10 Recipes For a St. Patrick's Day Feast

Who's ready for a St. Patrick's Day Feast?! Here are ten of our favorite Irish and Irish-inspired recipes for your table.

By
Carrie Havranek
Carrie Havranek
Carrie Havranek
Carrie has 10+ years experience as a food writer, editor, and recipe developer. She is the author of Tasting Pennsylvania and a contributor to Simply Recipes since 2017.
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Published March 13, 2018
Carrie Havranek
10 Recipes for a St. Patrick's Day Feast

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday in which many celebrate being Irish, often regardless of one’s actual heritage!

It’s understandable though -- it’s easy to get into the spirit of the day with dishes that involve ingredients such as potatoes, bread, and beer.

All of these dishes here have some elemental tie to the Emerald Isle, whether it’s an ingredient, a traditional dish, or simply the color green itself.

  • Corned Beef and Cabbage

    The best baked corned beef on a plate with some sauteed cabbage
    Elise Bauer

    It wouldn’t be an Irish-American celebration without corned beef and cabbage! Try it boiled, as is traditional, or try Elise's baked version with honey mustard and cloves – both recipes are included.

  • Irish Soda Bread

    Irish Soda Bread
    Elise Bauer

    Here's a classic! This soda bread comes together in a jiffy and requires little more than baking soda, flour, and buttermilk. This is best eaten the day of—or toasted the next morning—with butter.

  • Irish Beef Stew

    Irish stew with beef, carrots, and potatoes, Guinness and wine served in a bowl
    Elise Bauer

    Ward off the last of the winter chill with this beef stew, cooked with Guinness stout. Granted, it’s more traditionally Irish to use lamb—and by all means go ahead and do so if you like—but Americans are more inclined toward beef.

  • Irish Brown Bread

    Irish Brown Bread
    Sally Vargas

    You can’t have a St. Patrick’s Day meal without a proper nutty and wholesome brown bread. Use the best butter you can find—cultured or Kerrygold work really well here—and slather it on!

    Continue to 5 of 10 below.

  • Colcannon

    Colcannon
    Elise Bauer

    Colcannon – essentially, buttery mashed potatoes and greens -- is creamy, sweet, and bitter, all at once. It's is a common Irish side dish, and this version one features your choice of kale, cabbage or chard.

  • Chocolate Guinness Cake

    Chocolate Guinness Cake
    Elise Bauer

    I’ve been making a variant of this recipe for years, and it's a snap to put together. The stout and sour cream give the chocolate some tang, moisture, and depth, and the cream cheese frosting resembles the foamy head of a pint of Guinness.

  • Parsnip Soup with Leeks and Parsley

    Parsnip Parsley Soup
    Elise Bauer

    Americans are kind of goofy when it comes to St. Patrick’s day, eating all manner of green foods regardless of whether they are actually Irish. However, root vegetables are in season, and leeks and parsley are not uncommon ingredients in Irish food. They just happen to be green and it just happens to be a harbinger of spring, so....

  • Guinness Bread with Molasses

    Guinness Bread Molasses
    Elise Bauer

    I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is traditional, but it is definitely Irish-inspired! This quick beer bread contains Guinness and is infused with molasses.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below.

  • Corned Beef Hash

    Corned Beef Hash
    Elise Bauer

    What to do with any leftover corned beef? Make this corned beef and potato hash, and eat it for breakfast with some eggs or serve as a side dish on its own.

  • Brown Sugar Irish Coffee

    Irish Coffee recipe in decorative glass on table
    Garrett McCord

    Finish off dinner or your dessert with this Irish coffee, which contains the traditional whiskey you would expect, but also some molasses-like flavor from brown sugar syrup.