Buttery Greens Make These Classic Irish Mashed Potatoes So Good (2024)

  • Recipes
  • Holidays and Seasons
  • Spring
  • St. Patrick's Day

You can't go wrong with this Irish mashed potato recipe on St. Patrick's Day or any day.

By

Elise Bauer

Buttery Greens Make These Classic Irish Mashed Potatoes So Good (1)

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

Updated March 12, 2024

Buttery Greens Make These Classic Irish Mashed Potatoes So Good (2)

Use it Up! 21 Ways to Use Up a Bunch of GreensFEATURED IN:

What Is Colcannon?

Have you ever had colcannon? A St. Patrick's day favorite, colcannon is an Irish potato recipe, a mixture of creamy mashed potatoes and usually kale or cabbage.

I first encountered colcannon potatoes while doing research on traditional Irish cooking. Not surprisingly the Irish have all sorts of ways of cooking potatoes, with festive names like champ, bruisy, pandy, boxty, and this one, colcannon.

Buttery Greens Make These Classic Irish Mashed Potatoes So Good (3)

Irish Mashed Potatoes

In the following colcannon recipe, we mix the mashed potatoes in with chopped cooked kale, green onions, milk or cream, and lots of butter.

To serve, make a depression in the middle of the mashed potatoes and put a knob of butter in it. To eat it, you dip a forkful of the potatoes in the melted butter.

If ever there was a recipe to get one to eat one's greens, this is it!

More Favorite Recipes for St. Patrick's Day

  • Colcannon Soup
  • Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew
  • Chocolate Guinness Brownies
  • Corned Beef and Cabbage
  • Irish Soda Bread

Learn More About Irish Cooking

By the way, if you are looking for books on traditional Irish cooking, I can recommend two excellent ones. The first is Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen, of the Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork.

The second is The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews, which won the James Beard award for cookbook of the year in 2010.

Buttery Greens Make These Classic Irish Mashed Potatoes So Good (4)

Colcannon

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings4to 6 servings

See Also
Amazon

For a variation, sub out half of the potatoes with parsnips. Can add chives, leeks, or bacon too.

Ingredients

  • 4 russet potatoes (2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

  • Salt, to taste

  • 5 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for serving

  • 3 lightly packed cups chopped kale, cabbage, chard, or other leafy green

  • 3 green onions, minced (about 1/2 cup)

  • 1 cup milk or cream

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes:

    Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and bring to a boil.

    Boil until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander.

  2. Cook the greens and the green onions with butter:

    Return the pot to the stove and set over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot and once it's hot, add the greens.

    Cook the greens for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are wilted and have given off some of their water.

    Add the green onions and cook 1 minute more.

  3. Mash the potatoes with milk or cream and greens:

    Pour in the milk or cream, mix well, and add the potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium.

    Use a fork or potato masher and mash the potatoes, mixing them up with the greens.

    Add salt to taste and serve hot, with a knob of butter in the center.

    Did you love the recipe? Give us some stars and leave a comment below!

  • St. Patrick's Day
  • Budget Dinners
  • Greens
  • Russet Potatoes
  • Irish
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
378Calories
26g Fat
33g Carbs
5g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4to 6
Amount per serving
Calories378
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26g33%
Saturated Fat 16g82%
Cholesterol 75mg25%
Sodium 129mg6%
Total Carbohydrate 33g12%
Dietary Fiber 4g13%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 25mg124%
Calcium 70mg5%
Iron 2mg10%
Potassium 877mg19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Buttery Greens Make These Classic Irish Mashed Potatoes So Good (2024)
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