★ Yummy St Patrick's Day Recipes | Classic Savory Dishes & Fun Irish-Themed Desserts

St Patrick's Day is a celebration that seems to have become more and more popular over time, especially in North America where people are either fiercely proud of their Irish blood, or they like pretending to be Irish so they can have a lot of Guinness beer! Either way, it's just plain fun, with lots of eating and lots of drinking.

This page is concerned with the eating side of things, and I've listed lots of varied and delicious recipes for the day, whether you are just eating with close family or you are planning a huge party. I've listed recipes for traditional Irish meals, as well as shamrock themed treats, green cakes, desserts, party foods and appetizers.

I hope this page is helpful and inspires your menu for St Pat's day :)

Photo and cookies by Gwenny Penny - Click here for the recipe.

Photo and cake by Wendi Dunlap - Click here for the recipe.

Green Food & Traditions

St Patricks' Day is not complete without a party buffet laden with green cakes, or some hearty traditional Irish grub!

Most often the symbolic green color is used for the food, with examples of savory green options being pistachios, peas, cabbage, pesto, mint and other herbs, broad beans, avocado, spinach, kale and lime. Out of that list, cabbage and kale are the ingredients most often used for St Patrick's Day meals.

For desserts and candy, there is the option of using green food coloring to turn any confection the right shade, so it's a lot easier to theme sweet foods for the day.

Beside a green theme, you could recreate food in the Irish flag colors (green, white and orange), you could use a leprachaun/pot of gold/rainbow theme, or you could cook and bake some classic Irish foods like Soda bread, colcannon and potato pancakes.

Typical Irish ingredients include lamb, bacon, ham, potatoes, kale, carrots, potatoes, cabbages, onions and potatoes. And then probably some more potatoes :) Guinness beer is often used as an ingredient too, as it is pretty much an icon of Ireland.

A lot of American and Canadian dishes focus on corned beef for St Patrick's Day (which I condone because I like it) but actually it's not really an Irish thing. Not for the Irish in Ireland anyway. But for the Americanized festivities, corned beef is at the very core of savory foods served on the day so there are lots of recipes for using this ingredient below.

Corned beef actually came about as a cheaper substitute for pork when poor Irish immigrants moved to America and couldn't afford to buy pork.

A party buffet isn't complete without themed décor, tablecloths and mini flags!

This meal is made up of Colcannon (mashed potato with kale and cabbage), Beer Gravy, Soda Farls and "Cock of the North" type stew. It is a vegan version so the stew is made of tofu.

Photo and meal by Tofu666 - Click here for details.

Cupcake toppers really add something extra special to cupcakes - especially if they would otherwise be plain - and there is a brilliant selection to choose from. I've also listed a shamrock-shaped baking tin for a classic shaped cake (particularly fab if you bake a green velvet cake with it!), and a set of shamrock cookie cutters.

Recommended serving suggestion: Warm scones with butter and marmalade...yum!

Photo and scones by Mr. Puffy - Click here for the recipe.

TABLE RUNNER

What you will need:

* Green fabric paint

* A length of fabric the same size as you want your table runner to be.

The best color for this would probably be white but it's up to you.

* Sewing machine (optional)

* Large potato

* Small kitchen knife such as a paring knife

* Paintbrush

* Paper plate (optional)

- First of all you can choose to hem the edges of your fabric table runner to prevent fraying; however if you don't mind a raw edge, or the material you're using doesn't fray, then you can skip this step.

- Cut a large potato in half and use a small knife to mark out the outline of a shamrock on the exposed surface. Once you have your shape marked, you can remove the potato around it with your knife. Remove potato to a depth of about 1/2". Using a sharp knife makes it easier but obviously be careful :) Adults should always do this part.

- Then either dip the shamrock potato shape into the green paint on a paper plate (or other suitable surface), or apply the paint onto the potato shape using a paintbrush. The paintbrush method creates the neatest results.

- Carefully press the potato onto the fabric, making sure it doesn't slip around, and lift it up off the fabric to see your print. If there are gaps in the painted shamrock, you can paint those in with a paintbrush (although I like the look of it when little gaps are left)

- Keep repeating this until you have printed as many shamrocks as you want onto the fabric.

- Leave to dry.

- Your table runner is now finished!

PLATES

What you will need:

* Green porcelain marker pen (an example of which I've listed below these instructions.)

The pen ink should be non-toxic, and designed to 'set' in the oven to become dishwasher-safe.

* Ceramic white plate(s)

* Oven

* Contact paper (optional)

* Craft knife and cutting mat OR scissors (optional)

- Clean the plate thoroughly to make sure it's very clean and dust-free. Also remove any price labels etc.

- If you want to draw your design (e.g. shamrocks) onto your plate freehand then you can then do that and follow the oven baking guidelines on your marker pen packaging. Then you're finished! Easy, huh?

If, however, you want to use a stencil to ensure your shamrocks design has neat edges, you can use contact paper for this:

- Draw the outline of a shamrock (or another shape of your choice) onto the contact paper and cut it out - preferably with a craft knife on a cutting mat, but you could also use small scissors.

- Cut a roughly square shape around the cut-out shamrock to remove this stencil section from the remaining contact paper sheet. You will want this square to be as small as possible without making it too delicate - cutting approx. 1/2"-1" away from the cut-out shamrock would be best.

- Peel the backing off your stencil and stick it into position on your plate, making sure the edges of the shamrock are stuck down all of the way around.

- Use your marker pen to color inside the stencil, then remove the contact paper from the plate.

- Repeat for other shapes as needed, then bake in the oven to set the image and make it permanent.

Having themed décor looks great especially if you are hosting a party, so if you want to DIY your own to save money, then it's super easy to make simple tablecloths, table runners, decorated plates, table confetti, placemats and more besides! Here are a few craft products to help you on your way:

Photo and cookies by Gwenny Penny - Click here for the recipe.