This corned beef and cabbage recipe is an easy dinner for St. Patrick’s Day made with tender corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes simmered in the slow cooker all day for the best results!
Love crockpot recipes? Try crockpot beef stroganoff, slow cooker BBQ brisket sandwiches, slow cooker beef bourguignon.
Table of Contents
Easy Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage is a hearty meal that’s traditionally served on St. Patrick’s Day, but can really be served all year long. It’s an easy slow cooker meal that is simple to throw together just like my crockpot beef stew or crock pot Mississippi pot roast
This easy recipe for crock pot corned beef simmers on low all day, giving the meat a seasoned, tender and flavorful taste. Add some Irish soda bread for a festive and traditional way to bring a taste of Ireland to your dinner table!
Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients
I love to add fresh vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. The broth from the brisket gives them such a nice flavor. Serve it with mustard or horseradish sauce for a St. Patty’s Day feast!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Corned beef brisket: This is a beef brisket that is already cured. The cured meaning comes from the color of the brisket. It will be a pink color to the meat rather than a deep red. It will come either flat cut and point cut. Flat cut is more common.
- Spice packet: Usually corned beef brisket will come with a spice packet that is a mixture of peppercorns, whole mustard seeds, allspice and bay leaves. McCormick pickling spices work, too.
- Onion: Slice and quarter the onions then separate them to lay on top of and around the beef brisket.
- Beef broth: Adds flavor and keeps the brisket tender and juicy as it is slow cooking. Chicken broth, vegetable broth or even Guinness beer can be used instead.
- Red potatoes: Cut and quarter each potato and add it to the crockpot. Red potatoes cook quicker than other potatoes and have a soft inside and skin when cooked.
- Carrots: Fresh carrots are best! Slice carrots evenly to help them cook at the same time.
- Cabbage: Quarter and cut into cabbage wedges and add to the slow cooker. Cabbage will float to the top of the slow cooker as it is cooking.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage
Start a great tradition by enjoying a delicious St. Patrick’s classic dinner. It doesn’t take long to prepare the ingredients and let the slow cooker do the work. It’s a straightforward, yet fun dinner to celebrate as a family!
- Rinse. Rinse the meat with water, then add to the bottom of the crockpot.
- Add seasonings. Sprinkle the seasoning packet on top. Next, add the onion on top and tuck it into the sides. Pour broth around the sides. Then fill the broth can with water and add until it just about covers the beef.
- Cook. Cook in crockpot on low for 8 to 10 hours.
- Add veggies. About 3 hours prior to serving, add potatoes and carrots. Then add cabbage 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve. Remove from the crockpot (make sure it’s fork-tender) and let rest for a few minutes on a serving platter. Slice and serve with vegetables.
Cooking Tips
- Low heat. Corned beef is a tougher cut of meat so the key to making a tender and juicy brisket is cooking the meat low and slow. If you cook it too fast and at a high temp, the meat will be chewy.
- Don’t over-salt. If you’re using the salt brine seasoning packet that comes with the meat, make sure NOT to add in any additional salt. Wait to taste and adjust after it is done cooking.
- Add the veggies in later. Because the meat cooks on low heat for so long, don’t add the veggies in at the very beginning or else they’ll overcook and be mushy. Add them to the crock pot with about 3 hours left on the timer.
- Let rest. This allows the juices to flow back into the meat and makes it super moist, tender and juicy. I let mine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Slice against the grain. Once rested, slice the meat against the grain in order to break up the long muscle fibers for tender, less chewy slices.
Recipe FAQs
Corned beef is beef brisket that has been cured in a rock salt brine. The large grains of salt are referred to as “corns” of salt, hence the name. They help to give the meat its pickled (salty and sour) flavor. The beef cooks slowly all day, creating a tender and seasoned taste. It’s often served with vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and cabbage.
Corned beef will often come with a spice packet consisting of seasonings that help give it that briny taste. Some of these common spices might include peppercorns, mustard seeds, bay leaves, allspice, ginger, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Please note that the meat is extra flavorful and salty, so no need to add extra salt!
If cooked correctly, corned beef should be very soft and tender and easily shred with a fork. Brisket is a tougher cut of meat, so it’s important to cook it low and slow for at least 8 hours in the crockpot. The internal temperature should be 145°F. Your potatoes and carrots should also be fork tender while cabbage will be wilted but still have a crisp.
Crockpot corned beef and cabbage is a full meal in itself and doesn’t need much added to it. All you might like to add is some dinner rolls or corn bread!
