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Bella Cullen's Colcannon

Photo Credit
Nickola_Che/Shutterstock
Written By: The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors The Almanac Editors and Staff
Yield
Serves 4
Category
Potatoes
Course
Side Dishes
Occasions
St. Patricks Day
Sources
The Yankee Cookbook

Irish comfort food at its best, Colcannon is a dish that traditionally pairs mashed potatoes with cabbage. Here, we substitute kale for cabbage for a modern twist. (But feel free to stick with cabbage, if you prefer.)

This recipe comes from the mother of Noel Cullen, the famous Irish chef. It’s a great companion dish for corned beef and Irish soda bread. 

See more in our collection of the Best St. Patrick’s Day and Irish Recipes!

Ingredients
8 medium all-purpose potatoes
1 head curly kale, chopped fine
1-1/4 cups milk
6 scallions, diced fine
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
8 tablespoons butter, divided

Instructions

  1. Peel potatoes. In a saucepan, cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes or until done. Strain off water. Let potatoes dry, then hand mash.
  2. In a 2-quart pot, boil the kale in salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. In a large saucepan, over low heat, heat the milk with scallions, parsley, and thyme. Strain the chopped kale and add to milk. Simmer for 3 minutes.
  3. Add mashed potatoes to kale, stir in 4 tablespoons butter, and mix to a creamy consistency. Season to taste. Place into a serving dish, making a well in the center. Fill generously with remaining butter and serve.

About The Author
The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Almanac Editors and Staff

Under the guiding hand of its first editor, Robert B. Thomas, the premiere issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac was published in 1792 during George Washington’s first term as president.Today, the Almanac...
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Comments

<span>John</span> Sat, 03/15/2025 - 12:21
A perfect example of a tweakable recipe. Don't like kale, use cabbage. Love butter, add more. Throw in some bacon or corned beef or smoked sausage. Add liquid until it's at the consistency you want. It puts the fun in fungible. Unless you're baking. Don't mess around much with that. Just sayin'.
<span>Sabel</span> Sun, 03/14/2021 - 11:40
I found Colcannon 20 years ago while researching old recipes for Medieval feasts. I doubt that it is Medieval but it certainly is traditional. Sorry, I don't do kale but I have never found a way to cook cabbage that I haven't liked. For Colcannon, I fix the mashed potatoes like usual, then I slice the cabbage finely or chop it into small pieces, but not minced, and I saute it in lots of butter with sliced scallions and garlic, salt and pepper. Fold it into the potatoes, top with more butter and it's done. Sometimes, I might add sliced mushrooms, just because my DH loves them. But really?! 1 1/4 cups of milk?! That sounds more like porridge than Colcannon. And sorry but green potatoes? Yuck...Let's stick to Green Eggs and Ham...
<span>Tom Fury</span> Fri, 03/12/2021 - 06:47
While this dish sounds tasty, about all it has in common with my Irish mother and grandmother's version is potatoes. They made it with mashed potatoes, cabbage, sometimes leeks or onion, and bacon. And butter, tons of butter. Usually it was a side, but often it was dinner when things were tight. And it was most definitely NOT green - bleah! They'd both make huge pots of it, and we ate it for days. Leftovers were often mixed with a little egg, rolled in bread crumbs, and fried crispy. Just thinking about it makes me miss them both.
<span>John</span> Thu, 03/12/2020 - 16:13
Not the same texture or taste!
<span>Dwight</span> Thu, 03/12/2020 - 12:52
How is this eaten? On chips like a dip, or just as some type of seasoned mashed potatoes? Thanks for providing the recipe - for something I haven't ever even heard of. :)
<span>Patricia</span> Sat, 03/17/2018 - 19:16
I made this with cabbage, I wanted today which is St. Patrick’s Day to be full of old Irish foods. First time I’ve ever made it and I love it. I think next time I am going to put some Irish cheese on it. It’s a little bland, but I also didn’t add the extra butter because I plan on making the dill potato cakes tomorrow with the leftovers. I also did pair it with the Irish stew recipe from almanac and the dill potato cakes. This was a fantastic Irish dinner. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Thanks for the recipe!!
<span>Tara</span> Wed, 03/14/2018 - 11:21
I have this from an old news paper. Love that you use kale!! I love the cabbage, but this is such a nice healthy twist! Also love the idea of green potatoes with out any dye. LOL
<span>Ellen</span> Mon, 03/12/2018 - 18:14
Thank-you for this recipe. I am Irish but I don't like cabbage. I love kale. And the green color is a very nice touch!
<span>Jg</span> Fri, 03/17/2017 - 16:49
This is a wonderful dish. It's a delicious take on a classic, and the green color is lovely. Thank you for providing it.
<span>David</span> Sat, 03/04/2017 - 10:40
Pulleeze! Kale? Traditional?!! Equivalent to "... establishing a new tradition ..." Need to EDIT this stuff.