Corned Beef and Cabbage with Horseradish Cream Sauce
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Take your corned beef and cabbage up a notch by skipping the traditional boiling method and slow-roasting in the oven instead.
Corned beef and cabbage is a classic Irish-American dish that is synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day. It consists of corned beef (a brisket that has been cured with salt and spices) and cabbage, as well as other vegetables like potatoes and carrots. While the traditional cooking method involves boiling everything together in a large pot on the stovetop, I think slow-roasting the meat and vegetables separately in the oven yields a far superior result. To amp up the flavor, I toss the vegetables in a horseradish-spiked butter sauce before roasting—it makes all the difference. Once roasted, the corned beef is tender and subtly spiced and the bronzed veggies are near impossible to resist eating straight from the pan.
Horseradish cream sauce is a classic accompaniment to corned beef and cabbage because it adds a tangy and slightly spicy flavor that complements the rich and salty flavor of the corned beef. The creaminess of the sauce also provides a cooling contrast to the hot and savory meat and vegetables. Serve corned beef and cabbage with soda bread or for a traditional Irish-American meal.
What you’ll need to make Corned Beef and Cabbage
The term “corned” refers to the large grains of salt that were historically used to cure the beef, which gives the dish its distinctively salty and savory flavor. Corned beef briskets are widely available in supermarkets today, and in March, they are often on sale, making it the perfect time to prepare this delicious dish. Look for corned beef that is labeled flat-cut. If it’s not clear based on the packaging, just ask your butcher to point you in the right direction. Do not trim the fat from the corned beef before starting the recipe; the fat helps baste the meat and keep it tender while roasting. You can remove the fat once the corned beef is cooked.
Step-by-step Instructions
Begin by rinsing the meat under cold running water. This will rid the meat of some of the saltiness. Place the corned beef fat side up in a large roasting pan.
Pour about 1/8 inch water around the corned beef. Sprinkle the contents of the seasoning packet into the water around the meat. Cover the pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil and roast on the middle rack for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the melted butter, horseradish, salt, and pepper.
Mix well.
Place the carrots, potatoes and cabbage side by side on a rimmed baking sheet (do not line the pan with foil; the potatoes will stick). Drizzle the horseradish-butter mixture over the veggies.
Toss with a spatula to coat all of the vegetables evenly, keeping the vegetables separate. Turn the potatoes so that they are cut side down (they’ll get much crispier that way).
After the corned beef has roasted for 1 hour and 30 minutes, place the pan of vegetables on the bottom rack of the oven. Roast the vegetables and continue cooking the corned beef for 1 hour and 30 minutes more, until both the meat and vegetables are tender. Check on the veggies occasionally to be sure they are browning evenly.
Remove the meat from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool slightly, until cool enough to handle.
Cut off the layer of fat on top of the corned beef and discard. Slice the meat against, or perpendicular to, the grain into 1/4-inch slices.
How To Make Horseradish Cream Sauce
Simply combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl, and season to taste.
Arrange the meat and roasted vegetables on a platter and sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve with the horseradish cream sauce on the side.
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Corned Beef and Cabbage with Horseradish Cream Sauce
Take your corned beef and cabbage up a notch by skipping the traditional boiling method and slow-roasting in the oven instead.
Ingredients
For the Corned Beef and Vegetables
- 1 (4-lb) flat-cut corned beef with seasoning packet (do not trim the fat)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 medium carrots, cut into 2-in chunks
- 1¼ lb small gold potatoes (about 2.5" in diameter), halved
- 1 very small green cabbage, cored and cut into ½-inch-thick slices (see note)
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, for garnish (optional)
For the Horseradish Cream Sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven the 325°F. Set one oven rack in the middle position and another in the bottom position.
- Rinse the corned beef several times under running cold water. (No need to dry it.)
- Place the corned beef fat side up in a large roasting pan (you'll trim the fat after the meat is cooked). Pour about ⅛ inch water around the meat. Sprinkle the contents of the seasoning packet into the water around the corned beef. Cover the pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil and roast on the middle rack for 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, horseradish, salt and pepper.
