You’ve gotta try this classic Irish mashed potatoes recipe called Colcannon. Buttery potatoes with greens is just perfect.
Traditional Irish Colcannon is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day but it’s delicious all through the year. This special mashed potato dish has greens mixed in and lots of delicious creamy butter. It really doesn’t take any longer than regular mashed potatoes, so give it a try today!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Is Colcannon?
Colcannon is an Irish side dish of mashed potatoes made with milk and butter and mixed with cabbage (or kale) and green onions. It has a wonderful creamy texture and the potato mixture has amazing buttery flavor.
It’s similar to another traditional Irish dish, champ, which is mashed potatoes with just the green onions mixed in, but no other greens. I could go for that, a bit of green in my spuds.
Making Irish Mashed Potatoes
To make this Irish colcannon recipe, first peel your potatoes and cut them into 2-inch chunks. I usually use Russet potatoes, but Yukon gold potatoes work as well.
Put them in a large pot with 2 teaspoons of salt and enough cold water to cover them and boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and leave them in the colander.
Add butter to the pot and put it over medium heat until it melts. Add in the kale, or the greens of your choice, and a bit more salt. Stir until it is well-wilted, 3-4 minutes. Add the green onions and cook for 30 seconds more.
Next, add the drained potatoes to the mixture and mash them with a potato masher. Stir in ½ cup of milk. Taste and add more milk and salt if desired to get the flavor perfect for your taste.
How To Serve Colcannon
I read through some recipes and found something in a few of them that made me excited. It’s the way the recipes said to serve it. You scoop the mashed potatoes into serving bowls. Then you put an indentation into each mound of potatoes. Then you add a slice of cold butter to that indentation.
By the time the bowls of potatoes make it to the table, the butter has melted into a little yellow puddle. As you dip your fork into the mash each time, it will go through that puddle each time. Oh my god, right?
I just had to try it and I’m so glad that I did. Delicious! You are so going to love this one! Try serving it alongside a Corned Beef and Cabbage dish. And for more Irish flavors, try our traditional Shepherd’s Pie recipe.
More Tasty Potato Recipes
Can’t get enough potatoes? Try these recipes next.
Podcast Episode About Making Colcannon
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Colcannon Recipe
If you add kale to buttery mashed potatoes, that makes it healthy, right? Ha! You’ve gotta try this Irish classic called Colcannon.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. potatoes (about 5-7 medium baking potatoes)
- 2 and 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
- 2 Tbsp. salted butter, plus more for serving
- 4 cups roughly chopped kale
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 to 3/4 cups milk
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes an cut them into 2-inch chunks. Put them in a large pot with 2 teaspoons of salt and enough cold water to cover them. Partially cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Remove cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and leave them in the colander.
- Add butter to the pot and put it over medium heat until it melts. Add the kale and ½ teaspoon of salt. Use tongs to stir it until it is well-wilted, 3-4 minutes. Add the green onions and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the drained potatoes and mash them. Stir in ½ cup of milk. Taste. Add more milk to make it moister and more salt if desired.
- Transfer to soup bowls and dot each portion with a slice of cold butter.
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Notes
This recipe originally appeared on my sister site COOKtheSTORY.
This post originally appeared in December 2016 and was revised and republished in February 2025.
I loved the colcannon recipe.. I love greens of all kinds.. such an unusual recipe but truly delicious.. I did change 1 thing, I used 1 stick of butter instead of the 2 tbs.. As you can see, I like my butter. (On everything)
Nothing wrong with some extra butter, Bennaz! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.