Colcannon recipe – Traditional Irish Food – St Patrick’s day food

Updated On Updated on August 3, 2022

Colcannon recipe is one of easy Irish recipes I wanted to try for a long time. It turned out best mashed potatoes I ever had! Simple mashed potatoes with sauteed kale and garlic, great and filling side dish. Moreover, colcannon is ultimate St Patrick’s day food!

Colcannon mashedpotatoesinabowlwithwoodenspoon,topview

Who thought such an easy mashed potato recipe would turn out such a tasty side dish?

Colcannon is one of easy Irish recipes I wanted to try for a long time. It turned out best mashed potatoes I ever had! Simple mashed potatoes with sauteed kale and garlic, great and filling side dish. Moreover, colcannon is ultimate St Patrick’s day food!

Make ahead mashed potatoes for colcannon recipe

Colcannon can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days. I store it in individual serving dishes, to make serving easier. This is great, if you have place in the fridge. However, you can scoop it from the bowl, too. Reheat in on a stove or in microwave with a little bit of butter on top.

Colcannon potatoes

You should use potato that are starchy and are easy to mash. Mashed potatoes should be fluffy and absorb butter well. You can use Russets, Maris Piper, King Edward or Yukon Gold potatoes. So these 4 varieties are best potatoes for mashed potatoes! Otherwise you will have waxy and gummy texture of colcannon.

Colcannon recipe - traditional Irish food - St Patrick's day food - mashed potatoes in a bowl with wooden spoon and garlic aside

Making mashed potatoes

To make perfect mashed potatoes, cover potatoes with cold water, add salt and bring to the boil. Better cut the potatoes in half, so they will be ready much faster.

Cook the potatoes 15 to 20 minutes until you can easily insert a fork in the middle. Drain potatoes, then return back in the same pot on the heat to cook few minutes to let the liquid evaporate.

Add butter to the pot and let it melt. Then using an old fashioned masher or hand blender proceed until smooth. Stir in milk to make creamed potatoes. Add the milk in batches, so that you can regulate the consistency of the mashed potatoes.

Colcannon recipe - traditional Irish food - St Patrick's day food - mashed potatoes in a bowl with wooden spoon

To make it more tasty, add pepper, garlic and sauteed kale! I also added a tablespoon of chopped leeks.

That’s an easy colcannon recipe, isnt it?

Often colcannon is served with corned beef.

How to make colcannon with kale

I used Tuscan kale or Lacinato kale for this colcannon recipe. You can use curly kale as well. Moreover, you can replace it with green cabbage. So no matter which leafy greens you choose, it should be cooked before adding to mashed potatoes. I sauteed kale with olive oil and salt on a pan for about 3-4 minutes, until tender and edges slightly crisp.

You can steam the greens for about 8 minutes, too.

This is one of Irish potato recipes that you will want to make again!

If you are looking for easy side dishes, you should check our Cauliflower casserole and Cauliflower rice.

For more Irish recipes, check Irish Beef Stew and Irish Soda Bread.

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Colcannon mashedpotatoesinabowl.

Colcannon - Irish Mashed Potatoes

Recipe AuthorCooking Journey
5 from 7 votes
This colcannon recipe is one traditional Irish food to try. It turned out best mashed potatoes I ever had! Simple mashed potatoes with sauteed kale and garlic, great and filling side dish. Moreover, colcannon is ultimate St Patrick's day food!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
 
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Irish
Servings 2
Calories 673 kcal
Equipment
  • a pot
  • A pan
  • blender or masher
  • a knife


Ingredients
 
 
  • 5-6 potatoes medium
  • 4 cups water
  • 100 g kale 4 leaves, chopped
  • 3 spring onions chopped
  • 1 tbsp leek chopped
  • 50 ml milk
  • 40 g butter
  • 1 pinch nutmeg ground
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Making this recipe?Mention @cookingjourneyblog or tag #cookingjourneyblog!
 

Instructions
 
  • Clean and cut potatoes in half.
    5-6 potatoes
  • Put potatoes in the pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook 20 minutes or until you can easily insert fork or knife in the center of biggest potato.
    4 cups water
  • Meanwhile in a separate pan heat olive oil, add chopped kale, leeks, spring onions, nutmeg and minced garlic. Saute, stirring, 5 minutes until kale is tender.
    100 g kale, 3 spring onions, 1 tbsp leek, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 pinch nutmeg
  • Pour out the water from cooked potatoes, but return the to small heat. Let all the liquid evaporate for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Add butter. Using a blender or masher, work with potatoes until you have a smooth puree. Slowly add milk, continue mashing until creamy and no lumps.
    40 g butter, 50 ml milk
  • Add pepper, salt. Then add kale mixture. Blend or mash for more smoother texture.
    1 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp salt
  • Serve hot.
Rate this recipe and leave a comment

Notes
Reheat with a tablespoon of butter, if needed.
Nutrition Facts
Colcannon - Irish Mashed Potatoes
Amount per Serving
Calories
673
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
25
g
38
%
Saturated Fat
 
12
g
75
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
2
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
10
g
Cholesterol
 
46
mg
15
%
Sodium
 
2559
mg
111
%
Potassium
 
2610
mg
75
%
Carbohydrates
 
102
g
34
%
Fiber
 
13
g
54
%
Sugar
 
6
g
7
%
Protein
 
15
g
30
%
Vitamin A
 
5855
IU
117
%
Vitamin C
 
170
mg
206
%
Calcium
 
213
mg
21
%
Iron
 
6
mg
33
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword colcannon recipe, gluten free, st patricks day, traditional Irish food, vegetarian

Comments COMMENTS

  1. 5 stars
    Wow, I want to go make this right now! Everything in it sounds so delicious, with the leeks and garlics. I just need to swap cauliflower for the potatoes. A little pinch of nutmeg always takes things to another level.

    1. Yes, cauliflower would make it a good low carb dinner. But you should check the consistency, it won’t be the same. We are cauliflower lovers, you should check our Cauliflower rice or a roundup post of 80+ cauliflower recipes!

  2. 5 stars
    Oh wow, this sounds so good! And I thought mashed potatoes couldn’t get any better… can’t wait to try! Thanks for sharing!

  3. Heidy L. McCallum

    5 stars
    My husbands family is from Ireland, and they love this. They make it a little different of course, but I think I am going to try your recipe out with them when they come for dinner next time. Yours looks marvelous and I bet they would enjoy it.

  4. 5 stars
    i’m a potato lover so it’s crazy that ive never had these before. they sound like possibly the best potatoes EVER!

    1. Absolutely! How good mashed potatoes can be? This colcannon recipe is one of our favorite side dishes. Definitely try it.

    1. Cooking Journey

      Hi Richard, hope you’ll give it a try! Share a picture with us on social media, when you make it 🙂

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