My easy Irish boiled dinner recipe includes tender pickled corned beef perfectly cooked alongside tender vegetables like carrots, onion, cabbage, and potatoes.
A lot of families like to have special meals for St Patrick’s Day. Me, I like a good Reuben for lunch. Well, that is any day though. I’m pretty sure I could eat a Reuben every day of the week and not get tired of it. I could also eat an entire skillet of fried cabbage by myself if given half the chance.
But I digress! Today I am bringing you a simple recipe for a complete St Patrick’s Day dinner. You can make it on your stovetop or in your slow cooker (crock pot). A meal in one where you dump the ingredients and turn the heat on, how easy is that?
All you need is 6 ingredients: corned beef, pickling spice, carrots, onion, cabbage, and potatoes. We slowly boil the corned beef and pickling spice first for 2 to 3 hours. Then we add our vegetables and boil them until they’re fork-tender (about 30 more minutes). It’s a very hands-off one-pot meal, my favorite!
As I tried to find a way to describe this easy Irish boiled dinner recipe to a friend, I came up with the perfect explanation. “It’s kinda like a low country boil, only with corned beef and cabbage instead of crawdads.” Sounds good, right? The deliciously pickled corned beef pairs perfectly with the cooked vegetables. So much so that I just know y’all will be making this recipe year-round.
Recipe Ingredients
- Carrots
- Onion
- Green cabbage
- New red potatoes
- Pickling spice
- Corned beef
How to Make an Easy Irish Boiled Dinner
Make sure you start out with a pot big enough to hold everything. Mine is 6 quarts and it just barely does the job.
Place your corned beef in the bottom of a large pot and sprinkle the seasoning packet that comes with it on top.
Add another tablespoon or so of pickling spice.
Now, cover this with water and bring just to a boil.
Once it comes to a boil reduce the heat slightly (there should still be light bubbling).
Cook your corned beef for 2 to 3 hours.
Quarter your onion and cut your cabbage into big old wedges.
Place all of your veggies in the pot with the cooked corned beef.
Bring this back up to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Stir every now and then and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Carefully remove the corned beef from the pot and slice it as thinly as you can.
An electric knife works wonderfully for this.
My corned beef is not sliced anywhere near thin enough in these pictures. But I don’t have the patience for that! So I just put steak knives at everyone’s place setting and tell them I wanted to give them more interaction with their food.
Add veggies around the beef to serve.
Enjoy!
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them on low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through. I love to make a Reuben sandwich with my leftovers 😏.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating them as above.
Recipe Notes
- It is up to you how much of each vegetable you use in this recipe. More or less won’t affect the recipe, as long as they all fit in your pot.
- You can also swap out the vegetables for others, like turnips, leeks, parsnips, and beets.
- For crispy corned beef, cook it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing.
- Here are some recipe variations:
- Add 6 ounces of ginger ale or beer (Guinness is a popular option, especially if you’re making this for St Patrick’s Day). If you opt for this option, add it and then fill the pot with water.
- Use chicken broth or beef broth instead of water for extra flavor.
- To make this low-carb, only use water and substitute the potatoes for celery and cauliflower.
- Sprinkle two tablespoons of brown sugar over the corned beef for more depth of flavor.
- Add up to 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise.
- Add 6 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley.
Recipe FAQs
Do they eat boiled dinner in Ireland?
Yes! You’ll find this boiled dinner recipe is a comfort food dish for many Irishmen and women. However, it’s not always made with corned beef. They use all sorts of meat cuts.
What is boiled dinner made of?
A boiled dinner typically includes corned beef, beef brisket, smoked pork shoulder, or ham shoulder boiled with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. So if your next question is: can I use a different kind of meat to make a traditional boiled dinner? The answer is yes. Any of the above work.
What nationality is a boiled dinner?
You’d think the hint is in the name. However, this is also known as a New England boiled dinner. It’s believed the name and recipe originated from Irish immigrants in the area, particularly around Boston. It’s now a classic Irish-American staple.
