Traditional Irish colcannon is absolutely my new favorite side dish! Dreamy, creamy mashed potatoes are married with buttery, savory cabbage. Add in lots of BUTTER and some bacon for good measure, and you’ve got the most amazing side for your Corned Beef or Sasauge for St. Patrick’s Day! This is comforting, authentic taste straight from the heart of Ireland.
Edison: Did you know that if you swallow your toothpaste, you will grow up an eyeball on the back of your head?
Me: What! Who told you that?
Edison: You did, Mom!
Okay, fine. So maybe I’ve been abusing my parental privileges lately. Sue me. These kids are SO fun to tease. I genuinely do not remember telling him that though 😂
Today I have a new favorite recipe for you! Have you tried Colcannon? It’s an Irish classic!
Why you need colcannon in your life
Unlike our Irish-American staples like Corned Beef and Cabbage or Soda Bread with raisins in it, Colcannon is a true, straight-from-the-island Irish classic that is still served to this day, usually around Halloween time actually. It’s pure comfort-food: mashed potatoes mixed with greens, usually cabbage.
Colcannon actually comes from the Gaelic “cal ceannann” which literally means “white-headed cabbage.” So there you go, mashed potatoes and buttery cabbage, what’s not to love here?
I have a ride-or-die favorite mashed potatoes recipe. These mashed potatoes are the stuff LEGENDS are made of. It’s Aunt Shirley’s recipe, my mom’s sister, and she’s “the cook” in our extended family. She’s the one growing up who always had the brownies, the cookies, the amazing dinner rolls.
She always showed up for Thanksgiving and Easter with her famous mashed potatoes and we would fight to the death for them. One famous year, my brother went back for seconds on the potatoes before my cousin Amber had even had any, and they were GONE, and all hell broke loose. It’s been 45 years and it STILL gets brought up every year.
My point is, the potatoes are amazing, and all we’re doing today is cooking cabbage in an obscene amount of bacon fat, adding it to the potatoes, and topping it with bacon and huge pats of butter. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE HERE.
The biggest rule for Colcannon actually is the butter. Traditionally, the Irish make a deep well in their potato mountain and add a pat or two (or four) of butter. It’s HEAVEN. If pools of butter are not a giant invitation to dive in, I don’t know what is!
What you’ll need
Here are the most important ingredients in colcannon!
- Potatoes, duh. We’re looking for a potato that’ll give us the creamiest results when mashed, so a variety like Yukon Gold or any yellow potato is best. You can use Russet potatoes if that’s what you have, but avoid using any waxy versions like red or flingerling unless you want a chunky situation.
- Green cabbage is the most traditional green used, and what I prefer. You can use kale or spinach if you want!
- Bacon is not a traditional ingredient in Colcannon, typically being served alongside it. BUT, I can tell you that the flavor punch from the bacon really takes this over the top! Colcannon would be SO good served with some nice fat sausages on the side.
How to make colcannon
Here’s the lineup of what you’re going to need! Easy.
Get your potatoes started first. We’re using buttery yellow Yukon golds, they are creamy and perfect for cozying up with the cabbage.
Add a whole onion right into the water with your potatoes. Its cooks down and flavors the potatoes and softens the bite of the onions, it’s perfect.
While the potatoes get cooking, use another pan to cook up the bacon. Get it nice and crisp, no floppy bacon here plz. Save the bacon grease in the pan!!
Meanwhile, get your cabbage all chopped. We only need half a head. Use the other half to make Beer Battered Fish Tacos! That recipe also uses only half a head of cabbage, so it’s perfect.
Just bite size pieces of cabbage is fine.
And here’s all out glorious bacon grease!!
Toss all the bacon in and add some salt. YES.
Now we’re going to add in some leeks. I LOVE the gentle flavor leeks add.
Leeks are nasty though. Look at all this dirt! Make sure you run them under the faucet before you chop.
Add it to the pan with the cabbage, then chop up some green onions.
Add them in and cook for just another minute or so. Look at this, you can just dig in right now if you need a snack. It’s so good.
Meanwhile, check on your potatoes. When they’re super fork tender, they are ready to drain.
If you work out, and have The Muscles, do yourself a favor and drain the pot of potatoes using the lid vented on top and flipping it over the sink. If you drain using a colander, you will lose your cooked onions and garlic.
It’s not that big of a deal. But if you do drain with the lid, consider that your workout of the day. When I made this the first time I lost at least a potatoes worth of potato chunks down the sink. Tragic!
But here’s what’s not tragic: all this butter and cream cheese 🤩
Add in some chicken bouillon (it’s a GAME CHANGERS GUYS God bless you Shirley 🥹 and don’t forget the Lawry’s too:
I love to use a hand mixer but a masher is fine too.
Now go for the gold!! Fold in all those beautiful greens!!!
YUM guys you have to try a bite. It’s SO good.
Now sprinkle on some bacon, an indecent amount of butter, and you’re golden! This is SO good all by itself but just wait til you try it with Smothered Pork Chops, Corned Beef, or a big plate of grilled sausages. So, so perfect!
