I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a bit obsessed with cabbage lately. It’s inexpensive, healthy, and lasts a long time in the fridge. Because I always seem to have some in my produce drawer, it seemed like a perfect time to finally make colcannon, a recipe I’ve wanted to try for YEARS.
What is Colcannon?
If you’ve never heard of colcannon, it’s basically the perfect Budget Byte. This traditional Irish dish brings together two inexpensive ingredients, (potatoes and cabbage or kale) to make a super filling and delicious dish.
Traditional colcannon can be quite heavy with a TON of butter and heavy cream, but to fit my lifestyle I’ve lightened it up a bit. Just a bit though, because I still want it to be good! I’ve used just four tablespoons of butter (yes, that’s less than most recipes I’ve seen) and swapped cream for a mix of whole milk and chicken broth. It’s still very filling, tastes great, and I feel good about eating it every day.
Can I Use Other Greens?
I used cabbage for my colcannon because it was super inexpensive this week ($0.29/lb. YAY!), but you could mix in just about any green that you have in your fridge. Kale, spinach, collard greens, leeks, whatever! That’s what makes this recipe great. It’s very flexible so you can adjust the proportions of potatoes, greens, butter, or milk to work with what you have on hand.
Other Fun Additions
I keep thinking about how awesome other common mashed potato add-ins would be in this, like cheddar, sour cream, bacon, or even some caramelized onions. So flexible!
Colcannon
Servings 8 (8-10 cups total)Ingredients
- 3 lbs russet potatoes ($1.79)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.44)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 4 green onions ($0.40)
- 1/2 head cabbage (6-8 cups shredded) ($0.54)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth* ($0.07)
- 1/2 cup whole milk ($0.19)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into one-inch cubes. Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes until they are very tender and fall apart when pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes). Drain the potatoes in a colander.
- While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the cabbage. Remove any damaged outer leaves, then cut it in half. Cut the cabbage into quarters, then remove the core. Cut each of the two quarters used in half once again, then cut crosswise into thin strips. Wash the cabbage well to remove any dirt or debris. Also mince the garlic and slice the green onions.
- After removing the potatoes from the pot, add 4 Tbsp butter, the minced garlic, and the sliced green onions (I reserved a few to sprinkle over top at the end). Sauté the garlic and onions over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic begins to soften.
- Add the shredded cabbage and chicken broth to the pot. Place a lid on top and let the broth come up to a boil. Let the cabbage cook in the simmering broth, stirring every few minutes, until it has wilted and become tender. The volume of the cabbage will shrink quite a bit as it cooks. Cook until the thicker white pieces begin to become transparent (about 10-12 minutes).
- Once the cabbage is tender, add the drained potatoes back to the pot along with the milk and some freshly cracked pepper. Mash the potatoes until everything is well combined. Season with salt to taste. Serve warm.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
Love mashed potatoes? Try my Fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes or my dairy-free Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes!
How to Make Colcannon – Step by Step Photos
Start by washing, peeling, and dicing 3 lbs. russet potatoes into one-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a large pot, cover with water, then bring it up to a boil over high heat (with lid). Boil the potatoes until they are tender and fall apart when pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes). Drain the potatoes in a colander and set them aside until you’re ready for them.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the cabbage. It’s best to use a cabbage with a fair amount of green on it, but you can also add in kale, collard greens, spinach, or just about any other green you have. I used half of this big head of cabbage, which was about 6-8 cups once shredded.
Cut the cabbage in half, then into quarters. You’ll only need two of the quarters, so save the other two for another recipe. Cut out the core, then cut each quarter in half again. Cut the wedges crosswise into thin strips (about 1/2-inch wide). Wash the cabbage well. Don’t worry about removing the excess water, that will just help it steam and wilt.
Mince two cloves of garlic and slice four green onions. Once the potatoes have been removed from the pot, add 4 Tbsp butter along with the garlic and green onions (I saved a few of the green onions to add on top before serving). Sauté the garlic and green onions in the butter over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until they begin to soften.
Then add all of that shredded cabbage and 1/2 cup chicken broth to the pot with the garlic and green onions. The cabbage will likely fill the pot before it’s cooked, but it shrinks down quite a bit as it wilts. Place a lid on the pot and let the broth come up to a simmer. Cook the cabbage in the simmering broth, stirring often, until it’s wilted and tender (about 10 minutes). Make sure the thicker white pieces of cabbage begin to look transparent.
