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
- 3 to 4 pounds corned beef brisket uncooked, with spice packet
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 ½ to 3 cups water
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled* & quartered
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1 small head green 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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I put mine out a bit late … can I put it on high instead of low, and if so, for how long? the Corned beef is 3lbs
Other readers have cooked on high for 5 hours, I have found cooking on low produces the best results. Let us know how it goes!
Came out tough… cooked closer to 6 hrs on high …veggies came out great ….not sure what happened but wont stop me from trying again :)
If time allows, I’d recommend trying on low!
How long would I cook a 1.320 lb of corned beef? Looking forward to making this recipe.
Hi Deborah, If using a smaller corned beef you will want to cook it on the low for approximately 4-5 hours, or high for 2-3 hours. You can use a meat thermometer to ensure it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) and is fork-tender.
Simple and direct instructions that allow for personal adaptations.
Potatoes were way overdone when following your time. Will put in much later next time.
Hi Pat, to ensure the potatoes don’t overcook you will want to add them after the initial 3 hours, and make sure they are larger pieces. We peel and quarter our potatoes. If using smaller potatoes you may only need to half them. I hope that helps!
Outstanding meal. Ended up roasting the carrots and potatoes with your recipe. Wow–everyone loved them. My 4 lb. corned beef took 10 hours–perfection! Thanks for the great recipe–this will be my St. Paddy’s Day go to recipe.
Very easy and reliable recipe.
Cooked in the crock pot for about 9.5 hours. A 3.25 pd corned beef. Turned out fantastic.
Thanks for the guidance on the potato’s, carrots, n cabbage. I ended putting the small potato’s & baby carrots in 3 hrs before everything finished and they were perfect. Cabbage 2 hrs before finished.
It was less salty than I expected (yay!) I used low sodium beef stock because there was no Guinness in the house. :)
Will definitely make again!
So delicious, thank you for sharing this recipe!
Turned out great. My husband has never had it and he asked me if we could have it more than once a year. He loved it. Served with rye bread and butter, perfect for dipping in the juices. Awesome!!!
Turned out great and smelled amazing all day! We had to pull some of the potatoes when putting in the cabbage, in a 6qt crock, but still turned out perfectly!.
OMG!!!!! it was fabulous!!! everything was perfect! great recipe!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
We enjoyed this tonight for St. Patrick’s Day! Delicious! Thanks for sharing it! ☘️
I followed your recipe exactly. Sadly the brisket is WAY overdone at minimal time suggested. What a waste
If the brisket is not tender, it likely need MORE time. I hope that helps.
While Ilove this site and every other recipe I have tried here, this was a big fail. The carrots and potatoes were done when I put in the cabbage so I had to remove them, lest they dissolve into the liquid and then the cabbage was still uncooked after 2 hours. Incredible disappointing to say the least
Only one star because I used beer instead of water, as one of the suggested options. Big mistake…don’t do it that way. Just plain water next time!
I recommend removing the beer suggestion!!!
Hi Steve, when using beer in this recipe we recommend only replacing up to 2 cups of water with beer. You will still want to include at least 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water in this recipe. It does adjust the flavor but we do enjoy it.