Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 7 hrs
Rest Time: 15 mins
Total: 7 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 8 servings

This crock pot corned beef and cabbage recipe is convenient and easy, and it's a complete meal. The corned beef brisket is cooked to perfection in the slow cooker, along with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage wedges, for a fabulous Sunday dinner or St. Patrick's Day feast.

Feel free to add some sliced parsnips to the vegetables, or add a small peeled and diced rutabaga or a few cut-up turnips. Sliced onions or a handful of small boiling onions along with the celery are excellent additions as well.

Cooked corned beef makes for fabulous leftovers. Use cooked corned beef in homemade potato and beef hash, in casseroles, soups, and in egg dishes. Feel free to use a large brisket if you plan to use the leftovers in other recipes.

Slow cooker corned beef and cabbage recipe

The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt

"A complete comfort meal all in one pot! An easy make-ahead weeknight meal and leftovers freeze well, too." —Renae Wilson

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A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 medium potatoes (e.g., red-skinned, Yukon Gold, fingerlings, etc.)

  • 3 medium carrots

  • 2 to 3 ribs celery

  • Cooking spray, or butter, for greasing slow cooker

  • 4 pounds corned beef brisket, preferably flat cut

  • 1 (2-pound) head cabbage

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 1/2 cups water

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for slowcooker corned beef and cabbage
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/2-inch slices.

    Cut up potatoes
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  3. Peel the carrots and slice them into 1/4-inch rounds.

    Chop carrots
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  4. Slice the celery.

    Slice celery
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  5. Lightly butter a 5- to 6-quart crock pot, or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.

    Butter crockpot
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  6. Layer the potato slices over the bottom of the pot with carrots and celery.

    Layer potato slices
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  7. Place corned beef on vegetables. If it doesn't fit comfortably in your slow cooker, cut it into 2 or 3 pieces.

    Place corned beef in crockpot
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  8. Slice the cabbage into 8 wedges.

    Slice cabbage
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  9. Arrange the wedges around the meat and add the pepper and water. Alternatively, if the slow cooker is not large enough, boil the cabbage wedges on the stovetop in a small amount of lightly salted water about 10 to 15 minutes before the corned beef is ready.

    Arrange cabbage
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  10. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

    Cover and cook
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  11. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or until the corned beef and vegetables are tender.

    Reduce heat to low
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  12. Remove the meat to a platter, cover with foil, and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

    Remove meat to platter
    The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
  13. Slice and serve!

    Slice and serve
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Tips

  • Don't leave cooked corned beef at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Pack it into shallow containers, and refrigerate or freeze. Use refrigerated cooked or leftover corned beef within 3 to 4 days. Freeze diced or sliced leftover corned beef for up to 3 months. Reheat all leftovers to the minimum safe temperature of 165 F.
  • Flat cut or point cut, what's the difference? A flat cut corned beef brisket is lean and shaped like a flat rectangle. It's the best choice if you plan to slice the corned beef. The flat cut is also leaner than the point cut. The point cut is a fattier and more tender cut. If you want a very tender, falling-apart brisket, choose the point cut.
  • A low starch potato is the best choice for the slow cooker. High starch potatoes—e.g., russets, Katahdins, Idaho—tend to break down over a long period of cooking, while low starch—or waxy—varieties hold their shape. Low starch potatoes include red-skinned, fingerlings, Rose Gold, and new potatoes. Or use Yukon Gold potatoes; they are slightly waxy, all-purpose potatoes.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
884 Calories
42g Fat
52g Carbs
73g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 884
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 42g 54%
Saturated Fat 17g 83%
Cholesterol 240mg 80%
Sodium 169mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 52g 19%
Dietary Fiber 8g 29%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 73g
Vitamin C 80mg 398%
Calcium 156mg 12%
Iron 8mg 45%
Potassium 1972mg 42%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)