Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Carrots (for the No Cabbage Contingent)

Why Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Carrots instead of the more traditional red potatoes & cabbage? Because: No one in this house will eat slow cooked cabbage, and lovely large baking potatoes won’t reach their fullest potential in the Crock-Pot.

Hey, let’s do a bonus recipe today for St. Patrick’s Day! I meant to make and post this last week in a more timely fashion before the holiday, but life, as always, intervened and I didn’t actually get around to cooking my corned beef until yesterday. So, here’s an easy Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Carrots recipe in case you pick another one up on the clearance sales this month — or, there’s always next year! 😉

So, why carrots instead of the more traditional red potatoes & cabbage? Because: No one in this house much likes cooked cabbage unless it’s crisp-tender in a stir fry, and I had these lovely large baking potatoes that wouldn’t reach their fullest potential in the Crock-Pot. Lacking cabbage, I just added a little green to the plate with some oven-roasted asparagus.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Carrots

Ingredients

3 lb corned beef
One medium yellow onion, sliced thick
Around 25 large baby carrots (or cut up 3 whole carrots)
One head whole peeled garlic cloves (10-15, depending on size)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth + 2 cups water (or use all water)
1 Tbsp coarse ground mustard
Spice packet from the corned beef

Directions

Arrange onions, carrots, and garlic cloves in the bottom of your Crock-Pot. Place corned beef on top (fatty side down). Spread beef with mustard and sprinkle on the contents of the spice packet. Pour the broth + water carefully around the beef (so as not to wash off the spices).

Cook on high for 7-8 hours, remove and slice the corned beef (discarding fatty layer), and serve it with the carrots plus (preferably) potatoes + a green vegetable of choice.

That’s all good!

Really, it’s hard to make a bad corned beef as long as you cook it long enough. The broth, garlic, and mustard kick it up a notch from just using the included spice packet, though, so it’s worth the slight extra effort. 😉 Baking the potato separately allows for a nice crispy skin and contrasting texture as opposed to falling apart slow cooker potatoes — as well as a less salty side for the beef.

I prefer the cheaper point cut corned beef, since it has more flavor than the leaner flat cut. Either, however, will work here.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Carrots, printable recipe

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