Larder Love

The best preserving recipes plus easy cooking and baking too

  • ALL RECIPES
    • PRESERVES & LARDER
    • COOKING & BAKING
    • COLLECTIONS & CUISINES
  • TIPS & TRICKS
    • HOME HINTS
  • MY COOKBOOKS
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT ME
    • PRIVACY
Home » ALL RECIPES » Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!)

Traditional Scottish Clapshot Recipe (+Video!)

Author: Karon Grieve Published : January 2012

Recipe
traditional Scottish clapshot
traditional Scottish clapshot
Scottish clapshot pin image

No Burns supper or self respecting haggis wouold be complete without clapshot, that deliciously creamy mixture of potatoes and swede, chives and the very best butter.

clapshot with haggis

What is clapshot?

A strange word I know but actually it originates in the Orcadian dialect where the dish of clapshot comes from.

Clapshot is a simple vegetable dish of mixed turnips (swede if you live in England, turnip if you life in Scotland!) and potatoes. They are mashed together with chopped up chives for extra flavour and lots of creamy butter. O

Originally dripping would be used to mash the vegetables together but nowadays butter is more commonly used.

Clapshot is traditionally served with haggis on Burns Night.

Check out my other traditional Scottish recipes here on Larder Love.

clapshot ingredients of potato, chives, butter and turnip

Ingredients

  • Turnip, or swede if you life south of the border.
  • Potatoes (any good mashing potatoes are fine here, I like King Edwards or Marris Piper potatoes.
  • Butter
  • Chives
  • Salt and pepper

Alternative ingredients

You can use onion instead of chives, but don’t use too much or you will overpower the dish.

boiling potatoes and turnip together
mashing the vegetables
adding butter and chives to the mash

How to make clapshot

  • Peel and chop the potatoes and turnip and cut into cubes of similar size
  • Boil these in salted water till both are tender
  • Drain and mash the vegetables together. I like to keep a wee bit of texture in my clapshot and not make it uniformly smooth. It’s up to you if you want it to be completely creamy or have a bit of texture.
  • Beat through the butter and snipped up chives and season well with salt and black pepper.

Top with some extra snipped chives and a knob of butter.

bowl of finished clapshot ready to serve

Make ahead

You can make your clapshot up to a day in advance and just keep it covered in the fridge, cover with foil and reheat in the oven when you are ready to serve the dish.

Storage

You can keep this in the fridge for up to 2 days in a covered container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thorughly before reheating till piping hot.

clapshot with haggis on plate with fork

How to serve clapshot

Traditionally clapshot is served alongside haggis instead of seperate neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes).

Serve your clapshot with any hearty winter stew.

Clapshot goes perfectly with a roast chicken, pork or beef or just with a steak or chops, whatever you fancy.

larder links

Looking for more vegetable side dishes to make at home? Then check out these recipes before you go;

Whisky glazed Vichy style carrots (+Video!)

Gigantes Plaka (Greek giant beans in rich tomato sauce)

Black eyed beans with fennel and spinach

Greek warm leek salad (prasosalata)

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
bowl of clapshot with butter and chives

Traditional Scottish Clapshot

Karon Grieve
A super easy and tasty dish of mashed potatoes and turnip traditionally served with haggis but perfect with lots of other dishes too
4.58 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course Side vegetable dish
Cuisine Scottish
Servings 4 people
Calories 136 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 500 g potatoes
  • 500 g turnip swede (its the same thing)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp chives finely chopped
  • salt and pepper
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Peel and chop the potatoes and turnip into pieces about 1.5cm and place in a pan with enough water to cover, add salt and bring to the boiol cover and boil for about 20 minutes till tender,
  • Drain and mash the vegetables together in the pan, add the butter and most of the chives (reserve some to decorate the dish) and salt and pepper
  • Serve with extra chives and a knob of butter

Video

Notes

Serve clapshot with haggis for a traditional Burns Supper. However, it goes just as well with a traditional roast dinner or with pork chops, steak etc.

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 99mgPotassium: 780mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 80IUVitamin C: 52mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Salads and Sides, Scottish Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

« Make These Gorgeous Glitzy Orange Natural Christmas Ornaments
How To Make Thyme Tea For Colds And Caughs »

Comments

  1. Susan says

    November 14, 2016 at 2:11 pm

    Hi Karon,
    Your recipes keep my beloved Scottish Nana alive in my memories. The aroma from our kitchen of jellies, smoked haddock, Christmas cookies with ginger, molasses and nutmeg, and not appealing to this once 8 yr old but now a weekly fall tradition in my kitchen…potatoes and turnips. In this area of SE Massachusetts we prize the variety known as The Macomber Turnip. Thank you, Susan

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      November 25, 2016 at 9:37 am

      Hi Susan
      Glad my Scottish recipes are bringing back good memories for you.
      K x

      Reply
      • Susan L Webb says

        December 31, 2023 at 3:11 pm

        Thank you. I enjoy the old recipes.