- Place the carrots, potatoes and cabbage side by side on a rimmed baking sheet (do not line the pan with foil; the potatoes will stick). Drizzle the horseradish-butter mixture over the veggies and toss with a spatula to coat all of the vegetables evenly, keeping the vegetables separate. Turn the potatoes so that they are cut side down (they'll get crispier that way).
- After the corned beef has roasted for 1 hour and 30 minutes, place the pan of vegetables on the bottom rack of the oven. Roast the vegetables and continue cooking the corned beef for 1 hour and 30 minutes more, until both the meat and vegetables are tender. Check on the veggies occasionally to be sure they are browning evenly. (The cabbage will brown first, so give it a toss when the bottom pieces look golden. The potatoes and carrots may need to be turned, but only if they are nicely browned on the bottom before the cook time is up.)
- Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Cut off the layer of fat on top of the corned beef and discard. Slice the meat against (or perpendicular to) the grain into ¼-inch slices. Arrange the meat on a platter with the roasted vegetables and sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve with the horseradish cream sauce.
For the Horseradish Cream Sauce
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more horseradish to taste, if desired.
- Note: You won't use the whole head of cabbage; just use enough to cover ⅓ of the sheet pan.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the horseradish cream sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 577
- Fat: 40 g
- Saturated fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Sodium: 2813 mg
- Cholesterol: 138 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this after St. Patty’s day and it was just fabulous! I will make this every year, or whenever I can find the corned beef in the store. I will also use the horseradish butter for roasting veggies going forward. The horseradish cream was just delightful and we all agreed it added to the specialness of the meal. Thank you Jenn for your detailed recipes. The first recipe I tried on your website was the beef stew and that started my sincere trust in your recipes and website.
💕
This is the way
My goodness this corned beef and cabbage with horseradish cream sauce is definitely taking it up a notch! I will never boil corned beef again! We had this for St. Patrick’s day dinner, leftovers the next day, and Reubens the third day. Soooo good!
This was the best corned beef recipe I’ve ever made. The sauce is so good, I’m going to use on everything I can think of.
Hello-
Quick question, If you have a corned beef that weighs more, should you add time on to the three hours and in what increments?
Thanks
It depends on how large your corned beef is. How much does it weigh?
You had a recipe many years 7+ that one baked the cabbage in round slices and spread a horseradish sauce over. Is this sauce the same? If not can you print the recipe again. Thanks
Hi Vicki, That’s not one of mine – sorry!
Can I store the corn beef in the frig to finish cooking the next day? I started it tonight to have for dinner tomorrow. It has another 30 minutes or so. Im worried it will be too spicy if I soak it in the corn beef seasoning in the frig.
Hi Amy, that should be fine.
I made this corned beef tonight and it was great!! Got rave reviews and a “this needs to be in our regular rotation”! So easy and delicious. Thanks, Jenn! 🙂
Made this for family and friends this year, bypassing the usual boiled corned beef brisket and vegetables. This got rave reviews from the family and my Jewish friend said he was pleasantly surprised how good the corned beef turned out (that’s HIGH PRAISE from him!). Tossing the vegetables with horseradish and butter really elevated their flavor. Serving the cream sauce alongside was a big hit. Actually had NO LEFTOVERS as party ate until food was gone!
I LOVE this recipe! I have always loved corned beef and cabbage, but the horseradish and roasting the meat and veggies definitely kicks it up a notch.
WOW! I’ve been eating boiled corned beef and cabbage for 20 years, but I stumbled upon this recipe when researching corned beef seasonings, and I’m so glad I took a chance on it. I am blown away by the amount of flavor and the ease of making this dish! I’ve never been a horseradish fan either, but I took a chance and was floored by the amazing flavor! The veggies got a little caramelized and crispy and complemented the perfectly cooked corned beef so well. AND THE DIPPING SAUCE! This dipping sauce has a chokehold on me – it is drool-worthy. I dipped everything on my plate in this sauce even though everything was cooked to perfection and definitely didn’t need a sauce to taste amazing. My husband who is a firm naysayer when it comes to corned beef and cabbage even had seconds so I call this a major win! I am so excited for next St Patrick’s Day to make this again!
