Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Vegetables Recipe

This is a super simple and easy way to make traditional corned beef in the crockpot slow cooker. There are definitely "fancier" ways  --- (see below for additional recipes!) but this is the old-school flavor and texture of corned beef that you grew up with.



Traditional Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Vegetables Day 11.


I've never made this before, and it worked! I love it when that happens.

We had a frozen solid Shenson's Corned Beef from Costco waiting to be cooked for the past few months.

Corned beef is not my favorite, but I married a very Irish man. It seems to make him happy.

And when he's happy he takes out the garbage.


and folds laundry.

and doesn't get mad that there isn't any gas in the van and that it seems to happen that way every time he needs drive it.

Making corned beef in a slow cooker is incredibly easy. So easy, I don't really know why it isn't always prepared this way.

If you are gluten free please read the label carefully each and every time -- manufacturers sometimes change ingredients on a whim with little to no notice.


easy way to make corned beef in the slow cooker







The Ingredients:

1 package of Corned Beef with seasoning packet
some potatoes (I used 8 mini white potatoes cut in fourths)
1 bunch of celery cut in 2-inch chunks
1 largish handful of baby carrots
a small head of cabbage, cut into wedges
1/2 cup of water (Do not add if you are making this the night before. Add right before cooking.)


The Directions:

Chop up potatoes and celery and put them in the bottom of the crock. 

Trim excess fat from hunk o' meat. 

Try not to hurl. 

Rinse the meat well to help release some of the salt.

Place the meat on top of the root vegetables. Sprinkle on seasoning packet. 

place wedges of cabbage on top.

Add water.













Drink wine. This is hard work. You deserve it.

I assembled everything the night before (minus the water), and put it into a tupperware in the refrigerator.

In the morning I dumped the food into the slow cooker and added water. 

 I cooked this for 10 hours. 

If you are cooking on high, I'd check after 5 hours or so.

Viva la leprochauns!



Other stuff you might really like!

Dijon Corned Beef
Brown Sugar and Bourbon Glazed Corned Beef
Roasted Cabbage and Potatoes
Haggis
Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage Soup
Roasted Vegetables
Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms


This is the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner you remember from your childhood. There are links to fancier ways to cook the Irish favorite in this post, but this is the old school method you know and love from your youth.

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Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at January 11, 2017

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What they say about this article

  1. Are those the orange-flavored cranberries from Trader Joe's I spy in there? That's my 3 year old's favorite snack!

    I'm loving your blog!

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  2. I think we will have this with a side of Lucky Charms! I actually do make corned beef, but only on St. Patrick's day--so I'll be searching this one out again in March ;)!

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  3. Why isn't your refrigerator covered with spills and splotches like mine? Do you actually clean (unlike me) when you are not blogging? :-) I would have to some serious gussying up (or photoshopping) before I dare expose my icebox to the blog world.:-) Like Jennifer before me, I will be making this come March 17th. Bookmarking. Thank you!

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  4. I LOVE corned beef. But no one else at my house does. Maybe I can make this for a potluck or something... it looks SO good.

    Love the blog. Can't wait to see what all you come up with.

    Do you want help with recipes? 'Cause I've got some good ones I'd be willing to share with you...

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  5. stephanie--it really saves a bunch of time (for me) to assemble at night without any, um, helpers...

    sarah--no, sadly they are just regular cranberries. we are terribly boring.

    jennifer--boy do I miss Lucky Charms! I lived on it when pregnant with my first.

    popsicles-- *very* cute blog name! lol on the clean fridge---just don't zoom in too much. ;-)

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  6. cathy, we cross-posted. I'd love the recipes, thank you! Will you email them to me? I've got a lot of days to fill...

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  7. I'm going to try making this for St. Pat's day this year. My mom made Corned Beef quite often when I was kid. I hated it then, but maybe it's time to give it a try again.

    Colleen

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  8. Anonymous9/04/2008

    This is pretty much the same way I fix pot roast, which my hubby loves and my son (just a little older than your daughter) doesn't, but I use a chunk of regular beef (whatever cut is cheap, and crock pots are great for tenderizing tough meat), add an onion, and beef broth or bullion makes a great addition to the flavor. Ultra easy, and any leftovers are great for soup, beef burritos, or add sauce to shredded beef for bbq beef sandwiches. Cook once, eat 4 times!

