This slow cooker corned beef and cabbage is seasoned corned beef cooked with potatoes, carrots and cabbage. A crock pot meal that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Whether you’re looking to celebrate the Irish holiday or simply want a hearty yet easy meal, this crock pot corned beef is a great choice. Complete your holiday meal with a Shamrock Shake for dessert!
St. Patrick’s Day is the one day a year that many people flock to the grocery store in search of ingredients for a corned beef dinner. This slow cooker corned beef and cabbage only has a few minutes of active prep work, and produces a festive and delicious meal that the whole family will love!
What is corned beef made of?
Corned beef is a beef that’s been brined and cured with salt and seasonings. Corned beef gets its distinctive pink color from sodium nitrate which is used during the curing process. Corned beef comes in multiple different cuts, and it’s always best to cook corned beef for a long period of time so that it becomes tender.
How do you buy corned beef?
The first step to this recipe is to choose your meat. Most stores sell pre-seasoned corned beef, especially in March. There are a few different cuts of corned beef to chose from, including corned beef round roast, flat cut brisket, and point cut brisket. The round roast tends to have the least fat, but is also much more prone to drying out for that same reason.
Flat cut brisket and point cut brisket tend to be the better corned beef options. I used a flat cut brisket for these photos, as you can see by the uniform size and shape of the slices. Point cut brisket is the fattiest cut, but can also sometimes be the most tender. So it’s really up to you which cut you use!
How do you make slow cooker corned beef?
Corned beef comes pre-brined and pre-seasoned, so all you have to do is put it in a slow cooker with carrots and potatoes, then walk away. The cabbage gets added in towards the end, simply because a corned beef needs to cook for a long time, and the cabbage would turn to mush if you left it in for the whole cook time.
Crock Pot Corned Beef Tips
- This recipe really works best on the low heat setting. I know the temptation is there to crank up the heat and have your meal done in half the time, but you run the risk of a tough corned beef if you do that.
- The potatoes and carrots get quite soft from cooking all day in the crock pot. If you prefer your veggies on the firmer side, try adding them halfway through the cooking time.
- Corned beef makes for great leftovers, it’s great in sandwiches, hash or in a reuben dip.
You don’t need to add any extra seasoning to your crock pot other than the packet that comes with the corned beef; the meat is plenty salty to flavor the potatoes and vegetables. That being said, I like to add a little drizzle of garlic and herb butter over the top of the veggies before serving. It adds a nice finishing touch that you typically don’t see with corned beef meals.
This slow cooker corned beef is on our table every St. Patrick’s Day and we always look forward to it!
More St. Patrick’s Day favorites
Slow Cooker Corned Beef Video
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 corned beef brisket 3-5 lbs
- 3 carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
- 3/4 lb small yellow potatoes halved
- 1/2 head green cabbage cut into wedges
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- grainy mustard for serving optional
Instructions
- Remove the corned beef from the package. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place the corned beef brisket (fat side up), carrots and potatoes in a slow cooker. Add 3 cups of water to the slow cooker, plus the seasoning packet that comes in the corned beef package.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
- Add the cabbage on top of the corned beef and cook on LOW for another 2 hours.
- Remove the cabbage, corned beef, potatoes and carrots from the slow cooker. Slice the corned beef against the grain.
- Place the butter, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments or until melted.
- Drizzle the garlic butter over the carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Place the meat, potatoes and vegetables on a platter and serve with mustard on the side if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 19, 2018 and was updated on February 26, 2019 with new content.
Nique says
Hello. I have a 4-qt crock pot. Would it be too small for this recipe? What size brisket should I get for this to work? I would love to try this recipe since it got good reviews. Thanks!
Sara says
I’d just cut your brisket into a couple of large pieces so it fits in the pot you have, I’ve done that before with great results!
Isee says
Where can I buy the beef with the packet?
Sara says
Almost all corned beef comes with a seasoning packet in the bag. That being said, every corned beef is cured and seasoned, so if there’s no packet it’s not really a big deal!
Rich McCaffrey says
Absolutely stellar. Every year, it seems like we’re trying something different with our CB&C. This year, my wife really wanted the cabbage in the pot (which I’m not usually a fan of). But we did a quick search, and while the meat/veg part sounded normal, we were intrigued by the garlic butter addition.
