Authentic Irish Champ Potatoes

Champ is a tasty traditional Irish side dish of mashed potato with scallions, similar to Colcannon. This authentic family recipe will show you exactly how to make it. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any day!

Champ is a traditional, popular Irish side dish. It’s simply made with potatoes mashed with butter and milk infused with scallions (spring onion).

The results are tasty, mildly onion-flavored mashed potatoes, ready in 20 minutes with just 4 ingredients.

Champ is very similar to colcannon, but it doesn't have cabbage or kale. It's very common in Northern Ireland.

This is my family recipe. My mum is from Belfast and my Dad is from near Dublin, so growing up in Canada we often had authentic Irish dishes.

So now I'm bringing you our family champ potatoes recipe.

We often had it as a side dish with dinner. Any leftovers would be formed into little cakes and pan-fried to have with eggs for breakfast.

Irish Champ (also known as poundies) is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes, or to add a traditional recipe from Ireland to your meal.

It’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any day.

What’s the difference between Colcannon and Champ?

You may have heard of colcannon, champ’s more famous cousin. Both are traditional Irish potato dishes that are still regularly made to this day in restaurants and homes.

Colcannon is a mashed potato dish that includes cabbage or kale as well as scallions or leeks and is more popular in the south of Ireland.
It’s usually served as a side dish, often with ham or corned beef.

Champ is made with potatoes, milk, butter and scallions (aka spring onions). It's more common in Northern Ireland/Ulster.
Champ is served as a side dish to a main meal, or at breakfast with fried eggs and perhaps sausages. Champ is also known in some areas as Poundies.

Neither version is generally served with gravy, but instead usually has a pat of butter melting into a well at the top. Bliss.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Champ is a traditional Northern Irish potato recipe.

It’s a tasty vegetarian side dish.

This champ recipe is authentic and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.

You’ll be able to find all the ingredients at your local grocery store.

Make colcannon from scratch in 20 minutes with 4 ingredients. 

It’s the perfect side dish to bring to an outdoor barbecue, potluck or cookout.

A budget-friendly dish.

It’s a great recipe to use up leftover mashed potatoes.

Champ a traditional Irish dish that is still regularly served in Irish homes, pubs and restaurants, particularly in Northern Ireland.

Ingredients & Tools 

You only need a few simple ingredients for Irish mashed potatoes! You can even use leftover mashed potatoes and quickly turn them into colcannon potatoes.

Potatoes - use potatoes that are good for mashing, like Yukon Gold, Russets, Maris Piper or King Edward.

Scallions/Spring Onions - they are a must in champ and provide the classic flavor.

Milk - this will make the potatoes lovely and creamy. Use your favorite plain milk: whole milk, 2%, soy etc...

Butter - any butter or margarine works, but if you can, try it with a good quality Irish one like Kerrygold. Also, be sure to serve the warm champ potatoes with a good knob of butter on top. It melts into the champ potatoes and everyone will fight over the rich first scoop.

Step By Step Tutorial

Follow this step-by-step photo tutorial, then scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and method.

Boil the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover, for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash.

Tip: if desired, cook the potatoes with their skins on and peel after cooking or mash the skins.

Meanwhile, add the butter, milk and scallions/spring onions to a small pot and heat, but don’t boil.

Stir the scallion milk into the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the champ warm, with an extra pat of butter melting into a well in the top.

Tips 

• Heating the butter, scallions and milk together really infuses the flavors, so don’t skip this step.
• You can make the champ potatoes recipe ahead and reheat in the microwave.
• Don’t skip adding butter to the top of the hot champ and letting it melt in. It makes it extra special!
• Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
• Go for good butter. I love Kerrygold Irish butter.
• Trim and discard the root and end of the scallions, and chop up the rest.
• The onions used in this recipe are known by different names: scallions, spring onions, green onions.
• Choose potatoes that are best for mashing, like Yukon Gold, Russets, King Edward or Maris Piper.
• Don't blend or over mash the potatoes. You don't want them gluey!

Serving Suggestions

Serve as a side dish.

Form into small patties/cakes and pan fry in a little butter until it gets a golden crust around the edges. Serve for breakfast with a fried egg on top.

Top a Shepherd’s Pie with champ instead of plain mashed potatoes.

Serve for an authentic St. Patrick’s Day dish.

Add to potato skins for an Irish appetizer.

Serve the Irish colcannon potatoes as a tasty side dish. Perfect with Corned Beef and Cabbage or Irish Stew.

Trust me, you want to serve champ with a knob of butter melting into the top. My sisters and I always fought over who got the first, butteriest scoop.

Serve with sausages, peas and gravy (try my mushroom gravy) for an Ulster Bangers n' Mash.

Variations

Add some color and freshness by stirring in chopped fresh parsley. 

If you’d like to add some more heat, add in a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Try it with unpeeled potatoes and mash the skins in, for extra nutrition and texture.

Swap the spring onions for stinging nettles. It’s a more old-fashioned way of making champ, but a version that deserves to come pack to popularity!

Swap the scallions for chives for an even milder onion flavour.

Add some minced garlic to the milk when infusing with the scallions.

Special diets

To make it gluten-free: The ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten free, however, please check your labels used on any seasoning to make sure they don’t contain any wheat ingredients. 

To make vegan champ: If you’d like to make this recipe vegan, simply use a vegan milk and butter.

Storage 

Storing: Store this champ in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan (you may need to add a splash of milk).

Freezing: I don’t tend to freeze champ, but if necessary, place into a freezer-safe bag and freeze until solid, laid flat.

Irish Recipes

I hope you love champ! Be sure to try these other Irish recipes too.

Potato Farls
Colcannon
Irish Cream Baked Donuts
Potato Leek Soup
Vegetable Stew
Carrot Soda Bread
Kale Soda Bread

📖 Recipe