What to Cook and Eat for Samhain

For Samhain, cook the foods Irish households ate on Halloween night: colcannon or boxty for dinner and barmbrack for something sweet. Clodagh Doyle of the National Museum of Ireland names all three among Ireland’s Halloween foods.

Last revised October 18, 2026.

Samhain food at a glance

The first three can be made the same evening. For the brack, start the fruit soak the night before you bake. Hearthlight suggests choosing one potato dish and one sweet dish for a small supper; cooking everything is an option for a larger table.

Four foods to prepare for Samhain

These are Hearthlight’s adaptations for a home kitchen. The Irish recipes adapt published versions by Bord Bia, Donal Skehan and Darina Allen. Fuarag comes from Lucy Rodger’s Scottish account of oats and cream; its measurements and method are Hearthlight’s.

Colcannon with kale

Bord Bia’s colcannon uses kale, while Doyle’s museum account describes cabbage and onions. This version follows the kale recipe and makes four side servings. Allow 35 to 40 minutes, including peeling and heating the water.

Peel 1 kg potatoes and cut them into roughly 3 cm chunks. Put them in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until a fork enters easily.

Meanwhile, wash 250 g kale, remove tough stalks and slice the leaves finely. Melt 15 g butter with 2 tablespoons water in a covered frying pan. Add the kale, cover and cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through. Drain excess liquid.

Drain the potatoes in a colander, return them to the pan and mash with 100 ml milk and another 35 g butter. Fold in the kale, then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, adjusting to taste. Serve immediately. For the potato’s magical associations and their sources, see potatoes in kitchen witchcraft.

Boxty potato pancakes

Tommie Gibson’s account from Loughcrew, County Meath, records boxty at Hallow Eve. The measured batter here adapts Donal Skehan’s family recipe and serves two. Starting with plain cooked mash takes about 30 minutes.

If you have no cooked mash, start here. Peel and dice 150 g potato, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer about 15 minutes until tender. Drain and mash, then weigh 125 g for the batter. This adds about 25 minutes.

Mix 125 g plain mashed potato, 125 g finely grated peeled raw potato and 125 g all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Stir in up to 150 ml buttermilk gradually, stopping when you have a thick batter that drops from a spoon.

Heat a wide frying pan over medium-high heat and melt 10 g butter. Drop in heaped tablespoons of batter and flatten gently to about 5 mm thick, leaving space between them. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through. Lower the heat if they color before the centers set. Repeat in batches, adding up to another 10 g butter as needed.

Fuarag with toasted oats and cream

Lucy Rodger’s account for Historic Environment Scotland describes Fuarag na Samhna as toasted oats with whipped cream, made at Samhainn. Her account also records fortune tokens in the mixture. Hearthlight’s version leaves the tokens out of the bowls. If you want the fortune game, write the fortunes on cards and set them beside the bowls.

For two small portions, toast 30 g rolled oats in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring until fragrant. Spread on a plate and cool for 10 minutes.

Whip 120 ml cold heavy cream with 1 teaspoon sugar until it holds soft peaks, about 1 to 3 minutes with an electric whisk. Fold in the cooled oats and divide between two bowls. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until the meal. Allow about 20 minutes altogether. The sugar and serving arrangement are Hearthlight’s choices.

Tea barmbrack for the next day

Doyle documents barmbrack as an Irish Halloween cake. This loaf adapts Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe tea barmbrack, soaking the fruit in tea with no whiskey and leaving the finished loaf unglazed.

Put 330 g mixed raisins and sultanas with 50 g halved glacé cherries in a bowl. Pour over 300 ml hot strong black tea, cover and leave overnight.

The next day, preheat a conventional oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a deep loaf pan about 23 by 13 cm (9 by 5 inches) with baking parchment. Stir 225 g self-raising flour, 175 g soft brown sugar, 50 g candied peel, 1 level teaspoon mixed spice and 1 beaten egg into the soaked fruit and its tea.

Spoon into the pan and bake for about 90 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Check from 75 minutes because pans and ovens vary. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack. Allow about 1 hour of cooling in total before slicing. Makes about 10 slices.

Samhain dates for 2026 to 2028

The National Museum of Ireland places Samhain on November 1, with most festivities on the preceding evening. For contemporary Pagan observance, Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary describes the common northern timing as sundown October 31 through November 1.

Many Southern Hemisphere Pagans keep an autumn Samhain around April 30 to May 1. Fox describes late April and early May; Multicultural NSW’s 2026 religious calendar gives those dates.

These are local calendar dates, so no time zone conversion is needed. Community events may use a nearby weekend, and Fox describes variation among practitioners. Ask your own group which date it keeps when arranging a shared meal.

History, folk customs and modern observance

Samhain in the traditional Irish calendar

In its account of Irish calendar customs, the National Museum of Ireland identifies Samhain as the first day of winter. It calls the evening beforehand Oíche Shamhna and describes feasting and games. Doyle’s separate account places it among four seasonal markers in the traditional Irish calendar.

The food records below document particular Irish and Scottish Halloween customs. Each measured recipe above is a modern adaptation of those dishes.

