St. Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated amid religious festivities in honor of St. Patrick himself, one of Ireland’s most prominent patron saints. As Irish immigrants made their way to the United States, the means of celebrating this holiday broadened. These days, the holiday is more about celebrating Irish culture, and as is the case with so many other holidays, events usually center around food. There are so many foods associated with Irish culture, from corned beef and cabbage to Guinness-braised beef and whiskey-infused desserts.
Since St. Patrick’s Day falls on March 17th, chances are that you’ll still be experiencing some pretty cold weather despite spring (technically) being just a few days away. For that reason, a lot of recipes associated with the holiday tend to be things like hearty stews, braised meat and potatoes in every form. Aside from the predictable corned beef and cabbage or Irish soda bread, you’ll see a few recipes for beef stews and meat pies, as well as a handful of pork dishes that feature thick-cut chops, ham hocks and bacon.
Seafood also plays a prominent role in these recipes. After all, Ireland is an island surrounded by fresh water. You’ll find traditional pub meals like fish and chips in addition to soups and stews packed with fresh seafood and mollusks.
Irish whiskey makes its way into several recipes, both sweet and savory. From a sticky gravy for pork chops and mashed potatoes to infused toffee sauces and whipped creams, don’t think for a second we were going to leave the beloved booze of this list.
Celebrate the holiday with these beloved Irish foods.
Champ is a creamy allium-infused mashed potato dish that is similar to the Irish dish called colcannon, which usually incorporates cabbage into the mix. Green cabbage and kale are both cooked down with a meaty ham hock that gets served in big pieces over the mash. And what would a hearty dish be without a sauce to complement all of the flavors? Three kinds of mustard are combined with honey and cream for drizzling.
Stout has a moderately hoppy flavor with sweet underlying notes of dark chocolate, so it’s the perfect thing to add body and depth of flavor to stew. Beef shoulder is a relatively tough cut of meat, but as it simmers down in stock and stout, the meat becomes tender enough that it melts in your mouth. Serve the stew with something that will sop up all of the juices, like mashed potatoes or crusty bread.
With its smooth mouthfeel and hints of vanilla, pair Irish whiskey with honey and whole-grain mustard to make a sweet and sticky glaze for chargrilled pork chops. We like to serve it over a buttery potato mash that’s flavored with aromatic scallions. Quickly glaze some carrots to serve alongside — their natural sweetness works well with the whiskey sauce.
Beef stew is as common in Ireland as a pot roast is in the United States. This one is extra special because it’s made with stout beer and homemade potato dumplings, which float in each bowl, soaking up all of that meaty broth. The stew itself is loaded with smoky pancetta bits, mushrooms and chopped chestnuts — plus a touch of dark chocolate to round out the flavor.
In Ireland, cabbage and bacon is a classic St. Patrick’s Day dish. When Irish immigrants came to America, beef was the most widely available protein so to preserve it, they created corned beef. This recipe is simple — braise beef brisket with carrots, onions, potatoes, cabbage and pickling spices. Serve the corned beef and cabbage with a smear of honey mustard, or pile the meat and juices over a colcannon mash.
Just like when we turn leftover turkey into sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving, the same can be done with post-St. Patrick’s Day corned beef. Slice the leftover beef as thinly as possible and pile it onto slices of rye bread with Irish cheddar cheese, spicy mustard and homemade pickles. Toast each sandwich in butter, grilled cheese-style, just before serving.
Named after the small village near Dublin where it originated, this chowder is sure to please the seafood lovers in your life. Pancetta adds some intensity to the delicate flavor of all of the seafood,— we use fresh salmon, cod, smoked haddock, mussels and smoked salmon. And what would a traditional Irish stew be without some buttery potatoes mixed in?
Using a slow-cooker is a great way to make classic corned beef and cabbage. The steam from the machine locks in the flavor of the pickling spices and dark beer. While the carrots, onions and garlic mainly flavor the cooking liquid, the potatoes and cabbage wedges cook until just tender so you can serve them alongside the corned beef.
Once the bacon is fried for this stew, some of the stout is used to deglaze the pan and pick up all the delicious browned bits. The rest of the beer is added alongside the beef and vegetables as they simmer until tender. This is a great “set it and forget it” recipe because it stews in the oven undisturbed for about two hours.
Cultures collide with this inspired take on stir-fry. The recipe pairs traditional Irish champ with cabbage and adds a little smoky ham and bacon for even more flavor. Quickly stir-fry the vegetables in batches with fresh herbs, then deglaze the pan with lager between batches.
This is a hearty and satisfying dish that’s great for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration (and then some). Savory beef and mushrooms are coated in gravy and topped with a mountain of creamy mashed potatoes.. Serve the dish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley, if desired.
This stick-to-your-ribs meal is incredibly satisfying — a rich and flaky cheddar pie crust bakes on top of a Guinness-infused beef stew. The key to a bold-flavored stew is to get a good sear on the cubes of beef. This will caramelize the natural sugars in the meat and amplify the savory flavor.
Nothing beats a basket of fish and chips at the pub, but our homemade version is the next best thing. Thick strips of whitefish are coated in a simple beer batter, shallow-fried and served alongside homemade chips. Serve with malt vinegar and a glass of frothy beer for a traditional Irish dinner.
This comfort food classic is good for the mind, body and soul. Bone-in pork chops are coated in breadcrumbs made from Irish soda bread. Each pork chop is piled onto buttery, fluffy colcannon mash and drizzled with a wildly flavorful sauce. The sauce — made with honey, brown sugar, whiskey, cider vinegar and mustard — is perfect for glazing chicken wings or baby back ribs.
