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St. Patrick’s Day conjures thoughts of wild street parades and packed pubs, but we always have our eye on the prize: the food. If you’re hosting a gathering this March 17, you’ll want to provide some sustenance for your guests, and these St. Patrick’s Day food ideas are just the ticket.
But honestly, finding a tasty option is easy when staples include kitchen MVPs like potatoes and corned beef. The Bear may have put some star power behind Italian beef, but Irish beef has been holding its own for years. Between corned beef, beef stew, and cottage pie, beef is only the tip of the Irish iceberg.
As soon as those St. Paddy’s decorations hit the shelves, we’re thinking of rich stews and Guinness glaze. So, we took the liberty of finding a range of recipes that have a few things in common: as soon as these hit the table at a dinner party, every guest will be feeling the luck o’ the Irish.
21 St. Patrick’s Foods For Your Gaelic Gathering
1. Crock Pot Corned Beef (Whiskey Glazed)
Corned beef is a low-effort, high reward dish. Most stores sell the brisket and spice pack, but you can up the ode to Ireland with a sweet whiskey glaze.
A hunk of this tender, flavorful brisket will be a showstopper at your St. Paddy’s dinner party, but it’s also just begging to be made into hash and topped with eggs. Add potatoes and you’ve got the ultimate hangover breakfast. Or lunch, depending on when you wake up.
2. Irish Brown Soda Bread
While still a traditional Irish recipe, brown soda bread is a take that gets its name and color from the use of whole wheat flour. It’s still got the namesake baking soda as a leavening agent, but this version has a nutty flavor and extra crunchy crust.
Think of it as soda bread with a tan, AKA that thing you get from the sun, with which Ireland is largely unfamiliar.
3. Slow Cooker Cottage Pie
That famous fabled tortoise had it right: sometimes slow is the way to go. For all the comfort of a cottage pie, all the free time of ordering in, and none of the stress of babysitting a dish in the oven, slow cooker cottage pie is the solution.
There’s just a little bit of prep work to be done before you can leave the heavy lifting to the crock pot, so you’ll have plenty of time to practice responding to compliments on the food. “Oh, this? I just threw this together.”
4. Irish Leek Soup with Zucchini and Pea Protein
What if we told you that as good as potato leek soup is, there’s a spud-less option that’s still delicious?
Give potatoes a break and try this variation that’s packed with flavor and nutrients from leeks, zucchini, and pea protein to keep you full, satisfied, and absolutely jacked enough to stand your ground at a rowdy St. Paddy’s parade.
5. Irish Guinness Beef Stew
Irish. Guinness. Beef stew. This recipe is a buzzword dream for anyone seeking out quintessential St. Patrick’s celebration food, and the flavors drive it home as a dream for all who indulge.
The hearty stew of beef, Guinness, tomato paste, mirepoix, and potatoes come together in an Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop, and is sure to make your house smell incredible any way you dice it. Any leftovers you might have will age beautifully. It’s the J-Lo of dishes.
6. Dublin Coddle
Our grandpappy who walked uphill both ways to school tells us we’re coddled, and we take that as a compliment because apparently, coddle is a delicious Irish dish.
Made with bacon, sausage, onions, and potatoes, it’s cooked slowly in chicken broth until it ends up as something so warm and comforting, it’s basically an edible hug.
7. Corned Beef Bagel Sandwich
Hosting a St. Paddy’s brunch? You are now.
We’ll take any excuse to have this corned beef bagel sandwich – especially if you go all in and add sautéed onions, melted cheese, and garlicky dill pickles. Bacon, egg, and cheese? You’ve had your time. It’s corned beef’s world right now.
8. Colcannon
It’s hard to get enough vegetables, but you know what makes it easier? Putting them into mashed potatoes.
Even if you’re not a kale or cabbage fan, we urge you to try them folded into some rich taters and then look us in the eye and tell us you didn’t go back for seconds.
9. Slow Cooker Corned Beef Hash Au Gratin
This gratin takes the classic corned beef and potato combination and gives them a new twist in casserole form with the addition of pepper jack cheese.
We’re fans of the classic, but this remix has only 9 ingredients in a low-effort crockpot recipe. And most importantly, it involves cheese and potatoes. If you’re trying to get us out of our comfort zones, this is the way to do it.
