Colcannon, also known as Irish potatoes, are creamy, buttery mashed potatoes that are loaded with fried onions, cabbage, green onions, and bacon – because what could be more Irish than a big bowl of potatoes? This traditional recipe for Colcannon uses all of the classic ingredients and is one of Mr Magpie’s favorite Irish side dishes. Don’t forget to check out our Irish Boxty recipe or our other St. Patrick’s Day recipes.

If you’re looking for more cabbage recipes, try something from my side of the family and make some Haluski which is fried cabbage and noodles!

Colcannon (Irish Potatoes)

While colcannon might sound like regular mashed potato with some other stuff added, it is actually way tastier than you might expect. Mr. Magpie is a basic meat and potatoes guy (he likes to blame the Irish side of his family for this) but he makes a good Ukrainian husband as well – he LOVES cabbage.

So it goes that we LOVE colcannon. Made from a mix of cabbage, potatoes, and green onions, colcannon has this indescribably homey and comforting flavor that leaves you endlessly satisfied no matter how much you eat.

Plus, despite the fact that it is loaded with cream and butter, it’s got cabbage and onions in it, which means it’s healthy! Right? 😉

Colcannon Ingredients

Make sure to look at the recipe card at the bottom for the exact ingredients needed.

Creamy Potatoes

Russet potatoes
Butter
Heavy Cream

Cabbage Mixture

Butter
Cabbage
White onion
Green onions
Cooked bacon
Salt & pepper
Parsley

How to Make Colcannon

Boil the potatoes in a medium pot of salted water for 15 minutes until fork tender
Drain the potatoes and add to a bowl with the cream and butter
Fry the onions in butter in a medium-sized frying pan until they are soft and translucent
Add in the cabbage and fry until softened
Mash the potatoes, butter, and cream until smooth
Stir in the hot cabbage, green onions, half of the bacon, and the salt & pepper to taste
Serve in a bowl and top with the remaining bacon and the fresh parsley

How to Keep Your Colcannon From Getting Lumpy

Just like making regular mashed potatoes, it is sometimes a challenge to end up with smooth, creamy mashed potatoes.

This is because they tend to clump up if you don’t mix them properly before you add the other ingredients.

The key to avoiding lumpy colcannon is to make sure you cook your potatoes to the right tenderness. You don’t want them underdone because you don’t want any hard spots that won’t mash properly.

At the same time, you don’t want to overcook them and end up with a weird, almost gummy texture when it’s mixed.

If you have it, a great way to avoid any lumpiness is to break the potatoes up using a potato ricer. This crushes and breaks up the potato into even tiny pieces that then mix together perfectly to form a smooth and consistent colcannon.

Without one, though, you can just make sure to really thoroughly mix your potatoes before adding the other ingredients, ensuring that everything is evenly broken apart, mashed, and the butter is properly emulsified.

How to Serve Colcannon

Colcannon can easily be eaten entirely on its own, but it is far more popular as a side dish for pretty much anything.

Traditionally, this would be served alongside some corned beef and, somehow, another dish of cabbage, but it was also served alongside any kind of pork product like salted pork.

If you want to get really traditional, serve it on Halloween! In Ireland, it is traditional to serve Colcannon with a ring and a metal thimble hidden inside that you have to dig around to find – make sure you don’t accidentally swallow them, however!

There is also a cute tradition of hiding other, larger items in with the Colcannon to predict your future life. You could also make it an offering to the fairies by leaving it at the foot of a hawthorn tree.

Or you could just eat it; that’s up to you.

Looking for more tasty Side Dishes? Try these out:

Happy cooking!

Love,

Karlynn