Home-style recipes from around the world, written for real kitchens

EN
Colcannon in a white bowl, with salted butter melting in a well at the center
Serves4 servings
CuisineIrish
Europe

Colcannon: Irish Mashed Potatoes with Savoy Cabbage

How to make colcannon, the Irish dish of mashed potatoes and savoy cabbage, from a four-serving heritage recipe. Covers when to pour off the potato water, how to add hot milk and salted butter, regional variations from kale to leeks, and Halloween records from County Wexford and County Galway.

Level: Beginner

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 7

Cover the diced potatoes with cold salted water

Diced potatoes covered with cold salted water, ready to start cooking
Start the diced potatoes in cold salted water

Peel the potatoes and cut them into dice. Put them in a saucepan and add enough cold, salted water to cover them. Start the heat from cold and bring the water to a boil.

STEP 22 / 7

Pour off two-thirds of the water and steam with the lid on

Potatoes steaming over low heat with the lid on, after two-thirds of the water was poured off
With the lid closed and the heat low, the potatoes finish in the remaining water

After about 10 minutes, when the potatoes are just beginning to soften, pour off about two-thirds of the water. Do not drain all of it. Put the lid on and let the potatoes steam over low heat until they are tender. They are ready when a skewer slides into the center without resistance. The 10 minutes covers only this first stage; how long the steaming takes depends on your pot and the size of the dice.

When the potatoes are tender, drain off any water left in the pot before you mash.

STEP 33 / 7

Cook the cabbage separately and drain it

Drained cabbage, cooked separately, with a little butter being stirred in
Drain the cabbage well before adding a small piece of the butter

While the potatoes steam, put the shredded savoy cabbage in a separate pot with a small amount of water. Boil until the leaves are limp and tender, and stop before the color fades. Drain well, season with salt, and stir in a small knob of butter taken from the 3 tablespoons.

STEP 44 / 7

Bring the milk to a boil

Whole milk coming to a boil in a separate small saucepan
Heat the milk in its own small pan and take it off as soon as it boils

In a small saucepan, bring about 100 ml of whole milk to a boil. Watch it closely so it does not boil over, and turn off the heat as soon as it boils.

STEP 55 / 7

Mash the warm potatoes with hot milk and most of the butter

Warm potatoes being mashed with milk and butter, more milk waiting beside the pot
Mash while the potatoes are warm and add the hot milk gradually

Return the drained, warm potatoes to the pot and mash them. Add the hot milk and most of the remaining butter, working it in until smooth. Pour in the milk a little at a time instead of all at once, and watch how the mash comes together. Adding it gradually is our own adjustment.

Add more milk if needed; 100 ml is not a fixed ceiling. Keep the butter within what you prepared, and save a small piece for serving.

STEP 66 / 7

Fold in the cabbage and season

Cooked cabbage being folded into mashed potatoes
Fold the drained cabbage through the mash until soft but holding its shape

Fold the cabbage into the mash and season with salt and white pepper. Aim for a mixture that is soft but holds its shape and does not run. If it has cooled, warm it over low heat for 1–2 minutes, only if needed. The base recipe adds no extra water or cream at this stage.

STEP 77 / 7

Serve in a warm bowl with a butter well

Hot colcannon with the reserved butter set in the center
The reserved butter melts into the well at the center

Spoon the colcannon into a warmed bowl. If you like, make a well in the center and set in the butter you saved from the 3 tablespoons, letting it melt.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

1 / 1

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Potatoes (Golden Wonders or Kerr's Pinks) 1kg The body of the dish. Peel and dice
Savoy cabbage 400g The leafy texture through the mash. Shred finely
Whole milk about 100ml Brought to a boil and added hot to loosen the warm potatoes
Salted butter 3 tbsp Divided between the cabbage, the mash and the butter well at serving
Salt to taste For the potato water, the cabbage and the final seasoning
White pepper to taste Final seasoning
Water as needed Cold water to cover the potatoes, plus a small amount for the cabbage
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Colcannon: Soft Potato with the Texture of Cabbage Running Through It

What this bowl should keep

Mash the potatoes while they are warm, loosen them with hot milk and salted butter, and fold in well-drained cabbage so the mash stays soft but does not run.

Colcannon is an Irish potato dish: potatoes mashed with milk and butter, with cooked cabbage folded through. Irish Heritage News presents a traditional version built on just a few ingredients (potatoes, savoy cabbage, whole milk and salted butter, seasoned with salt and white pepper) and serves it in a hot bowl with butter melting in a well at the center.

That short ingredient list does not mean there is only one fixed recipe. The same article ties colcannon to the Halloween table and lists ingredients that change from place to place, such as curly kale, spring onions and leeks. Folklore records collected in the 1930s from County Wexford and County Galway describe their own Halloween customs around the dish. Those are records from particular places, not a single custom shared across Ireland. You can read more about the country's food on the Ireland page.

This recipe keeps to the basic cabbage version from Irish Heritage News and sets the regional additions apart, so you can see what the core dish is before you change it.

Ingredients: Four Servings of the Basic Cabbage Version

Peeled potatoes, sliced savoy cabbage, milk and salted butter set out as ingredients
The basic version uses only potatoes, savoy cabbage, whole milk, salted butter, salt, white pepper and water

These amounts make four servings. A tablespoon here means 15 mL.

Milk allergy

This dish contains milk and butter. It is not suitable for anyone with a milk or dairy allergy. No tested dairy-free version is given.

Equipment

  • Peeler and knife
  • Saucepan with a lid, for the potatoes
  • A separate pot, for the cabbage
  • A small saucepan, for the milk
  • Potato masher
  • Skewer, to test the potatoes
  • Colander or sieve

Choosing Potatoes, Cabbage and Butter

Potatoes. Golden Wonders or Kerr's Pinks are the traditional choice. Outside Ireland these may be hard to find; a floury potato is the closer choice. Waxier potatoes change how smooth the mash becomes and how much water they give off.