If you’re short on time when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day festivities, this beef stew is the ticket. This one doesn’t need to stew for hours on the stovetop because we use sirloin steak, which is a much more tender cut than something like shoulder or brisket. Earthy mushrooms and red wine make this full-bodied stew taste like it did braise for hours.
The crispy-skin cod may be the glamorous part of this recipe, but the vibrant green pea purée is what really ties everything together. The frozen peas are cooked with shallots and blitzed in a food processor with a handful of fresh mint. Warmed lentils bulk up the dish — scatter them over the pea purée before topping each serving with a fish filet.
You probably think of mashed potatoes when it comes to serving corned beef and cabbage, but this recipe uses homemade gnocchi instead. Ricotta keeps the potato dumplings soft and pillowy, and a touch of parsley and tarragon add a fresh, bright flavor. Some of the cooking liquid from the shredded brisket is used to make an herby sauce that can and should be spooned over the top.
Consider this sandwich an Irish take on a Philly cheesesteak. It’s a great way to use up leftover corned beef from your St. Patrick’s Day feast. Chop it up on a griddle and pile the meat high into hoagie rolls with a sharp Irish cheddar cheese. Serve it hot and toasty.
Champ is similar to mashed potatoes and it’s often served alongside proteins like pork chops, beef stew and roast chicken. What sets it apart from a usual potato purée is alliums and herbs. The potatoes are infused with aromatics like scallions or spring onions and fresh herbs — in this case, thyme and parsley.
Make sure to add a few side dishes to your St. Patrick’s Day menu, like this easy green one. It only takes a few minutes to fry up some bacon lardons and wilt some leeks and spinach. A dash of vinegar rounds out the flavor, brightening the greens and mellowing out the smoky bacon.
Cabbage is such a versatile vegetable — it can be shredded and served raw in coleslaw, sautéed in a skillet, slow-braised in the oven or cut into wedges and roasted. Just season the cabbage wedges with salt and pepper and roast them alongside thick slices of bacon. As they cook, the bacon gets crispy, so you can crumble it over the cabbage.
Each family has their own unique recipe for Irish soda bread, but the basics are always similar. The dough itself is biscuit-like and is made with flour, butter and leaveners. Some have eggs, and some incorporate buttermilk into the dough, but all of them have dried fruit in the batter. Here, sour cream and plump raisins stand out as specialty additions.
This recipe is similar in texture to Irish soda bread, but it’s made with whole-milk yogurt and fresh rosemary. It’s savory enough that it can be served alongside hearty soups for dipping or toasted and smeared with some good salted butter. The golden brown color on top is achieved by brushing the loaf with a mixture of milk and yogurt before baking.
The aroma that this soda bread creates in your kitchen will be unmatched. In addition to the sweet and juicy raisins that stud the dough, whole caraway seeds toast in the oven and become fragrant and nutty. This recipe uses tangy buttermilk to keep the loaf moist — it also gives it a bit of a tangy flavor.
Irish dessert recipes
Moist and fluffy cake mingles with a bubbly fruit crisp to make this apple crumble cake. Cubes of tart apples practically melt into the cinnamon-scented cake batter as it bakes, and even more apples make their way into a compote-like filling in between the layers. Finish off each slice with a drizzle of buttery dulce de leche glaze (use your favorite store-bought version to keep things simple).
Tiramisu is an Italian dessert that roughly translates to “pick me up.” This recipe gives the Italian treat a little bit of Irish flair. The usual whipped mascarpone mixture is layered with espresso-soaked ladyfingers, but the Guinness-caramel sauce on top has notes of chocolate and malt.
These individual apple sponge cakes are so simple to make, even the most novice baker can do it. They’re delicious on their own with a scoop of ice cream, but you can make St. Patrick’s Day dessert extra special by whipping up a stovetop salted caramel sauce. And who would say no to a dollop of whipped cream, especially one that’s infused with Irish whiskey?
These cupcakes are inspired by Irish coffee, which is a creamy drink made with espresso and whiskey. The cupcake batter is spiked with coffee and booze, and the buttercream frosting that is swirled on top has another splash of whiskey to boot. To signal the Irish coffee flavor, be sure to top each cupcake with one or two chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Stout and sour cream keep these rich cocoa cupcakes moist. They also help pack a ton of flavor into each bite. Cream cheese frosting is our go-to here, and we make it special enough for the holiday by incorporating melted white chocolate into the frosting.
Embracing Irish folklore is part of the fun of St. Patrick’s Day (aside from the good eats, of course). Tin foil-wrapped chocolate coins are handed out on the holiday as a symbol of leprechaun’s gold. These adorable edible leprechaun hats are made by stacking marshmallows on top of chocolate cookies and enrobing them in candy melts and colorful sprinkles.
If you’re looking for a last-minute dessert idea for St. Patrick’s Day, this is for you. A duo of dark and white chocolate is melted and spread into a bark candy, and salty potato chips and pretzels are crushed over the top. Decorate with green candies or St. Patrick’s Day-inspired shamrock sprinkles.
You’ll see sticky toffee pudding on dessert menus across Ireland — it’s a moist, buttery cake that’s sweetened with sugar and dates. This one is special because it’s swimming in a whiskey-infused toffee sauce. As the sauce soaks into the warm cake, it mingles with the orange-infused cream that’s dolloped on top.
If you were going to turn hot chocolate into a rich and decadent drinkable dessert, this make-ahead mousse would be it. Whipped egg whites are folded into a silky smooth whiskey-infused almond milk custard. If you can resist eating it by the spoonful right away, spoon the mousse into serving glasses and let them firm up in the fridge.
A tall glass of Irish coffee is the perfect way to warm up on a cold day. Essentially, you’re adding whiskey to sweetened coffee — talk about an extra jolt in the morning! If you like your coffee with cream, stir in a few tablespoons to your liking.