staple perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's day. Creamy mashed potatoes, loaded with cabbage and ham and served with a delicious pat of butter and fresh parsley. 

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: colcannon, irish recipe

Prep Time: 11 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 56 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 1080kcal

Equipment

Large Stockpot

Potato Masher

Mixing Bowl Set

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Red potatoes scrubbed
• 1 cup Salted butter
• 1 1/4 cups Half and half or whole milk
• 1 tsp Black pepper freshly ground
• 1 Head cabbage cored and finely shredded
• 1- pound Ham or bacon pre-cooked
• 4 Green onions finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp Parsley leaves chopped, for garnish

Instructions

• Wash potatoes and place them in a steamer pot, with their skins on, steam for 30 minutes.
• When potatoes are done steaming for 30 minutes, peel potatoes using a knife and fork. Discard peels, place inside of potatoes in a large bowl.
• Mash potatoes thoroughly to remove all the lumps.
• Add 1/2 cup of butter into hot potatoes, in small pieces. Gradually add half and half, stirring continuously.
• Season with black pepper. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, while potatoes cook, in a large pot filled with unsalted water, boil the shredded cabbage until it turns a slightly darker color.
• Once color changes, add 2 tablespoons butter to pot.
• Cover with lid and cook for 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat.
• Drain cabbage thoroughly, and add it to the potatoes pan.
• Chop already cooked ham or bacon into small pieces, and add to the potato pan.
• Chop and scallions, and stir it all together gently.
• To serve, add to a bowl or plate, and make a small well or indentation in the top of the potato mound, add butter, and sprinkle with parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 1080kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 74g | Saturated Fat: 41g | Cholesterol: 220mg | Sodium: 1886mg | Potassium: 2403mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 2050IU | Vitamin C: 115.3mg | Calcium: 234mg | Iron: 4.8mg

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

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