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Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or cozy up on a cold winter evening with a flavorful meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage! Just dump the ingredients in one pot and let the beef, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage slowly roast for an easy and comforting dinner — with just 10 minutes of prep. You can make it in the slow cooker, too!
Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Oven
I’m pulling out some of my favorite shortcuts and quick tricks to simplify a classic pot roast! The easy corned beef and cabbage cook 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!
Why do we eat corned beef and cabbage on St Patrick’s Day?
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, the Irish immigrants turned to the cheapest cut of meat available: beef brisket. They adopted the brining technique of the Eastern Europeans that were also in America at the time, salt-curing the beef and ultimately creating “corned beef.” The “corned” refers to the corn-sized salt crystals used during the brining process.
Paired with cabbage (one of the cheapest vegetables available to Irish immigrants), 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.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a pot of classic corned beef and cabbage. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Potatoes: use baby potatoes that are halved (or quartered if they’re large). There’s no need to peel these little gold potatoes.
- Carrots: 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.
- Cabbage: cut one small 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!
- White pearl onions: I use a bag of frozen 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.
- Beef broth or Guinness beer: I prefer the Guinness stout for a richer, deeper flavor; however, beef broth is a fine alcohol-free substitute.
- Corned beef brisket: purchase the flat cut corned beef brisket that comes pre-brined and ready to cook, with the seasoning packet included. This is the brand that I purchase at our local grocer, but any similar variety will work. 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.
- Brown sugar: for rubbing onto the brisket with the spices. This balances the salty flavor of the meat.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage
There’s very little prep work necessary for this easy St. Patrick’s Day dinner, and then the oven (or the Crock Pot) does all of 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.
- Cover with the lid and bake in a 350°F oven for about 3 hours.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board, let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Thinly slice the beef against the grain. Serve the vegetables with a slotted spoon.
Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage
If you prefer, you can prepare this recipe in a slow cooker instead of in the oven. To do so, layer the ingredients in the Crock Pot as instructed in the recipe. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.
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, you might also like to served the corned beef and cabbage with any of these additional sides:
- Irish Soda Bread
- Noodles
- Buttermilk Biscuits, French Baguette, a crusty loaf of Dutch Oven Bread, Flaky Biscuits or Skillet Cornbread
- Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette or a Classic Caesar Salad
- Fennel Salad with Apples and Creamy Cider Dressing
- Roasted Broccoli
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Cheddar Chive Beer Bread (no yeast, no knead!)
- Applesauce
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Green Beans
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
Storage
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.
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 too — you’ll just need to season and brine it yourself.
- Guinness gives the meat and vegetables a bolder, richer flavor. If you would rather not use alcohol in your dish, beef broth or even chicken broth would be a fine substitute.
- 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.
Cook’s Tips for the Best Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
- Cut smaller potatoes in half, or chop larger baby potatoes into quarters. 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.
- Place the brisket in the pot with the fat-side up. The fat will drip down over the meat as it bakes, keeping the beef moist and flavorful.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 this Dump-and-Bake Reuben Casserole, or tuck the meat inside a Reuben sandwich (my favorite!).
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes to Try
- Irish Stew
- Irish Soda Bread
- Roasted Cabbage
- Sausage and Cabbage
- Cottage Pie
- Guinness Soup
- Old-Fashioned Boston Brown Bread
- Dump and Bake Reuben Casserole
- Guinness Flank Steak
- Healthy Shamrock Shake
Dump-and-Bake 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 brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and onions (in that order) in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Pour beer or beef broth over top.
- Rub meat with 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).
- Transfer meat to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Thinly slice the brisket against the grain. Serve the vegetables with a slotted spoon.
Notes
- You can also prepare this meal in a slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 10-12 hours, or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.
- Cut smaller potatoes in half, or chop larger baby potatoes into quarters. 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.
- Place the brisket in the pot with the fat-side up. The fat will drip down over the meat as it bakes, keeping the beef moist and flavorful.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 this Dump-and-Bake Reuben Casserole, or tuck the meat inside a Reuben sandwich (my favorite!).
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in February, 2018. The photos were updated in February, 2022.
Love the easy prep on this dish, with a winter as cold as this one, these are the kind of dishes I need, I will opt for the Guinness beer instead of the beef broth 🙂 thank you for the awesome recipe 🙂
Thanks, Albert! The Guinness is always a good idea!
I can’t believe this recipe doesn’t have any ratings yet. My wife and I did this last night and loved it!. It was so easy to make and everything came out great. We used red potatoes and a yellow onion instead and all of the vegetables came out incredibly soft and the corned beef was absolutely perfect. I wasn’t sure how it would all turn out, I thought maybe some veggies would be too mushy, but it was all soft and delicious
I didn’t have any stout beer, so we used a porter. Not sure how that affected the flavor, but it was still delicious.
Next time I think I’m going to scrape off a lot of the seasoning from the corned beef into the veggies after it’s all done and stir it up to add some more flavor to them.
Thank you very much, I’ll be trying more of the dump and bake recipes. Being fairly lazy and having a one year old, I thoroughly appreciate the easy dinners.
* It doesn’t appear that the site is letting me select a rating, hopefully that isn’t discouraging people from writing reviews.
5 stars for sure
Thank you so much, Elliott! I’m glad that you enjoyed it as much as we do!
I can’t wait to make this!!
