Buttery mashed potatoes folded with wilted cabbage and scallions, served with a melting well of butter.

Where does Colcannon come from?

Colcannon is a Irish dish from Munster, Ireland.

Can Colcannon be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Colcannon recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Colcannon take to make?

About 45 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Colcannon — a Munster, Ireland recipe

Name: Colcannon
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 2.5 lbs floury potatoes (russet/maris piper), peeled; 4 cups savoy cabbage or curly kale, shredded; 6 tbsp, divided butter; 3/4 cup whole milk or cream, warmed; 6 scallions, sliced

Europe → 🇮🇪 Ireland → Munster

Colcannon

Irish · easy · serves 4

prep 15 min · cook 30 min

~586 cal · 9g protein · 64g carbs · 34g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Bowl of colcannon with a well of melted butter in the center

🇮🇪 Munster

Colcannon is Halloween food in Ireland — charms were once hidden in it to tell fortunes — and everyday food the rest of the year. The Munster way is generous: good butter, plenty of greens, and a crater of more butter in the middle of each serving.

Sign in to save recipes to your book and leave reviews.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

•

2.5 lbs floury potatoes (russet/maris piper), peeled

•

4 cups savoy cabbage or curly kale, shredded

•

6 tbsp, divided butter

•

3/4 cup whole milk or cream, warmed

•

6 scallions, sliced

Instructions

1

Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until tender; drain and let them steam dry in the pot.

2

Wilt the cabbage in a knob of the butter with a splash of water, 4–5 minutes, keeping some bite.

3

Warm the milk with the scallions for 2 minutes — this seasons the mash from the inside.

4

Mash the potatoes with the scallion milk and most of the butter until fluffy; fold in the cabbage. Season boldly.

5

Serve in bowls with a well pressed into each and the last of the butter melting in it. Eat from the outside in.

Munster farmhouse tradition.

Ratings & reviews

Sign in to rate this recipe once you’ve cooked it.

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Munster. Dairy country in Ireland’s green southwest.

🗺️

Ireland. Butter, potatoes, and a talent for comfort.

🌍

Europe. Village recipes guarded for generations.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →