Sweet Potato Irish Colcannon Recipe

Sweet Potato Irish colcannon is the best “mashed potatoes” you’ll ever have in your life!

Man, oh man…. where has this been all my life??!!! I’ve never had the traditional version, but this version just sent me over the moon!

An up close view of this Clean Eating Irish Colcannon in a black, cast iron pan. You can see bits of dark green from the kale mixed in with the bright orange sweet potatoes.

Colcannon is traditionally made with white potatoes. The remaining ingredients tend to change slightly depending on who is making it. Cabbage and onions can also be used in place of kale and leeks. But I opted for kale because it’s so nutrient-dense.

This will be replacing every potato dish there is at my Thanksgiving table this year and a few others during the year as well. Seriously.

TRIP UPDATE:

We stayed at the Ashton House B&B in Avoca for one night. It was my mom’s favorite place from her last trip to Ireland, so she wanted to be sure to go again this time. Just one night there explained why it was her favorite. So tranquil and relaxing!

This is the place…

The Ashton House in Avoca where we stayed. This is from the trip I took to Ireland which inspired this recipe for Clean Eating Irish Colcannon

And this was the “backyard”…

The view of the land behind the Ashton House which shows lush green grasses running along side a beautiful creek. This is from the trip I took to Ireland which inspired this recipe for Clean Eating Irish Colcannon

Ummmm, ya… I’d set up a swing and call it home in a heartbeat…

We also stopped by the oldest weaving mill in Ireland called the Avoca Mill. They had some of the most beautiful wool blankets I’d ever seen!

Clean Eating Irish Colcannon was inspired by my trip to Ireland with my mom and Mini Chef. This image is a collage of four different images showing the beautiful wool blankets made at the Avoca Mill.

Later that night, I went to a local pub, listened to a live band play some amazing Irish music, and had a glass of Guinness. I had always heard that beer gets served warm here, but that wasn’t the case. This one was nice a cold. LOVED it!

This glass of Guinness I enjoyed in Ireland sure would have gone great with this Clean Eating Irish Colcannon! But I splurged and had bangers and mash that night. When in Ireland.... you can't beat a good glass of Guinness!

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Clean Eating Irish Colcannon Recipe

Sweet Potato Irish Colcannon Recipe

You’re missing out if you’ve never had Irish colcannon. It’s mashed potatoes on steroids! That being said, I try to substitute sweet potatoes for white potatoes whenever possible and the substitution here did not disappoint! Please note that the total time for making this assumes you’ve already cooked your sweet potatoes.
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Irish
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 9 servings (approximately
Calories: 224kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 lb. sweet potatoes (baked in their skin until soft, cooled and peeled)
  • 2 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 4 cups kale (loosely packed and finely chopped)
  • 2 cup leeks (loosely packed and finely chopped)
  • 15 oz. can light coconut milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a large pan, sauté the kale and leeks in the coconut oil until the mixture reduces by about half. (Approximately 5 minutes)
  • In a large mixing bowl (using an immersion blender) or a food processor, blend together the potatoes and coconut milk until smooth.
  • Scoop the potatoes into the pan while it’s still warm and stir everything together until well combined.
  • Serve.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 691mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 24755IU | Vitamin C: 41.7mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 1.8mg


Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 5/6/13.

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22 Comments

  1. Can you substitute skim milk, or will that change consistency too much?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Amy – I think you could get away with it, yes.

  2. Mmm…sounds good! This sounds like a dish to bring to family gatherings! Now to decide what to pair it with for dinner this week!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Megan – You really can’t go wrong here. Any meat would go well as would almost any veggie. Enjoy!

  3. I love this posting! We loved Ireland so much, we would want to live there! I grew up with Irish American Farm cooking. This trip proved to my husband that I am not cooking incorrectly…just Irish!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Traci – LOL!!! That’s hysterical! 😀

  4. this looks and sounds soooo good. Would would you suggest as the main dish to pair with this?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Kelli – Chicken and a salad would be great! Or even fish..

  5. Wow, can’t wait to try this recipe. My parents were both from Ireland…
    and it is gorgeous. I hope you got to Northern Ireland as well..even more gorgeous!
    My husband says, there’s nothing I can’t do with a potato! haha
    Just one thing…Guiness only tastes GREAT in Ireland! They will explain that
    once you put it in a barrel and ship it…it turns a bit. I drank my share for sure
    when I had taken my parents back for their 50th anniversary!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Cindy – I hope you enjoy it! We won’t make it to northern Ireland this time, but next time! I’ll have to try Guinness back home to compare. 🙂

  6. Kelli Ward says:

    This sounds like it would be an amazing topping for sheperd’s pie!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Kelli – It probably would!

  7. This sounds really great, and I can’t wait to try it.
    For the kale, do you cut the leafy part off the center still, and then finely chop just the leafy bits – or include the stem as well?
    Also, would it be too much to include kale, leeks, AND cabbage and/or onions? Or you think it would be best to keep it to one pair or the other?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Liz – I’m sure you could do any combo you like, but personally, I would only want either kale or cabbage. That just my preference though. You could definitely remove the stems if you prefer, but it’s optional.

  8. Do you think I could substitute the milk with almond milk?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Susanne – Sure!

  9. This looks good! Never even thought to use sweet potatoes. I’ll give it a try.

    I’ve made colcannon using red potatoes, cabbage, milk and chicken broth, butter, along with the carmelized onions and fresh garlic chives, people loved it!

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      June – Ya, Colcannon is AMAZING stuff! I absolutely adore it. I hope you enjoy this version! 🙂

  10. Tiffany, this was amazing. Everyone loved it! It was a great way to use the kale and leeks we received in our CSA this week.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Cecilia – So glad you enjoyed it! 😀

  11. I’ve never heard of this, but your version sounds super tasty! I would love to go to Ireland one day!! #goals

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      AZ – Definitely a worthy bucket list item!!! It was beautiful!