        Reply
        • Karon Grieve says

          January 2, 2024 at 9:36 am

          Hi Syusan
          Glad you like the old recipes here
          K

          Reply
    • SHEILA BUTLER PRATT says

      January 21, 2025 at 10:40 pm

      KARON, YES, YOUR RECIPES KEEP MY BRITISH DAD AND MY RELATIVES ALL ALIVE IN MY MEMORIES ALSO, AND I FEEL SO MUCH CLOSER TO THEM WHEN I READ YOUR RECIPES!! DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE FOR STRATHBOROUGH PASTE, MADE WITH LEFTOVER COLD ROAST BEEF, GARLIC, ONION, FRESH THYME AND. BUTTER? CHEERS AND MANY THANKS!! THANKS FOR KEEPING “HOME” ALIVE FOR ME!!

      Reply
      • Karon Grieve says

        January 27, 2025 at 9:58 am

        Hi Sheila
        So glad my recipes bring back memories for you. Sorry don’t have a recipe for Strathborough Paste that you mentioned, sounds a bit like potted meat. All best.
        K

        Reply
  2. Sue says

    November 17, 2022 at 1:48 am

    I grew up in the South having mashed potatoes mixed with mashed turnips or sometimes rutabaga, but we didn’t know we were eating “clapshot.” I have to tell my siblings about this, LOL! Our mother was from NY and father from Indiana…so don’t really know how our family came across this dish.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      November 21, 2022 at 9:16 am

      Hi Sue
      Nice foodie memories there.
      K

      Reply
  3. Paul says

    February 4, 2023 at 2:45 pm

    5 stars
    Haven’t seen this for years. Based on the yellow colour, these are Swedish turnips, which us Brits call Swede, the Scotts call Neeps (as in Tatties and Neeps), and the Americans call Rutabaga. The smaller milder white turnip we just called “Turnip”.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 6, 2023 at 10:12 am

      Hi Paul,
      We have always referred to them as turnips and I live in Ayrshire and was brought up in Edinburgh.
      K

      Reply
      • Jane Charteris says

        January 25, 2024 at 2:33 pm

        I’m with Paul – neeps is swede and is not a shortened form of ‘turneeps. Turnips are turnips, north and south of the border. Where I grew up, 60 odd yeats ago, in rural Perthshire, the big green and white turnips were fed to the cows. Never saw the small, sweet pink and white turnips that are everywhere these days

        Reply
        • Karon Grieve says

          January 27, 2024 at 9:42 am

          Hi Jane
          We Scots call these turnips.
          K

          Reply
  4. Lisa says

    February 7, 2023 at 7:51 am

    5 stars
    I saw a Facebook post regarding swedes, and in the comments, it mentioned Clapshot. Not knowing what it was, I googled it and then came across your recipe. I made it for rhe family and it was really delicious. Will definitely be having it again.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 7, 2023 at 9:22 am

      Hi Lisa
      So glad you have discovered the joys of clapshot. It’s such a great side to add to everything from a roast dinner to chops, stew, anything really.
      K

      Reply
  5. Mr John McDougall O'Connell says

    January 27, 2024 at 9:09 am

    Lovely except you only showed a picture of a swede, a turnip is a completely different vegetable.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      January 27, 2024 at 9:38 am

      This is a turnip in Scotland!!!

      Reply
  6. John A. Hollister says

    February 22, 2024 at 10:58 pm

    5 stars
    Rutabagas/Swedes are also “turnips” in Ireland. When I did my “year abroad” in college–in Dublin–we were served “mashed turnips” for tea (supper) and I didn’t know what they were, although they were delicious. Then on a vegetable stand at the little corner grocery near my “digs”, I saw them displayed and realized they were what we Midwesterners called rutabagas (which I’d never before eaten). After 57 years, I can still remember their taste!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 26, 2024 at 10:41 am

      Hi John
      Food memories are the best. Sounds like you really enjoyed your time in Ireland all those years ago.
      K

      Reply
4.58 from 7 votes (4 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Karon Grieve

SEARCH MY SITE

Follow Larder Love

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Trending Now

gentlemans relish on toast with jar behind
rich and creamy mushroom soup
quick and easy simple scones recipe by larderlove
homemade pear liqueur by larderlove
winter vegetable soup
close up of jar of pumpkin jam

Spring Recipes

chocolate scones on plate
dandelion and walnut pesto
wild garlic vinegar
smoked salmon muffins
chicken fajita traybake
cherry chocolate cake
carrot cake liqueur
elderflower fritters with strawberries

See more Spring recipes...

BUY MY BOOKS

Karon Grieve books
my foodgawker gallery

Follow Larder Love

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Privacy Policy & Disclaimers

 

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright Karon Grieve - Larder Love © 2018. All Rights Reserved.

  • 174

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.