This Corned Beef and Cabbage Slow Cooker recipe packs all of the deliciousness of corned beef into a meal that cooks itself.
Tender Corned Beef and cabbage, carrots, & potatoes all cooked to perfection in the Crock Pot make for an effortless meal.
Talk about a stroke of good fortune on St. Patrick’s Day or any day of the year!
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The Best Recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage!
I’m often asked “What is the best recipe for corned beef and cabbage?” and I have to admit that I’m partial to this slow cooker recipe! Making this crock pot Corned Beef & Cabbage recipe, it so easy that it practically cooks itself.
- It is best cooked in a 6QT slow cooker (or larger) as it really fills the crockpot.
- Add the potatoes a few hours into the cooking process, so that they cook for about 5-6 hours, this will keep them from getting mushy.
- Add the cabbage 2 hours before you plan to serve the meal.
Important Note
After slow cooking corned beef, be sure to allow the corned beef to rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Once rested, cut against the grain for corned beef that is juicier and fork tender.
How to Cook Corned Beef to Make it Tender
- Low & Slow: Brisket is a tough cut of meat, and to get the very best results, it should be cooked low and slow. In this recipe, I use the slow cooker and I make sure to use the low setting.
- Give it time: This goes back to “slow”… this recipe calls for 8-10 hours and mine usually takes closer to 10. If your corned beef is tough, there’s a good chance it didn’t cook long enough.
- Rest your meat: As with most meats, allow it to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
- Cut across the grain: Brisket has long fibrous strands so it is very important to cut across the grain. In fact, this is one of the most important parts of this recipe!!
What Spices go on Corned Beef?
Corned Beef is beef brisket that has been cured and brined. When sold, it often comes already seasoned or with a seasoning packet. The seasonings include beautifully fragrant spices such as whole allspice, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander, to name a few. If your corned beef doesn’t have a spice packet, you can add a couple of tablespoons of pickling spices, a few peppercorns, and a bay leaf. Bundle them up in cheesecloth and toss them into the slow cooker.
St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to enjoy an easy crock pot Corned Beef and Cabbage. Using a slow cooker makes this meal almost effortless!
This recipe creates a one of a kind, delicious dinner that your family will love! Since it’s already a complete meal, we most often serve it with 30 Minute Dinner Rolls or Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits and a simple side salad.
Don’t eat this just on St. Patrick’s day, it’s wonderfully cozy all year round! This easy corned beef and cabbage recipe contains a complete meal all in one, tender corned beef, potatoes, sweet carrots and cabbage.
More St. Patrick's Day Favorites
Corned Beef and Cabbage Slow Cooker Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 corned beef brisket 3-4 pounds
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 ½ – 3 cups water
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled & quartered
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1 small head of cabbage cut into wedges
Instructions
- Chop onion into large chunks and place in the bottom of a 6 qt slow cooker. Top with corned beef and seasoning packet.
- Pour water into slow cooker until it just about covers the corned beef. Add garlic and bay leaves.
- Cook on low 8-10 hours.
- After the initial 3 hours, add potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker.
- Two hours before serving, add cabbage wedges to the slow cooker.
- Remove corned beef from slow cooker and let rest 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
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The BEST corned beef I’ve ever made. It was delicious and so tender – melt in your mouth yummy!
I will say, though – it cooked WAY faster than the recipe indicated. My point cut was just under 3 lbs. and it was done in less than 2 hours. I highly suggest you check the meat temp every hour.
First time making corned beef and this recipe was easy to follow and delicious! Family and friends were fighting over the last piece of beef! Thank you for this great recipe!
Should I add more water when adding the veggies?
You do not need to add more liquid when adding the veggies. Enjoy Nicole!
Can this be cooked on high for 5 hours instead of low for 10?
I have only cooked this recipe on low which takes closer to 8-10 hours depending on size. Corned beef really cooks best at a low temperature so I can’t say for sure how it would do on high. I would check it closer to 4 1/2 to 5 hours (depending on size) and, often if the corned beef is not tender, it will need more time (kind of like a pot roast).
Making this tonight, should I add more liquid when I throw in the potatoes and carrots? Or is it ok to have them on top not submerged?
It’s okay to have them not submerged. And the corned beef will release liquid over time too which will help. Enjoy Nicole!
this sounds great. I love your recipes and always have great success when using. i usually bake mine in foil and discard ask that fat juice. do you discard it too? doesn’t it make all the veggies geasy? I really want to make it this way but am concerned about greasiness.
I haven’t found the vegetables to be greasy in this meal.
Hi there,
What spices are in the ‘seasoning packet’? I got my corned beef from the butcher so a packet wasn’t included. Thanks!
You can also find this info in the post. :)
What Spices go on Corned Beef?
Corned Beef is beef brisket that has been cured and brined. When sold, it often comes already seasoned or with a seasoning packet. The seasonings include beautifully fragrant spices such as whole allspice, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander, to name a few. If your corned beef doesn’t have a spice packet, you can add a couple of tablespoons of pickling spices, a few peppercorns, and a bay leaf. Bundle them up in cheesecloth and toss them into the slow cooker.
Not sure what I’m doing wrong but both times I made this the meat was tough. The first time 8 hours and the second time 10 hours. I followed the directions carefully, low heat.
Sorry that you didn’t enjoy the dish. As mentioned in the post, if the corned beef is tough, it simply needs to cook longer. It may have taken longer if it was a larger roast or could have just been the cut of meat.
This recipe is the absolute best corned beef and cabbage recipe for crockpot that I have ever had. My husband who always says he doesn’t like corned beef had seconds. I made it almost exactly as written using an almost four pound corned beef, red potatoes and green cabbage and it turned out perfectly. It cooked 10 hours. The only thing I did differently was waiting four hours instead of three to add the potatoes and carrots. Absolutely perfect and absolutely delicious…and being so easy to make didn’t hurt anything either!!!
If I could give this recipes six stars, I would! We made this for St. Patrick’s Day last year, and I made it again this year. It’s so easy and tastes so good! Thanks for this recipe.
This was excellent! There are only 2 of us at home and my husband is not a fan of corn beef, though he will eat it once a year to humour me, so I bought a 2.68 lb. roast I was able to find at Sam’s Club. I followed the recipe almost exactly, other than skipping the cabbage to spare myself another trip to the grocery store. I let it cook for 10 hours. It was tender and flavourful. The flavour was mellow and I’m sure the garlic and bay leaves helped achieve this. I will make this again and absolutely recommend this recipe.
perfect
my husband is eating his corned beef right now and my brisket has never come out this good, made it with a 4 qt crock had to actually cook over 18 hours and popped up to high for 2 hours at the 10 and 16 hour marks for 2 and 1 hours , respectively. had to remove some potatoes and carrots when adding the cabbage, was totally fine, were absolutely dona anyway, remove a bunch of broth and keep over heat in a pot. this brisket is the best I’ve ever made!