Irish Mashed Potatoes

Learn how to make Colcannon, easy Irish mashed potatoes with cabbage that are ready in just 30 minutes from prep to cook time!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Irish

Keyword Colcannon, irish mash, Irish mashed potatoes, irish mashed potatoes with cabbage

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings serves

Calories 211kcal

In a medium saucepan, add potatoes and cover them with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and boil for 7-8 minutes until fork-tender.
5 medium potatoes
Drain the potatoes, then return to low heat for 30-40 seconds, shaking every so often to steam off residual moisture. Set potatoes aside.
In the same pan, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter over low-medium heat. Set aside 2 Tablespoons of green onions. Then, add the remaining green onions to the pan with the garlic, and saute for 2 minutes.
6 Tablespoons butter, ¾ cup green onions, 1 clove garlic
Add cabbage and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring, until soft.
2 cups savoy cabbage
Finally, turn the heat to low and add the potatoes back to the pan. Mash them with your spoon, gradually mixing them in with the cabbage and onions.
Once the potatoes are mashed and mixed through, slowly add in milk and stir until it's absorbed by the potatoes. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter, salt, and pepper, and mix to combine.
½ cup whole milk, Salt + pepper, 1 Tablespoon butter
Serve with extra butter and green onions on top, and enjoy!

Peel your potatoes before making mashed potatoes. Unless you like potato skins in your mash, it's better to peel them beforehand.
Boiling potatoes works out best when you first place them in cold water and then bring up to a boil.
I always make sure to salt the water when boiling potatoes, as some of that salt will get absorbed by the potatoes, which adds to the flavor. Not all of the salt will be absorbed, so it's okay to be a bit generous with the salt.
If you cut your potatoes no larger than an inch and a half, and turn the heat down as soon as the water boils so it simmers, you should have perfect fork-tender potatoes in around 7-8 minutes.
The most important step to perfect mashed potatoes is to let the potatoes dry out before mashing. Many mashed potatoes fail because the potatoes are full of water, caused by boiling for too long or not drying them out. How do you dry them out? It's simple! Once you drain the cooked potatoes, return them to the saucepan. Over low heat, cook them for another 30 seconds, shaking the pan often. This will steam away any excess moisture.
If you mash potatoes too long, your mashed potatoes will become over-mashed and way too soft.