I just made this yesterday for a family gathering. I only had potatoes and carrots and used the beef broth, and cooked two 2.5 lb. corned beefs together in the same large oval Dutch oven. My family practically swooned over the corned beef, declaring it to be the “best we ever had”. I thought I had made enough to have leftovers for hash, but all the meat was polished off at dinner (and even then they wanted more). Thanks for a SUPER recipe – it will be the only way I make corned beef from now on!!
This recipe turned out great. I used the Guinness stout and followed exactly except put some Dijon mustard on the meat prior to adding the season packet and brown sugar. Thank you for an easy tasty recipe.
Thanks, Sheri! 🙂
I will try this tonight only, Loved it.
Looking Very delicious and healthy! A must-try for every food buff. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe was so simple and easy and the vegetables were perfectly done. I added some parsnips, too.
I believe I will make corned beef and cabbage more frequently with this recipe.
I bet the parsnips were a perfect addition, Lucy! Thanks for taking the time to leave me a note. 🙂
I make mine ALMOST the same way but:
First cover the pre corned beef w water bring to a boil until it foams- skim the foam then dump the water do that a total of 2-3 times takes out a lot of the excess salt I add the packet to last boil of water then it gets dumped (unless you wrap ithe spices in a cheese cloth to be easily removed before eating I use water instead of Guiness or beef broth (Im going to try the Guiness) BUT I use maple syrup instead of the Brown Sugar & I rub the corned beef brisket all over w a Spicy Honey Mustard. I definitely prefer the very slight maple flavor to the brown sugar (& has more nutrients in it)
How long in oven for 2.60lb brisket? And how much broth or beer for this size?
Hey, Rachel! I would still use about 1/2 cup of broth. It’s no big deal if you have some extra in the pot when it’s done. The 2.6 lb. brisket will probably need about 2 1/2 hours, but that’s just an estimate. A cut like that does really well cooking it low and slow, so it will just get nice and tender as it bakes. 🙂
I just put mine in the oven! I made a mustard brown sugar rub! Added the beer of course! I’m always looking for different recipes.
Thank you!
Awesome! Enjoy, Toby. Happy St. Patty’s Day! 🙂
This is the corned beef and cabbage recipe I’ve been looking for!! And I’ve tried lots. It was delicious. I used whole, small multi colored potatoes, the Guinness beer, and no brown sugar. Mine did not take as long to bake but was a bit smaller. Let the meat reach 160 degrees. Veggies were perfect.
Wonderful! Thank you, Judy! 🙂
This was an excellent recipe. The brown sugar slightly caramelized the vegetables and everything was cooked to perfection. Highly recommend this largely hands off one dish meal
Thank you! I’m so glad that it was a hit!
I can’t wait to make this!!
I made this yesterday in my cast iron Dutch oven and will never make any other way! I put French’s Brown Sugar Bourbon Mustard on top and it was DELICIOUS!!!
Yay! That’s so good to hear, Mary. You just can’t beat the Dutch oven — especially for meals like this. So glad that you enjoyed it!
Whoops! I forgot to trim the fat and used a whole can of PBR. And I’m not sure how long to bake a 4lb brisket. Did I mess it up?
Hi, Suyong! No, you didn’t mess anything up. The extra liquid in the pot will result in more liquid in the pot at the end, but it should still be fine. The recipe is for a 4-lb. brisket, so you’ll want to cook at 350 for about 3 hours. Enjoy!
Great recipe Thanks Blair! My man is still raving about it!
Thank you, Pam! We had this last night as well — always delicious! 🙂
sounds good. of course the easiness is hat i look for. the only concrn is the brown sugar,does it mak it too sweet? plus i am diabetic so i try and do without too much added sugar. will it take away any flavor and could i sub anything else. just curious thanks for all the recipes you post for us
Hi, Jean! No, the brown sugar doesn’t make it too sweet (it just balances some of the acidity in the dish). If you prefer, you can omit that ingredient. The corned beef will still be great!
I plan on using 2, 3.5 lb eye of round corned beef roasts in this recipe, how long should I bake them at 350?
Hi, Marianne! I used a piece of meat that was about 3 1/2 – 4 lbs., so I would suggest that you follow these baking instructions to start (about 3 hours). Check it at that point, and increase the time if necessary.
Hi Blair, I am concerned that the vegetables will get to soggy being in the oven for longer than 3 hours. What is your suggestion?
Hi, Marianne! The vegetables (especially the potatoes) do get very tender! If you prefer a firmer potato, you can add them closer to the end (similar to what I do with my Dutch oven pot roast here: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/dutch-oven-pot-roast/ )
I would suggest waiting until the final 1 hours to stir the potatoes into the pot. Hope you enjoy!
Ok so I have Four 3-4 lb pieces I need to cook all at once. Do I use 4 separate pans? And 3-4 hours total all together? I was told you can’t get a tender corned beef under 6-8 hours 🙁 have you ever tried putting them in an oven bag?
Hi, Susan! I’ve never used an oven bag. This meat has always been very tender with the given cooking time, so hopefully you’ll find that to be the case. If you prefer, you can certainly put it in the slow cooker for longer (those instructions are included above in the blog post).
The number of pans that you use will depend on how big they are. You might be able to get two in a large pot, but I wouldn’t try to do more than that.
Wondering if I can cook this recipe in a roaster instead? If so, what is a suggested temp and time?
Hi Ann,
We have not tested this in a roaster and cannot attest to the time and temperature needed for it to cook properly.
Hello! What size dutch oven do you have? Thank you
Hi, Jenn! I have a number of Dutch ovens, but the one shown in this recipe is the Le Creuset 7.25-quart Dutch oven. Hope that helps!
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!