Colcannon Potatoes

Colcannon potatoes are a traditional Irish dish, typically served on Halloween in Ireland! But in America, where everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, this savory cabbage and potato dish nails it!

I like to serve this with Corned Beef or as a side for Irish-American Guinness Stew!

You’ll love this Gaelic dish, called “cal ceannann,” which means “white headed cabbage” ! In Ireland, colcannon is often served with a salty meat like ham or bacon!

What is Colcannon?

Colcannon potatoes are mashed spuds with sauteed cabbage and green onions, then drizzled with butter and cream. It is similar to “Champ,” another Irish potato dish.

Some colcannon recipes use kale instead of cabbage. 

What is the difference between Champ and Colcannon?

Champ is mashed pototes with green onions, or scallions, butter and cream. Colcannon is Champ with cabbage or kale added.

You’ll love this recipe!

• Simple ingredients – potatoes, cabbage, green onions, butter and cream
• Easy to make – if you can boil water, you can make this

Here’s what you need

To make this Irish potato side dish, you just need a few simple ingredients:

• About 4 pounds of potatoes – I use russet, or Idaho
• 4 green onions
• 1 stick of butter – I use salted
• 1 cup heavy cream (also called whipping cream)
• Half a head of cabbage
• Salt & Pepper
• Parsley (optional) – as a garnish

Can I use Yukon Gold for colcannon potatoes?

The traditional Colcannon recipe uses russets. You can substitute with Yukon Gold, but the texture will be slightly different and not quite as creamy. It will also be more of a golden color.

Yukon’s are waxy, which have less starch than russets, so they’re more suitable for soups and salads. 

The high starch content in russet potatoes really absorb the heavy cream and butter, making a really rich flavor!

How to make it

Here’s an overview of the steps to make colcannon potatoes. For details, see the recipe card below.

Peel potatoes, cut in half and cook in water till tender; drain, lightly mash and set aside

While the potatoes are cooking, add butter, chopped cabbage and chopped scallions to saucepan; saute 5 minutes

Add cabbage mixture to potatoes, pour in warmed cream and butter, season to taste and serve!

Tips

• Cut peeled potatoes in half and boil till fork tender
• Do not overcook the spuds or they’ll be mushy – you want a semi-chunky consistency
• When you mash them, don’t mash them to a pulp
• If you don’t have cream or heavy whipping cream, you can substitute with milk
• For best flavor and presentation, try to use the greenest part of the cabbage head
• You only need about half a head of cabbage for this recipe; I chopped it and measured how much that yielded, and it’ about two cups of chopped cabbage
• Potatoes typically need a lot of salt; for this reason, I use salted butter but you can use unsalted as well

What to do with leftover Colcannon

If you’re lucky enough to have any leftovers, make potato cakes out of them! Add an egg and a little flour, form into a round “cake” and pan-fry!

Make ahead and reheating

You can make this Irish potato dish up to 3 days in advance; just keep it covered and refrigerated. When ready to reheat, do so on the stovetop, in the oven at about 300°F (covered with foil) or in the microwave. 

Serve colcannon potatoes with Irish stew, baked ham or have it by itself!

Other Irish recipes you might like

• Corned Beef and Cabbage : A slow cooker recipe
• Irish-American Guinness Beef Stew
• Irish Soda Bread
• Potato Cakes
• Irish Cottage Pie