Storage and Freezing
- Store: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. Leftovers make delicious corned beef Reuben sandwiches or add to eggs for a simple hash.
- Reheat: When ready to reheat, place in the microwave, oven, or back in the slow cooker until warmed through. You may need to add more cooking liquid like beef broth in case it dries out.
- Freeze: I would not freeze the vegetables, but you can freeze the corned beef in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Do you love St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Try my St. Patrick’s cookies, rainbow jello and a rainbow fruit platter, too.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
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Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds corned beef brisket , with spice packet
- 1 onion , quartered
- 15 ounce can low-sodium beef broth , or water
- 1 pound red potatoes , quartered
- 2 cups carrots , sliced
- ½ head cabbage , cut in wedges
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the corned beef in water and then place into the crockpot. Then place the seasoning packet on top of the beef. Next add the onion on top and tuck into the sides. Pour the beef broth around the sides. Then fill the can with water and add until it just about covers the brisket. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Three hours before serving add the potatoes and carrots. Then 30 minutes before serving add the cabbage.
- Remove corned beef from slow cooker when fork tender and allow to rest for a few minutes. Then slice against the grain and serve with vegetables.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: Beef, Crockpot, Crockpot, Dairy-Free, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, One Pot, One Pot
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I was taught by my mother to boil the corned beef before making the stew .. so I would pressure cook it for about 20 minutes and then discard the water before using the meat for a stew … apparently if you didn’t do this it would be too salty to eat ? Reading recipes though I notice no one else seems to do this .. is it unnecessary?
I guess it would be a personal preference! Corned beef is saltier than your average beef cut, so I recommend rinsing it off first and using a low sodium broth.
Glad I found a new favorite recipe! This corned beef and cabbage recipe was so easy and simple to make, and it turned out so gooood! So satisfying!
We all loved this corned beef so much!! It was so easy to make and turned out amazing!
Every time I make this dish, I am amazed at its flavor! Simple ingredients yet so delicious! It’s a favorite around here!
I kind of do a combination of cooking methods. My slow cooker isn’t big enough for the two corned beefs I make, so I put the meat in the slow cooker all day. Then later I roast the veggies in the oven and combine it all on the stove top in a huge pot and add my cabbage. Love it!
Great idea, Wanda! Sounds delicious :)
My mom always roasted her vegetables too. I don’t like them wet and mushy. It’s so much better for you and flavor much better.
I add about 1 tsp of pepper corns, celery and rutabaga. Makes a great meal with leftovers unless you have a large family. I find it feeds 5 to 8.
We raise our own beef and have it processed. Our processing company doesn’t send a seasoning packet. What seasoning should I use and how much??
Hi Dorie, we don’t have a recipe for the corned beef spice packet on our site, but here is another recipe you can try: https://hildaskitchenblog.com/recipe/corned-beef-spice-packet-recipe/.
I use McCormack pickling spice!!
McCormicks brand seasonings sells a bottle of PICKLING SPICE found in the seasoning isle in every store. I hope u can find this brand in ur stores. It’s the best! It has alllll the right seasonings for corn beef. Hope this helps
LOVE this corn beef recipe! So delicious and salty! Just how I like it!
People laugh at how much my family loves this and how often we make it. Not just for St. Patricks Day! Such a great recipe!
Thanks for this recipe! Delicious and so easy!
My brisket did not come with a spice packet. Can you please email the ingredients for me to create my own spice packet.
Thank you
Sharon
Hi Sharon – I’ll send you an email :)
Thank you for sharing these easy to follow (without 20+ ingredients) recipes. I’m busy all day but my husband loves to eat and in the morning is already asking what am I making for dinner. So much for retirement.😕 when I start making them, I will let you know.
Hope you enjoy! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Thank you for sharing this easy-to-follow recipe. The aroma has been drifting thru my home since mid-day. We are not Irish but we are eating this dish tonight complete with Irish Bread and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream pie. I have been receiving your posts this is the first of many recipes I want to try. Thx agaim ❤️
Hope you enjoyed it! Sounds like a delicious meal!
This sounds so incredible!
We love this corned beef recipe! So good.
I’m so glad you enjoy it!
This!!! So delicious and tender! Love everything about this dish!
This was so easy to do in the crockpot. Tasted great and the cleanup was a breeze! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This looks delicious!! That meat looks so tender! It definitely looks hearty & healthy! I’ll be making this asap!