10. Gluten-free Shepherd’s Pie
St. Patrick’s Day is crawling with wheat. All that beer? All that soda bread? This year, give the celiac something to celebrate.
Nobody will feel bad passing on scones when they can load up their plate with a sumptuous combination of meat and veggies thickened with potato starch. It’s covered with a blanket of parmesan mashed potatoes, which we keep waiting to see in stock at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
11. Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
The meat stews of the season can get a bit heavy, so it’s great to have a vegan version of the fan favorite shepherd’s pie to appease all diets.
In addition to subbing out beef for lentils, the use of vegan butter and non-dairy milk will leave your hands free to celebrate. Instead of reaching for the Lactaid.
12. Corned Beef with Cabbage
Sometimes, you really do just want an oldie but a goodie. Get off TikTok, turn on Cheers, and go back to a solid classic with corned beef and cabbage. There’s a reason people keep making it after all these years!
13. Irish Soda Bread Muffins
All the taste of Irish soda bread, and all the fun portability of a muffin? Sign us up for these single serve flavor pucks.
Go ahead and put away the bread knife. Until you need to find out who ate all of the marshmallows out of your Lucky Charms.
14. Irish Tacos with Potatoes, Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Onions
Have you ever tried to eat an Irish corned beef dinner on the go? We have the grease-stained shirts to prove that it’s not a good idea.
If you want to enjoy the traditional fixins, but also mingle untethered to your spot at the dinner table, tacos are your answer. We’re not surprised. When have tacos ever made things worse?
15. Reuben Sliders with Corned Beef
Our commitment issues may have plunged our romantic life into disarray, but the reluctance to commit to a full reuben is no problem thanks to sliders.
These appetizer-sized sandwiches include the corned beef, krout, and Swiss we love, but let you save space to nosh on other options. Speed dating for food? We’re game.
16. Corned Beef Brisket Burnt Ends with Guinness Glaze
Ireland? Meet Southern BBQ. Southern BBQ? Meet Ireland. This is the crossover we didn’t know we needed, but one we can’t get enough of.
*sniff* True love is just so beautiful. *sniff*
17. Loaded Irish Nachos
How do you make nachos Irish? Potatoes are a good start. Potatoes are always a good start.
This recipe begins not with traditional chips, but with sliced potatoes. It piles on standard nacho fare like cheese, but with an extra nod to Ireland thanks to green ingredients like jalapeños, guacamole, and chives.
18. Reuben Cheese Dip
A reuben can be great, but we’d sooner trust someone with our first-born than with something as high stakes as sandwich assembly. Sandwich construction is a delicate matter. The bread to meat to cheese ratio is crucial.
But they say if you want something done right, do it yourself. With this dip, you’re free to dip to your heart’s content and scale your gooey goodness to bread based on your heart’s content. Gosh, it feels good to be free.
19. Green Juice
Of course you’re serving green juice! What else is there to drink on St. Patrick’s Day?
Aside from going fabulously with the color scheme, there’s certainly room for a refreshing beverage like this. Whether you’re preparing for the day ahead or recovering from the night before, it’s worth having in your arsenal.
20. Irish Seafood Chowder
Between all the beef and lamb, land is played out. It’s time the sea got some love.
Celebrate the sea with this luscious mixture of shrimp, crab, and clams in a creamy base seasoned with thyme and tarragon. Plug your ears, Aquaman. Your family is delicious.
21. Cabbage Roll Soup
If you’re like us, eating cabbage rolls is messy business. They start out as neatly wrapped packages and immediately turn into a pile of innards all over the plate, which sounds a little like the premise of a Jordan Peele movie.
Now you can soothe those fears with a soup that leans into the messiness of cabbage rolls. It simply turns the classic ingredients of beef, cabbage, and rice into a soup that isn’t designed to embarrass you at the dinner table.
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Hebba Gouda
Hebba is a New Jersey born, Minnesota educated brunch enthusiast who is strongly in favor of the Oxford comma. She likes nostalgic songs, jigsaw puzzles, and middle brownie pieces. She dislikes humidity, sports, and sports in humidity. She uses her background in science and creative writing as part of the team behind the podcast Two What's?! and a Wow! You can find her being silly on Twitter and serious on LinkedIn.
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