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
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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What is the serving size for nutritional value purposes? 1 cup? Two cups?
The serving size would be ⅛th of the recipe and is an estimate. This can vary based on the size of the corned beef and veggies.
Hi,
I purchased 2 pieces of beef, 3lbs each. I was going to cook them both, one on top of the other and use both season packets in the slow cooker. If I do, one piece will be fully submerged and the water will come just to the top of the second piece, with this be ok? I’ve made this recipe before and love it! But I need to feed more people this time so I doubled the meat.. please let me know your opinion!
I haven’t tried doubling the meat in one slow cooker. I would suggest to ensure the beef submerged (and that one piece isn’t stacked on top or it may not cook well). 6lbs may need a bit of extra cooking time, I would put it on early and allow for extra time just in case. If the corned beef is tender and ready early, it will keep warm for a while. I am not sure if the veggies will fit with a really full slow cooker, but you can always cook the vegetables on the stovetop in the cooking liquid from the slow cooker while the corned beef rests.
Can you do this recipe using a Nesco/Roaster, if so, what do you recommend for temp and time? TYIA
I haven’t tried this in a roaster so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it goes!
I am planning to try this recipe tomorrow in my crock pot, but I won’t be home to add ingredients separately. Do you think I could pressure cook the vegetables when I get home and then add them in?
Sure you can pressure cook them or you can pour the cooking liquid into a pot on the stove and simmer the veggies while the corned beef rests.
Is the water with the corned beef needed or can I put the corned beef dry and let the juices from it cook it?
We have only made this in the slow cooker as written so I can’t say for sure how it would work without liquid.
My family really likes this . I do the carrots and cabbage on the side but corned beef turns out very tender! That’s the goal! Enjoy a lot of hollys recipes!
If using fingerling potatoes in crock pot method, what changes, if any would be made on cooking times, and or when to add?
Thanks!
Fingerling potatoes can be added along with the carrots in step 4.
Can I double or triple this recipe? I’m cooking for 13 people tomorrow and I bought 3 corned beef briskets (3 lbs each). They will all fit in my 6-quart crockpot if I stack them on top of each other (but there won’t be room for all the veggies so I guess I’ll do those separately). Is it okay to cook all three briskets stacked that way? Would I just triple the amount of water and seasoning and cook for the same amount of time? Thank you!
I haven’t tried cooking them this way so I can’t say for sure. I would be concerned that if they are stacked they may not cook through or will need extra cooking time.
Just wanted to report back that I ended up cooking two briskets in the slow cooker and the third on the stovetop, and it worked out great! I read somewhere not to put more than 5-6 lbs of meat in a 6-qt slow cooker, so I put the two smaller briskets I bought (slightly under 3 lbs each) in together and made sure they were nearly covered with liquid. I gave them the full 10 hours, and checked on them a few times during the day to pull them apart, spread them out as they cooked down, and get some liquid between them. After 10 hours they were nice and tender, and I just did the veggies on the stovetop in the broth after the meat was done. I used your stovetop recipe for the third brisket, which was just over 3 lbs, and timed it so everything would be done around the same time. The meat was pretty much all devoured by our crowd of 13, so it was a good thing I cooked as much as I did, and obviously everyone enjoyed it immensely! We had lots of veggies leftover, so I sauteed some leeks, threw in the leftover veggies (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and all) and some broth and pureed it into a potato, leek, etc. soup — delish!
So happy to hear that, Selene! Thanks for sharing your experience!
All my life (71yrs) I’ve eaten a form of this but pressure cooker instead of slow cooker.
There is no comparison ! I’ve now cooked it 3 times and this is how I will cook it from now on . Thank You
I’ve made this in the past and it was great. Today I cooked for 3 hours and forgot to put water. I added it now. Do you think it will be OK?
It should be okay, Nicole! We would love to hear how it turns out!
I love all your recipes and will definitely be trying this tomorrow. I’m already getting hungry. Thank you and Happy St. Patrick’s day.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Sherry! Hope you enjoy this recipe.
What seasoning packet are you referring to?
When you purchase corned beef it most likely will come with a spice packet included. That is what we are referring to in this recipe.
Can you use beef or chicken broth instead of the water?
Sure, Cathi! That sounds delicious.
What kind of potatoes do you use?
We use russet potatoes but any will work in this recipe.
Can I prepare it the night before? Any tips
You could chop and prep everything the night before but we have not tried assembling it in the crockpot ahead of time. If you do try we would love to hear how it turns out!
I don’t have a slow cooker. What temp. Should i cook the corned beef at an my oven?
Hi David, for stovetop cooking instructions we follow this stove top corned beef recipe. Hope that helps!
Made it last night and it was delicious! The meat (cooked it for 10 hours) was tender and the carrots, cabbage and potatoes weren’t mushy. Easy to prepare and will definitely make again!
did you put the all the veggies in right away with the corned beef or a little later on? Just curious because every time I do this with a beef roast they are all mush. Thanks
Simple. Delicious.
I used preseasoned packaged flat cut corned beef. After 10 hours, the corned beef was so tender that it simply fell apart!
Hi,
If I do not have a crock pot, can I still make this recipe?
Here you’ll find the stove top corned beef recipe Angela. Enjoy!
Good recipe, but i would have liked to have salt and pepper infused into the meat. I was surprised they weren’t included in the list of ingredients, but I like to follow recipes to the letter on the first go around. There is always the chance intuition talks you out of something great; however, I think I was correct that the recipe needs both salt and pepper. Excellent start, though, thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Darby!
Well this was delicious, and by error, I can tell you how to fast track it! I accidentally put the crock pot on high. Good thing I came home to check on it! I put the meat in at 7:30am. Then the veggies at 11:30am. I planned on cooking it all day. By 1:30 everything was done to perfection! I took it all out and added the cabbage. I mashed the carrots, onions and potatoes together with some butter and garlic. My cut was three pounds for reference. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh no! I am glad you caught that error! Hopefully you were able to keep it warm until you were ready to serve it!