Irish Halloween food customs

Doyle’s museum account names colcannon and boxty alongside báirín breac, the fruit loaf this page calls barmbrack. She records a ring baked into the brack as a fortune: whoever found it would be the next to marry.

The National Folklore Collection adds a local account. In Food in Olden Times, Gibson records colcannon and boxty at Hallow Eve and describes combining grated raw potatoes with boiled mashed potatoes for boxty. The pancake recipe above uses the same mix of raw and mashed potato, with measurements adapted from Skehan.

Scottish Samhainn food customs

Historic Environment Scotland dates Samhainn to November 1 with festivities beginning the night before. Rodger documents fuarag and its fortune tokens as one Scottish custom.

Contemporary Pagan and Wiccan observance

Fox’s Celebrating Samhain describes modern Pagan observance as varying by geography and spiritual tradition. Remembering the dead is part of the religious practice she describes for Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church and Pagan resource center.

In her separate Samhain Lore and Rituals, Fox describes Samhain as the New Year for many Wiccan practitioners. That is a modern Wiccan teaching. The Irish museum sources above describe Samhain as the first day of winter.

For food offerings or a commemorative place setting, read food offerings and what to do with them afterwards. Keep the practice specific to your own beliefs and community.

Plan the meal before October 31

For two people, make the boxty recipe above and serve the two bowls of fuarag afterwards. Make colcannon for a table of four. The brack can be the baking project for the day before your meal.

Boxty from scratch needs about 350 g potatoes: 150 g to boil and mash and 125 g to grate raw, with some to spare for peeling.

If you also work with ingredient symbolism, magical correspondences for cooking ingredients names the source behind each association. Hearthlight’s magical correspondences feature is separate from the Irish and Scottish customs on this page. For meal planning, see Hearthlight’s meal planning page or create an account.

Serving and leftovers

Follow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s guidance in Serving Up Safe Buffets. Keep cream dishes at 40°F (4°C) or below and hot potato dishes at 140°F (60°C) or above if holding them for a meal.

Refrigerate perishables within 2 hours of leaving temperature control, or within 1 hour when the room or outdoor temperature exceeds 90°F (32°C). Food held continuously at the safe temperatures above can remain out for serving. Discard perishables that exceed the time limits without that temperature control. Divide leftover potatoes into shallow containers for prompt cooling, and keep the fuarag refrigerated until serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

What food do you eat for Samhain?

Colcannon, boxty and barmbrack are documented Irish Halloween foods in Clodagh Doyle’s National Museum of Ireland account. Historic Environment Scotland records fuarag, toasted oats with whipped cream, at Scottish Samhainn. Choose a potato dish and a sweet dish for a manageable meal.

What can I cook for Samhain tonight?

Make colcannon in about 35 to 40 minutes, or boxty in about 30 minutes if the mash is ready. Fuarag takes about 20 minutes. These are Hearthlight’s measured adaptations of the documented dishes. The tea barmbrack needs an overnight fruit soak.

What is barmbrack and why is it eaten at Halloween?

Barmbrack is an Irish fruit loaf, made here with dried fruit soaked overnight in tea, following Darina Allen’s method. Clodagh Doyle of the National Museum of Ireland describes it as a traditional Halloween cake that held hidden objects for telling fortunes, such as a ring that marked the next person to marry.

Is colcannon a Samhain food?

Yes, in Irish folk custom. The National Museum of Ireland lists colcannon as Irish Halloween fare, and Gibson’s Loughcrew folklore account records it at Hallow Eve. This page’s recipe adapts Bord Bia’s potato and kale method.

When is Samhain in 2026, 2027 and 2028?

The common northern calendar observance runs from the evening of October 31 into November 1 in each year, as Selena Fox describes. Many Southern Hemisphere Pagans use autumn dates around April 30 to May 1; Multicultural NSW lists that span for 2026. The later years follow the same convention.

What can I serve for a vegetarian Samhain meal?

All four recipes above are vegetarian. None is vegan as written: dairy goes into both potato dishes and the fuarag, and the loaf contains egg. Serve colcannon with slices of brack for four people, or boxty followed by fuarag for two.

Sources

• National Museum of Ireland, “Traditions and customs of Halloween / Samhain” (undated).
• Clodagh Doyle, National Museum of Ireland, “Ghost turnips, the púca…” (originally October 2020).
• Tommie Gibson, “Food in Olden Times”, Loughcrew, County Meath, National Folklore Collection, UCD, Schools’ Collection, volume 0717, page 069 (undated record).
• Lucy Rodger, Historic Environment Scotland, “Samhainn and the Scottish traditions of Hallowe’en” (October 27, 2023).
• Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary, “Celebrating Samhain” (undated).
• Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary, “Samhain Lore and Rituals” (undated).
• Multicultural NSW, A Guide to Some of the Days of Religious and Cultural Significance 2026 (2026).
• Bord Bia, “Colcannon Mash with Kale” (undated), adapted here.
• Donal Skehan, “Boxty Irish Potato Pancakes” (publication year unverified), metric recipe adapted here.
• Darina Allen, “Recipes from the New Ballymaloe Bread Book”, Irish Examiner (October 29, 2023), tea barmbrack adapted here.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Serving Up Safe Buffets” (undated).