Slow Cooker Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage
240 CommentsUpdated Mar 10, 2026
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Cooking corned beef with Guinness not only has the classic taste of corned beef flavor but also the savory flavors of Guinness beer. But don’t worry, the beer flavor isn’t strong after cooking all day and what’s left behind blends perfectly with the beef.
Why You Should Cook Corned Beef with Guinness (and cabbage) in the Crock Pot
Cooking corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day has become a tradition in many households, especially here in the United States. The tradition likely stems from the fact that corned beef was a commonly consumed meat among Irish immigrants to the United States. So you can imagine that overtime, there have been many variations adopted.
For my recipe, I like to add Guinness beer and brown sugar. The Guinness draught beer adds extra flavor while also tenderizing the meat. Ever since I tried this for the first time, I decided it will be my new way of making corned beef. Not to mention, the prep time is quick, but I recommend cooking it nice and long.
Something else I also like to do is add the cabbage during the last 2 hours this time. This causes the cabbage to turn out perfectly. In fact, I couldn’t stop eating just the cabbage. If you love cabbage try my cabbage, potatoes and kielbasa recipe.
Key Ingredients
Flat cut corned beef brisket: A sizable portion of beef brisket, typically cured with salt and spices, is used for its rich flavor.
Seasoning packet from above roast: A packet of spices and seasonings included with the corned beef brisket, adding traditional Irish flavors to the dish.
Guinness Beer (I use bottled extra stout): A dark and robust stout beer will add its richness to the dish during the slow cooking process. You can make this without beer, try this corned beef and cabbage recipe instead.
Brown sugar: This sweetener is derived from molasses and adds a hint of sweetness to balance the savory flavors of the beef and beer.
Bay leaf: This fragrant leaf is used to add subtle herbal notes and enhance the overall taste (and smell) of the dish.
Yukon gold potatoes: These potatoes are perfect for this corned beef cabbage recipe because they are nice and buttery potatoes with thin skin.
Carrots: A sweet and earthy root vegetable that’s added for texture and sweetness.
Garlic cloves: The kick of garlic infuses into the tender corned beef, vegetables, and the juicy broth.
Cabbage (cut into slices): This crisp and leafy vegetable is sliced and added towards the end of the cooking process for freshness and texture.
How to Make Guinness Corned Beef
Step One – Rinse the corned beef and pat dry. Add the corned beef to the slow cooker.
Step Two – Sprinkle over the seasoning spice packet that came with the roast. Sprinkle over the brown sugar. Add the potatoes, carrots, garlic and bay leaf on top of the roast. Pour over the Guinness stout beer.
Step Three – Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Step Four – When there is about 2 hours left in the cooking time, add the cabbage separately.
Step Five – After about 2 hours, move the corned beef onto a cutting board and cut into slices. Serve with veggies and enjoy!
How to Serve
- Serve slices of the slow cooker Guinness corned beef alongside the wedges of cooked cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Drizzle some of the cooking liquid over the meat and vegetables for added flavor, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
- Shred the leftover Guinness corned beef and pile it onto slices of rye bread with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. Grill or toast the sandwiches until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy for a delicious Reuben sandwich twist.
- If you’re serving a crowd, consider setting up a buffet-style presentation for guests to serve themselves. You can also offer a make-your-own sandwich station, or create a festive Irish-themed spread by incorporating other traditional Irish dishes.
Recipe FAQs
To store leftover corned beef and cabbage, cool it to room temperature, then refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently before serving, and for longer storage, freeze in freezer-safe containers for up to 2-3 months, thawing overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Yes, you can substitute Guinness with another dark beer or stout if desired. However, keep in mind that the flavor profile may differ slightly depending on the beer chosen. Choose a beer with a similar richness and depth to achieve similar results.
Yes, you can cook the vegetables separately if preferred. You can steam or boil the vegetables separately and serve them alongside the corned beef.
