This Slow Cooker Guinness Corned Beef is a simple one dish meal that is full of flavor and oh so easy! Tender corned beef, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage — all cooked in one crockpot!
Guinness Corned Beef And Cabbage
How often do you eat Guinness corned beef? For us, it’s only once a year, unfortunately. This year I am going to buy a few extras and stash them in the freezer so we can have it a few more times. Or I may just cook it to make Reuben sandwiches (one of my husband’s favorite sandwiches!).
This crock pot corned beef with beer is incredibly flavorful and warrants a round of applause because it’s super simple too! Seriously, I don’t think you can find an easier slow cooker corned beef recipe.
I love a good slow cooker meal, especially how you can toss some simple ingredients into the crock with some spices and come out with an amazing dinner! Some of our favorite crockpot meals are Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches, Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken, and Slow Cooker Chili Mac.
Why You’ll Love Slow Cooker Corned Beef With Beer
- Only 7 ingredients
- Slow cooked so the beef is tender and juicy
- Complete meal with minimal effort required
- Can be served any time of year
- Simple to customize
- Crock pot corned beef with beer is really flavorful and makes great leftovers
What is corned beef made of?
Corned beef is a beef brisket that soaks in brine and then cures with salt and seasonings. The term comes from using large grains or “corns” of salt.
Corned beef comes in multiple cuts, and it’s always best to cook corned beef for a long period of time so that it becomes tender. Typical cooking methods include boiling, slow cooking, or oven roasting the meat.
Guinness Corned Beef Ingredients
CORNED BEEF BRISKET: I recommend getting about 3 1/2 pound brisket. If you have a larger slow cooker, you could go a little bigger.
POTATOES: We usually use Yukon gold, but you can swap them for any potatoes you have around.
CARROTS: To save time, I use baby carrots because I can dump and go! However, you could also cut whole carrots into segments.
GUINNESS STOUT: What sets this recipe apart from others is the Guinness!
BROWN SUGAR: I like adding a touch of sugar because it’s the perfect balance with the savory flavors. It won’t make it incredibly sweet — it’s subtle.
SEASONING: You can simply use the seasoning package that comes with the corned beef. It’s going to be filled with the perfect complimentary flavors.
CABBAGE: Can you have corned beef without cabbage? I don’t think so!
How To Make Crock Pot Corned Beef With Beer
PREP CORNED BEEF: Trim off any fat and place in the slow cooker. Add the brown sugar and seasonings.
ADD INGREDIENTS: Pour in the Guinness and add the carrots and potatoes.
SLOW COOK: Add the lid and cook for 8-10 hours on low. Don’t open the lid until it’s done!
ADD CABBAGE: Cut the cabbage and place it into the slow cooker. Put the lid back on and cook for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Corned Beef With Beer Tips
I know a lot of people don’t cook corned beef because it’s too tough. Well, the solution to that problem is it needs to cook longer. So, here are a few tips on how to cook corned beef:
Low and slow: This is the ONLY way to cook Guinness corned beef. Brisket is a very tough cut of meat, and the only way to get tender beef is the low and slow method. That’s why I prefer my handy dandy slow cooker for corned beef.
Time: It takes a long time to get tender brisket. I always end up leaving mine in the crockpot for 10 hours. If you are making corned beef and it’s still tough, it needs to cook longer.
Rest: All cuts of meat need to rest after they are done cooking. This allows the juices to redistribute through the meat. This is crucial for juicy meat. Allow the Guinness corned beef and cabbage time to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Carving: Another tip for tender corned beef is to cut across the grain. Brisket has long fibrous strands, and by cutting across the grain, it makes them much shorter and more tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
• Traditional Irish Soda Bread
• Dessert – Lime Cheesecake Fluff
• If you have leftovers you can use them in this Cheesy Corned Beef Hash or these Reuben Sliders.
You can save cooled leftover Guinness corned beef and cabbage for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes for best results.
Nope, you can swap the beer for beef broth if you’d rather. I like the deep flavor adding beer provides, but it’s not for everyone!
Slow Cooker Guinness Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 1 (3½ pound) (1.5kg) corned beef brisket
- 2 pounds (1kg) Yukon gold potatoes (or whatever you have on hand) scrubbed well and cut into large chunks
- 20 baby carrots
- 1 (12 oz) (355ml) Guinness stout (or can use about 2 cups beef broth)
- ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar
- Seasoning packet that came with corned beef
- 1 small head of cabbage
Instructions
- Trim the corned beef of all visible fat if desired. Place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle with brown sugar and seasoning packet. Pour Guinness around the corned beef then place the potatoes and carrots around the corned beef. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. NO PEEKING! I don't recommend cooking on high.
- Remove outer leaves from cabbage and cut into 4 wedges. Place in crock pot around the beef. Return lid and cook for 20 minutes. This will give you tender crisp cabbage. If you like softer cabbage put in earlier.
Notes
- This corned beef and veggies cooks for a long time and so the potatoes and carrots will be quite soft. If you prefer your potatoes and carrots not so soft add them half way through cooking even though the recipe says no peeking.
- The reason not to peek is because everytime the lid is removed from the slow cooker it adds an extra 30 minutes to the cooking time. It’s so tempting to lift the lid and check the meat while cooking but try no to.
