Dutch Oven Corned Beef and Cabbage
This Dutch Oven Corned Beef and Cabbage is an easy St. Patrick’s dinner recipe, featuring tender seasoned beef cooked with vegetables in a flavorful broth.
Stovetop Corned Beef & Cabbage
If you’re planning a special dinner for St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef and cabbage is a must-have on the menu!
Fork-tender seasoned beef brisket is simmered for hours with vegetables in a flavorful broth. Every bite is deliciously juicy, melt-in-your-mouth tender, and packed with flavor. No wonder this dish is a classic!
What I especially love is that this is a complete one-pot meal, so clean up is a breeze! You will need a few hours of cooking time, but the overall preparation couldn’t be easier! Plus, it is a BIG meal and enough to feed the whole family.
If you have meat and potatoes lovers in your family, corned beef and cabbage is a must-try!
Why Do We Eat Corned Beef And Cabbage On St. Patrick’s Day?
Believe it or not, corned beef and cabbage is not a traditional Irish dish. Rather, it was created out of necessity by Irish-American immigrants using cheaper ingredients.
In Ireland, pork was a more popular protein. Smithsonian Magazine explains that while the Irish were famed for their corned beef, it was too expensive for the common folk and was generally exported. Instead, the feast day of St. Patrick might be celebrated with a hearty meal of pork and potatoes, especially bacon, or Irish stew.
In the Americas, beef was readily available and often less expensive than pork, so it was a common substitute. Irish immigrants could now enjoy the type of beef that their ancestors used to produce. Over time, corned beef and cabbage became associated with the holiday and still is today.
So while it isn’t a historically Irish meal, corned beef and cabbage could still be considered a St. Patrick’s Day dish, as it was created by Irish immigrants to the United States.
Ingredients
Affiliate links provided for your convenience in re-creating this recipe; read disclosure policy here.
- 3 pounds corned beef brisket (with spice packet)
- 2 large onions, peel and sliced
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 12oz ginger beer (2 typical bottles)
- 2 cups water, or more as needed
- 1 bag of small red potatoes, halved
- 1 small cabbage, cut into wedges
Kitchen Tools Used
- Large Dutch Oven or Stockpot with Lid
Instructions
To Prep:
- Rinse and pat dry the brisket with paper towels.
- Place the Dutch oven pot on the stovetop over medium heat and add olive oil.
Cooking Directions:
- Add the corned beef brisket to the heated Dutch oven pot. Cook, turning the brisket, until all sides are browned. Remove the brisket from the pot and set aside.
- Place the chopped onions and carrots in the dutch oven. Sprinkle the beef with the corned beef spice packet and return to the pan.
- Pour the ginger beer and water into the pot, so that the liquid reaches the top of the meat. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and turn up to high heat until the liquid starts to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 3 1/2 hours.
- Add the potatoes and cook for 1 hour. Check the amount of cooking liquid and add another cup of water if needed. Add cabbage and cook for 45 more minutes.
Prep Tips
- When everything is done cooking, pull the brisket out of the pot, slice, and return to the pot for serving.
- Leftovers should be kept refrigerated in an airtight container. I recommend re-heating on the stove top for best results and even re-heating (without over-cooking some of the ingredients).
- For more aromatics, top your finished dish with a sprig of fresh thyme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Do You Rinse Corned Beef?
When making corned beef, it is cured with a brine made from large grain salt and spices. It is always a good idea to rinse corned beef before cooking, to remove excess salt leftover from the curing process. Otherwise you may end up with an extremely salty dish and more sodium than you’d want in a meal.
What Is The Best Cut Of Brisket For Corned Beef?
Your supermarket may not distinguish the specific cut on the label, and instead simply label the beef “corned beef.” And that’s totally fine! Corned beef brisket is generally either a point cut or flat cut, and the “best” one is often simply a matter of opinion. Point cut usually has more marbling, and then arguably more flavor. Some say that the flat cut is easier to slice. You can’t really go wrong either way because you’re cooking the meat slow and slow, almost like a slow cooker, and it will be very tender no matter which cut of meat you used.
What Is In Corned Beef Seasoning?
Corned beef seasoning is a blend of aromatic spices, usually a combination of: mustard seeds, black peppercorns, coriander, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, all spice, and/or fennel seeds. Different brands may have a slightly different blend, but these are some of the main components of a traditional corned beef seasoning mix.
How Do You Serve Corned Beef And Cabbage?
You can serve corned beef and cabbage directly out of the Dutch oven! Traditionally, corned beef is served sliced, so we sliced our brisket and returned it to the Dutch oven with the potatoes and cabbage. It truly is a one pot meal!
Corned beef is often served with mustard or horseradish sauce. You may also want to serve with a hearty loaf of beer bread for soaking up all that delicious beef broth!
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes To Try
- Guinness & Honey Glazed Chicken
- Beer Skillet Potatoes with Grilled Chicken
- Shamrock Pancakes
- Pot of Gold Cookie Cups
- Leprechaun Bark
- Leprechaun Punch (Lime Sherbet Punch)
- Rainbow Graham Crackers
- Lucky Charms Cake
- Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats
- Leprechaun Hat Cookies
- Lucky Charms Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Copycat Shamrock Shake
Stovetop Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
If you tried this recipe and loved it, please rate it!
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from The Soccer Mom Blog
Easy Stovetop Corned Beef and Cabbage
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven with a Lid
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Corned Beef brisket with seasoning packet
- 2 large Onions peeled and sliced
- 2 cups Baby carrots
- 12 ounces Ginger Beer 2 typical bottles
- 2 cups Water or more as needed
- 1 bag Small Red Potatoes halved
- 1 Small Cabbage cut into wedges
- Oil for cooking
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the corned beef brisket and pat dry.
- Add the olive oil to the dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the brisket on all sides and remove from the pan.
- Place onions and carrots in the pot. Season the corned beef with the included seasoning packet, return to the pot with vegetables.
- Pour the ginger beer and water into the dutch oven, so the liquid reaches the top of the meat.
- Cover with lid, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 1/2 hours.
- Add the potatoes and cook for 1 hour.
- Check the liquid level at this point. If it has cooked down significantly, add a cup of water to prevent scorching. Add cabbage and cook for 45 more minutes.
- Remove the brisket, slice, return to the pot and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin our Dutch Oven Corned Beef on Pinterest:
You might also like:
- Homemade Cosmic Brownies - January 15, 2025
- Heart Shaped Cookie Cake - January 10, 2025
- Mini Heart-Shaped Pizzas - January 9, 2025
