Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or cozy up on a cold winter evening with a flavorful and easy corned beef and cabbage in the oven! This dump-and-bake dinner requires just 10 minutes of prep, and you can make it in the slow cooker, too.
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If you’re looking for even more oven roasted beef recipes, don’t miss this Dutch oven pot roast, a classic Mississippi pot roast, and this smothered round steak, too!
…My wife and I did this last night and loved it! It was so easy to make and everything came out great…5 stars for sure!
– Elliott M.
Baked Corned Beef and Cabbage is an Easy St. Patrick’s Day Tradition
I’m pulling out some of my favorite shortcuts and quick tricks to simplify a classic pot roast! This oven corned beef and cabbage recipe cooks together in a Dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, onions, and Guinness beer, providing an entire Irish feast with very little effort. The flavors mingle together, the vegetables absorb the drippings from the brisket, and the end result is tender, flavorful corned beef with all of the sides!
Believe it or not, corned beef and cabbage isn’t the national dish of Ireland. It’s not even particularly popular in that country, so why do we go crazy for it in the United States? This dish is an Irish-American tradition that dates back to the first Irish immigration to the U.S. in the mid 18th century.
The Irish immigrants were accustomed to eating boiled bacon on St. Patty’s Day; however, the high price of pork and bacon products in the United States made this an impossibility. Instead, they turned to the cheapest cut of meat available, beef brisket, and adopted the brining technique of the Eastern Europeans that were also in America at the time. Paired with cabbage (one of the cheapest vegetables available), this dish soon became a comforting meal that reminded them of their homeland, and ultimately became synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Purchase the flat cut corned beef brisket that comes pre-brined and ready to cook. The seasoning packet typically includes a pickling spice blend such as peppercorns, bay leaves, mustard seeds, dill seeds, and at least a few other whole spices, all with warm and robust flavors.
- Use baby potatoes that are halved (or quartered if they’re large). You want all of the pieces to be about the same size so that they cook evenly and are tender by the time the meat is done. There’s no need to peel these little gold potatoes.
- Baby carrots are a great shortcut (no peeling or chopping necessary), but you can certainly use regular carrots that are peeled and cut into chunks if you like.
- Cut one small green cabbage head into wedges. If your head of cabbage is particularly large, you’ll only need about half of it. There won’t be room in your Dutch oven for much more!
- I use a bag of frozen white pearl onions to avoid the tedious process of peeling or slicing fresh onions; however, you can substitute with fresh onions if you like. If starting with the frozen onions, you do not need to thaw them first.
- I prefer Guinness stout for a richer, deeper flavor in the braising liquid; however, beef broth is a fine alcohol-free substitute.
- Brown sugar nicely balances the salty, savory flavor of the meat and brings out the natural sweetness in the veggies.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage in Oven
There’s very little prep work necessary for this easy St. Patrick’s Day dinner, and then the oven (or the Crock Pot) does the work!
- Layer the potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and onions (in that order) in the bottom of a large Dutch oven.
- Pour Guinness or beef broth over top. This is the liquid that will help braise the meat.
- Rub the beef with the brown sugar and sprinkle the seasonings from the spice packet on top.
- Place the brisket (fat-side up) on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven. The fat will drip down over the meat as it bakes, keeping the beef moist and flavorful.
- Cover with the lid and bake in a 350°F oven for about 3 hours. The meat is done when it’s very tender. It has a pink color because nitrite is used in the curing process — not because the meat is rare. If you’re using a larger brisket, you may need to increase the total cooking time. The vegetables should be fork-tender.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board, let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Slice the beef very thinly against the grain, which means that you want to cut perpendicular to the natural parallel lines of muscle fiber that you see running down the meat. Serve the vegetables with a slotted spoon and add to a platter with the sliced meat.
What to Serve with Corned Beef and Cabbage
Thanks to the beef, potatoes, and vegetables, you’ve got an entire meal in one pot! That said, corned beef and cabbage is also delicious alongside molasses oatmeal soda bread, noodles, 3-ingredient sour cream muffins a crisp green salad dressed in Dijon vinaigrette, old-fashioned applesauce, roasted green beans. For something sweet, round out your St. Patrick’s Day meal with a green Watergate salad recipe, a Watergate cake, or Grandma’s old-fashioned Irish whiskey cake recipe.
