Corned Beef in Crock Pot
by Sommer Collier — on Sep 26, 2025 This traditional corned beef recipe features mouthwatering brisket cooked alongside fork-tender cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions for a cozy all-in-one meal. You’ll love how easy it is to make corned beef and cabbage in the slow cooker for St. Patrick’s Day, or as a delicious and hearty crock pot dinner any night of the week!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Corned beef and cabbage might be synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day in America, but this Ireland-inspired recipe is great to make any time of the year! It includes delightfully salty, savory, and tender beef brisket all cuddled up with whole baby potatoes, chunks of carrots, and wedges of fresh green cabbage. Now, why wouldn’t you want it all year ’round??
We have a fabulous recipe for oven baked corned beef and cabbage that has long been a reader favorite. But this no-fuss crockpot corned beef is a version we think you will enjoy just as well, if not more so, if you’re already a fan of slow cooker recipes!
Why You’ll Love Corned Beef Cooked in the Crock Pot
- No precooking necessary – This is a true dump-and-go recipe! Everything gets added right to the crock without searing the beef on the stove first.
- Melt-in-your-mouth beef – Slow cooking the brisket makes it so unbelievably tender, while still having that light corned beef chew you love.
- Great to feed a crowd – This recipe yields 8 to 10 generous servings, veggies and all. It’s perfect for large family dinners, holidays like St. Patrick’s Day or Easter, or simply to make on a weeknight for easy meal prep.
You have the option to cook the meat and veggies on LOW or HIGH temperature. So you can get everything going as you leave for work, or put it together in the afternoon on a lazy weekend.
Ingredients and Tips
- Corned beef – Get a flat cut brisket that comes with a seasoning packet. (The pickling spices provided generally include mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander, dill seeds, bay leaves, and sometimes allspice or cloves.)
- Beef broth – Corned beef is pretty salty, so feel free to use low-sodium broth.
- Light brown sugar – Just a few tablespoons add a nice sweetness to balance the intensely savory flavor of the beef.
- Black pepper – Fresh ground is best, but not necessary.
- Veggies – A combination of carrots, new potatoes (yellow or red potatoes), onion, and cabbage.
How to Make Slow Cooker Corned Beef
Tip for Success – When testing this recipe, we noticed quite a few recipes suggest you should add the vegetables halfway through the cooking time. We discovered that this creates a corned beef brisket that’s either a little too tough or potatoes that are slightly undercooked.
All slow cookers vary in their exact temperature, so we prefer a perfectly cooked brisket, and vegetables that are ultra soft because they were added at the beginning. We therefore recommend you add the veggies when you add the brisket.
Find the full Crock Pot Corned Beef recipe with detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Corned beef and cabbage make great leftovers for quick dinners and weekly lunches! Store the meat and veggies together in an airtight container (or in separate containers) and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. It’s fantastic on Reuben Sandwiches!
- Freezing – The corned beef can be frozen for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and stored in an airtight ziploc freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. However, I don’t recommend trying to freeze the vegetables.
- Reheating – Reheat the veggies and corned beef separately in the microwave. The cabbage, potatoes, and carrots will only need a minute or two cooked in short 10-second bursts. Heat the beef in 20-second bursts at 50% power until warmed throughout.
Serving Suggestions
One of the many (many!) reasons to love this crockpot recipe is that it’s an efficient all-in-one meal. Everything you need for a hearty dinner is there: meat, potatoes, and carrots. Perfect!
However, if you want to add extra accompaniments, consider our Irish Pub Cheese Recipe, Sweet Irish Soda Bread, Irish Potato Pie, or Irish Creamy Cauliflower Soup, and a Guinness or other dark beer.
Finish this fabulous Irish-inspired meal with a dessert featuring Bailey’s Irish cream! The savory, salty flavor of corned beef pairs well with sweet bundt cake or coffee and Bailey’s brownies. And for the adults, we have an incredible recipe to make Jell-o shots with Bailey’s!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the brisket does not need to be totally covered in a slow cooker. Follow the ingredient quantities and steps in our tried-and-true recipe, and you are good to go!
Oh, absolutely, yes, you can. Slow cooking beef for more than 10 hours on low or 5 hours on high can result in overly tender meat.
Recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage in Crock Pot
Video
Ingredients
- 3 ½ – 4 pounds corned beef brisket flat cut (with spice packet)
- 3 cups beef broth
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound baby potatoes
- 5-6 carrots cut into 2-inch segments
- ½ cabbage cut into large wedges (about 3 cups)
- 1 onion peeled and cut into wedges
Instructions
- Set out a large 6 to 8-quart slow cooker. Unwrap the corned beef brisket. Discard the packaging, but keep the spice packet. Rinse the brisket with cold water to remove excess sodium. Then place the brisket in the slow cooker.
- Pour the beef broth into the slow cooker. Then sprinkle on the brown sugar, spice packet, and black pepper over the top of the brisket. Add the potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker around the brisket. Push them down as far as you can. Then add the onion and cabbage on top.
- Cover the slow cooker and set it on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the corned beef and root vegetables are tender.
- When ready to serve, carefully lift the corned beef out of the crockpot and set it on a cutting board. Sliced the corned beef,against the grain, into thin pieces.
- Stir the vegetables down into the broth. Then place the sliced corn beef back in the crock so it can be scooped up together with the vegetables. Serve warm!
Notes
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- Storing Leftovers – Corned beef and cabbage make great leftovers for quick dinners and weekly lunches! Store the meat and veggies together or in separate airtight containers (your choice) and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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- Freezing – The corned beef can be frozen for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and stored in an airtight ziploc freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. However, I don’t recommend trying to freeze the vegetables.
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- Reheating – Reheat the veggies and corned beef separately in the microwave. The cabbage, potatoes, and carrots will only need a minute or two cooked in short 10-second bursts. Heat the beef in 20-second bursts at 50% power until warmed throughout.