What is the best cooking method for corned beef?
The best cooking method for corned beef is low heat. This can be on the stovetop or in the slow cooker, the choice is yours. This ensures you always end up with soft tender slices of corned beef.
What cut of corned beef should I use?
Corned beef is available in a point cut or a flat cut. Flat cut is the best and most widely available option. It’s leaner and the best for slicing.
Can you make an Irish boiled dinner in the crockpot?
Absolutely! Check out this corned beef crockpot recipe, but here are the quick steps:
- Place the corned beef, seasoning packet, and pickling spice in a slow cooker.
- Peel and quarter the onion and cabbage and add it on top of the corned beef along with the potatoes and carrots. THEN add enough water to cover.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
Why do we add pickling spice?
Well, basically that’s what is in the included seasoning packet. All we are doing is adding a bit more to amp up that flavor and get the cooking water infused enough so that it flavors the vegetables as well.
What does pickling spice contain?
Pickling spice usually includes a combination (in whole or coarse pieces) of allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, dill seeds, ginger, mustard seeds, and peppercorns.
How do you cut cabbage for boiled dinner?
Here’s a video from the one and only Martha Stewart for a visual demo.
What do you serve with boiled corned beef?
This is a perfectly hearty and filling main meal as is. However, if you want to add a little something extra on the side, I recommend a bread-based side dish. This might be Irish soda bread, cornbread, biscuits, or homemade dinner rolls.
It also tastes great served with horseradish, brown gravy, or stone-ground mustard.
I bet you’ll also like these recipes:
Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket in the Oven
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb corned beef
- new potatoes
- baby carrots or whole carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- onion
- cabbage
- pickling spice
Instructions
- Place corned beef in a large pot. Pour the seasoning packet over the top (they usually come with one). Add an additional 1 tablespoon of pickling spice over this.3-4 lb corned beef, pickling spice
- Cover completely with water and bring just to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat slightly (you want it to still bubble) and allow it to cook for 2-3 hours, adding more water if necessary to keep beef covered.
- After the beef is fully cooked and tender (at least two hours), peel and quarter the onion and cabbage. Place both in the pot with beef along with potatoes and carrots.new potatoes, onion, cabbage, baby carrots or whole carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- To serve, slice corned beef very thin and place it on a platter alongside veggies.
Nutrition
This was so wonderful. I’m not a corned beef lover my my husband always asks for canned corned beef (yuck!) so when I saw this recipe, I had to try it! I fixed it for St Patrick’s day and it was a huge hit!! Even my SUPER picky 7 year old loved it! Thanks Christy!!
Finished our easy Irish Boil and I have to tell you, the extra pickling spice made all the difference to me. I’ve made corned beef and cabbage many times over the years and this version, done in the crock pot was so fantastic. The spice seemed to get absorbed in the cabbage and the meat was so tender. Thanks for the recipe. My husband and I loved it.
I am so glad to hear you liked it Denise!!!
Sweetie will probably find the way to come back home, mine is called Rex and he came back home.
Regarding the recipe, I love it because it’s balanced and healthy (I try to go on a balanced every day diet, without chocolate or cookies…)
Thank you Sylvie, I sure hope she finds her way home soon.
Christy, I am so sorry to about your beloved Sweetie being lost. I know how heartbreaking and worrisome that must be to your entire family. We have two little babies of our own. I will be praying for the safe return of your Sweetie. Please keep us posted!
Thank you Samantha!!
I certainly hope Sweetie has found her way back to her loving family – I looked for any mention of that, but didn’t find it. I will keep praying that she is safe and will quickly come home to your loving arms.
She is still missing Susan 🙁
I am so sad your little baby girl is missing. We would be devastated if any of our pets went missing. I will be praying for all of you including your baby girl. Miracles happen and I am praying for one for her.
Christy, I am so sorry to hear about Sweetie. I am an animal lover and I especially love dogs. I am praying that your Baby will get back home very soon. My heart is with your heart as you search and wait.