Traditional Irish Champ Recipe (2024)

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Traditional Irish Champ Recipe. With only five ingredients, this authentic Irish potato recipe is both easy and tasty. You can easily feed a crowd with this traditional Irish dish. Perfect for St. Patricks Day!

Want to go to Ireland? Check out Planning a Trip to Ireland!

Traditional Irish Champ Recipe (1)

May you live as long as you want, never want as long as you live.

– Irish Blessing
Traditional Irish Champ Recipe (2)

Irish recipes have a special place in my heart.

I have always been intrigued by the origin of food, cultivating methods and cuisine. Oh! The people behind these methods, traditions and techniques too. Don’t forget about the people.

If you ever get a chance to visit an old kitchen, even if it’s only 50 years old, in its original condition, take a deep breath through your nose. The smells you sense and the stains you see tell a vivid story. Families were fed, children were raised and holiday feasts were prepared in these kitchens, both extravagant and modest.

Learn more about what you will find in an Irish Pantry.

Can you imagine!? I can. It always brings a smile to my face. If you visit thrift stores and make a dash to the kitchen section or have an estate sales alert app on your phone, then you are MY PEOPLE my friend. Let’s have lunch.

Today is Champ Day.

I haven’t gone on a Rocky Netflix binge or watched the ice skating olympic trials. Not that kind of champ, although I would totally do either of those.

Today is looking back, celebrating Irish cuisine in all of its rawness and remembering day.

The Irish, they are tough, for good reason.

Irish cuisine took a beating through its history. The English Conquest stripped Ireland of its cuisine by diverting their agricultural goods to England to feed its conquering armies. At times, the only food the Irish could afford to eat were potatoes, the reason why todays menu of Irish cuisine almost always includes potatoes. It is also one of three reasons why a third of the Irish population perished during the Great Hunger, or as we know it on this side of the pond, the Irish Potato Famine.

The other two reasons as I understand it include a monoculture potato crop and a potato blight. This means there wasn’t enough genetic diversity in the potato to fight off a potato blight.

Hopefully we can learn and not repeat the mistakes of the past. That’s the purpose of studying history isn’t it?

What is Irish Champ?

Irish Champ is a simple Irish food made of potatoes, milk, green onions, butter and cheese. This is similar to Colcannon which uses cabbage instead of scallions.

If you can make mashed potatoes from scratch, you can make Champ. One of the things I love about recipes like this is that you can scale up or down without really using a recipe. Just cook as many potatoes as you have mouths to feed, add some dairy and onions and everybody is happy.

Another thing I really like about this recipe, it’s made of potatoes! Some people are crazy over noodles or pasta, for me it’s potatoes and cheese. This dish has both.

How do you make Irish Champ?

You make this just like you would mashed potatoes. Peel and chop the potatoes, boil in water until tender, mash with remaining ingredients and serve. Traditionally this dish was served with cheese so I add this in the end. A good sharp, assertive cheese is perfect.

More Irish Recipes

Try these recipes the next time you want to try some traditional Irish food, definitely save this for St. Patricks Day.

  • Colcannon – A traditional mashed potato recipe made with cabbage or kale.
  • Boxty – A potato pancake similar to a latke.
  • Irish Stew – Lamb and potato stew, hearty and tasty.
  • Irish Soda Bread – A dense, easy bread that bakes quickly without the need for rise times.
  • Champ – Another amazing mashed potato recipe with green onions, buttermilk, butter and cheese.

Do you have any favorite potato or Irish recipes? Please share, do tell!

Bon appetite or Dea Mhaith!

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What people are saying about this recipe

“Made this for a work potluck. Went quickly (first time I had nothing left at a potluck!) I had even made extra. People were thanking me for bringing it.”

-Julianne

“Will definitely make this ! Looks wonderful!!

-Kristy

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and comment below! Take a picture and tag us @FusionCraftiness #FusionCraftiness on Instagram for a chance to be featured in our Insta Stories:)

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Traditional Irish Champ Recipe (8)

Traditional Irish Champ Recipe

Yield: 5

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Traditional Irish Champ Recipe. With only five ingredients, this authentic Irish potato recipe is both easy and tasty. You can easily feed a crowd with this traditional Irish dish. Perfect for St. Patricks Day!

Ingredients

  • 3 lb starchy potatoes, peeled and
  • 4 Tbs butter plus a little more for garnish
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 6 green onions (scallions), chopped, plus a little more for garnish
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 4 oz shredded sharp cheese like Dunmore, Asiago, aged Cheddar, Comte etc.