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  9. I couldn't find the corned beef at my local Costco. But I did find one at the local Wal-Mart, Grobbel's brand. Says right on the front "gluten and MSG free".

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  10. Teresa, that is *great* to know, thank you so much!

    xox
    steph

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  11. Do you think you could toss some cabbage in there, too, or would it get too soggy? Every corned beef and cabbage recipe I find for the crockpot says to add the cabbage about an hour before the corned beef is done. BUT, the reason I use the crockpot is so I don't have to spend time cooking dinner when I get home from work at 9pm! Any ideas...? Thanks!

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  12. Hi Katharine,

    It might get a bit soggy. I'd suggest wrapping the cabbage you'd like to use in a foil packet placed on top of the meat. It will steam, and then when you get home you can add broth to get the corned beef flavor.

    xox
    steph

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  13. Thanks, Steph! I will definitely try that!

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  14. Anonymous1/25/2009

    Life Saver, thank you, I some how agreed to make dinner for my boyfriend and his friends, I was able to feed an army while still having time to unpack everything since we just moved into a new place, and they helped us move a bit.

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  15. Anonymous3/13/2009

    Use a bottle of beer (Ramapo is really good in this...I haven't tried Redbridge yet) instead of the water...much tastier! Its what my Irish grandmother used with hers!

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  16. Do I need to use veggies on the bottom as a support for the brisket, or can i just put it in there alone? I'm doing it with a side of Colcannon on Tuesday, and so my veggies are taken care of in that dish.

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  17. Hi Amanda,
    the meat will cook just fine all by itself. If you are worried about it getting too slimy by sitting in the liquid all day, you can make a rack out of carrots or celery, or you can put a small wire rack into the bottom of the stoneware, but it's not necessary.

    xoxo steph

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  18. Anonymous3/16/2009

    My previous stoneware became covered in cracks from putting it in the fridge and then transferring it directly to the crockpot. Happily Rival replaced it no charge. So now I put everything in a bowl in the fridge, then dump it in the room-temp crock.

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  19. Oh, and Steph, mine is Colorado Premium brand brisket and it says on the package that it is MSG and Gluten-Free.

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  20. AMAZING! Definitely use the foil balls if you don't have a rack. So good. Not slimy, but not dry. Yum!

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  21. Hi all,

    I am new to this site and I must say I am loving it so far. I actually went out and did my grocery shopping around a few of these recipes! Who knew the crockpot could do so much??
    Anyhow, I feel so stupid for asking this but the recipe didnt specify...does the seasoning packet go in the water like traditional corned beef or should I put in on top of the meat? Or does it not matter since the juices will end up covering the beef anyway?

    Thanks! I am so excited to try this!

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  22. Hi Aimee,
    this isn't a stupid question at all. When I wrote this out, I didn't think anyone would ever actually read the site. Put the seasoning directly on the meat, then cover with the liquid.

    xooxox
    steph

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  23. Hi Stephanie,

    Well, I skipped some recipes so I could make this corned beef recipe on St. Patrick's Day and the result was GREAT! I used 6 med sized Idaho red potatoes. They were the better shopping value at the time. I also added 1/2 a large yellow onion and instead of water I took the advice of one of your readers "aelfie" and used beer. I used 3/4 of a can of Budweiser beer. The beer REALLY flavored the potatoes nicely! Next year I will probably try using maybe Heineken or Guiness.

    I, too, was confused as to where to put the seasoning packet. So, I actually sprinkled 1/2 on the corned beef and the other in the beer broth veggies.

    My cabbage, I cooked on the stove. That didn't take too long, either. So far, I've made all of your "good verdict" recipes in order (except this one I skipped ahead to make for the holiday) and I REALLY liked how this one turned out!!! My boyfriend and our friend J loved it, too!

    Thanks, for all the bloggin'. As a newbie to cooking I'm learning alot from you!

    *
    Crickette

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  24. I am actually making this recipe tonight. I am excited. Thank you for your blogs. I am a mother of 5 and with their crazy school/religious/afterschool schedules, I am thankful for this site. I am realizing that the only way we are ever going to have a family meal now is to live out of the crock pot. Thanks for your insight.

