Have I got a juicy, fall-apart tender recipe for corned beef in a slow cooker for you—it's cooked to perfection in a rich, savory broth and topped with a creamy Dijon mustard sauce. With just 6 ingredients, this effortless recipe is high in protein, low-carb, and keto-friendly. Make it in the slow cooker for deep, slow-simmered flavor or the Instant Pot for a quick fix—either way, it’s a foolproof, hearty meal with minimal effort!
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The backstory.
Corned beef and cabbage is the ultimate comfort food—hearty, simple, and packed with nostalgia. The first time I made it in the slow cooker, it wasn’t planned; it was a "use what you have" moment. A forgotten brisket in the freezer, a lonely bag of pearl onions, and a cabbage on its last leg—boom, dinner was born.
The result? Fall-apart tender corned beef, perfectly cooked veggies, and a creamy Dijon mustard sauce that brings it all together. No need to wait for St. Patrick’s Day—this cozy, no-fuss meal is perfect anytime you crave big flavor with minimal effort!
xoxo Kori
It's a must-make
It's effortless & delicious. Corned beef lovers, rejoice! With just five simple ingredients and minimal prep, this crock pot corned beef and cabbage recipe is as easy as it gets. Just layer everything in your slow cooker, set it on low, and let time do the work. No hovering, no fuss—just a fork-tender, flavorful meal waiting for you at the end of the day.
Healthier, yet indulgent. This slow cooker corned beef and cabbage isn’t just tasty—it’s naturally high in protein, low-carb, and keto-friendly with no added sugar. Whether you're following a specific diet or just looking for a wholesome, satisfying meal, this recipe fits the bill for everyone at your table.
Slow cooker or instant pot? You decide! Prefer to speed things up? The Instant Pot can get the job done fast, but if you’re all about that hands-off, low-and-slow magic, the crockpot is the way to go. Either method will give you a juicy, flavorful corned beef—I've included step-by-step instructions for both.
Make-ahead convenience. Busy week? No problem! You can prep everything in advance, cover, and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook. When the time comes, just pop it in the slow cooker, turn it on Low, and let it do its thing. Dinner practically makes itself—now that’s a win!
What you'll need.
Here are the ingredients you will need to make the BEST crock pot corned beef!
Corned beef
- Corned Beef Brisket
- Frozen Pearl Onions - you can use chopped onions but the frozen pearl onions are easy (no prep) and they add great flavor!
- Vegetables - carrots (sliced, or use baby carrots) and cabbage
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Water (or Beer) - feel free to substitute water, Guinness beer, or another stout beer. You could also use beef broth.
- Ground Black Pepper
- Optional Baby Potatoes - you can use baby potatoes if you have room in your slow cooker. Red or yellow potatoes would be perfect.
Creamy dijon mustard sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Sour Cream
- Lemon Juice
- Grainy Dijon Mustard
- Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
For exact ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card below!
Make it yours.
There are several ways you can customize your corned beef in crockpot recipe, here are some ideas:
- Use water, beef broth, or a stout beer such as Guinness for your liquid - or any combination thereof.
- Add herbs such as rosemary, thyme, or parsley.
- Use garlic if desired. I like to add whole cloves - they are delicious!
- If you have enough room in your slow cooker add potatoes. You can certainly add any favorite potato if you still have room in your slow cooker or pressure cooker. My favorite are the tiny baby potatoes.
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How to make crockpot corned bceef and cabbage.
Follow these simple steps for making the best slow cooker corned beef! I've got the full instructions (for making the slow cooker and Instant Pot version) in the recipe card.
Sauce
Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use - can be made a day or two in advance!
Combine
Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker.
Slow Cook
Slow cook the corned beef and vegetables for about 8 to 10 hours or until tender.
What to serve with crock pot corned beef and cabbage.
- Serve with the creamy dijon mustard sauce (recipe below). You won't regret it - it's delicious!
- Garnish with fresh parsley or chives.
- If you're going Irish, serve with soda bread or other crusty bread. Biscuits, breadsticks, and beer bread go well with this recipe.
- Slow cooker corned beef and cabbage go well with potatoes, mashed potatoes, and rice. Low carb keto followers use riced cauliflower or mashed cauliflower.
- A fresh side salad with a favorite salad dressing is always a nice addition. If you want a make-ahead solution try my Layered Salad - it can serve a crowd or make great lunch leftovers.
- Got leftovers? Make corned beef hash by dicing the corned beef, some potatoes, and onion. Brown the potatoes and onions in a skillet, then add diced corned beef until warmed through. Serve with eggs over the top!
Kori's tips.
- The creamy dijon mustard sauce can be made well in advance.
- The sauce is great over chicken, pork, and fish. It also makes an easy hollandaise sauce too!
- The sodium content in this recipe is challenging to calculate accurately since corned beef is salt-brined. The salt is infused throughout the entire brisket, making it difficult to determine exactly how much remains after cooking. If you are concerned about sodium content, soak the brisket in warm water for a couple of hours to draw out excess salt. Keep in mind that this will also draw out some of the flavors as well. In this case, you might consider using the flavor packet.
FAQs
Corned beef should be cooked in a slow cooker on low for 8 to 10 hours or until it is fork tender. According to the USDA, corned beef is done when its internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F when checked with a thermometer.
Absolutely. You can add 1 to 2 lbs of potatoes that have been cut into 1 or 2u0022 pieces. Add to the bottom of the slow cooker with your carrots and onions.
By adding potatoes you will have less room for cabbage, however.
I found my 6 qt slow cooker too small for potatoes and cabbage, however.
To control the salt level, you should rinse the corned beef. In this recipe, we recommend that you rinse the corned beef brine before adding to the pot.
