• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Nothings logo

  • Recipe Index
    • Easy Dinner Recipes
      • Slow Cooker
      • One Pot Meals
      • Quick Meals
      • Instant Pot
    • Side Dishes
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Small Meals
  • Dinner Ideas
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Easter
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • About
  • Subscribe
×

Home / Holiday Recipes / St. Patrick's Day / Colcannon

Colcannon

30 mins
| 2 Comments |
4.67 from 6 votes
Jump to Recipe 03/05/21 | Updated: 04/12/21 | by Nora
Colcannon Pin Image

Looking for an easy, hearty recipe for St. Patrick’s Day? Why not try Colcannon – creamy mashed potatoes with bacon and cabbage!

top down view of bowl with Irish colcannon

If there’s one thing I absolutely love… It’s potatoes! Maybe it’s because I grew up on a farm, ha!, but I just cannot resist a good potato dish.

Colcannon is a classic Irish recipe – perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! It combines creamy mashed potatoes with cabbage (or kale!), spring onions and BACON for the perfectly hearty dish. It’s actually so hearty we often have it as a simple dinner by itself (or with a fried egg), but it goes really well with anything gravy-laden, too.

spoonful of colcannon over bowl

Best of all? It’s incredibly simple to make with everyday ingredients!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

photo collage of ingredients for colcannon with text labels
Ingredients for Colcannon: Potatoes, butter, bacon, cabbage, green onions, milk (plus salt and pepper).

Ingredient notes

  • Potatoes: Please use starchy/floury potatoes for this recipe, NOT waxy ones. (Russet potatoes would be the perfect choice for the US, King Edward for the UK.)
  • Bacon: I used diced bacon that was pretty thick cut. If you’re using thin-cut bacon you chop up, the result will be a little different, but it works just fine! Many traditional recipes call for back bacon, but I used regular bacon because, well… I like the taste of it better here.
  • Cabbage: Savoy cabbage would be best here, use kale if you don’t have any Savoy available. White cabbage may be used if neither kale nor Savoy cabbage are available.
  • Milk: Feel free to use cream in place of the milk for extra decadence!

How to make Colcannon

1. Cook the potatoes… However you like! Boiled, steamed, in your instant pot. Just use a pot that’s large enough to mash them with the greens later.

2. Brown the bacon in butter, then

3. add the cabbage (Savoy cabbage is best, but regular cabbage or kale can be substituted) and cook for 5 minutes. Add the spring onion and cook a bit more.

photo collage to show how to make colcannon

4. Add the cabbage/bacon mix to the cooked and drained potatoes. Add some milk, butter, seasoning…

5. And mash until creamy.

6. Serve with a pat of extra butter in the middle… Done!

top down view on bowl of colcannon on marble worktop

Recipe tips

  • Do not overcook the potatoes, and make sure to drain them very well. Else the mash will come out gloopy.
  • Cook the cabbage well enough in the skillet, otherwise the dish will be difficult to come together.
  • To me, Colcannon tastes best when eaten right away. I don’t really enjoy the taste of cooled down cabbage, so I serve it steaming hot.
  • Leftovers reheat great as Mashed Potato Pancakes!

Serving ideas

close up photo of Irish mashed potatoes

I guess traditionally you’d put ANOTHER pat of butter in the middle to serve this, but truthfully… I only do that for the pretty photos 😂

We love this most in place of regular mash when we make bangers and mash… Yeah, talk about decadent. But it’s also great all fall/winter long with something like homemade Salisbury Steak, Beef Tips or Mushroom Gravy ❤️

Watch the recipe video

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable Recipe Card
top down view on bowl with Colcannon next to black kitchen towel
Save Recipe Saved!

