Easy Scottish Rumbledethumps Recipe (2024)

If you’re looking for a comforting dish to warm you up on a cold day, look no further than Scottish rumbledethumps. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s also incredibly versatile, allowing you to customize it with your favorite ingredients. Whip up this tasty dish and serve it as is or alongside savory meals likepot roastorbeef stew.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The savory cabbage side dish combines simple and affordable ingredients.
• It’s easily customizable with other staples.
• The side dish is ready and on the in 40 minutes.

What is Rumbledethumps?

Rumbledethumps is a heartyside dishwith a rich history. Like Irish colcannon and English bubble and squeak, it is brimming with vegetables such as creamy potatoes, cabbage, and onions baked in the oven with bubbly cheese, resulting in a satisfying dish perfect for any occasion. And it’s a great way to spruce up the leftover mashed potatoes in the refrigerator!

A History of Rumbledethumps

The term rumbledethumps first appeared in print in the early 1700s. Long before that, rural Scottish communities made something similar to repurpose leftover produce and stretch more expensive ingredients into a filling and comforting meal.

Here is an appearance of an original recipe in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, October 1825:

“Take a peck of purtatoes, and put them into a boyne — at them with a beetle — a dab of butter — the beetle again — anither dab — then cabbage — purtato — beetle and dab — saut meanwhile — and a shake o’ common black pepper — feenally, cabbage and purtato throughither — pree, and you’ll find ’em decent rumbledethumps.”

The same quote appears in the Noctes Ambrosian,̆ Volume 2 by Hogg, Wilson, and MacKenzie.

What You Need to Make this Recipe

• Potatoes: I recommend using starchy potatoes like russet or Yukon Gold to make creamy cottage pie.
• Heavy Cream:Heavy cream adds a smooth and velvety consistency to the potatoes.
• Butter: Saute the onions and cabbage in butter and use it to flavor the mashed potatoes.
• Cabbage: Shredded green cabbage is the base for rumbledethumps, but feel free to include other greens like purple cabbage, shredded kale, or Brussels sprouts.
• Onion: White or yellow onions work best in this recipe, but you can also use leeks.
• Cheese: I use shredded cheddar cheese to finish the meal, but sharp or white cheddar works too. You can also use crowdie, a soft Scottish cheese.

Additions and Substitutions

Since rumbledethumps came about out of necessity as a way to use leftover crops, some regional variations developed over time. In some areas, people use rutabaga or turnip instead of potato, and so can you. Or consider trying mashed cauliflower for alow-carbvariation.

To make it a complete meal, cook the onions and cabbage with bacon, ground beef, kielbasa, or chicken sausage.

How to Make Rumbledethumps

The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Wash the potatoes and add them to astockpotwith a teaspoon of salt and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce the heat and cook at a rolling boil for20 minutes. Drain the potatoes in acolanderand set them aside.

Step 3: While the potatoes cook, preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Then, warm 4 tablespoons of butter in acast-iron skilletover medium heat.

Add the onions and cabbage. Saute until the onions become translucent and the cabbage softens, for about 10 minutes.

Step 4: Stir in the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Step 5: Then, top the cabbage with the reserved mashed potatoes.

Step 6: Cover with a layer of cheddar cheese and bake for15-20 minutesuntil the cheese melts. Garnish with chopped chives to serve, and enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Cut the potatoes the same size to ensure they cook at the same rate.
• Thinly slice the cabbage and onions to help them soften in the skillet.
• If your oven runs hot, I recommend covering the dish with foil before baking to ensure the cheese doesn’t burn; this happened a few times before I got a new oven.

SEARCHING FOR MORE LIKE THIS?

If you love this recipe, pair it with one of these tasty dinner favorites!

Serving Suggestions

On its own, rumbledethumps is a filling meal, or serve it alongside a savory meal likeroastorstew.

• Beef: Haggis, Roast Beef, Braised Short Rib, Beef Ribs
• Lamb: Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe,
• Pork: Baked Ham, Baked Beans with Hamburger
• Bread: Sourdough Bread, Dinner Rolls
• Seafood: Smoked Fish Soup

What to Do With the Leftovers

• Refrigerate –Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
• Reheat –Microwave the individual servings or reheat the whole casserole in the oven at 350°F (176°C).

Frequently Asked Questions

More Vegetable Side Dishes:

• Mashed Cauliflower
• Air Fried Fingerling Potatoes
• Air Fryer Broccoli and Caulifower

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Scottish Rumbledethumps

Tressa Jamil

Make Scottish rumbledethumps with simple ingredients like potatoes, cabbage, and onions. Eat the hearty dish on its own or alongside meat dishes.

Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 202 kcal | Carbohydrates: 16 g | Protein: 9 g | Fat: 14 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 38 mg | Sodium: 885 mg | Potassium: 372 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 2 IU | Vitamin C: 47 mg | Calcium: 12 mg | Iron: 5 mg

Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and follow @thejamilghar or tag #thejamilghar on Instagram!