- Nutrition Facts: Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the information shown is just an estimate. Nutrition calculated with the vegetables too. Makes 6 gernerous portions.
My dinner turned out just awful. I neglected to rinse the salt off of my corn beef. This is some thing I had seen on other sites. You didn’t mention it, and I think it was needed. Everything was overly salty and the beer made everything bitter. So sad..
So sorry you didn’t like the recipe.
It consumes a large chunk of the day to get delicate brisket. I generally wind up leaving mine in the slow cooker for 10 hours. In case you are making corned hamburger its still intense it needs to cook longer.
Even after putting Veg in half way thru they were still way over cooked. But flavour was amazing.. I would cut cooking time by a couple hrs.
Sorry the vegetables didn’t come out as desired. Thank you for your comment!
Most recipes for corned beef call for the meat to be covered in liquid, but 12 oz of beer only covers half of the eat. Will it cook ok?
Yes, it will still cook ok. Thanks!
great reciepe. Exceeded my expectations. The hint of brown sugar is outstanding. Perhaps the most tender brisket I ever had. A+++
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment!! I am so glad you liked it!!
Ideas for what to do with the nectar left after preparing this luscious recipe?
Hi Jim! I honestly haven’t used it for anything, lol! If you think of anything please feel free to share!!
You can also turn the leftover liquid into corned beef and cabbage soup. Add a few quarts water and stock, extra veggies, chopped up corned beef, and simmer till it’s dinner!
I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier but taste the “nectar” and if it isn’t too salty you could turn it into a gravy!
Corned Beef recipe mentions adding the ‘seasoning packet ‘…..I bought my brisket/corned beef from the local butcher….no seasoning packet
This recipe uses a corned beef purchased from the grocery store. I found a site for a homemade corned beef so you could try using those seasonings https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/home_cured_corned_beef/. Hope that helps!
I’m making this for our American Legion and doubling it. Using roasted instead of crockpot, what temp would you recommend and time?
You can bake it in the oven at 300 degrees F for 6 hours or until tender. Be sure to cover with a tight fitting lid. Let me know how it turns out!!
Tender tasty but a bit dry
Thank you for sharing!
I’ve been making corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day every year for forever – and often cook it in the crock pot – but this is hands down the best I’ve EVER hand. This recipe is brilliant. I also added a little extra sugar and Guinness and onions instead of carrots…the meat was butter tender – you could cut it with a fork. This is our go-to recipe for here on out. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much Carrie!! I am so glad and honored that this will be your go-to recipe now!! Thank you for sharing!!
Almost Perfect!
The corned beef is delicious and turned out PERFECT!. Carrots and potatoes were just fine. But…cabbage was raw and crunchy. We prefer our cabbage much more done. So next time I will probably cook the cabbage separately. That’s just personal preference though. I also might thicken the juice to serve as gravy with the meat.
Good recipe. Thanks.
Thank you so much for sharing and I am so glad you liked it!! You could also put the cabbage in the slow cooker sooner to cook longer. I have found some brands of slow cookers cook differently. Thanks again for letting me know!
Do you put the carrots and potatoes in with the meat? If so, you are saying the veggies will cook for 8-10 hours??? I know you said that the cabbage only cooks for 20 minutes. It seems like that cooking time is very long for those veggies..did I read that right?
Yes, they do cook that long. The veggies will be soft so if you like them with more crunch adjust to suit your needs. Thanks for asking and I hope you enjoy!!
Can I substitute the potatoes and carrots with cauliflower, sweet potatoes and corn? We like them better than the ones you wrote in the recipe
Sure thing! However I have never cooked cauliflower in the slow cooker before so I am not sure what texture it would be like after a long cook time.
If the meat is already corned , do you really need the seasoning if it is hard to get?
Probably not. The corned beef we buy comes with a seasoning packet and I just use that. Hope that helps and let me know how you like it! 🙂
Add a tablespoon of your choice of mustard to the brown sugar and put that on top.
OOOOH!! That’s a great idea Kathy!! Thanks!! 🙂
Can you please tell me what cut of corned beef did you use?
I honestly can’t remember, but I don’t ever just use 1 specific cut. It will work for any cut of corned beef. Hope that helps! Thanks for asking!
I made this for the first time this Saint Patrick’s day. My family absolutely loved it. There wasn’t much leftover it was so good. I would recommend trying this.
I am so glad you enjoyed the corned beef and we never have much leftover either! Thank you so much for your comment!! 🙂
Where do you buy your brisket and the packet to make this corned beef cabbage?.I remember eating this as a little boy.My grandmother made it a few times.Thank you.
You should be able to find it at your local grocery store in the meat department. Some smaller stores may only carry it around St. Patrick’s Day but just ask an associate there and they may be able to help you find one. Thanks for asking and if you are able to find one let me know how you liked it!! 🙂
I made this and it was fantastic. My husband groaned in ecstasy with each bite!
Thank you so much and I am so happy you enjoyed it!! It’s too bad I don’t make this more often than just at St. Patrick’s Day because it’s such an easy meal! 🙂
It is that time of the year.