Dear Jenn, I use your recipes often and pass them along to my family. I now cook infrequently since I lost my husband a couple years ago and live alone. It’s no fun to cook for one. However, I really wanted to make this recipe, so I invited a couple of my kids over and made this it exactly as you directed. It turned out so incredibly well I could not believe it. My kids loved it also. The best part is that it is so simple to make. I also made the horseradish sauce which was delicious, but I think the corned beef would have been good even with just plain old horseradish. I think I need to bit the bullet, cook more often, and invite more people over.
Good for you, Inga. I also hesitate to invite people over and cook for them, but I’m always glad when I do. I’m so sorry you lost your husband. I appreciate the review because I don’t have any sour cream on hand but I do have horseradish and my brisket is in the oven now 🙂
Oh man, this recipe was dynomite! I did double the butter-horseradish sauce for the carrots, cabbage and potatoes because I made a very large roaster full of them. The horseradish cream sauce is excellent too! I am not a huge fan of corned beef, but I will definitely be making vegetables and potatoes like this again…and the sauce too! The corned beef was very good, it’s just not a favorite for me. lol. I bet the creamed horseradish sauce would be good on quite a few dishes/meats. Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe, Jenn!
I made this corned beef tonight for some guests and we all absolutely loved it. Fantastic flavor on the roast. Thank you for sharing.
Recipe was excellent….but the corned beef was really salty…is it because we didn’t boil it? Roasted vegs were excellant!
Hi Carol, I’m sorry you found it to be too salty. . I think that different brands have varying levels of salt, so if you go to prepare this again, I would suggest trying a different brand of corned beef.
Thank you for sharing your easy to folow recipe!
I won’t boil corned beef anymore.
We loved this meal!
This meat was tender and delicious. The vegetables were amazing. As was the horseradish sauce. A winning dinner!
I have a small 2 pound corned beef. Would you still roast for 3 hours or shorten the roasting time?
Yes, Carolyn, you can use the same timing. Enjoy!
I forgot to say that I lined the sheet pan for the veggies with Non -Stick Foil. Worked great and no clean up.
This came out perfect, moist meat, perfectly roasted potatoes, carrots still had just the right chunch, cabbage was so good. Easy prep, actually all prep was in cutting veggies.
Another perfect recipe from Jenn! This was the most tender, flavorful corned beef I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot! I had a stout on hand and mixed it with water to equal the amount in the recipe. Boiled cabbage is our St. Pats tradition so I did deviate there but added some of the liquid for the corned beef so even elevated the dinner. Your recipes never fail!
This recipe was very good. Everyone loved it! I will definitely make it again but probably use more cabbage next time. The flavor of the vegetables was delicious. The amount of horseradish in the recipe was perfect for my family’s taste, not too overpowering.
Hi! I’m trying out your recipe for the 1st time and had a question on the roasting pan/water. I have a roasting pan with a slight raised rack in it, should I put the water 1/8” up the meat or 1/8” up the pan? Thanks and I’m so excited to try this!
Hi Katie, I’m sorry if I’m weighing, then too late to be helpful, but for future reference, putting water just 1/8 inch up the side of the pan should be fine.
I’ve been making corned beef on St. Patty’s Day for 50 years. I stopped boiling it after I came across your recipe 2 or 3 years ago. The horseradish sauce over the vegetables is amazing. You have changed the minds of the boilers. Thank you.
After all the years of making corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots for St. Patrick’s Day, this recipe presented the best flavors we’ve ever experienced and it was so easy to make. About 9 lbs. of corned beef and 5-6 lbs. of vegetables were roasted for our one special meal and it all disappeared by the end of the day (minus a small reserve for sandwiches today). We have vowed to make this again on a regular basis because it was absolutely delicious!
