Easy Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage creates tender, fall-apart beef and warm, flavorful veggies and potatoes, all in this simple Crock Pot recipe.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage is not a traditional Irish recipe. BUT it is an Irish-American tradition to make it on St. Patrick’s Day.
This Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage is a super simple recipe that you can throw in your Crock Pot in the morning, and it will be ready by dinner time.
The way the cabbage is packed in the slow cooker keeps the corned beef and cabbage juicy and fall-apart tender. Plus, with the meat, veggies, and potatoes all in one Crock Pot, it’s already a no fuss, full meal!
What to Serve With Corned Beef and Cabbage
This Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe is already basically a whole meal.
It has the corned beef, plus carrots, cabbage, and potatoes. Meat, veggies, and potatoes, all taken care of.
If you don’t love the cabbage from the Crock Pot, you can always saute some extra in butter. Or for a fresher option, just serve with a fresh salad.
How to Cook Corned Beef to Make it Tender
- Buy the right cut. There are generally three cuts of corned beef brisket: the point, the flat, and the whole cut. A point cut is going to be the fattier, marbled portion, which is great because it will keep the meat tender, but in my opinion it’s too fatty by itself. The flat is the leaner cut, but lean meat usually means less juicy in general. The whole cut on the other hand is a combination of both worlds because it is both cuts of meat. There is fatty and lean meat on the same brisket, making the whole brisket the best choice.
- Low and slow – Corned beef brisket needs to be cooked low and slow, which makes it perfect for the slow cooker, as in this recipe. If your brisket did turn out dry, there’s a pretty good chance you didn’t cook it long enough or you cooked it at too high of a temperature.
- Use enough water. The water should almost submerge the brisket. I like to just make sure the spices and fat on top are still showing.
- Cook it fat side up. This will allow the juices to run down and keep the brisket moist.
- Cut it the right way. Surprisingly, if meat is cut the wrong way, it can feel chewy, even if cooked properly. Always cut your meat against the grain.
What Dessert Goes with Corned Beef and Cabbage?
Since we usually make slow cooker corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, I like to serve it with a festive dessert.
Some bite sized dessert ideas to serve after your corned beef are these mint chocolate chip cookies, mint Oreo truffles, or mint chocolate pretzel bites.
For a fancier, but festive dessert, I like these light (and low calorie!) mint chocolate meringues, or this creamy grasshopper pie.
But my favorite way to end the meal is with a sweet drink, like this mint white hot chocolate or some coffee with this homemade Irish cream coffee creamer. Add some Bailey’s to either drink for a festive night cap.
How to Make Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
Step 1: Place potatoes, carrots, and onions in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Step 2: Place corned beef brisket on top of veggies.
Step 3: Pack the cabbage in wedges around the corned beef. Packing the cabbage in tightly will help keep the corned beef moist and tender.
Step 4: Pour water around the corned beef. The water should come up at least half way to the top of the brisket.
Step 5: Finish seasoning with additional caraway seeds. Then top with cabbage leaves.
Step 6: Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.
Serve warm with the veggies and potatoes.
Pro Tips:
- Use a whole cut corned beef brisket, which is both the flat and point cuts together. The whole cut will give you both fatty marbling to keep the brisket juicy, and lean parts to keep it from being too fatty or chewy. It’s also worth spending a couple extra dollars to make sure you have a good quality brisket.
- Be sure to put the corned beef in the slow cooker fat side up so that the meat will stay tender.
- Add Guiness beer for extra festive flavor. Just add one 12 ounce bottle at the same time as the water.
- If you’re using a larger corned beef brisket than the recipe indicates (3.5 pounds), add additional water to keep the meat moist and tender. Use about 1 additional cup of water per additional pound.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Reuben Casserole – great way to use up leftovers!
- Reuben Dip – delicious, festive appetizer!
- Grasshopper Pie – creamy, minty, green, and festive for St. Pat’s!
- ALL St Patrick’s Day Ideas!
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium red potatoes quartered
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 1 large onion wedged
- 3.5 pounds Corned beef brisket (either pre-spiced or one that comes with a spice packet)
- 1 cabbage wedged
- 3-5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
Instructions
- Place potatoes, carrots, and onions in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Place corned beef brisket on top of veggies. Pack the cabbage wedges around the edges of the slow cooker, between the dish and the brisket. It should be packed pretty tightly as this helps the corned beef stay juicy.