What to serve with colcannon
Colcannon is pretty versatile since it can be a hearty main dish with a few sides, or served as a side itself with heartier dishes. Here are some great options to try!
- The Best Irish Soda Bread, for real >> this is often served alongside to sop up all the buttery potato goodness
- Best Corned Beef Recipe (Crockpot or Oven) >> swap out the roasted red potatoes in this recipe for colcannon and you will have quite the full St Patrick’s Day spread!
- Irish Beef Stew >> this recipe calls for serving over mashed potatoes, but you can totally elevate the combo by making colcannon instead
How to store leftovers
Add leftovers to a container with an airtight lid and store in the refrigerator for no more than 4-5 days. Over time the greens will start to leech water into the potatoes so it may look watery. Just stir everything back together and it will be fine! Heat in the microwave for a couple minutes at 50% power until warm.
DO NOT freeze colcannon. Neither the greens nor the potatoes can hold up to the freezing and thawing process, and you will end up with a soggy, mealy mess. Eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner like I do, or share with neighbors and friends if you have too much to eat on your own. :)
More fun St. Patrick’s Day foods
If you’re looking for something easy or even just a little less traditional than corned beef or colcannon, check out these great options!
St. Patrick's Day
Shamrock Shake
Recipes for Dinner
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe with Cheese Topping
Appetizers, Dips & Snacks
Homemade Horseradish Sauce Recipe
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Colcannon
Ingredients
For the mashed potatoes:
- 5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon garlic, smashed and minced, about 4 cloves
- 1/2 cup butter, 1 stick
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons Better That Bouillon Chicken Base
- 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt, or up to 2 teaspoons
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the mix-ins
- 12 ounces bacon, save the bacon grease!
- half head medium green cabbage
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large leek, or 2 small
- 1/2 cup green onions
Garnishes
- green onions, chopped, to garnish
- parsley, chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Start with the potatoes: Peel 5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes. Chop into even 2 inch pieces. Add the potatoes to a 6 quart soup pot.
- Cover with water.
- Chop 1 medium yellow onion. Add the onion to the pot of potatoes.
- Smash and mince about 4 garlic cloves. You need about 1 tablespoon. Add the garlic to the potatoes.
- Cover with a lid and set over high heat. Stick around to make sure it doesn't boil over. (no, i've never done this, why do you ask)
- When the potatoes, onions, and garlic come to a boil, turn the heat down to medium. Continue to simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, until you can fork through a potato with almost no effort.
- Meanwhile, make the bacon: In a 12 inch skillet, lay out 12 ounces of bacon in a single layer. Heat over medium heat for about 4 minutes, then flip each piece to cook the other side. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and cooked through. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Leave the bacon grease in the pan, and remove the pan from the heat if your cabbage isn't chopped yet.
- While the bacon cooks, prep the veggies. Chop your green cabbage in half. (Save the other half to make Fish Tacos!) Slice the half in half, and remove the core. Slice the cabbage into long strips, then chop the other way, into bite size pieces. See photos!
- Heat the bacon grease in the pan over medium heat. When it is hot, add all the chopped cabbage. It's a lot! Pile it on! Look at how healthy you are! It will cook down, trust.
- Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt to the cabbage. Saute the cabbage for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the green parts off of one large leek, or two small ones. Chop off the roots. Slice the leek in half lengthwise. Run the split leek under the faucet, moving the layers around to get all the dirt out. Leeks are dirrty.
- Chop the clean leeks. Add leeks to the cabbage in the pan after the cabbage has cooked about 5 minutes.
- Chop 1/2 cup green onions. Add to the pan when there is about 1 minute of time left to cook the cabbage. The cabbage is done when it is soft and wilted, and you are feeling tempted to steal a bite. (Go ahead!)
- Remove the pan from the heat when the cabbage is as cooked as you like it. Set aside.
- Back to the potatoes: When the potatoes are fork tender, drain the potatoes. Do this using the lid tilted over the pot, flipping the pot upside down over the sink, if you can. If you dump it into a colander you will lose your onions and garlic. (It's not that big of a deal, just a heads up.)
- Make double sure most of the water is drained from the potatoes.
- Add 1 stick of butter and an 8 ounce package of cream cheese to the pot with the potatoes and onions. If they are cold, put the lid on and wait a couple minutes to let them soften.
- Add 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base, 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the potatoes.
- Use a hand mixer* to beat the potatoes for a minute or two, until they are not-quite smooth. A few small lumps is great.
- Fold the cabbage and leek mixture into the potatoes. Taste it and adjust seasoning. Does it need more seasoning salt, or kosher salt? More pepper?
- Chop the bacon.
- Sprinkle the bacon over the top of the Colcannon and fold in slightly, or reserve it for individual servings to keep it crispy.
- Serve Colcannon with Irish Beef Stew, Corned Beef, or Smothered Pork Chops. It would also be good with some high quality grilled sausages and a side of green beans or asparagus.
Karen, I am definitely making this to go with your Corned Beef recipe this St Patrick’s Day. I’ve had this dish in Ireland and your recipe sounds spot on ๐ It’s so delicious. Thank you for posting it.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day ๐๐๐