Slow Cooker Corned Beef (Video)

Slow Cooker Corned Beef is something I’ve made for years for a St. Patrick’s Day treat, and I love to eat it with Creamy Horseradish Sauce! You can cook some cabbage and carrots with the corned beef, and just skip the carrots if you want a slow cooker corned beef dinner with fewer carbs. 

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Corned Beef is something I love to make for St. Patrick’s Day dinner every year! And whether you make Slow Cooker Corned Beef in the crockpot or make corned beef in the Instant Pot, I think corned beef is so delicious for a great Irish-American dish to make on this holiday.

For many years I made it for my slightly Irish father, who definitely would have enjoyed corned beef any time of year. This is such a treat for any easy no-fuss dinner, and today I’m reminding you about this long-time favorite dish for my Friday Favorites pick!

If you live in the U. S. most packages of corned beef will come with a spice packet included, but if you don’t have one of those packets, this recipe  will tell you what spices you should use. Corned beef is easy to cook, but be careful not to overcook the vegetables if you’re including them.

You can also use the slow cooker for your corned beef and make Roasted Cabbage with Lemon to go with it for a slightly different twist on corned beef and cabbage that’s low in carbs, and that’s definitely one of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day dinners the last few years.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• corned beef (flat cut preferred)
• Bay Leaves (affiliate link)
• fresh garlic
• whole cloves (affiliate link)
• peppercorns (affiliate link)
• allspice berries or small pinch ground allspice (affiliate link
• onion
• cabbage
• carrots (optional)
• sour cream
• mayo
• cream-style ground horseradish (affiliate link)

What is Corned Beef?

Corned Beef is a beef roast, usually the brisket, that has been salt-cured to tenderize and preserve the meat. And did you know that Corned Beef is not actually a traditional Irish food, but something Irish people started eating when they came to America. Here’s more about corned beef and why it’s popular for St. Patrick’s Day.

How long should you cook corned beef in the slow cooker?

If you’re going to be adding the vegetables I’d start checking the corned beef after about 5 hours on low. But slow cookers are vastly different in how hot they get, so your timing may vary. You want the corn beef to be fork tender when you take it out of the slow cooker.

What vegetables do I cook with Slow Cooker Corned Beef?

When I made a corned beef dinner for my dad I always included cabbage and carrots added towards the end of the cooking time, and people who don’t care so much about carbs might want to add a few potatoes too. And whether or not you’re adding vegetables, personally I’d never skip the creamy horseradish sauce when I’m eating corned beef!

What size slow cooker did I use?

I used a 5-Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this Slow Cooker Corned Beef recipe, but a larger oval slow cooker would also be perfect, especially if you like lots of vegetables cooked with the corned beef.

More ideas for cooking corned beef or using leftover corned beef:

For more tips about cooking corned beef or recipes from around the web using leftover corned beef, check out Low-Carb and Keto Corned Beef Recipes. 

How to make Slow Cooker Corned Beef:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Trim as much fat from the corned beef as you prefer. Cut corned beef to fit your slow cooker.
2. Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray if desired and put in corned beef with an onion.
3. Most corned beef has a seasoning package, and I use that plus additional garlic, whole cloves, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, and allspice berries.
4. Add water to barely cover the meat.
5. Let the corned beef cook on low for about 5 hours, or until tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.
6. While the corned beef cooks, peel carrots and cut into diagonal pieces.
7. Cut a large head of green cabbage into quarters. 
8. Add the carrots first and cook 20-30 minutes, depending on how firm you want the carrots.
9. Then add cabbage pieces and cook 20-30 minutes more. 
10. I like my vegetables on the crisp side, so I cooked carrots 20 minutes, added cabbage and cooked another 20 minutes. (Your slow cooker time may vary, test with a fork to see when vegetables are done.)
11. If you’re making the Creamy Horseradish Sauce, whisk together sour cream, mayo, and cream-style horseradish. Personally I would never skip the sauce!
12. Serve slow cooker corned beef hot for a great Irish American meal that definitely tastes good, especially if you only eat it once a year!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

For a low-carb dinner, this would taste great with Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese, Low-Carb Colcannon with Bacon, or you could serve Roasted Cabbage with Lemon if you don’t want to cook the cabbage in the slow cooker.

More Recipes for Corned Beef

• Low-Carb and Keto Corned Beef Recipes
• The BEST Slow Cooker Corned Beef Recipes
• The BEST Instant Pot Corned Beef Recipes
• Low-Carb Reuben Bake
• Fried Cabbage with Corned Beef
• Leftover Corned Beef Soup

Weekend Food Prep:

This Slow Cooker Corned Beef recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 8 servings

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

This Slow-Cooker Corned Beef is great served with veggies and horseradish sauce is something I make when I'm craving corned beef!

Ingredients

Ingredients

• one 4 pound corned beef (flat cut preferred)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 head garlic
• 3 whole cloves
• 10 peppercorns
• 5 allspice berries or small pinch ground allspice
• 1 whole onion
• 1 large head cabbage, cut in 4 pieces
• 8 small carrots (optional)

Horseradish Sauce Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 2 T cream-style horseradish, or more to taste

Instructions

1. Most corned beef has a thick layer of fat on one side. I cut most of that off before cooking; but trim as much fat as you prefer.
2. Cut the corned beef in half to fit your slow cooker if needed.
3. Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray if desired and put corned beef in the slow cooker with an onion that's cut into quarters.
4. Most corned beef comes with a seasoning package, and I like to use that plus additional garlic, whole cloves, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, and allspice berries. Use the spices you have or what you prefer.
5. Then add enough water to barely cover the meat.
6. Let the corned beef cook on low for about 5 hours, or until the meat is tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.
7. While the corned beef cooks, peel carrots and cut into diagonal pieces, cutting thicker carrots in half lengthwise as well so all carrots are the same thickness.
8. Cut a large head of green cabbage into quarters. (A reader taught me the trick of leaving the core on the cabbage so it stays together; then you can just cut that away when you serve it.)
9. When the corned beef is fork-tender, add the carrots first and cook 20-30 minutes, depending on how firm you want the finished carrots.
10. Then add cabbage pieces and cook 20-30 minutes more. 
11. I like my vegetables on the crisp side, so I cooked the carrots 20 minutes, added cabbage and cooked another 20 minutes. Your slow cooker time may vary, test with a fork to see when vegetables are done.
12. If you're making the Creamy Horseradish Sauce, whisk together sour cream, mayo, and cream-style horseradish. Personally I would never skip the sauce if I'm making corned beef!
13. Serve slow cooker corned beef hot!

Notes

You can cook a corned beef anywhere from 3-5 pounds with these instructions.

Nutritional information does not include the horseradish sauce. If you eliminate carrots, the carb count will be 3.8 less carbs per serving.

This recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything (affiliate link

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 710Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 14gUnsaturated Fat: 22.7gCholesterol: 222mgSodium: 2238mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 3.7gSugar: 3.8gProtein: 43g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Slow Cooker Corned Beef (and cabbage without the carrots) would be great for most low-carb eating plans. Corned beef isn’t really approved for the original South Beach Diet, so this is a once-a-year treat if you’re following that plan. This could be a whole meal by itself, but if you’re cooking for the family, you might want to cook potatoes along with the other vegetables.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Danica's Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
I first posted the Slow Cooker Corned Beef recipe in 2007, and the recipe has been improved several times since then. It was last updated in 2024 with more information.

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