Storage Tips
- If you’re cooking for just one or two, don’t shy away from this dish. You’ll want those leftovers! Use the extra corned beef in a dump-and-bake Reuben casserole or tuck the meat inside a Reuben sandwich (my favorite!).
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. It’s important to note, however, that the texture of the potatoes and vegetables will not be good after freezing and thawing.
- Reheat leftover corned beef and cabbage in a Dutch oven on the stovetop over low heat, just until warmed through. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or just until warm.
This is the corned beef and cabbage recipe I’ve been looking for!! And I’ve tried lots. It was delicious…
– Judy
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Baked Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 24 ounces baby gold potatoes, halved (or quartered for larger potatoes)
- 1 lb. baby carrots
- 1 small head cabbage, cored and cut into about 8 wedges
- 1 (14 ounce) bag frozen pearl white onions
- ½ cup Guinness beer (or sub with beef broth)
- 1 (3 ½ – 4 lb.) pre-brined corned beef brisket with spice packet
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and onions (in that order) in the bottom of a large Dutch oven.
- Pour the beer or beef broth over top.
- Rub the meat with the brown sugar and the seasonings from the spice packet. Place the beef (fat-side up) on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven.
- Cover and bake for about 3 hours (or longer, if using a larger piece of meat). The meat is done when it's very tender. It has a pink color because nitrite is used in the curing process — not because the meat is rare. If you're using a larger brisket, you may need to increase the total cooking time. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes. Thinly slice the brisket against the grain. Serve the vegetables with a slotted spoon. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- To save time, I prefer the packaged corned beef brisket that comes in a brine with a spice packet. No need to mess with the brining and curing process! You can find them in just about any grocery store — even my little rural Food Lion has them in stock. If you prefer to buy a plain brisket instead, that’s fine — you’ll just need to season and brine it yourself.
- Use any vegetables and potatoes that you prefer. Baby red potatoes or peeled, diced russet potatoes will also work. Try adding peeled, chopped turnips or parsnips to the pot, too. Just make sure that they’re uniform in size so that they cook evenly.
- Feeling fancy? Serve the corned beef with a horseradish sauce on the side.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
Irish Stew
2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Guinness Chocolate Cake {with Cake Mix}
3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
This post was originally published in February, 2018. It was updated in March, 2025.
I have been on earth for 70 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and this is by far the very best corned beef I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying! My style of cooking, dump & bake!
Thank you so much! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed it.
This corned beef dinner was excellent! Just the 2 of us, but enough leftovers for a couple of Reuben sandwiches. I used a combo of beef stock and water for cooking in the Dutch oven, tasted great. It cooked with veggies for about 3.5 hrs at 350. Will definitely make this again. Thank you!
Thank you, Theresa! Reuben sandwiches are some of our favorites. So glad that you enjoyed the meal!
This is definitely the recipe I’m following this St. Patty’s Day. I can’t go wrong with all these wonderful reviews.
We hope you enjoy it, Denise!
Great recipe. There is so much flavor in the vegetables when cooked along with the corned beef, and the cabbage is very tender.
Wonderful! Thanks, Sharon. Happy St. Patty’s Day!
I have a really bad track record with this particular meal. This recipe may have redeemed me!
My corned beef did not come with a spice packet so I had to get a little creative but it was perfect!
So glad that you made it work, Cecily. Thank you, and happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Grew up eating corned beef and cabbage but never cooked in Guinness! It was very good and gave the usual boring vegetables real flavor. Will definitely make it again.
Wonderful! I’m so happy that it was a hit, Shelia. Thank you!
Do you rinse the brine off the corned beef?
Hi, Debbie! No, you do not need to rinse off the brine. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This was delicious! Used whole carrots and cut them up. Used beef broth. Husband and I enjoyed very much!
Ty Blair!
Thank you, Shanan! We’re so glad it was a hit.
Delicious! And the house smelled wonderful. This will be the way we do corned beef from now on.
Blair, I’m gonna try your recipe tomorrow. I hope I can get a response from you before then my husband bought the corned beef brisket and it’s a bottom round. There’s virtually no fat side to it. It’s marbled pretty good but there’s no fat side. Is this gonna be a dry brisket? What should I do?
Hi, Barbara! As long as it has good marbling, the bottom round should work ok. Just make sure that you cook it long enough so that it becomes nice and tender (too short and it will be tough because the connective tissue will not have time to break down). Definitely slice it thinly against the grain, too. Have a happy St. Patty’s Day!