Saving Room for Dessert

Delicious easy-to-follow recipes for food lovers!

Home

Colcannon

  Jump to Recipe |    27 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

A big bowl of traditional Irish Colcannon

Colcannon ~ a traditional Irish dish made with cabbage, onions and potatoes.  Colcannon is easy to make, inexpensive, delicious pure Irish comfort food!

What would a trip to Ireland be without enjoying a big scoop of Irish Colcannon?  This is one of the most popular and beloved Irish recipes.  It has many adaptations but the basic recipe includes potatoes, cabbage and/or kale, scallions, butter, milk and salt and pepper.  Leeks and chives are also common add-ins.

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet – especially since it is our favorite potato dish.  We usually sauté sweet onion with the cabbage and only use a small amount of scallions.  But since we’re in Ireland this week on a hiking, sight-seeing, photo safari, pub-crawling, foodie adventure, I went traditional all the way!

 

A cutting board with potatoes, cabbage, kale and scallions

Our garden kale is still producing so I picked a few stems to add in with the cabbage.

To make Colcannon you will need starchy potatoes like Yukon Gold, scallions, cabbage or kale, butter and milk. Simple ingredients for an amazing dish!

 

A skillet loaded with thin sliced kale and cabbage

For this Colcannon recipe you can sauté the cabbage and kale or boil it for just a few minutes.

I like sauteing the vegetables in a small amount of vegetable oil especially when using sweet onions like Vidalia.  But boiling works great and only takes a few minutes to soften the cabbage and kale.

 

A bowl of traditional Irish colcannon. A dish with potatoes, kale, cabbage and scallions.

Once the potatoes are cooked, they are mashed until smooth then mixed with butter and milk.

Stir in the cooked cabbage and scallions, then season the mixture with plenty of salt and pepper.

 

A close up of a bowl of colcannon with butter and scallions

Traditional Colcannon is served with a pool of butter in the middle.

To serve the Colcannon scoop a serving into an small bowl, then make a well in the center.  Add a pat of butter and serve.  Take a scoop of potatoes on your fork and dip it in the butter and enjoy!

 

A bowl of traditional Irish Colcannon with butter

We vacationed in Ireland 5 years ago and are very excited to go back again!

Sister-in-law Rita is going with us and she is such fun!  We spent time in Dublin, Dingle, Killarney and Doolin and places in between.  Click HERE to visit all our Ireland posts.

 

Thanks for PINNING!

Colcannon ~ a traditional Irish dish made with cabbage, onions and potatoes.  Colcannon is easy to make, inexpensive, delicious pure Irish comfort food! #colcannon #irish #cabbage #potatoes #easymeal

Let’s be cooking friends! When you try our recipe please feel free to leave a comment on this post. I’m sure your experience and insights will help all our readers, and it helps me too. Also, if you’re on Pinterest feel free to leave a comment and photo there if you have one! If you share on INSTAGRAM tag @savingroomfordessert so we can stop by and give your post some love. And we’d be very happy if you’d FOLLOW Saving Room for Dessert on FACEBOOK| INSTAGRAM| PINTEREST | TWITTER  and subscribe to our YOUTUBE channel for all the latest recipes, videos and updates. Thank you!!!

 

PRINT THE RECIPE!

4.50 from 4 votes

Colcannon

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Yield: 6
Course: Side Dish
Author: Tricia
PRINT RECIPE
A traditional and delicious Irish dish made with cabbage, onions and potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 8 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup milk or light cream
  • 1 small green cabbage, cored and sliced thin
  • 1 -2 cups of kale, ribs removed and sliced thin
  • 6-8 scallions finely chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain in a colander then return to the pot. Mash the potatoes until smooth then add the milk and 6 tablespoons of the butter. Salt and pepper the mixture and set aside to keep warm while preparing the cabbage.
  • Add the sliced kale and cabbage to a pot of boiling, salted water. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Drain well. You may also sauté the cabbage and kale in a large skillet with a little olive oil until wilted, if preferred.
  • Mix the potato and cabbage together and stir in the scallions. Season with salt and pepper.
  • To serve, scoop potatoes into a serving bowl and make a well in the center. Add the remaining butter and garnish with a few pieces of chopped scallion.

Recipe Notes

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 58mg | Potassium: 1318mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1887IU | Vitamin C: 113mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 3mg

We have so many favorite Irish inspired dishes it’s hard to just pick a few.  We did a roundup of some amazing recipes in this Irish Recipes & Travel Posts where you can find a little bit of everything. Our classic Dublin Coddle has been super popular and it’s so easy and delicious.  And don’t forget to try this amazing Guinness Chocolate Cake – it’s outstanding!

If you’re planning a trip to the beautiful Emerald Isle, be sure to check out all our posts about Our Ireland Adventures!

Hope you’re having a great week.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tricia

FREE EMAIL BONUS

Weeknight Dinners Made Easy
Tips & recipes for delicious meals...no matter your skill level

You may also like these

A butternut squash casserole topped with sugared pecansButternut Squash CasseroleCajun Corn and Kale SaladBaked Squash, Tomatoes, Onions and Potatoes “Garden to table”Spring Asparagus with Hollandaise SauceMom’s Skillet Corn
Previous Post:
Next Post:

Leave a Comment

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

Recipe Rating




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

27 Comments

  2. Ildikó Ridley says

    This is a lovely recipe. I am vegan so I used all vegan alternatives, but it worked like a treat! I served it with (vegan) sausages, and the result was much appreciated by all. Will definitely make it again. Thnak you very much for making this recipe available.

    reply to this comment >

  3. Eugenia Lutes says

    This reminds me of a German dish we make in our family. We do the mashed potatoes but use lettuce uncooked, boiled eggs cut up, bacon fried and crumbled and a little of the bacon grease. The hot and the cold are then slightly tossed together and then some of us add a few drops of vinegar. You have hot, cold, soft and crunchy. Yum We use a lot of mashed potatoes, head of lettuce, pound of bacon, nearly a dozen eggs.We do not use butter but would be good.

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Ashlee! I think red skin potatoes will be delicious – but just a little different in texture. I don’t know about freezing as I’ve never tried it. I think fresh would be best but frozen will certainly be convenient. Good luck and hope you enjoy 🙂

      reply to this comment >

  6. tanna says

    Tricia… I’ve never heard of Colcannon before, but I think I’m in love. Every ingredient is on my personal comfort-food-list! Travel safely and ENJOY! I will LOOK FORWARD to seeing your photos. blessings and hugs ~ tanna

    reply to this comment >

Weeknight Dinners Made Easy

FREE EMAIL BONUS

Tips & recipes for delicious meals...

no matter your skill level!