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This Instant Pot colcannon recipe is easy, rustic, and comforting. The perfect side dish for St. Patrick’s Day or when you want to jazz up your mashed potatoes!
I tested this recipe with both cabbage and kale, and I preferred the cabbage. To me, it tasted better, and it also had a more melt-in-your-mouth kinda texture. I have photos for both in this post, so you can get an idea of what each version looks like. The cabbage color tends to disappear, but you can definitely still taste it.
I also have a stovetop colcannon recipe with bacon if you prefer.
If you’re wondering what Colcannon is, it’s an Irish and Scottish dish of potatoes with cabbage. They’re typically boiled and mashed together. There’s plenty of variations out there, so that’s why I did a bit of experimenting with it myself.
Love potatoes? You may also like my Instant Pot mashed potatoes or my Instant Pot mashed sweet potatoes.
How to make colcannon in an Instant Pot
In the Instant Pot, sauté the onion for a few minutes, and then add the cabbage (or kale) and cook until it wilts, then add the potatoes and water. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
Do a quick release and mash in the cream, salt and pepper, and chives. Serve and top generously with butter.
I actually really like making mashed potatoes and colcannon in the electric pressure cooker. It’s just more convenient in my opinion.
If you’re looking for more St. Patrick’s Day recipes, try my Irish whiskey pork chops, my matcha cookies (they’re naturally green), my Instant Pot Irish stew, or my grapefruit Irish Mule recipe.
Have you ever made colcannon? I hope you will give this Instant Pot cabbage and potatoes recipe a try!
Questions? Ask me in the comments below.
Easy Instant Pot Colcannon Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter + extra for serving
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1/2 medium cabbage (about 3 cups) OR use kale chopped
- 2.5 pounds Russet potatoes cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Chives or scallions chopped, to taste
Instructions
- Add the butter and oil to the Instant Pot. Sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes, then add the cabbage and continue to cook until it starts to wilt (another few minutes).
- Add the potatoes and water to the Instant Pot. Close the lid and make sure the valve is on "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick pressure release. Test to make sure the potatoes are done by inserting a knife. If they're not done, put the lid back on and cook them on high pressure for another couple minutes.
- You can mash the potatoes right in the inner pot on your counter (I don't like to mash them with the inner pot in the pressure cooker in case I damage the heating element). Add the cream, salt & pepper (I'm pretty generous), and chives. Mash until the colcannon is the consistency you like. Serve with butter on top.
Notes
- Serves 4-6.
- Inactive time indicates the amount of time it takes the Instant Pot to get up to pressure.
- I tested this recipe both with cabbage and kale, and I prefer the taste and texture of the cabbage.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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We really enjoyed this! My husband is Irish and likes his potatoes!! We both do! We love cabbage too and this recipe is so fast and easy. Creamy and satisfying comfort food.
Love that!! 😀 Thank you for your review, Allison!
Looks great. Is there enough water for an 8 qt. IP? Should I use more water and drain after cooking?
Hi Jay! Our kitchen has never cooked this recipe in an 8 qt IP, so we can’t speculate with measurements. You could add more water if you’re worried. Here’s an IP guide that has some info about water that may help: https://bit.ly/3tfYfUd Enjoy and let us know how it goes!
I love this recipe. I serve it whenever I cook corned beef.
Wonderful to hear, Diane! Thanks for letting us know 🙂
I saw the Colcannon with Bacon recipe on your site but wanted to use my Instant Pot so did a mix of the recipes. I followed this recipe, but used a bag of small yellow potatoes unpeeled and cut in half, and 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup sour cream in place of cream bc I forgot cream.
While that cooked in the Instant Pot, I made the bacon on the stove. When the potatoes/cabbage were done, I added about a tablespoon of bacon grease in with the milk/sour cream and mashed. I topped with bacon and chopped green onions before serving.
This was an awesome side dish, super easy, and I loved the cabbage mixed in. I almost might add a full head next time just because I loved the combo. Highly recommend and thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for the tips!! I’m so glad you were able to fuse the two recipes and enjoyed it! 🙂
This was so easy I used small yellow potatoes which I cut in half with the skin still on and sautéed the onion and a bag of chopped kale, dumped the potatoes in and salt and pepper. I used 1 cup of water and pressure cooked for seven minutes. When it was done I dumped in 2 tablespoons butter and some chopped up cheddar cheese perhaps 2 ounces. I turned on sauté and mashed everything together it came out smooth and beautiful looking and was oh so tasty! What an easy way to make a side dish!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it! 🙂
Definitely going to try this. Can you leave it in instant pot to keep warm until served?
Thanks!
Hi Judi! Yes, I think that will be fine. Just keep it on the “keep warm” setting. You may need to fluff the potatoes up a little prior to serving depending how long you let them sit. Hope you like the recipe!
No ham? I’ve never done Colcannon without ham.
You could definitely add some if you wanted to.
Tastes wonderful, l but, I got a “BURN” message on my IP b/c there wasn’t enough water/moisture in the pot so it started to stick and the bottom was scorched. Are we sure it’s only 1/2 c water to be added?
Hi Darren! I haven’t ever received a burn message on my Instant Pot. Yes, I only used the 1/2 cup of water. The cabbage (or kale) will release some water too, so I’m not sure why this happened. Were the onions stuck on prior to closing the Instant Pot? I’m glad it tasted good at least.
Hi Natasha, thanks for your quick response! No, the onions weren’t stuck during their sauté. I had a little more than 3 c of savoy cabbage–just under 4. My russets were cut into approx 1/2 in cubes and I saw that the water wasn’t going to be enough so I added about 1/4 cup (or so) more. Before the pressure cycle was done, ~2 mins in, I got the burn message. I released the pressure quickly, saw the brown bits stuck to the bottom with some potato cubes attached, transferred the mixture to a large bowl and was able to mash everything to a point where it was pleasantly edible, though not smooth at all. Great taste and I want to try it again. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps I sautéed the onion and cabbage for too long and there wasn’t enough inherent moisture left in them? Any thoughts?
Hmm thanks for the details! I think you’re probably right that there just wasn’t enough water left. I can’t say I had the same issue, but I guess Instant Pots tend to vary unfortunately. It’s definitely frustrating for me when a recipe doesn’t work for my readers. 🙁
I used about 3/4 cups of water. Always remember to cancel sauté mode and scrape the bottom once you add the water, then add your potatoes.
Natasha. I add libbed mine. I cut up 5 strips of bacon and sautéd that first. The bacon grease instead of oil olive plus butter added a bit more flavor when I sautéd the onion next then added the cabbage. Once that was done I used my water to scrape with then added the potatoes and a few minced garlic cloves. Turned out awesome.
Sounds delicious!!!
Do you think this recipe would work if I doubled or tripled it? Serving ab 10-12 tomorrow, thanks!
Hi! I think doubling would work. Not sure if tripling will fit in the IP. Just don’t go over the max fill line. Hope everyone enjoys it! 🙂
Yes. Fill up your instant pot. But don’t double or triple your water.
This recipe was amazing! I told my family upfront that it had cabbage in it, and they tried it anyway, and loved it! Who knew?!. The cabbage actually turned out slightly sweet. I followed the recipe, except I didn’t have any chives, and I cooked for 9 minutes, since I like potatoes to be soft and easy to mash (they probably would have been okay at 7 or 8, too). Thank you for this delicious recipe. We will be eating it again, soon.
I’m so happy it was enjoyed, Sheila!! Thanks for letting me know!