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Sometimes known as Irish mashed potatoes, my colcannon recipe is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day side! Buttery potatoes jazzed up with cabbage and onions. A delish way to get your greens!

Colcannon Recipe – Scrumptious Side For St. Patrick’s Day

They say everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. And why not? During the last gloomy days of winter, aren’t we all looking for an excuse to celebrate?

However, we’re as Irish as can be at my house. Both my husband and I can trace more than seventy percent of our DNA back to the Emerald Isle, so we’ll be getting our green on and celebrating with a wee nip of whisky and some classic Irish dishes.

I haven’t quite settled on a main course yet, probably hearty Irish stew or platter of corned beef. But in addition to a loaf of my Easy Irish Soda Bread, I plan to prepare my Irish Colcannon recipe.

Though colcannon or Irish mashed potatoes are a great accompaniment most any time of year, it really is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day side dish.

What Is Colcannon Or Irish Mashed Potatoes?

Some people refer to colcannon as “Irish mashed potatoes.”

Potatoes certainly play a major role in my colcannon recipe, as they do in many other traditional Irish dishes. But there’s more to colcannon than just mashed potatoes.

Adding sauteed green cabbage and green onion gives my colcannon recipe some beautiful color and kicks the flavor up a few notches. Those green onions bring in a bit of bite without being overpowering, which is why my colcannon recipe calls for a whole bunch.

Creamy mashed potatoes, sauteed cabbage, and gorgeous green onions are a great combination. But the thing that makes my colcannon recipe so good and so decadent is everybody’s favorite guilty pleasure – butter.

Lots of rich, delicious, decadent butter.

Buttery Colcannon – A Delicious Small Indulgence

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that most of my recipes lean in a fairly healthy direction, with lots of fresh veggies and high-quality protein, minimizing added sugar, and generally using olive oil for my fats.

So you may be asking yourself, “Lots of butter? What’s up, Marie?”

Okay, here’s the deal.

Unless health concerns mean you’re on a very restrictive diet, a little indulgence never hurt anyone. And when you break down the amount on per-serving basis, we really are talking about a little indulgence – like half a tablespoon of butter .

Also, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. I just don’t think you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without potatoes. And potatoes without butter?

Well, that’s just not right. I think my Irish ancestors would agree. Especially since I used Irish butter.

How Do You Make Colcannon?

My colcannon recipe is very easy to prepare.

You start by boiling potatoes in salted water. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of salt in the water – I generally put in a whole palmful of Kosher salt.

I know that might sound like a lot but remember, most of it will be drained off with the liquid. If you don’t salt the water generously, your potatoes – and your colcannon – will be bland. (And that would be tragic.)

After boiling, draining, and setting aside the potatoes, you’ll cook the chopped green cabbage or green onions in butter until they’re nice and soft. Next, you’ll add the potatoes, milk, and a little salt and pepper, and then hand mash the potatoes with the greens.

Finally, you’ll taste and adjust the seasonings (if you’re worried about adding too much salt, go heavier on the pepper), top the hot colcannon with one more tablespoon of butter, and serve.

Yum!