Instructions

  1. Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender.
  2. Drain potatoes and return to same pot off heat.
  3. Add next 5 ingredient and mash until desired consistency.
  4. Serve in bowls, make a shallow well and place a pat of butter, sprinkle with additional green onions ad cheese.
  5. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5Serving Size: 1.5 cups
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 581Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 823mgCarbohydrates: 62gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 23g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

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Traditional Irish Champ Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Irish champ made of? ›

Champ (brúitín in Irish) is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes with scallions, butter and milk.

What's the difference between colcannon and champ? ›

Colcannon is made with cabbage or kale while champ is made by flavoring milk with green onions, then mixing them into mashed potatoes. To finish the dish off, it's mixed with melted butter.

What is Irish colcannon made of? ›

Colcannon is an Irish dish that's made of mashed potatoes, shredded cabbage or kale, green onions and tons of butter and whole milk. Sometimes crumbled bacon is added for an extra-succulent, salty flavor.

What is the history of the Irish champ? ›

Champ became popular in Ireland as a simple yet nutritious food that people could afford during the times of famine and political upheavals. The basic idea behind the champ was a simple and delicious dish that could be easily made using the ingredients that are available in all seasons.

What is a champ in Irish? ›

This combination of mashed potatoes, scallions, milk, and melted butter makes a nearly perfect comfort food. Champ is a traditional Irish dish made with mashed potatoes, scallions, and rich creamy butter. It's the perfect comfort food for cold winter days, but it's also great for any other day of the year.

What is colcannon and champ made of? ›

Champ is mashed potatoes and chopped spring onions served as a side dish. Colcannon is mashed potatoes and chopped cabbage and usually chopped ham or bacon. Bubble and squeak is mashed leftover potatoes and chopped cabbage mixed up and fried as single round cake, and then sliced and served usually at breakfast.

What is the national dish in Ireland? ›

Irish Stew is a thick, hearty dish of mutton, potatoes, and onions and undisputedly the national dish of Ireland. Within the dish are many of the ingredients synonymous with the island, potatoes being one of the most recognized.

Is colcannon the same as bubble and squeak? ›

He comments that although the basic ingredients of bubble and squeak and colcannon are similar, the two are very different dishes, the former being traditionally made from left-overs and fried to give a brown crust, and the latter "a completely separate dish of potato, spring onion and cabbage, served almost as creamed ...

Why is colcannon important to Ireland? ›

We love the traditions of Ireland, especially when it comes to the food! Colcannon is a hearty dish that has been eaten on Halloween night for years. Traditionally, a ring was hidden in the dish, and whoever was to find it would be likely to marry in the upcoming year!

Why do the Irish eat corned beef and cabbage? ›

The Irish immigrants also realized that cabbage was a more readily available vegetable in America than in Ireland, where it was traditionally a fall and winter vegetable. So they combined the corned beef with cabbage to create a hearty, filling meal that was reminiscent of their homeland.

What do the Irish eat instead of corned beef? ›

According to Regina Sexton, food and culinary historian and programme manager, Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture, University College Cork, corned beef and cabbage is not a dish much known in Ireland. What the Irish actually eat is bacon and cabbage. "A traditional dinner is bacon, potatoes, and cabbage.

What did the Irish eat instead of potatoes? ›

Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.

Where did champ originate? ›

Also known as poundies and brúitín, this Irish comfort dish is made with mashed potatoes, spring onions, and copious amounts of butter and milk. Champ originates from the Ulster countryside where it was previously made with stinging nettle in lieu of onions, though that practice is rarely seen today.

Where does champ originate from? ›

Champ is a potato specialty in Ireland and is one of my favorite side dishes. Delicious and easy, champ is made by warming chopped green onions in milk before mixing them through mashed potatoes. Topped with a knob of melting butter these onion-laced spuds ooze with buttery goodness.

Where did champ come from? ›

Champ is a very traditional creamy mashed potato dish with scallions (spring onions) from Ireland. The creamy mashed potato is flecked with the green of the onions and is served in a deep dish, (often served on the side of stews and 'fry-ups').

What is champ made of? ›

Irish champ is similar to colcannon but is made by blending green onions or scallions with creamy mashed potatoes. It's great on its own, served steaming hot with extra butter on top, but it's also a perfect side dish for good quality sausages.

What is Irish sausage made of? ›

Bangers is a centuries-old traditional British and Irish recipe. They consist of lean and fat pork that is ground up tossed with spices and herbs that is then encased in hog casing to make sausage. There are many variations of Bangers when it comes to the ingredients depending on who makes them.

What's the difference between mash and champ? ›

Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk. Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.

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