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    Home > Blog > Vegetable Recipes > Brown Butter Colcannon

    Brown Butter Colcannon

    by Jenny Park · Published: Mar 17, 2025

    Jump to Recipe
    A simple and delicious Brown Butter Colcannon Recipe that screams comfort food! Super creamy mashed potatoes are stirred together with hearty kale and nutty brown butter. It's the most delicious and versatile side dish!
    Brown Butter Colcannon recipe in a bowl with a spoon in it.

    Today we have a simple and super delicious Brown Butter Colcannon Recipe for St Patrick’s Day! We’re big potato lovers over here so this creamy mashed potato dish was a no brainer for us. We can’t stress how easy it is to make and it only requires a handful of ingredients.

    We also love how this dish is able to sneak in some vegetables too, so it’s a win-win on both ends! If you’re not a fan of kale you can substitute spinach or even cabbage! You also don’t have to limit this to St Patricks Day, it makes an amazing side dish all year round! I often find myself serving this colcannon instead of regular mashed potatoes.

    What is Colcannon?

    Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of creamy mashed potatoes stirred together with hearty greens, such as cabbage or kale. It’s a hearty and inexpensive dish that can be eaten year round.

    Our version uses brown butter, because we think it makes everything better but especially potatoes! The nutty flavor really takes this dish over the top in the best way!

    How to Make Brown Butter Colcannon

    Ingredients

    Brown Butter Colcannon recipe ingredients.

    Process

    1. Place oil in a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add oil and onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
    2. Add kale and garlic and continue to sauté for 5 to 6 minutes. Deglaze pan with water or stock and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook kale and onions until all the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and set aside.
    Onions and garlic cooking in a skillet.
    Kale with onions and garlic cooking in a skillet.
    1. Place potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover potatoes. Stir in a handful of salt. Place pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until fork tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
    2. Place butter into a small pot and place over medium heat. Cook butter for about 5 minutes or until melted, browned with a nutty flavor. Remove from heat and set aside.
    Potatoes being boiled in a pot.
    Butter browned in a skillet.
    1. Remove potatoes from heat and drain water from pot.
    2. Using a potato masher, begin to mash the hot potatoes.
    Cooked potatoes in a pot to make Colcannon.
    Mashed potatoes in a pot to make Browned Butter Colcannon.
    1. Pour butter (reserving 2 tablespoons) and cream into the potatoes.
    2. Continue to mash. Season with salt and pepper.
    Mashed potatoes in a pot for Colcannon recipe.
    Colcannon in a pot.
    1. Mash until desired consistency has been achieved. Gently stir in onion and kale mixture until just combined. Drizzle reserved brown butter over potatoes. Serve.
    Colcannon in a big bowl with brown butter drizzled on it.

    Variations

    • Use sweet potatoes instead of russet potatoes for a subtly sweet flavor!
    • Switch up with the greens with green cabbage, savoy cabbage, wilted spinach, collard greens, or Swiss chard in lieu of kale.
    • Add some sautéed leeks and/or sliced green onions (also called scallions) and/or spring onions to add even more flavor to the dish!
    • Stir some crispy crumbled bacon into the buttery potatoes!
    • Mix it up by adding herbs into the potatoes. Some of our favorites to add are chives and thyme!
    • Make the colcannon richer by stirring in a dollop of sour cream, a couple tablespoons softened cream cheese or even folding in some shredded white cheddar.

    What to Eat with Colcannon

    Colcannon is traditionally eaten with boiled ham, Irish bacon and corned beef. It’s such a versatile side that we love eating it with a variety of other dishes. Some of our favorite things to serve with colcannon are:

    • Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
    • Garlic Butter Lamb Chops
    • Seared Ribeye Steak
    • Spatchcock Chicken
    • Standing Rib Roast

    Making Ahead and Freezing Colcannon

    Our brown butter colcannon can be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months. Just scoop colcannon into an airtight container and place in freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to reheat, slightly thaw, enough to scoop into a pot. Add 1/2 to 1 cup cream to pot and simmer on low, stirring as the colcannon melts, until mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper as needed and serve.

    If you love this dish we have a couple other fun St Patrick’s Day recipes worth checking out like our Corned Beef Hash Eggs Benedict and our Irish Soda Bread.

    Colcannon recipe brown butter in a bowl.