Cabbage. If you cannot find savoy cabbage, ordinary cabbage is a practical stand-in. The leaves differ in thickness, sweetness and water, so cook by how soft they look and drain them carefully. Curly kale is a separate regional version, covered under variations below.

Milk and butter. Keep to whole milk and salted butter. Swapping in cream or unsalted butter turns it into a different recipe from the one here. Add more milk if the mash needs it, keeping the butter within the 3 tablespoons you prepare.

Method: Steam the Potatoes, Then Bring Everything Together While Warm

Reading the times

Only two times are given: about 10 minutes before you pour off part of the potato water, and 1–2 minutes over low heat at the end, only if needed. Neither is a total cooking time. Judge each step by how the food looks and feels.

Watery, Gluey or Wet: Fixing Common Problems

Problem Likely cause What to do
The potatoes are watery Too much water left after steaming, or milk added all at once Let the steaming drive off the remaining water, drain what is left, and add the milk in small amounts (our own advice)
The mash turns gluey Worked too long Don't keep beating it. Mash while warm, and once the cabbage goes in, stop as soon as the mixture is even (general cooking advice, not an instruction from the source)
The cabbage makes it wet Cabbage not drained well Drain the cabbage thoroughly before folding it in. Take extra care with ordinary cabbage
The mash has cooled Steps took longer than expected Warm over low heat for 1–2 minutes, only if needed, as the source allows
Too salty Salted butter plus salt in each step Taste before the final seasoning and adjust salt and white pepper last

Variations: Regional Additions Kept Apart from the Basic Version

Irish Heritage News lists several ingredients that vary by region and household. None of them are part of the base recipe above, and they should not all go into one bowl as a single "standard" colcannon.

  • Ordinary cabbage instead of savoy. Easier to find. This is our suggestion, not the source's. Cook by look and texture, and drain carefully.
  • Curly kale. The source names curly kale as the Limerick tradition. It is a regional version distinct from the cabbage recipe. No kale conversion for this base recipe is given here; the separate Mayo recipe discussed below supplies its own amounts.
  • Spring onions or leeks. Both Irish Heritage News and the Mayo page mention these as regional or household differences. The source describes them both mixed in raw and cooked first. Either way they add sweetness and aroma.
  • Chives or parsley. Also listed by the source as regional additions.
  • Parsnip or carrot. The source lists these as regional differences, linking them to traditions such as those of Wexford and Carlow. They add sweetness and color.
  • Dairy-free. The sources used here do not support a dairy-free method, so this recipe does not propose one.

Halloween and Local Records: Culture Within the Sources

Irish Heritage News presents colcannon as Ireland's traditional Halloween dish. It describes it eaten on its own as a main course or, in more recent times, alongside bacon.

Folklore records give a closer look at particular places. In The Schools' Collection, held by Dúchas (the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin), a 1930s record from Faythe, County Wexford, calls 31 October "Cabbage Stump night" or "Colcannon day." It describes cabbage leaves used as a cover to hold in the steam, and money put into the meal. A separate record from Liatra, County Galway, collected by Annie Morgan from Michael Conneely, describes colcannon made at Halloween to mark the end of potato digging, with the first plate set aside for the fairies without salt.

These are separate records from different places, gathered and written down for a school collection. They show how colcannon was tied to Halloween in those communities. They are not evidence of a custom shared across all of Ireland, then or now.

Hidden objects

Several sources describe coins, rings or thimbles hidden in the dish. Do not recreate this by putting coins or other objects into food. They can be swallowed or cause choking.

The County Mayo tourism page describes colcannon as mashed potato with kale or cabbage, milk or cream, and butter. Its recipe is different from the one above: 500g Roosters potatoes, 250g curly kale or savoy cabbage, 1 onion, 100ml cream and 60g butter. The vegetables are boiled separately for 15–20 minutes, then combined with browned onion. The same page mentions eating colcannon with ham or Irish bacon at Halloween, and gives an Irish name, "Càl ceannann," with a meaning. That is how that page presents it, not a confirmed etymology. The Mayo recipe is a useful comparison showing how much the dish varies, but its amounts and steps should not be mixed into the version here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is colcannon?

It is mashed potato combined with cooked cabbage or kale. In the version used here, potatoes are mashed with hot whole milk and salted butter, savoy cabbage is folded through, and the dish is seasoned with salt and white pepper.

What if I can't find savoy cabbage?

Ordinary cabbage works as a practical stand-in. This is our suggestion, not one the source approves. Its leaves differ in thickness and water, so cook it until soft and drain it well before mixing.

Can I make it with kale?

Irish Heritage News names curly kale as the Limerick tradition, and the Mayo recipe uses kale or savoy cabbage. Treat kale as a separate regional version. The amounts in this base recipe were written for cabbage; the Mayo recipe discussed above is a separate formula with its own kale or cabbage amount.

Is colcannon only a Halloween dish?

Irish Heritage News links it with Halloween, and folklore records from Wexford and Galway describe Halloween customs around it. Those records come from specific places and times, so it is not accurate to say every Irish household eats it at Halloween today. The same source also describes it as a main dish on its own or a side for bacon.

Can I make it ahead or keep leftovers?

The sources do not give a storage time specific to colcannon, so none is given here. As general guidance for home kitchens, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare advises dividing leftovers into clean, shallow containers so they cool quickly, and reheating them thoroughly, with 75°C or above as a guide. That is general food hygiene advice, not a tested shelf life for this dish.

Sources

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