Corned beef brisket and beef brisket are not the same things. Corned beef brisket is made with a beef brisket but has been brined with special seasoning. Beef brisket has not been seasoned or brined.
Actually, there is some debate about this. Most people say that corned beef and cabbage is an Irish American recipe, and the tradition of having it on St. Patrick's Day also developed here in the U.S. Corned beef and cabbage is not as frequently served in Ireland. Sorry!
When visiting Ireland a few years ago, we specifically asked what was traditionally served on St. Patrick's Day and were told they serve a variety of dishes such as steak and Guinness pie, shepherd's pie, lamb roast, fish, and other delicious recipes!
No vegetables are required to cook corned beef in a slow cooker. Proceed with the recipe and omit the vegetables. The onions add quite a bit of flavor so you may want to consider keeping those. If you still choose to cook the beef without vegetables I recommend that you add the seasoning packet that comes in the corned beef package.
Can I ask you a favor?
If you tried this recipe, let me know! I'd love for you to come back and give the recipe a 5 star rating and leave a review in the comments! 🙂 Let's stay connected, so please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! Subscribe to my newsletter to get healthy fresh recipe ideas every week!
📖 The recipe.
Best Recipe For Corned Beef in a Slow Cooker
Ingredients
Corned Beef
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 2 to 3 cups carrots (peeled and cut into 1 to 2" pieces)
- 3 pound corned beef brisket (rinse the brisket and discard the spice packet)
- ½ to 1 cabbage, sliced into wedges (depending upon the size of your crock pot)
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire
- water ½ cup slow cooker or 1 cup Instant Pot (you can also use beer or beef broth!)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce (Optional)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Corned Beef in Crock Pot
- Rinse corned beef in water and throw the seasoning packet away. Add carrots and onions to the bottom of a slow cooker that has been sprayed with nonstick spray or coated with oil/butter. Place roast on top of vegetables. Place cabbage around the corned beef brisket.
- Mix water and worcestershire and pour of top of the roast. Sprinkle with pepper. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours until the brisket and vegetables are tender. Serve with optional creamy dijon mustard sauce for a tasty twist.
Corned Beef in Instant Pot
- Rinse the beef brisket and place in the pressure cooker. Pour 1 cup of water and worcestershire, (or you could use 1 bottle of beer - any kind) over brisket. Sprinkle with pepper. Secure lid and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes per pound. a 3 pound roast would take around 75 minutes, a 4 pound roast about 100 minutes. Once complete release pressure naturally.
- Remove roast, leaving juices in pot, and set aside. Add cabbage, carrots, onions to the pot. Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Manually release pressure after 10 minutes.
Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
- Mix all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. When ready to serve over corned beef and cabbage, warm on 50% power in your microwave. If you prefer runnier sauce add additional sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Kori's Tips
- Don't miss all of our helpful hints, substitution ideas, cooking tips, and other delicious recipes that can be found in our post. Check it out!
- TIPS: The creamy dijon mustard sauce can be made well in advance. The sauce is great over chicken, pork, and fish. It also makes an easy hollandaise sauce too!
- NOTES:
- The sodium content in this recipe is challenging to calculate accurately since corned beef is salt-brined. The salt is infused throughout the entire brisket, making it difficult to determine exactly how much remains after cooking. If you are concerned about sodium content, soak the brisket in warm water for a couple of hours to draw out excess salt. Keep in mind that this will also draw out some of the flavors as well. In this case, you might consider using the flavor packet.
Nutrition
© 2025 Seeking Good Eats™
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Irish Recipes
If you're looking for delicious Irish-inspired recipes give one of these a try:
- Irish Stew (Slow Cooker) - use beef or lamb. Guinness is the key to the flavor in this easy slow cooker recipe.
- Lamb Mince Shepherd's Pie - use ground lamb or beef. So delicious!
- Lamb Roast
- Irish Mule Cocktail Recipe
- Irish Cream Recipe - a healthier sugar free version so you can enjoy Irish Cream!
- Cauliflower Cheese
The best slow cooker corned beef recipe! Corned beef is an easy crockpot recipe that is a family-friendly dinner! Cooked low and slow all day results in a very tender & juicy corned beef brisket. A low carb and keto recipe that can be customized and enjoyed by everyone at your table. Serve this as an easy weeknight dinner or for St. Patrick's Day. Yum!!
Candis
Hello, I was just wondering where all that sodium (2828mg) comes from? I'm hoping that was just a typing error?
seekinggoodeats
I added some notes on sodium content of corned beef in the recipe card! 🙂 It is not a typo, this number comes from our nutritional calculator, and I doubled checked that we entered in the correct ingredients. I did, however, remove the optional sauce ingredients in the calculation so that lowered sodium, fat, and calories slightly.
The 2,800 mg of sodium is coming from the recommended serving size of 4 ounces (prior to cooking) which contains 950 mg of sodium, and based on my estimation that this recipe will actually serve 6 people, maybe 8. Because corned beef will shrink significantly during the cooking process, the actual final amount, vegetables included, will likely serve 6 to 8 people, but probably not 12 (as per the corned beef package suggestion). This is all an estimate on my part of course. The per-serving sodium content includes the liquid in the package, which is not used in this recipe. The brisket is also rinsed of all surface salt brine as well. There is no way to avoid high salt content in corned beef. You can soak it in warm water for a few hours prior which will draw out the salt, but it will also draw out the flavor.
Carly
This is hands down the BEST corned beef and cabbage recipe!! It’s super easy and I’ve made it in the slow cooker and my pressure cooker both turned out perfect! The creamy Dijon mustard sauce is so delicious too! Thank you!!! 😍
Kori
Awww! Thank YOU so much. I'm super happy you love this recipe!! The sauce is a bit addicting, right? lol 🙂