- Pour water into the slow cooker. I try not to pour it directly on top of the brisket so the spices don’t come off.
- Add your caraway seeds and spice packet, if you have one. I like to add a couple stray cabbage leaves on the very top, too.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.
Notes
- Use a whole cut corned beef brisket, which is both the flat and point cuts together. The whole cut will give you both fatty and marbling to keep the brisket juicy, and lean parts to keep it from being too fatty or chewy.
- Be sure to put the corned beef in the slow cooker fat side up so that the meat will stay tender. It’s also worth spending a couple extra dollars to make sure you have a good quality brisket.
- Add Guiness beer for extra festive flavor. Just add one 12 ounce bottle at the same time as the water.
- If you’re using a larger corned beef brisket than the recipe indicates (3.5 pounds), add additional water to keep the meat moist and tender. Use about 1 additional cup of water per additional pound.
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTES: This post was originally published in March 2015. It has been updated in March 2019 with new pictures, video, and some helpful cooking tips based on readers’ questions.
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Oh yum! I can’t wait to make some corned beef and cabbage! 🙂
Mmmm! Your pictures of this roast made me instantly hungry! (and I just ate dinner) I am definitely pinning this and buying some corned beef this week! Thanks for the recipe!
Got mine slow cooker for Christmas and I’m on the lookout for recipes .I’m also on a candida free diet and your recipe is the perfect fit! Thanks 🙂
I would love for you to share your recipe with our Thursday Link Up Party- Idea box
Perfect St. Patrick’s dinner. My husband doesn’t like cabbage so more for me, lol. Thanks for linking up at Thursday Favorite Things, can’t wait to see what you’ll share next week!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe on our blog.
sandy
I can’t wait to make this. I know it will be 5 star!
Making this tomorrow!!
Can you tell me what spices one would expect to find in the spice packet. Our butcher sells brisket’s but does not include spices …. Thanks!
Most of the seasoning packets I’ve seen have some mustard seed, coriander seed, and crushed bay leaf. Though, if it’s fresh from a butcher, it’s probably cured and spiced nicely already. You can still add a little of any or all of those, if you’d like 🙂
his sounds yummy, but I have one question: don’t the corned beef spices get all over everything else? Are you constantly wiping off the spice seeds from the potatoes and carrots? The recipe seems to indicate that the spices stay put on top of the meet. Is this accurate?
Well, compared to the amount of “stuff” (corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots) in the Crockpot to the amount of seasoning, it’s really not that much seasoning. Plus with the cabbage packed tightly around the corned beef and the potatoes and carrots cooking at the very bottom, not much ends up all the way down there. And, I like to put my seasoning on after dumping in the water so they don’t get washed down to the bottom. So long story short, yes they do mostly stay on the top. No wiping necessary! 🙂
don’t the baby carrots get overdone by putting them in at the beginning, rather than adding them later?
They’re much softer than they would be if they were steamed, but I’d consider them close to the texture of carrots in a soup or stew, or cooked with a traditional roast.
This is addressed to Marcy Adams. Make sure the brisket your butcher sells is corned beef brisket. The process of Corning (pickling) is what makes the brisket taste completely different from a plain beef brisket, which would be cooked differently as well.
Do the veggies, especially the cabbage, get really mushy since they are in tbe crock pot for ao long?
If so, would you suggest a specific time to put the caggabe in?
Thanks!
I personally don’t think so. I’ve found they’re the same consistency you would expect with veggies in a stew. But if you’re worried about it, you can always add it in for only the last half. Or just add a little more water to the crockpot for the brisket, and saute the cabbage instead.
So did anyone actually make the recipe ??
I made the recipe yesterday, and every year. Do you have a question?
I have a question ?. Can I use the high option? Additionally, my guests cannot have seeds, can you recommend other spices? Nothing hot either. Thank you
If your corned beef came seasoned, you may not need to add any spices. I’m guessing you can use the high heat setting for 3-5 hours, but I’ve never tried it. It might be a little less tender cooking it on high, as well.
BTW, I have mine in the crockpot as we speak ?