Corned Beef, Potatoes, Cabbage, and Carrots Recipe

Corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage arranged on a serving platter.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Corned Beef, Potatoes, Cabbage, and Carrots Recipe

Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes, and Carrots, a classic St. Patrick’s Day Dinner.

Prep Time10

Cook Time3

Total Time3 10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Irish

Servings:

Calories: 812kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

3-4 lbs corned beef
12 large red potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-2 inch chunks
1 lb baby carrots
1 small head of cabbage, or ½ a large head of cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces

Instructions

Fill a large pot or Dutch Oven with water and bring to a boil. Add the corned beef and any seasoning packet that comes with the corned beef. Return to a boil and reduce to an active simmer. Simmer for roughly 1 hour per pound of corned beef. So if you have 3 lbs. of corned beef, simmer for 3 hours.
Although the cooking time is roughly 1 hour per pound, I recommend checking the meat 30 minutes early as an extra precaution to prevent the meat from becoming dry.
For a 3 lb. cut of corned beef, check it at the 2 ½ hour mark. If it is fork tender, it is likely done. The timing all depends on the exact cut of corned beef, the fat content, and the exact temperature of the water.
Remove the corned beef from the pot and place it on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out.
Strain the cooking liquid in the pot through a fine mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl to remove any fat, spices, or gunk. Return the cooking liquid to the pot and return to a low boil.
Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the baby carrots and cook with the potatoes for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the cabbage to the pot with the carrots and potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.
In other words, the potatoes cook for 30 minutes total, the carrots cook for 20 minutes total, and the cabbage cooks for 15 minutes total.
Remove the vegetables and place in a serving dish. Cover with aluminum foil until ready to serve to keep them warm.
While the vegetables are cooking, remove any excess fat from the top and bottom of the corned beef. Then slice the corned beef in ½ inch slices, cutting against the grain. Cover again with aluminum foil until ready to serve.
Serve the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots while warm. The potatoes can be served with butter.

Notes

Corned Beef: I recommend buying the best cut that you can. Typically, the easiest place to be guaranteed a good cut of corned beef is at Costco. Corned beef from a typical supermarket can be very hit or miss. Though, if you have a local place or butcher that you love, they may have a great option too.
Cabbage: Err on the side of a small cabbage. It’s an important ingredient, but in my experience, there’s always so much left over, and it’s not great reheated.
Potatoes: You can choose any white potatoes, but I love to use medium-sized red potatoes. When peeled and boiled in the pot with the corned beef, they have a soft, buttery texture and taste.
Carrots: I like to use a bag of baby carrots because it’s easy to just open the bag and dump them in the pot, no prep needed. But peeled and diced large carrots work well, too.
Softened Butter for Serving: Soften the butter in the microwave at 20% power for 30 seconds at a time so that it is easy to spread on the potatoes.

Nutrition