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  25. Hi Stephanie,
    I've been referencing your website a lot for dinners. Thank you for some great recipes. On this post, you said you put the corned beef and veg in a Tupperware the night before. Why not just assemble everything in the crockpot and put the stoneware in the fridge? I always do this and thought nothing of it until I just read your Tupperware method. Is it unsafe to pre-assemble and put the crockpot in the fridge over night?
    Thanks!

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  26. Hi Bay05, the reason for the tupperware is because it will take quite a bit of time for the stoneware to get up to proper heat if it's ice-cold from the fridge. The manufacturer would like the stoneware to be plugged in at room temp to prevent the food from being in the "food danger zone" too long, and to prevent the stoneware from possible cracking.

    xoxo steph

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  27. Hi Stephanie,
    I made this 2 nights ago and it turned out to be so good. The vegetables at the bottom soaked up the flovor of corned beef and it was amazing. Thanks for giving me an easy crockpot spin one a dish that traditionally requires a lot of babysitting. Now we can have corned beef on a week night. yay!

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  28. Anonymous1/12/2010

    for the best flavor, i put in all the juices that are in the bag the cornbeef comes in, and i rinse the bag with the additional water that goes in the recipe. and, the more the cornbeef has sat in the bag, the tastier!! YUM!!!

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  29. This was phenomenal. I love corned beef, but hate cooking it on the stove. This recipe couldn't have been easier. I will definitely make this again.

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  30. We always have cabbage with Corned beef.... Do you think you could cook it in with the other veggies? Or would it just get too soggy and fall apart????????????????

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  31. Hi Jenifer,

    The cabbage will do just fine. It won't be any mushier than it would be if you boiled it on the stove top. Put the cabbage on top of the meat.

    xoxo steph

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  32. I love your site and have made this corned beef overnight then had it ready for lunch the next day. I am a HUGE fan of the Reynold's crock pot liners, I am guessing people could assemble the items in there, twist tie the bag, put it in the fridge overnight then put back into the stoneware... no clean up of tupperware! I affectionately call the liners "crockpot condoms"

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  33. Anonymous2/13/2011

    I've been looking at recipes for an hour because my husband (not a vegetarian like me) wants it. I'm using yours because you used the word 'hurl' about trimming fat. Yep.

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  34. I knew you would save the day! I need about 1/2 a lb of corned beef for a reuben crockpot dip for next weekend, and decided the cheaper route was to cook a mini whole brisket, then chop up what i needed - and of course, you had already done it, and you have saved my week! Thank you! (I'll post the recipe next week if it goes well and i remember to take pictures!)

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  35. Apparently, it's a midwestern tradition to cook this at new year's. I didn't know, I just bought the meat 'cause it was cheap! Thank you for the recipe, I'm making it for my husbands' work potluck! :)

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  36. What a great place to find crockpot recipes!!! And I love your sense of humor!!!

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  37. I would like to start cooking at 8PM on low so I dont have to wake up early bc Id rather sleep in but I want everything to cook slowly. Can I do this and eat it at 6PM the next night?
    Thanks for your help....Last minute:-)

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  38. Hi @unknown: you're looking at 22 hrs here...
    If you have a programmable pot (in my store tab up top I have the ones I recommend) it'll stay on warm for up to an additional 12 hours. You can cook on low for 10 hours, then have it click over to the warm setting. If you don't have a programmable pot, I'd assemble everything the night before in a large bowl, then dump it in the slow cooker before you leave the house for the day.

    I would not leave a pot on low, unattended for 22 hours.

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  39. Your creativity with using a crock pot is amazing. My husband and I have grown to love the crock pot as it helps when days are so busy!

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  40. Do you happen to have an Irish Soda Bread recipe to go along with this meal? :)

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  41. Yes!! I'm typing on the phone; so I'm not all that helpful with links, but I use the recipe from Karina, The Gluten Free Goddess. I combine all the flour and starches and use a gf all purpose flour blend. Everything else I do as written.

    If you aren't gluten free, use an all purpose regular flour. Enjoy!!

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