The Best Low-Carb Colcannon

Colcannon is a tasty Irish dish made with potatoes and cabbage. Although it's traditionally served on St. Patrick's Day, it's not limited to special occasions and makes a great side to any roasts and slow cooked meat. It's easy to prepare, budget-friendly and you'll need just a few common ingredients.

In this low-carb colcannon I used cauliflower, spring onions, green cabbage and butter. I also added some crispy bacon for flavour boost but you can skip it if you follow a vegetarian ketogenic diet.

Step-by-step

1. Slice the bacon into thin strips. Grease a large saucepan or deep skillet with lard or ghee (I used leftover fat from last night's pork roast), and cook the bacon over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until crisped up. Take off the heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon into a bowl and set aside.

   

2. Clean the vegetables. Wash the cauliflower and cut into florets.

   

3. Place on a steaming rack inside a pot filled with 1-2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook.

   

4. Meanwhile, remove the tough stems and slice the cabbage. Place the sliced spring onion into the saucepan where you cooked the bacon, stir to combine with the bacon grease and cook for a minute. Add the sliced cabbage, cover with a lid and cook over a medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. When done, take off the heat and set aside.

   

5. When the cauliflower is tender, take off the heat, remove the lid, and let it cool down for 5 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower into a bowl, add the cream and butter (you can reserve some butter for garnish). Using an immersion blender, process until smooth.

   

6. Add the cooked greens and combine.

   

7. Finally, stir in the crisped up bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste.

   

8. Serve warm. Optionally, top with freshly chopped parsley and butter.

   

Recipe

The Best Low-Carb Colcannon

★★★★★4.6 (99 ratings)

Colcannon is a delicious Irish dish traditionally made with potatoes and cabbage. This keto version uses ...

Hands on

15m

Overall

30m

Servings

6

5.6 g

Net carbs

8.6 g

Protein

30.7 g

Fat

337

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings18 servings24 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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Ingredients makes 6 servings

• 2 tbsp lard or ghee (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
• 8 slices bacon, chopped (240 g/ 8.5 oz) - can be omitted
• 1 medium cauliflower (600 g/ 1.3 lb)
• 1 small green cabbage, sliced and tough stems removed (300 g/ 10.6 oz)
• 4 medium spring onions, sliced (60 g/ 2.1 oz)
• ¹/₂ cup heavy whipping cream (120 ml/ 4 fl oz)
• ¹/₄ cup butter or ghee (57 g/ 2 oz)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Slice the bacon into thin strips. Grease a large saucepan or deep skillet with lard or ghee (I used leftover fat from last night's pork roast), and cook the bacon over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until crisped up. Take off the heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon into a bowl and set aside.

2. Clean the vegetables. Wash the cauliflower and cut into florets.

3. Place on a steaming rack inside a pot filled with 1-2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook.

4. Meanwhile, remove the tough stems and slice the cabbage. Place the sliced spring onion into the saucepan where you cooked the bacon, stir to combine with the bacon grease and cook for a minute. Add the sliced cabbage, cover with a lid and cook over a medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. When done, take off the heat and set aside.

5. When the cauliflower is tender, take off the heat, remove the lid, and let it cool down for 5 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower into a bowl, add the cream and butter (you can reserve some butter for garnish). Using an immersion blender, process until smooth.

6. Add the cooked greens and combine.

7. Finally, stir in the crisped up bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. Serve warm. Optionally, top with freshly chopped parsley and butter.

Nutrition per serving, about 200 g/7 oz

Carbs 7%Protein 10%Fat 83% of calories

Net carbs

5.6 g

Total carbs

9.1 g

Fiber

3.5 g

Sugars

4.2 g

Protein

8.6 g

Fat

30.7 g

Saturated fat

15 g

Calories

337 kcal

Sodium

568 mg · 24.7% RDA

Magnesium

33 mg · 8.26% RDA

Potassium

542 mg · 27.1% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per about 200 g/7 oz	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Lard (pork fat)	0 g	0 g	5 g	45
Bacon, streaky (high fat content), organic	0 g	5.5 g	10 g	112
Cauliflower, fresh	3 g	1.9 g	0.3 g	25
Cabbage, green, fresh	1.6 g	0.5 g	0 g	10
Spring onion, scallion, green onion, fresh	0.5 g	0.2 g	0 g	3
Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat)	0.5 g	0.4 g	7.6 g	73
Butter, unsalted, grass-fed	0 g	0.1 g	7.7 g	68
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Pepper, black, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Total	5.6 g	8.6 g	30.7 g	337

Serving size about 200 g/7 oz

• Gluten free
• Egg free
• Nut free
• Nightshade free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free
• Pescatarian
• Vegetarian