This Dutch Oven Corned Beef and Cabbage is our go-to every St. Patrick's Day - and honestly, any time we're craving a big, cozy, fill-the-whole-house-with-the-best-smell kind of dinner. A seasoned corned beef brisket braised low and slow in Guinness, beef broth, aromatics, and spices until it's fork-tender and falling apart, with carrots, baby potatoes, and thick cabbage wedges cooked right in the braising liquid. One pot, minimal hands-on time, and the oven does all the work. Serve it with stone-ground mustard, and you're done. 🤤

⭐"I made this tonight and it was absolutely the BEST corned beef and cabbage that I have ever made. So so good! Thank you for an incredible recipe." - Karen

dutch oven corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots on a white speckled ceramic plate.

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This Braised Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Is a One-Pot Classic 🍀

Every March, this is the dinner that takes over our kitchen - and Chamere, and I give each other the look when corned beef starts showing up at the grocery store. No words exchanged, we just know what's about to happen. 😂 We spent years in Chicago skipping the whole river-dyeing scene to stay home and make this instead - crack a Guinness, get the Dutch oven going, and just let the house fill up with the best smell for the next few hours while the oven does all the work.

The base is simple: corned beef brisket rubbed with stone-ground mustard and the seasoning packet, then braised in a mix of beef broth and Guinness with onions, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. That Guinness adds this deep, slightly malty richness to the braising liquid that you just can't get with broth alone - it's one of our favorite parts of this recipe. The carrots and potatoes go in during the last stretch, and the cabbage wedges go in right at the end so they stay tender but not mushy.

If you're looking for a faster method, our Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage gets you there in a fraction of the time. But if you've got a lazy afternoon and want that slow-braised depth of flavor, the Dutch oven method is the way to go. This is also amazing with our rye dinner rolls on the side - warm rolls, mustard, and a pile of tender corned beef. That's the spread. ✨

🥩 Ingredients for Dutch Oven Corned Beef

This recipe keeps the ingredient list short. Most of the flavor comes from the braise itself. You'll find corned beef brisket with the seasoning packet in the meat section at any grocery store - they show up everywhere around February, but here in the Midwest, we can usually find them year-round. Which is excellent for us, because we will absolutely make this on a random Tuesday in November. 😂

ingredients to make corned beef and cabbage laid out on plates and in small bowls with text overlaying to denote each ingredient.

🥩 Flat cut vs. point cut? The flat cut is leaner, more uniform, and slices beautifully against the grain - it's the classic choice for a corned beef dinner where you want those clean, thick slices. The point cut is fattier with more marbling, which means more flavor, but it's better suited for shredding than slicing. If you want a gorgeous platter of sliced corned beef, go flat cut. If you want to shred it for corned beef hash or sandwiches later, point cut is your friend. Either way, look for one that's 3-4 pounds.

How to Make Fork-Tender Corned Beef and Cabbage in a Dutch Oven ✨

Don't let the 5-hour cook time intimidate you - most of that is just the oven doing its thing. The hands-on work here is about 15 minutes total. Let's get into it.

flat cut brisket rubbed with mustard and seasonings on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Pat the corned beef brisket dry with paper towels, then rub stone-ground mustard all over - top, bottom, sides, everything. Sprinkle the seasoning packet over the mustard and press it in lightly so it sticks.

crushed garlic cloves and onions in a the bottom of the large white enameled Dutch oven with salt and pepper.

Step 2: Place sliced onions and smashed garlic cloves in the bottom of a large Dutch oven (6-7 quart), and season them generously with salt and pepper.

flat cut brisket covered in mustard and seasonings overtop of onions and garlic in an enameled cast iron dutch oven.

Set the corned beef right on top of the onion-garlic bed, mustard side up.

💡 No searing needed! If you've made our chuck roast in the oven, you know we love a good sear. But corned beef is different - it's already cured, so it doesn't need browning to develop flavor. The mustard rub and long, slow braise in Guinness do all the heavy lifting. Less mess, fewer steps, same fork-tender result. That said, if you want to sear it first, it'll add a nice crust - you just don't need it to get an incredible result!

pouring guinness into a dutch oven with corned beef.