Slow Cooker Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lb. flat cut corned beef brisket
- 1 seasoning packet from above roast
- 12 oz. Guinness Beer, (I use bottled extra stout)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 Yukon gold potatoes
- 4 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 head cabbage,, cut into slices
Instructions
- Rinse the corned beef and pat dry. Add the corned beef to the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle over the seasoning packet that came with the roast. Sprinkle over the brown sugar. Add the potatoes, carrots, garlic and bay leaf on top of the roast. Pour over the beer.
- Add the lid to the slow cooker. The total cooking time is 8 hours on low. You can choose when to add your cabbage. I put my cabbage in at the 6 hour mark and cooked for the remaining 2 hours, that’s how I like it. Some like to add it at the beginning, and some at the last 30 minutes.
- Serve by removing the veggies and removing the corned beef on to a cutting board. Cut the corned beef into slices and serve with the veggies.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
How to Store
Place any leftovers in the fridge promptly; they can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. If you want to freeze, the corned beef does well, but the vegetables may get mushy when thawed.
More St. Patrick Day Recipes
- This Slow Cooker Reuben Dip has everything you love about Pastrami Sandwiches, but in a dip form.
- This Slow Cooker Colcannon Potatoes recipe has not only yukon gold potatoes and cabbage!
- My own creation of Maple Mustard Corned Beef is a unique way to celebrate the holiday.
Very, very tasty! Remember the cabbage cooks faster so next time I might even put it in in the last hour. Everything was delicious! Thanks
Recipe looks great. Why put garlic on top and not in beer? Also you just leave sugar on top?
The recipe looks really great, just not sure why not put seasoning in beer?
Thanks
Everything cooks together, it doesn’t matter how it’s added.
Question: What is the best sized slow cooker to use for this recipe with a 4.5 lb. flat cut brisket? Thanks for the help! 🙂
I would use a 6 quart slow cooker.
Just took out from cooker. Very tender.4.5 lb cooked 8.5 hrs
Tastes great.onlyused the spice packet and 1 cup brown sugar. I did add 1 cup of water to the 14 oz can Guinness.
Need to read how to cut it
I’m curious. Why don’t you put the meat in fat side up??
I think it tastes great fat side down. It looks better and the seasonings are more on the meat instead of the fat.
I’ve been using this recipe for 3 years now and love it! The corned beef is so tender and has just that perfect flavor. This year I’m using a bag of small yellow potatoes so we’ll see how that goes. Again, LOVE this recipe! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Delicious brisket! The best I ever had anywhere and the family loved it. I stacked two flat briskets totaling 6.5 lbs, trimmed a bit of the excess fat. This fattier cut comes out more tender than top round which is lean. I took the meat out of the fridge an hour early to come to room temp, then started cooking. I didn’t increase the beer or sugar, added both spice packets and increased the cloves of garlic to 4 putting them into beer liquid in the pot instead of rubbing on the fat cap. The first hour I set the slow cooker on high, then turned it down to low for remaining time. I didn’t add the carrots and potatoes until 2 hours before the end of cook time. I added 1.5 cabbages sliced into wedges about 45 minutes before the end. I had to remove the meat early about the 6 hour mark because the meat was fork tender and I didn’t want it to fall apart. I put it in a baking dish covered in foil and kept it in a 200 degree oven to keep warm. The carrots and potatoes also finished early so I added them the oven dish while cooking the cabbage to keep warm. The briskets shrunk by about 50% because of the rendering fat and I removed the fat caps. I served it with Dijon mustard on the side. It was devoured by 4 adults. The only leftovers were a small amount of cabbage, carrots and potatoes.
Great and easy recipe. Start in morning and it is done for dinner.
So you only use 1 beer no other liquid? So 1 beer for every 21/2 lbs?
Yes. I would only use one beer even if yours is bigger.
Do you have to use Guinness? Or can you substitute another beer?
Use any beer! I used Pilsner the other day.
I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. Will save leftovers for hash, so I won’t throw away. Just not so great…