Variants I used: 1/3 of my cooking liquid was unfiltered apple cider; I used the smallest baby red potatoes I could find and did not cut them; I added potatoes / carrots at 3 hours remaining and cabbage at 2 hours remaining.
It is now in our recipe manager as ‘the recipe’, and I will hunt no more. Thanks for publishing this.
Louis M Covington says
Can. U. Cook corn beef on. High
Sara says
Yes, cook it for 5-6 hours on high.
Erin says
Hi! Excited to try this but I’m a little confused about the time. Is the cooking time for the corned beef total of 6 or 8 hrs? I don’t have the cabbage as of yet so will make seperate later but don’t want to dry out the corned beef? Thanks
Sara says
The corned beef cooks for 8 hours total, it’s a tough cut of meat and needs a lot of time to get tender!
Cathy says
Will this recipe still work without the potatoes and carrots? Would I need to make any adjustments to the amount of water or cook time? Thanks.
Sara says
Yes it will work and you shouldn’t need to make any adjustments!
Carol Picardi says
I just put the corned beef in the slow cooker but instead of just water, I combined 2 cups beef broth with 1 cup of water. Does this sound okay?
Sara says
I wouldn’t use beef broth only because the corned beef is salty enough on its own!
Anita says
This was a fabulous recipe! I scoured the internet looking for a corned beef and cabbage recipe last night. Every one that I came across had “issues” reported by people having attempted the recipes. “Corned beef too dry, too tough, vegetables not done properly, no flavor” etc. I followed this recipe pretty close to the recommendations. I did add a bottle of beer when I added the water to the beef. I also waited for 4 hours to add the vegetables. They came out perfectly! The cabbage went in 2 hours before completion. All cooked on low for 8 hours total. I was worried that the cabbage would never be done in those 2 hours. Nothing to worry about. It was a big hit! Definitely going to be my “go to” corned beef and cabbage recipe! Thank you!
Sara says
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
Rebecca Scalia says
I added my veggies at beginning before I found this recipe. Can I remove them halfway through so as to avoid mushiness? I’m also afraid I won’t have room for the cabbage at fhe end if I do to!
Sara says
Yes that’s totally fine!
Sherri says
My corned beef is only 2.5 pounds. Would I adjust this recipe’s time in half to 4 hours total?
Sara says
I would cook it for a minimum of 6 hours still!
Vicki says
This was amazingly easy & delicious. The corned beef cut with a spoon 😊
Thank you for keeping this so simple
Sara says
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for coming back to comment!
Kay says
I’ve never been the cook for our family’s corned beef and cabbage. I found your recipe, trusted it and followed to the “T” and it was a HIT!! Best any of us have ever had! I am so glad I chose your recipe!!! Could not have aske for a better dinner! My husband can’t quit raving!! Would not change a thing!! Thank You!! It is truly a GREAT corned beef & cabbage!
Kim D says
I LOVED this recipe! The extra addition of the garlic butter over the vegetables put it over the top. The meat was so tender and the vegetables were incredibly delicious. I added the vegetables halfway through, as recommended and it was perfect. Otherwise, they would have been mushy. I added parsnips and am so happy I did.
Sara says
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
Marcia says
Just made this!! Wonderful all came out perfect the cooking on slow perfect, spent the day on the lake came home it was ready to eat!! The garlic butter drizzle over veggies, wonderful. Thank you for a great recipe. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Sara says
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
Patti says
I made this recipe today, and my husband and I loved it! I will definitely make it again. BTW-this was my first time making corned beef! The meat was so tender and tasty. I added onions, which added another flavor.
Sara says
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
Karyn says
Amazing corned beef. However the one I bought didn’t come with the seasoning packet so I had to do my own seasoning with what I had in my kitchen and it was amazing! Definitely will be making again!!!
Amy says
This is the last corned beef recipe I will ever use. So easy and delicious!
Shannon says
My first time making corned beef and cabbage, followed the directions exactly and it came out perfect. Thank you!
Brian D Case says
Awesome, the corned beef was fork tender and delicious. My wife is not a big corned beef fan and she loved it. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Rhonda says
Cooking right now! The smell is driving my Doggos crazy!!