What do you get when you mash together buttery potatoes and cooked cabbage and then sprinkle the top with cheese? A fun dish called Scottish rumbledethumps!
Scottish Rumbledethumps
Updated on Apr. 14, 2025
There isn’t a food much more comforting than a bowl of mashed potatoes, but sometimes it’s fun to give the starchy fare a little flare. The casserole known as Scottish rumbledethumps is a perfect way to mix things up. It’s an easy dish that is great to bring to potlucks and gatherings, and it’s a good way to get kiddos to eat their vegetables.
What is Scottish rumbledethumps?
Rumbledethumps is a casserole made with mashed potatoes and cabbage and topped with cheese. It tastes similar to British bubble and squeak—which consists of pan-fried potatoes and cabbage patties—although the British version doesn’t include cheese. Irish colcannon, consisting of potato and cabbage mashed with milk and butter, is a member of the same culinary family as rumbledethumps recipes.
The fun name, which is singular despite the “s” on the end, is said to stem from the sound made when beating together the ‘taters and leaves.
Scottish Rumbledethumps Ingredients
- Golden potatoes: It’s common to use russet potatoes in a recipe for rumbledethumps, but golden potatoes like Yukon Golds give it a wonderful buttery flavor. Plus, using thin-skinned golden potatoes lets you skip peeling.
- Oil: Olive oil isn’t common in classic rumbledethumps recipes, so try a nutty or neutral oil such as sunflower. It’s more typical in British cuisine and is a healthy oil to boot. If you prefer butter, though, you can use that instead.
- Onion: A large white or yellow onion is the perfect type of onion for this application. Red onion is not as good of a fit but could be used in a pinch.
- Napa cabbage: Some recipes for cooking cabbage are meant for crisp, tightly wrapped heads. This recipe is perfect for the kinds of cabbage with tender and crinkly leaves, such as napa or savoy. Because they’re less fibrous, they melt beautifully into the mash.
- Salt and pepper: Season the dish to taste with salt and black pepper, remembering that there will be some additional salty cheese sprinkled on top at the end.
- Acidic ingredients: To counterpoint the creamy, rich dairy used to mash the vegetables, we use Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar to bring the flavors into balance. Combining vinegar and water and using it to scrape up the browned bits from the pan builds extra layers of complexity into the finished dish.
- Dairy products: Unsalted butter and whole milk are great for potato mashing. If you don’t have whole milk, use whatever milk is in the fridge.
- Sharp cheddar: Finding a good, pungent cheese to top off rumbledethumps recipes is a must. Cheddar that is aged for longer will have more tang, as well as complex, nutty notes.
Directions
Step 1: Boil the potatoes
Preheat the oven to 425℉. Place the chopped potatoes in a saucepan and add cold water to cover. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the potato pieces are soft enough to mash, around 15 minutes. Strain and set aside.
Step 2: Cook the cabbage
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, four to five minutes. Mix in the cabbage, the remaining salt and the pepper, and continue cooking until the cabbage has wilted, four to five minutes. Use the vinegar plus a tablespoon of water to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and combine them with the vegetables. Remove from the heat.
Step 3: Rumble and thump
Combine the cooked potatoes with the butter, milk and mustard. Mash. Add the cabbage and onion mixture, and stir to combine.
Editor’s Tip: If you don’t own a potato masher, try using a heavy-duty wire whisk to mash the potatoes. It’s a chef’s trick!
Step 4: Bake the casserole
Scoop the mash into a lightly greased 13×9-inch baking dish, smooth out the top and sprinkle with the grated sharp cheddar cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese begins to develop crispy brown spots, and serve hot.
Scottish Rumbledethumps Variations
- Switch your veg: Potato and cabbage is a classic mash, but you can make changes to both the starchy “mashable” veg and the green leafy veg. Try simmering some rutabaga, turnips, carrots or sweet potatoes along with the potatoes and mashing them right into the mix. To swap out the cabbage, look to wilted kale or shredded and sauteed Brussels sprouts.
- Change the cheese: Any good melting cheese could be used to top a recipe for rumbledethumps. Gruyere, Emmental or a gooey Swiss raclette would all be delicious, albeit not traditional.
- Add seasonings: Cabbage and potatoes are common in the cuisines of many northern countries, and there are lots of fun ways to spin a mash with an extra spice or two. Crushed juniper berries and caraway seeds would be a nice combo to mix into the cabbage while it’s cooking. Fresh dill would be another nice match. If you add dill, consider also using sour cream instead of the milk.
- Make it meaty: Want a whole meal in one dish? Brown 2 pounds of seasoned ground beef or lamb and put the meat in the baking dish before adding the rumbledethumps recipe.
How to Store Scottish Rumbledethumps
This dish stores very nicely in a tight-lidded food storage container in the fridge.
How long does Scottish rumbledethumps last?
Mashed potatoes and cabbage are both good keepers, so you can eat leftovers of this dish for up to four days.
Can you freeze Scottish rumbledethumps?
Mashed potatoes generally freeze well, and this dish is no exception. Pop extras into freezer-safe containers or zip-top bags with the extra air squeezed out, and keep them in the freezer for up to two months.
Can you make Scottish rumbledethumps ahead of time?
Definitely. It’s fine to make this dish a day or two ahead of time, as it stores and reheats well.
Scottish Rumbledethumps Tips
Can you make Scottish rumbledethumps with leftover potatoes and cabbage?
It’s a classic move to make this dish with leftovers. Preheat the oven as directed, rumble and thump the leftovers into a mash, taste it for seasoning, and add salt, pepper, mustard, vinegar or whatever else you’d like. Smooth the mash into a buttered casserole dish before sprinkling on the cheese.
What else can you serve with Scottish rumbledethumps?
To make a hearty meal, serve the casserole alongside meaty dishes such as roasted sausages, mushroom-beef carbonnade or pan-seared lamb chops.
Scottish Rumbledethumps
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
- 8 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped (about 2-1/2 pounds)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 pound napa cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 pinch pepper
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Place potatoes in a large saucepan; add cold water to cover. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until soft enough to mash, about 15 minutes. Strain; set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4-5 minutes. Add in cabbage, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and pepper; continue cooking until cabbage has wilted, 4-5 minutes. Add vinegar; stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until mostly dissolved. Remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked potatoes, butter, milk and mustard; mash. Add cabbage and onion mixture; stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
1 serving: 354 calories, 13g fat (7g saturated fat), 31mg cholesterol, 675mg sodium, 49g carbohydrate (6g sugars, 5g fiber), 10g protein.
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Scottish rumbledethumps is like a cottage pie without beef, made of a warming and homey combination of potatoes, cabbage and cheese. The fun name makes the dish even better. —Suzanne Podhaizer, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
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