Irish Cheddar & Cabbage Hash Brown Skillet

Irish Cheddar & Cabbage Hash Brown Skillet! You can't go wrong with cheesy hash brown potatoes and savory cabbage baked until golden and bubbly. A great side dish for St. Patrick's Day!

As much as I tend to want to skip over St. Patrick's Day {because, really, what is the significance or appeal of all things dyed with green food coloring?}, I always feel the need to pause and give a nod of acknowledgment to March 17. I was basically groomed to gravitate toward Irish-themed festivities from a very young age, having attended a Catholic school from Kindergarten through 8th grade where our "mascot" was the Shamrock and each St. Paddy's Day was met with great celebration. It was a big deal that included a festival, no homework and a uniform-free day, which was monumental in those formative years.

Of course, the tone of the whole thing changed quite a bit during the college years when celebrating was more about green beer & whiskey specials than anything else, but I was always left with the feeling that some form of recognition was necessary.

These days, food takes priority over drink {most of the time, anyway} and I prefer my meals to be hued naturally, so when it came to thinking up a recipe fit for the occasion, I knew I'd have to stretch beyond Guinness and green frosting. {Ugh, when did I get so boring?} So instead of going for a visual interpretation of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to get a little more abstract and focus on Irish flavors and traditional foods.

That's how my Irish Cheddar & Cabbage Hash Brown Skillet came to be. Here's why it works when you're celebrating all things related to the Emerald Isle {or very distant references to it, at the very least}:

1. Does it get any more Irish than potatoes? Frozen hash browns are the key here for keeping things simple and relatively quick-cooking. I don't know how real Irish people feel about frozen hash browns, but let's be real, we're not being super authentic anyway.
2. I don't do corned beef {though my husband seeks it out every year}, but cabbage is something that has grown on me and it works here to add another layer of flavor and Irish-ness.
3. This is actually a Dianna-fied twist on Colcannon, which from what I've read, is actually quite Irish. So at least we're doing something right here.
4. Irish Cheddar. Need I say more?

This dish, which works as a side or a brunch dish if you don't mind the cabbage first thing in the morning, is shockingly easy to make and quite a delight to eat. Where there is butter and onions and carbs and cheese, my friends, there is no going wrong. My only regret is that I didn't add kale {which may actually be a winning move to some of you out there}, which I saw in only some of the colcannon recipes I came across online. Though it would have made for an extra pop of green, the bag of kale I had in my refrigerator looked kinda sketchy so I opted to keep it kale-free. If you do decide to add some, I'd just add a cup or two of very finely chopped kale to the mix when you saute the cabbage, and I don't think it'll hurt a thing. {Unless, of course, you detest kale.}

Anyway, this is probably as Irish as things are going to get around here this March, but who knows... I may be inspired to rewind to the glory days and come up with a Jameson concoction for ya. Now THAT would have made for quite an addition to our Catholic school carnival. 😉

Irish Cheddar & Cabbage Hash Brown Skillet

The Kitchen Prep

Irish Cheddar & Cabbage Hash Brown Skillet! You can’t go wrong with cheesy hash brown potatoes and savory cabbage baked until golden and bubbly. A great side dish for St. Patrick’s Day!

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Irish

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

• 4 tablespoons butter
• ½ a yellow onion {about 1 cup diced}
• 1 10 oz bag shredded green cabbage
• ½ teaspoon salt {or to taste}
• 1 large garlic clove minced or grated
• 1 20 oz bag frozen hash browns
• 2 ½ cups shredded Irish cheddar divided
• 1 green onion chopped

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet {I used a 15 inch cast iron}, heat the butter until melted and slightly frothy.
• Add the onion and saute until fragrant and beginning to turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the cabbage and combine with onions. Season with salt. Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until the cabbage has softened and is beginning to turn lightly golden in spots.
• Stir in the garlic and cook for about a minute. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
• Add the frozen hash browns and 1 ½ cups of cheese and mix until well-combined. Smooth the top with a spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the top begins to turn golden brown.
• Add the remaining cheese to the top and bake for another 4-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Remove from oven and top with chopped green onion before serving.