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    Brown butter colcannon recipe in a bowl.

    Brown Butter Colcannon

    4.84 from 6 votes
    PRINT RECIPE Pin Recipe
    A simple and delicious Brown Butter Colcannon Recipe that screams comfort food! Super creamy mashed potatoes are stirred together with hearty kale and nutty brown butter. It's the most delicious and versatile side dish!
    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
    Total Time: 40 minutes mins
    Servings: 6

      INGREDIENTS  

    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/4 yellow onion diced
    • 1/2 bunch curly kale stemmed and torn into pieces
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • 2 tablespoons water
    • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
    • 2 peeled and chopped russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
    • 1/2 cup heavy cream
    • salt and pepper to taste

      INSTRUCTIONS  

    • Place oil in a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add oil and onions and sauté for 3 to4 minutes.
    • Add kale and garlic and continue to sauté for 5 to 6 minutes. Deglaze pan with water or stock and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook kale and onions until all the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and set aside.
    • Place butter into a small pot and place over medium heat. Cook butter for about 5 minutes or until melted, browned with a nutty flavor. Remove from heat and set aside.
    • Place potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover potatoes. Stir in a handful of salt. Place pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until fork tender, 12 to 15 minutes, remove from heat and drain water from pot.
    • Using a potato masher, begin to mash the hot potatoes. Pour butter (reserving 2 tablespoons) and cream into the potatoes and continue to mash. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Mash until desired consistency has been achieved. Gently stir in onion and kale mixture until just combined. Drizzle reserved brown butter over potatoes. Serve.

      NOTES  

    To Freeze and Reheat
    Scoop colcannon into an airtight container and place in freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to reheat, slightly thaw, enough to scoop into a pot. Add 1/2 to 1 cup cream to pot and simmer on low, stirring as the colcannon melts, until mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper as needed and serve. 
     
    Calories: 307kcal Carbohydrates: 15g Protein: 2g Fat: 27g Saturated Fat: 15g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 10g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 68mg Sodium: 16mg Potassium: 350mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 1240IU Vitamin C: 11mg Calcium: 37mg Iron: 1mg
    CUISINE: irish
    KEYWORD: irish mashed potatoes, st patricks day recipe
    COURSE: dinner, Side Dish, sides
    DIET : Vegetarian

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    March 17, 2025 / 10 Comments

    About Jenny Park

    Jenny Park is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food stylist and recipe developer. One of her favorite foods is donuts. #sfbJENNY

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    March 17, 2025 / 10 Comments

    Comments

      4.84 from 6 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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    1. flick

      March 18, 2024 at 6:26 pm

      4 stars
      Really good!!! Browned butter makes the whole dish sing!
      I used cabbage instead of kale because that’s what we had. Made it as a side dish to corned beef and my guests all loved it!

      Reply
    2. Josephine

      March 14, 2023 at 12:04 pm

      What can be used instead of kale?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 14, 2023 at 4:32 pm

        Spinach is a great alternative! So are blanched collards!

        Reply
    3. Maarten

      March 19, 2015 at 3:59 pm

      This recipe looks like a traditional Dutch recipe named boerenkool stamppot (kale mash). We also put some cheese and small pieces of bacon in it and eat it together with a sausage.

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 19, 2015 at 7:53 pm

        Yum, that sounds awesome!

        Reply
    4. Peggy

      March 14, 2015 at 4:58 pm

      5 stars
      I doubled this recipe today and it came out great! I halved the heavy cream and it still came out so rich and decadent. I also added extra greens. So delicious!

      Reply
    5. Eileen

      March 08, 2015 at 4:02 pm

      Yes, please! Potatoes and greens are exactly what I want to eat right now–and actually on most other occasions too. :) Yay!

      Reply
    6. Millie | Add A Little

      March 07, 2015 at 12:18 pm

      5 stars
      Carbs for life! This is amazing and the nuttiness of brown butter works perfectly!

      Reply
    7. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

      March 07, 2015 at 10:21 am

      Mashed potatoes with hearty greens sounds delicious!! Love this!

      Reply
    8. Lindsey

      March 07, 2015 at 6:27 am

      Oh you are combining a lot of my favorite things here! I had never even heard of colcannon before. Anything with browned butter is just the best.

      Reply

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