Dutch Oven Corned Beef is a classic family meal that's loaded with meat, potatoes and vegetables. Cooking corned beef low and slow in a Dutch oven makes the meat fork-tender and the cabbage melts in your mouth. This braised Dutch oven corn beef and cabbage is perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day or serving for Sunday dinner.
St. Patrick's Day has never been a big event in my house but I do enjoy making corned beef and cabbage. This fairly inexpensive cut of meat is incredibly tasty and turns out tender and juicy when cooked low and slow in a dutch oven.
It's easy to find corned beef at the grocery store in late winter and early spring. It's the perfect slow-cooked meal for a lazy Sunday dinner or when one of those late winter snowstorms comes rolling in. As the Dutch oven corn beef and cabbage cooks in the oven for several hours, the warm, cozy smell is inviting and comforting.
Ingredients Needed
- Corned Beef Brisket – This can easily be found in the meat section of the grocery store during the early spring. It is usually vacuum sealed with a brine solution and comes with a seasoning packet.
- Seasoning - The seasoning packet is similar to pickling seasoning so you can also add 2 tablespoons of this pickling spice if your corned beef did not come with a packet.
- Mustard – Use your favorite. You can use Dijon, grainy mustard or even classic yellow mustard.
- Olive Oil – Or any light, neutral flavored oil.
- Baby Potatoes – Choose red, white or a medley.
- Baby Carrots – Baby carrots save time but you can chop larger carrots.
- Cabbage – Select a small green cabbage.
- Beer – Use your favorite beer or substitute broth or water.
How to Make Dutch Oven Corned Beef
- Preheat oven and prep corned beef.
- Brown corned beef. Add potatoes and carrots to the pot.
- Sprinkle with seasoning then top with beer and water.
- Cover Dutch oven and bake for 2 ½ hours.
- Flip corned beef over and add cut cabbage. Cook for 30 to 40 more minutes.
- Remove corned beef and let rest. Slice the beef and serve with the drained veggies.
Check out my webstory on how to make this corned beef and cabbage.
Cooking Equiment
I love cooking food in a Dutch oven. In fact I even wrote a 5-Ingredient Dutch Oven Cookbook. In choosing a Dutch oven, make sure it is big enough to cook for you and your family and get one with a lid. There are so many good ones to choose from that you can decide by what price range you are looking for. For this recipe, you will need one that is at least 6 quart in size.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you are lucky enough to have leftover braised corn beef and cabbage, you are in for a real treat. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat a plate of meat and veggies in the microwave or slice the leftover meat and saute for hash or pile it high on rye bread along with kraut, Thousand Island dressing and swiss cheese for a tasty corned beef Reuben sandwich.
FAQs
Corned beef is a tough cut of beef but low and slow cooking will create fork-tender meat that practically melts in your mouth. For a 2-3 pound brisket, you should expect to cook the corned beef for 2 ½ to 3 hours in a 350 degrees F oven.
Low and slow is the key when cooking corned beef. This allows the connective tissues to break down which will lead to fork tender meat.
Yes! Slow cooking can lead to overcooking. Using the right amount of liquid (in this case beer and water) to nearly submerge the meat will help to prevent the meat from drying out.
After slow cooking the meat, it will be very tender. You should be able to slice the meat but it may not "fall apart" and shred the way a chuck roast or other similar cut of meat would.
Corned beef usually includes a seasoning packet. This blend of spices often includes peppercorns, bay leaves, mustard seed, dill seed and several other warm spices. Feel free to use the included seasoning packet or mix up your own blend following this Corned Beef Seasoning recipe from Key to My Lime.
What to Serve with Braised Corn Beef and Cabbage
- Cheese Beer Bread - Easy No Yeast Bread Recipe
- Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans
- Sweet and spicy Refrigerator Pickles
- Homemade Rye Bread from The Stay at Home Chef
- Horseradish Sauce from Life's Ambrosia
If you like this Dutch Oven Corned Beef recipe, please leave a 5-star rating.
RECIPE
Dutch Oven Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 3 lbs corned beef brisket (with seasoning)
- 1 tablespoon mustard (use your favorite)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs baby potatoes
- 16 ounces baby carrots
- 1 small head of cabbage
- 12 ounces beer
Instructions
- Remove the corned beef from packaging and brush with mustard. Reserve spice packet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat oil in the Dutch oven on medium high heat on the stove and add the corned beef. Brown on all sides for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from pot and reserve on a plate.
- Place the baby potatoes and then the carrots in the bottom of the pan. Top with the corned beef and sprinkle with the seasoning packet. Pour over the beer and fill with a little water so meat is almost submerged in the liquid.
- Cover pot and put in the oven. Cook for 2 ½ hours.
- Cut cabbage into 4 wedges (or smaller so it can fit in the pot). Flip corned beef over and add cabbage. Cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, covered, or until cabbage is fork tender.
- Remove corned beef and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into slices. Drain veggies and serve with corned beef. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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Dana Sandonato
This is just so cozy and perfect. And we all appreciated how it made the kitchen smell 🙂 Exactly what you want this time of year!
Savita
This looks so so good, perfect for a delicious family dinner.
Mahy
The beef looks incredible. Super tendy and so inviting. Love the cabbage, too!
Hayley Dhanecha
What a comfort and delicious meal this is, can't wait to make it. Such a great recipe.
Soniya
Yum! This looks and sounds so delicious! Can't wait to make it on weekends.
Laura Ann
Made this recently, the corned beef was beyond delicious, best I’ve ever had! However, the potatoes and carrots were so overcooked they were pure mush. Not sure why they are put in on the bottom under the brisket and cooked for the same amount of time. They really should be put in much later. I ate one serving and threw the rest away. But I will use this recipe again for the corned beef only since it turned out perfect.
lisa
Thank you for the feedback. My family likes the veggies very cooked. That being said not everyone does so I will add notes to the recipe to add the veegies at the end if you don't want they cooked as much.