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I love making this Corned Beef Crock Pot recipe. It’s so easy and turns out delicious every time. For a big St. Patrick’s Day feast it’s great paired with my 30 minute Shepherd’s Pie recipe but we love it year around and the leftovers are so tasty too!
Updated with instructions for Instant pot corned beef and cabbage.
We wait all year to have this meal in my family. Ever since I was a little girl we would celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Corned Beef and I LOOOOVED it. I would wear my giant green pin that said “A Wee Bit Irish” and look forward to Corned Beef and Cabbageand green lemonade for dinner.
We still get together for this treat every year. I pull out my St. Patrick’s Day pillows, make some St. Paddy’s Snack mix and finish the meal with either Rainbow Fondue or Easy Key Lime Pie. For us corned beef on St. Pat’s is just as much as a staple as cooking ham on Easter!
It is the BEST. Often we’ll buy extra corned beef roasts and make this later on in the year, especially for Father’s Day since it’s my dad’s very favorite!
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What We Love About Cooking Corned Beef in Crock Pot
Growing up I never knew it could be so easy to make corned beef but today I’m sharing the absolute easiest recipe for corned beef that you can make right in your crock pot. It doesn’t have to be saved for March though.
This corned beef crock pot recipe is simple and should be enjoyed as much as oven fried chicken, easy crock pot white chili or my other favorite slow cooker roast!
- Super easy and foolproof! This is literally a stick everything in and the the crock pot do the magic type of recipe. In fact even if you have never cooked anything in your life I promise you can make this!
- Delicious rich flavorful meat. This recipe gives you tender corned beef with the perfect texture. I’ve had other corned beef that was all dried out (boo) so I was always nervous to try it. But with this technique you get flavorful, moist meat every single time!
- Reliable cooking. This turns out perfect every single time. No guesswork.
- This makes the best leftovers. We like to make enough that everyone can take some home.
- You can cook the corned beef and cabbage with potatoes in one shot or you can cook the corned beef all on it’s own.
If you want you can can even cook the potatoes and cabbage right there with it but I personally like to do those separate.
I like to have more control over the doneness and seasonings of the sides so I’ll tell you how I get the mingled flavor at the end.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe Ingredients
Do you need to rinse your corned beef? Nope. I do not. I know other people who do. If you want a more mild flavor you certainly can.
- Corned Beef – one package, it comes in a brine with seasoning pack from the grocery store.
- Water – I just use tap water
I almost always cook my corned beef by itself. I tend to stuff the slow cooker full so there’s not much room for potatoes or cabbage but you can absolutely cook everything together.
Even if you want to cook them separately there’s a great trick for getting that slow simmered flavor even if your crock pot is bursting with beef.
That being said feel free to eat corned beef with Mac and Cheese or something else. But since I get so many questions about potatoes and cabbage I’m including information for preparing those too.
- Potatoes – I like to use small red potatoes
- Cabbage – Whole head, cut into wedges
How to Make Corned Beef in the Slow Cooker
- Place the corned beef in your crock pot (I like this one).
- Top with the seasoning pack that comes with the corned beef.
- Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of water into the packaging the corned beef was in to get the last bits of flavor that stuck and pour that on top of your the beef.
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Should you cook corned beef on high or on low? It’s really up to you and how much time you have. I have done both and can honestly say I do not have a preference. Just go by how much time you have to work with.
How to Cook Corned Beef Cabbage and Potatoes in the Crock Pot
So easy right? Now if you also want cabbage you can just throw it on top during the last few hours of cooking or what I prefer to do is boil the cabbage with a big ladle or two of the cooking juices from the corned beef.
I feel like sometimes when I add the cabbage in with the corned beef it’s really easy for it to get super salty. I love salt too so that’s saying something.
To cook the potatoes in the crock pot add them when you have 4 hours left before serving. Then add the cabbage when you have 2 hours left before serving.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Instant Pot
Want to make use your pressure cooker to make corned beef? You bet you can do that.
Put the corned beef in the insert with the water and seasoning packet. Cook on manual or high pressure for 90 minutes and allow to natural pressure release for at least 12 minutes.
Remove the meat and while you are letting it rest cook your cabbage and potatoes for 5 minutes on high and then do a quick release.
How to Make Mustard Glazed Corned Beef
My family loves their corn beef with a sweet mustard glaze but even though I am firmly in the mustard is not edible camp I will share my mom’s recipe with you lol.
Mix 2-3 TBS yellow mustard with 1 cup brown sugar. Mix it together and adjust to your taste. Spread over the top of your cooked corned beef roast in an oven proof dish. And then broil until it’s nice and pretty.
What to do with Corned Beef Leftovers!
Our favorite part of having Corned Beef is gobbling up the leftovers. We will make extra just so we can have a good stash to eat for the rest of the week.
It will last for about a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator or if you have a lot extra put it in the freezer. I love pulling it out to throw on baked potatoes or nachos!
- Open face Corned beef cheese and avocado melts
- Corned Beef Egg Scramble (or omelette)
- Corned Beef Pastry Squares
- Corned Beef Mac and Cheese
- Reuben Sandwiches
- Homemade Pizza
The Best Crock Pot Corned Beef Recipe
Course Main Course
How to make corned beef in the slow cooker. Perfect for St. Patrick's day! Best recipe for crock pot corned beef.
Ingredients
- 1 package corned beef
- 1 1/2 C Water
Instructions
Place the corned beef in your crock pot.
Top with the seasoning pack that comes with the corned beef.
Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of water into the packaging the corned beef was in to get the last bits of flavor that stuck and pour that on top of your the beef.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Notes
How to Cook Cabbage and Potatoes
I prefer to cook my cabbage and potatoes separately from my corned beef. To get a good flavor I boil the cabbage and potatoes with a big ladle or two of the cooking juices from the corned beef.
To cook the potatoes in the crock pot add them when you have 4 hours left before serving. Then add the cabbage when you have 2 hours left before serving.
Instant Pot Directions
To cook this in the Instant Pot add the water and corned beef and cook on high pressure or manual for 90 minutes and natural pressure release for at least 12 minutes.
If cooking potatoes and cabbage remove cooked meat and add veggies in and cook for 5 minutes on high or manual with a quick release.
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