This is what the braised cabbage looks like once it’s tender. It’s probably about 1/5th of the volume that it was when fresh.
Finally, add the cooked and drained potatoes back to the pot along with 1/2 cup milk and some freshly cracked pepper. Mash everything up until it’s well mixed and the potatoes are well mashed.
And now the most important step, season with salt to taste! And then the colcannon is ready to serve.
I can’t think of a better way to up the nutritional content of mashed potatoes!
Colcannon is definitely my new go-to. I like to build bowls with this as the base. A scoop of colcannon, some cooked chicken, and whatever else might be in my fridge (cheese, leftover vegetables, sauerkraut, or corn kernels). Goes great with steak, too!
This is delicious. Comfort food at its finest! I served it with apple gouda sausages and that was a perfect combo. Thanks!
wonderful dish, my favourite Vegie too :)
This was delicious even though I made a couple changes. I used Yukon Gold potatoes and some parsnips I had left over from holiday meals. The sweetness of the parsnips was an excellent addition. I also cooked my potatoes in my instant pot. 3 pounds with one cup of water or broth with potatoes on the trivet at the bottom of the pot. 13 minutes on high with a quick release and even the woody parsnips were fall apart soft. Definitely a time saver if you have access to one!
I also had this with an egg on top and it made a great meal! Ate the leftovers with a little cheese for lunch at work.
Is it possible to take the milk out entirely without completely destroying the dish? (My sister’s allergic.)
You can leave it out, it will just be less creamy. You might want to add more butter, if she can do butter. Leaving out both the butter and milk would not be very good, though.
I loved this recipe! It was really good. I sauteed some celery and added it to the green onion/cabbage mixture and it was delicious. I eat this for lunch and am quite satisfied.
Made this the other day – such a good comfort food! I used red potatoes instead, and left the peels on when I mashed them. It created a nice color contrast with the green cabbage (and I threw in some collards too). I also subbed leeks for green onion, which worked great. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh good grief this reminds me too much of Champ which is potatoes and scallions done in a similar way. *gags* A family favourite of my Brother & Father but get it away with me! Was my least favourite thing my Mother shoved on me growing up. I am an awful Irish person haha.
Colcannon is one of our favorites here. Often, we’ll cook sausage (just about any variety is tasty) or bacon, then use the drippings from the meat instead of butter for extra flavor, and serve it as an entree. So good, super-filling, and *easy*
I’m Irish and have had this for years! I like your variation of it. If I have some ham left over from another meal, I cube it and stir it in after the potatoes/greens are mashed. It then goes from a side dish to an entree. My kids love it and rarely are there leftovers. This is one of the few items that if it is left over, it NEVER goes bad in the refrigerator.
If they see cabbage in the house, they beg me to make it!
This is also really good with some eggs baked into little wells made on top with the back of a spoon!
Made this the other night as a New Year’s Eve side – turned out delicious and amazing. The perfect twist to our mashed potatoes without having to add cheese and bacon. I didn’t have green onion so just used regular onion, and I subbed unsweetened almond milk for the whole milk because that’s all I had.
With a lot leftover, I’ll definitely try the egg bowls mentioned above! I do need to figure out what to do with the rest of the head of cabbage… off to search your website! ;)
This roundup of recipes for leftover cabbage should help (if you didn’t already find it)! :)
I just came across this and I really love this. Signing up.
Love cabbage and mashed/cream potatoes so this is soooo perfect. I have had the potatoes whole in the cabbage but not mashed together…this will be added to my menu for the week!!!!
i always make colcannon to be the potato topping to my Sheppard’s Pie. Just add some cheese and an egg to it to make it for the Pie
Ooh, never thought of that! Yummy!
Colcannon is fantastic stuff – I make it every year for our St. Patrick’s Day party (and many times throughout out the rest of the year because it is just plain glorious comfort food).
For a real game changer, sub out some of the milk/cream for buttermilk. The brightness the acid brings really plays well with the deep flavors of the rest of the dish.
For breakfast, I like to mix an egg or two into the colcannon and make thick potato pancakes with it.
Wonderful suggestions! Thank you! I know I’ll be making this a lot in the future, so I can’t wait to try those variations.