Step 3: Pour in the beef broth, followed by the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce.

raw corned beef brisket in an enameled dutch oven with beef stock, creamy guinness beer, bay leaves, and fresh thyme.

Tuck in the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the brisket - if it doesn't, add a splash more broth.

🍺 No beer? No problem. If you don't have Guinness or prefer not to cook with beer, just replace it with an equal amount of beef broth. The braise will still be delicious - you'll just miss that subtle malty depth the stout adds. (The alcohol cooks off completely during the braise, by the way.)

Partially cooked corned beef in a Dutch oven with broth, salt, and pepper.

Step 4: Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven. Cook for 1 hour at 350°F, then - without opening the oven door - reduce the heat to 300°F and cook for an additional 2 hours. At the 3-hour mark, pull the Dutch oven out and carefully flip the corned beef over. This is a good time to check your liquid level.

⚠️ Watch your liquid. If the braising liquid has dropped significantly, add more broth, beer, or water to bring it back up to about halfway. The lid does a lot of the work by trapping steam, but you still need enough liquid in the pot to keep everything moist over the long cook.

corned beef in a Dutch oven with a flavorful braising liquid, baby potatoes, and carrots, with lots of salt.

Step 5: Add the carrots and baby potatoes to the pot, nestling them into the braising liquid around the brisket. Season generously with kosher salt and black pepper. Cover and return to the oven for 1 more hour.

cooked corned beef brisket with carrots and potatoes in the pot.

Cover and return to the oven for 1 more hour.

🥔 Which potatoes? Baby red potatoes or small Yukon Golds are ideal - they hold their shape in a long braise. If using larger potatoes, cut them into 2-inch chunks, so they cook evenly. Skip russets - they'll break down into the braising liquid.

green cabbage wedges added to the top of a dutch oven seasoned with salt and pepper.

Step 6: At the 4-hour mark, remove the lid and add the cabbage wedges right on top of everything. Add salt and pepper to season the cabbage.

cooked and wilted cabbage in a dutch oven with broth.

Cover and return to the oven for one final hour. The cabbage will wilt down and soak up all that incredible braising liquid.

⏱️ Cooking time by weight. A 3-pound brisket will need roughly 4 to 4.5 hours total. A 4-pounder is closer to 5 hours. If you're working with a 5-pound brisket, give it 5.5 - 6 hours. The beef is done when a fork slides in and out with no resistance. Just resist the urge to keep peeking - every time you lift the lid, you release steam and add 20-30 minutes to your cook time. Check once at the 3-hour mark when you flip the beef, then trust the process.

Pull the Dutch oven out of the oven and transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Tent it loosely with foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes - this lets the juices redistribute so every slice is moist.

melted butter in a mixing bowl with parsley, salt, and pepper.

Step 7: While the beef rests, melt butter in a small bowl and stir in minced parsley, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Drizzle this over the vegetables right before serving. Optional, but it's a really nice touch. 🤤

Slice the corned beef into thick slices against the grain and serve with the vegetables, a ladle of braising liquid, and stone-ground mustard on the side.

overhead shot of corned beef with potatoes, carrots, cabbage, stone ground mustard, parsley, and guinness on the side.

🔪 Slice against the grain! This is the single most important step for tender corned beef. Look at the top of the brisket - you'll see lines running in one direction. Slice perpendicular to those lines. If you slice with the grain, even perfectly braised corned beef will feel chewy and stringy. Against the grain = every bite melts apart.

🍽️Serve this one family-style - pile the sliced corned beef on a platter with the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage wedges, ladle some braising liquid over everything, and put the stone-ground mustard right in the middle of the table.

Leftovers make incredible corned beef hash and eggs the next morning, or pile it on rye bread for a Reuben casserole situation later in the week. 🤤

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Save This Recipe! 💌

This Braised Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Is a One-Pot Classic 🍀

🥩 Ingredients for Dutch Oven Corned Beef

How to Make Fork-Tender Corned Beef and Cabbage in a Dutch Oven ✨

📖 Recipe