A perfectly easy Irish dinner, this Corned Beef and Cabbage gives you tender corned beef with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, all cooked in one pot. Serve it up with a creamy horseradish mustard for a perfect finish. It’s not only perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, but perfect anytime you need a comforting dinner.
The great thing about this recipe is that it is a full meal, all in one!
I love any excuse to celebrate. Especially when it comes to holidays.
But looking through my archives, I realized that St. Patrick’s Day is not represented very well here on Taste and Tell. And even though I’m not Irish, that doesn’t stop me from wearing green and cooking up a corned beef brisket for dinner.
This Corned Beef and Cabbage is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Or it’s really good anytime of year, to be honest. (Did you know most grocery stores sell corned beef all year round?) It really would be a shame if you saved this recipe for only one time a year.
While testing this recipe, we tried it in the slow cooker as well as the stove top. And all of us agreed that the stove top version was superior. But I totally get that the slow cooker is just so much easier sometimes, so if you want those instructions, check them out in the notes on the recipe card.
And don’t skip on that creamy horseradish mustard. It’s the perfect condiment for that corned beef!
Ingredients
- Sour Cream: I use regular sour cream, but you could probably get away with using reduced fat sour cream. But for the full richness, I do recommend full fat.
- Horseradish: You want to make sure you are buying straight horseradish, not a horseradish sauce or horseradish cream. It will typically just list horseradish, vinegar, and salt as the ingredients.
- Dijon Mustard: I like the flavor of dijon in this recipe. You can use regular yellow mustard, but it is much sharper. Or a whole grain mustard would be delicious, too.
- Onion: I just add half of a large onion, but you could use a full onion, as well.
- Corned Beef Brisket: Look in the butcher section at your grocery store. It usually comes in a package with liquid, and a spice packet will be included.
- Garlic: You will want to slice the garlic thinly for this recipe.
- Bay Leaves: I use dry bay leaves because that is what I keep on hand, but if you have fresh, feel free to use those. If you do use fresh, you probably only want one bay leaf.
- Broth: I use 2 cups of beef broth, plus more water to give you enough liquid to almost cover the beef. If you really want to intensify the flavor, you can use all beef broth, but I feel that 2 cups is usually enough.
- Vegetables: For the vegetables, we are using potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. I like to use small red potatoes, and I scrub them and keep the skins on. You will need to cut them into halves or fourths, depending on their size. For the cabbage, I will typically use half of a large head, or one small head. You just want to be able to fit it in a mostly single layer in your pot.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage
STEP 1: I like to start by making the creamy horseradish mustard. All you have to do is mix the ingredients together, but then the sauce has a few hours to hang out in the refrigerator for the flavors to combine.
STEP 2: Cut your onion into large chunks and put them in the bottom of a heavy duty pot or Dutch oven. Place the corned beef on top, fat side up.
STEP 3: Sprinkle the spice mix over the top (this should be included with your corned beef). The add the garlic and bay leaves. Add the beef broth, then enough liquid to just come to the top of the beef, but not covering it. Simmer this until the beef is super tender, about 50 minutes per pound of beef.
STEP 4: Once the beef is tender, remove it from the pan to a plate and cover. Add the carrots and the potatoes to the liquid in the pot and place the lid on top. Cook for 20 minutes.
STEP 5: Add the cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes, or until everything is tender.
STEP 6: Take your beef and slice it against the grain. Remove the vegetables from the liquid and serve alongside the beef with the creamy horseradish mustard.
Tips and Tricks
Some people will say to rinse the corned beef when you remove it from the package – do NOT do this! You will be washing away so much of the flavor. The liquid in the package is red, so you might think it is blood, but it is actually the brining liquid used to brine the corned beef. I do not use that liquid, but I don’t rinse off the beef.
I like to add in a few pats of butter on top of my potatoes and carrots once I’ve plated it all up. Then make sure and season all of the vegetables with salt and pepper.
Corned beef takes a long time to cook and become tender, so don’t try to rush it. If anything a longer cook time is better than a shorter one.
The leftovers are delicious. They are great just heated up, or use them in a delicious homemade reuben sandwich.
Check out the notes in the recipe card below to see how to make this in the slow cooker.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
Irish Soda Bread
Lucky Charms Cookies
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Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
Creamy Horseradish Mustard Sauce:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
Corned Beef and Vegetables:
- 1/2 large onion
- 3-5 pound corned beef brisket uncooked, with spice packet
- 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 pounds small red potatoes halved or quartered
- 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 small head green cabbage (or 1/2 of a large head of cabbage), sliced
Instructions
- Combine the sour cream, horseradish, and mustard in a small bowl. Refrigerate until needed.1/2 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- Chop the onion into large chunks and place on the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Place the corned beef brisket on top of the onion, along with the seasoning packet, garlic, and bay leaves.1/2 large onion, 3-5 pound corned beef brisket, 4 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves
- Pour in the beef broth. Add enough water to come to the top of the beef, but not completely covering it.2 cups beef broth
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the meat is tender, about 50 minutes per pound.
- When the meat is tender, remove it to a cutting board and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the vegetables are just short of tender.2 pounds small red potatoes, 3 large carrots
- Add the cabbage and cook for an additional 10 minutes.1 small head green cabbage
- Cut the corned beef against the grain.
- Serve the corned beef with the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, as well as the horseradish mustard.
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