Colcannon

An easy Irish recipe for St. Patrick's Day: Colcannon – creamy mashed potatoes with cabbage and bacon!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
4.67 from 6 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 15 mins
Cook 15 mins
Total 30 mins
Servings 6 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • 2 lbs russet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon butter plus more for mashing and serving
  • 3 oz chopped bacon
  • 1 small cabbage cored and sliced (Savoy cabbage is best; use kale if not available; white cabbage may be used if neither kale nor Savoy cabbage are available)
  • 3 spring onions sliced
  • ⅔ cup whole milk OR cream for extra decadence
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Potatoes: Cook potatoes until fork-tender. Drain well.
  • Bacon/cabbage: While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in wide skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until browned. Add cabbage and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in spring onions and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
  • Mash: Add cabbage/bacon mix to cooked and drained potatoes. Add milk, a pat of butter, salt and pepper and mash until creamy. Serve immediately.
Want to save this recipe?Create an account for free to start your personal recipe box. Save any recipe by tapping the heart in the bottom right corner.
Join Now

Notes

Ingredient notes

  • Potatoes: Please use starchy/floury potatoes for this recipe, NOT waxy ones. (Russet potatoes would be the perfect choice for the US, King Edward for the UK.)
  • Bacon: I used diced bacon that was pretty thick cut. If you’re using thin-cut bacon you chop up, the result will be a little different, but it works just fine! Many traditional recipes call for back bacon, but I used regular bacon because, well… I like the taste of it better here.
  • Cabbage: Savoy cabbage would be best here, use kale if you don’t have any Savoy available. White cabbage may be used if neither kale nor Savoy cabbage are available.
  • Milk: Feel free to use cream in place of the milk for extra decadence!

Recipe tips

  • Do not overcook the potatoes, and make sure to drain them very well. Else the mash will come out gloopy.
  • Cook the cabbage well enough in the skillet, otherwise the dish will be difficult to come together.
  • To me, Colcannon tastes best when eaten right away. I don’t really enjoy the taste of cooled down cabbage, so I serve it steaming hot.
  • Leftovers reheat great as Mashed Potato Pancakes!
  •  

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 234kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 8gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 152mgPotassium: 886mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 925IUVitamin C: 33mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Irish

Recipe first published on 03/02/2020. Updated with better text on 03/05/2021.

More St. Patrick’s Day recipes

  • Boxty: Irish Potato Pancakes
  • Irish Soda Bread with Raisins
  • Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew
  • Homemade Shepherd’s Pie

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

Reader Interactions

overhead photo of white bowl filled with chicken gnocchi soup

< Previous Post

bacon braised cabbage in black cast iron skillet

Next Post >

Add a Review or Ask a Question Cancel reply

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

Made this recipe? Rate it:




Comments

  1. Laura A. Gray says

    November 29, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    I absolutely ❤️ love, love, love potatoes 🥔! Also, I totally love ❤️ cabbage as well! I like bacon 🥓, but rarely eat it. However, this recipe looks amazing 😉 and I must get all the ingredients and make this meal for my family, with the beef stroganoff! OMG!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      December 02, 2020 at 11:03 am

      Oh, what a great idea to pair it with Stroganoff!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

welcome to

logo for the Savory Nothings brand

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

Easter Recipes

  • Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
  • Glazed Lemon Loaf Cake
  • Honey Roasted Carrots
  • Green Bean Casserole from Scratch

see all >

Popular

  • Garlic Parmesan Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • Oven Baked Chicken Breast
  • Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • TikTok Baked Oats: 6 Ways!
  • One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese
  • Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Tacos
  • Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
  • Whole Wheat Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread

Trending on Pinterest

  • Balsamic Chicken Marinade
  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Homemade Salisbury Steak
  • About
  • Contact

Footer

Footer

Follow Along













Recipes

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Sides
Dessert
Appetizers

Instant Pot
Slow Cooker
One Pot
Casseroles
Ground Beef
Chicken

Featured On

different logos of publications Savory Nothings' content has been featured on

↑ back to top

About | Contact | Work with Us

Copyright Savory Nothings © 2023

Made with lots of love and spices ♥︎
PRIVACY POLICY | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT |
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Yummly
  • Mix