Hi Jenn, love all your recipes! I followed all the steps for this recipe and the meat came out super tender but also super salty. I rinsed it prior to cooking as indicated in the directions.. any insight as to how to fix this for next time?
Hi Michelle, I’m sorry your corned beef was too salty! I think that different brands have varying levels of salt, so if you go to prepare this again, I would suggest trying a different brand of corned beef.
I cooked potatoes, carrots, purple cabbage and green beans this way- Fantastic!!! It’s going to be a regular way to cook them, as long as I have fresh horse radish in the fridge…Thank you for another great recipe!!❤️👏👏👏
OMG THANK YOU!!! Religiously I make Corned Beef and Cabbage every dang year and every year it’s SOOOOOOooooooo BLAH!! Never liked it much and always felt if I was going to pay for an expensive piece of brisket, I’d rather just do a great brisket recipe. Well your recipe really changed things up!! I am going to look forward to St. Patrick’s Day and this meal from here on!
I actually started a recipe where you boil it, and as I read yours – took it out and roasted instead.
This served to get a lot of the “saltiness” out of the meat before roasting and I would probablyly do that again for that reason. You might try that yourself – otherwise I cooked the meat, and microwaved small red potatoes (that come in a microwave pack) half way, cut the carrots down the middle two ways so they were slender – that made roasting them at 425 about a 20-25 min deal keeping tin foil over them lightly.
Then I put the meat back in for a few minute to rewarm it just a bit an d meanwhile made that sauce….it was SOOOO good!
Thanks for the base recipe! My March 17th life is forever changed!!
I made this yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day and it was a huge hit! It was so delicious that it will be my St Patrick’s go-to recipe from now on. Everyone loved it, so much in fact that I’m going to go buy another corned beef and make it again today.
Best Corned Beef we’ve had in years. Wish I’d bought a bigger brisket for more leftovers. The vegetables were perfect. I could have eaten a whole head of cabbage roasted with the butter/horseradish sauce. Definitely saving for next year!
Hi Jen –
I made this for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner last night, and it was five star delicious! Another keeper for my file from you! 🙂 Lee Mc
Sooo delicious! Made this yesterday- my husband who loves corned beef and cabbage the way I’ve always made it ( simmered on top of stove) said this was the best corned beef dinner he’s ever had 😊
Thank you, Jen!
Simply Amazing! My family said it was hands down the best corned beef they’ve ever had! I’ve boiled, slow-cooked and pressure cooked – but slow roasting it your way resulted in a tender corned beef that made for Instagram-worthy slices! My picky college boys even ate the horseradish-spiked caramelized cabbage, which was a first as they usually don’t want any part of cabbage. Thoroughly enjoyed this meal and can’t wait to make poached eggs and hash with the leftover corned beef and potatoes. Six stars out of five from this family! If I can figure out how to post and tag you on Instagram, I will 🙂
Sensational.
This recipe is insanely good. I made it exactly as written with the exception of reducing the salt in the mixture for the vegetables to 1/2 tsp. I will never make my St. Patrick’s Day meal any other way!
This is a fabulous recipe. You’re going to want triple the cabbage because it’s that good!
I’ve sent this recipe to many family members!
This is my new way of making “boiled dinnah” for St. Paddy’s Day dinner. I served both the roasted (only change was IPA around the corned beef instead of water with a slather of grainy mustard and sprinkle of brown sugar on the 2 beefs) and boiled. The roasted was king! That cabbage was so good, very much enjoyed by the non-cabbage camp! Love this recipe and method. Thanks!
I could only get the petit potatoes, which are smaller at about 1 1/2 in. Would you recommend roasting them whole or still cutting them in half?
It’s so nice to get the browning on the cut sides of the potatoes that I’d still suggest cutting them in half. I’d hold off on putting them in the oven at the same time as the carrots and cabbage and about 30+ minutes after you put the veggies in, I’d quickly pull out the baking sheet, put the potatoes on, and return to the oven. Hope that helps!