17 St. Patrick’s Day Recipes to Make You Feel Extra Lucky

Corned beef, Irish stew, soda bread and more: These are the recipes to gather around and celebrate.

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday that celebrates Irish culture and the patron saint of Ireland. We have all the recipes you need, whether classic Irish stew or Irish coffee. And don’t forget to wear something green, because everybody is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.

1. Corned Beef and Cabbage

The official dish of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States: Corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes simmer in a big pot, so the beef seasons everything. And, once on the plate, the soft, earthy vegetables balance out the beef’s salty chew. (Should cooking everything over the stovetop seem tiring, here are slow cooker and pressure cooker versions, also from the recipe’s writer, Sarah DiGregorio.)

Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage

2. Irish Soda Bread

This version of Irish soda bread, without any bells and whistles, is adapted from Darina Allen, an Irish television personality and the owner of the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry. Eat it fresh from the oven, slathered in good, preferably Irish, butter.

Recipe: Irish Soda Bread

3. Chocolate Guinness Cake

Hands down our most popular St. Patrick’s Day recipe is this deep, dark delight of a cake from Nigella Lawson. Guinness and coffee bolster the dark chocolate flavor, and a layer of frothy cream cheese frosting mimics the foam that floats atop a pint of stout.

Recipe: Chocolate Guinness Cake

4. Potato Leek Soup

Start the holiday meal off with a bowl of this classic, creamy and warming soup from Kay Chun. For an extra silky result, pass it through a sieve before serving.

Recipe: Potato Leek Soup

5. Irish Stew

Traditional Irish stew is made with mutton, but modern-day versions like this one from David Tanis call for lamb. It braises alongside carrots, potatoes and onions until fall-apart tender.

Recipe: Irish Stew

6. Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

Samantha Seneviratne’s vegetarian riff on shepherd’s pie is made with French green lentils, which retain their shape and bite, and stand up beautifully to a lengthy simmer and a hearty mashed potato topping.

Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

7. Colcannon (Mashed Potatoes and Cabbage)

This traditional Irish dish of fluffy mashed potatoes mixed with greens — in this case, scallions and chopped cabbage or kale — is typically served on Samhain, a pagan holiday from which Halloween is derived, but it’s welcome on any Irish-leaning menu. Kristina Felix’s version keeps it classic and simple with scallions and plenty of butter.

Recipe: Colcannon (Mashed Potatoes and Cabbage)

8. Fried Cabbage

In directing you to sizzle cabbage, onion and garlic in bacon drippings, this recipe from Kay Chun renders the tough vegetables silky and just this side of sweet. Add a touch of mustard to balance out the richness, and then add the bacon back in just before serving for salty, savory bites.

Recipe: Fried Cabbage

9. Irish Cream Chocolate Cake

Fair play to Yossy Arefi for this gorgeous two-layer chocolate cake that sandwiches a ribbon of Irish-cream-infused chocolate ganache. It’s blanketed with swoops of Irish cream buttercream frosting, a perfect finish.

Recipe: Irish Cream Chocolate Cake

10. Boxty (Irish Potato Pancakes)

Typically served alongside stews and rich meat dishes, boxty are made with a combination of mashed and grated potatoes for a crispy exterior and tender interior. This version was adapted from “The Irish Cookbook” by Jp McMahon.

Recipe: Boxty (Irish Potato Pancakes)

11. Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew With Horseradish Cream

Let the slow cooker do the work while you head to the parade decked out in green. Sarah DiGregorio’s rib-sticking stew gets its nuanced flavors from Guinness as well as a handful of surprise pantry ingredients like espresso powder, cocoa powder, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. (There are also pressure cooker and oven versions of the recipe.)

Recipe: Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew

12. Reuben Sandwich

Before your start sipping Guinness, gird your stomach with Kay Chun’s version of the classic sandwich of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a healthy smear of homemade Russian dressing nestled between slices of rye. (Or try Ali Slagle’s vegetarian Reuben.)

Recipe: Reuben Sandwich

13. Guinness Pie

If corned beef isn’t your thing, but you want to impress, whip up a big baking dish of Guinness pie. Sam Sifton, who created this recipe with advice and instruction from the British chefs Jamie Oliver (the stew) and Fergus Henderson (the pastry), describes it better than I ever could: “Beef in dark, silky gravy composed of fat and reduced stout, flecked with tender vegetables, covered in pastry.” Sign us up.

Recipe: Guinness Pie

14. Irish Coffee

Patrick Farrell, one of our resident Irishmen, brought this recipe for the classic Irish American cocktail to The New York Times in 2012. For him and his four siblings, “it’s a sort of minor Sunday devotion, with an attendant after-dinner ritual of rummaging for the special cups, worrying the cream and carefully staging the whole vertical assembly.”

Recipe: Irish Coffee

15. Cottage Pie

“Made as written and it was absolutely delicious!” wrote one reader about Dan Pelosi’s version of the classic Irish and English savory pie. “Thanks so much Dan. I’ve made so many versions of cottage pie and this is the clear winner!” If you’re feeling it, sub sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes and toss in whatever vegetables are lazing about in your fridge.

Recipe: Cottage Pie

16. Irish Cream Poundcake

You need something to serve with Irish coffee, and this dense and icing-blanketed cake from Erin Jeanne McDowell is just the thing. The alcohol in the cake burns off during baking, but if you’d like to soften the boozy taste in the glaze, simmer the Irish cream and let it cool before whisking it with the confectioners’ sugar.

Recipe: Irish Cream Poundcake

17. Corned Beef Hash

When it’s all said and done, and your Aran sweater has been tucked away until next year, here’s what to throw together with the leftover corned beef in your fridge. And if you don’t have corned beef, Ali Slagle suggests using 1½ cups of bite-size pieces of another cooked protein, such as pastrami, roast beef, sausage, bacon, chicken or tofu.

Recipe: Corned Beef Hash

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