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 loaf of Irish soda bread and 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 brisket that soaks in brine and then cures with salt and seasonings. This cut of meat has a distinctive pink color from sodium nitrate which is an ingredient in the curing process. Corned beef comes in multiple cuts, and it’s always best to cook corned beef for a long period of time so that it becomes tender. Typical cooking methods include boiling, slow cooking or oven roasting the meat.
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. I add the cabbage during the last part of the cooking process so that it doesn’t get overly soft. Slice your beef, then serve it on a platter with the potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
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. I recommend putting your meat in the crock pot first thing in the morning to ensure perfection by dinner time.
- 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.
- Be sure to slice the meat against the grain for the most tender bites of beef.
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. However, I prefer to add a little drizzle of garlic and herb butter over the top of the veggies. 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 19, 2020 with new content.
Rachel Cool says
I make corned beef and cabbage every year and occasionally I like to try something different rather than stick with the same recipe. I’m so glad I tried this! The garlic butter drizzle really made the veggies next level. I choose to add the potatoes and carrots halfway through rather than at the beginner so they weren’t so mushy and they were perfect. I will say the corned beef was tougher than normal, which was disappointing, but who knows what happened there. Either way it was delicious, thank you!
Laura says
This is the first time I have made corned beef for St Patrick’s Day as we usually just go out for it. This was so easy and it was absolutely delicious! I did add the carrots and potatoes half way through cooking. Everything was perfect. Can’t wait to make it again next year!!
Leretta says
Excellent! My husband and I loved it. Added potatoes and carrots at 4 hours like suggested. Followed recipe.
Thank you for sharing. Never cooked corned beef before and was so happy.
Rose says
We very much enjoyed this recipe. I made a mistake by adding additional flavorings, butter and vegetables along with the roast. Also, 3 cups of water may have had my roast too sunmerged. But, the vegetables were very tasty and although soft, they weren’t too soft. I added the cabbage the last two hours and they were fantastic. If, I were to make this again, which I probably will, I won’t change a thing.
Carl Atchison says
Last year this turned out great. I put the potatoes and carrots in when there was 5 hrs left for cooking time. Used a 7 qt slow cooker (my wife has 4 different sizes…lol). I also added a bay leaf on top of the meat. The cabbage is cooked with a somewhat crunchy texture which is more pleasant to eat than the old “cooked to mush”. My wife and mother-in-law were astonished I cooked it. 🙂
Virginia says
Can red cabbage be used also
Sara says
Yes but it may turn everything purple!
Martha g says
I have made the boiled or crock pot corned beef and cabbage for my family for over 30 years. It is a family favorite especially for St. Patrick’s Day. Through the years the only mistake I ever made was to rinse off the meat from the package. No harm done…it just helped to reduce the saltiness. Today I am making it in the crock pot for Sunday dinner according to your recipe. The seasoned butter drizzle is brilliant! Thank you for updating this family classic.
Dave says
Sara, this Vienna Corned Beef is spiced and all in the packing. No spice pack. So if I omit it, do I still rinse the beef? It’s got spices all over it
Sara says
I’d leave it as is if it has spices on it.
Dave says
Hi, got 2.3 lb in 4 qt crock. First, ok to use beef broth In lieu of water? Making some pre froze twice baked so gonna use parsnips and carrots. But still only put juice about a 1/3 up meat? Cooks pretty hot so low for 7 hr maybe 8?
Joyce says
I have a 3 1/2lb point cut corned beef and a 6qt oval slow cooker.
I will probably double up the carrots and potatoes.
The recipe calls for 3 Cups of water, in a post you reply to , you say to fill With water half way up the Slow Cooker.
Should the Beef be fully covered by the water?
Thanks.
Sara says
The meat should just be partially submerged, it does not need to be completely covered.
Mindy says
I made it last year and everyone loved it and so I’ll be making it again ! We ate it for 2 days there was so much!
Jessica Formicola says
I can’t wait to make this for St. Patrick’s Day this year! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Anita says
This is so good and so easy. If you don’t want to cook any vegetable dish at the side, it is a great idea to double the amount of vegetables. So at the end, you’ll only need this lovely dish, plus some carb (potatoes/rice/bread) for a complete meal.
Katie says
Made this for the family and it was a hit!
Cathleen says
I used to love cooking in my slow cooker!! I am so bummed that I needed to give it away when I moved. This is almost convincing me to buy another one!!
Carl Atchison says
Get the biggest one you can. I use my wife’s 7 qt one and the cabbage barely fits in for the last 2 hrs.
James says
How long would you cook a small 1 pound corn beef?
Sara says
I’d cook it on low for 6 hours!
Rhiannon says
Hi Sara, have never had or known of a spice packet that comes with a corned beef. Hense I’m Australian, some things a bit different. What is in the spice packet you get?
Sara says
It’s typically pickling spice, you can just omit it if needed.
Danielle says
What if I started the recipe on low for about 2 hours but then I want to turn it up to high . Can I do that ?
Sara says
That should be fine!
Tim says
If I double up on all the ingredients will I have to double up on the amount of water I put into the crock as well? So I’ve got two almost 5 lb corn beef biscuits and did double all the veggies…..so would I add 6 cups of water instead of 3??
Sara says
You want the water to reach about halfway up the crock pot, the depth of the water is more important than the amount of cups!
barbara says
my family laughed their butts off at the thought of half a carrot , one-eighth lb potatoes and one-sixth of a small cabbage each for a 3 – 5 lb corned beef for a family of four. i tripled the veggies and added more pickling spices, but the meat was tender as could be. for a family that loves vegetables, you must add more but the method is terrific. be sure to enclose the spices in a spice bag to keep them out of the cabbage leaves.
Selina Luna says
My corned beef did not come with a packet. I’m guessing my way through. But I also doubled up on veggies. We love veggies!!