Healthy St. Patrick's Day Recipes

Horseradish-crusted corned beef pairs with tender cabbage and herbed potatoes for the ideal St. Patrick's Day feast. Round out the meal with your favorite Irish beer and a serving of warm bread pudding.

No proofing, no kneading, no waiting to rise… The beauty of Irish soda bread is in its simplicity. At some point in history, the ease and convenience of Irish soda bread gained popularity in America, where people immediately began to do what Americans do best with foods… added white flour, sugar, and (sometimes) eggs, making this hearty, healthy loaf into a cake. Here, we’ve reinstated the whole-grain beauty of this historical bread packed with whole-grain flour, bran, germ, and even steel cut oats. Whole grains are thirsty, so lots of buttermilk keeps this batter nice and saturated—don’t be discouraged by the wet, sticky dough. Greek yogurt adds a fluffy, creamy tang to decadent salted butter, while matcha adds earthy, grassy, green beauty to this hearty bread.

Historically, the phrase “black and tan” referred to the much-reviled auxiliary force of English soldiers sent to Ireland to suppress the Irish rebels after the 1916 Easter Rising. Eventually, a much-loved drink made with half Guinness Stout and half Harp Lager assumed the name, and now this two-toned brownie (with the addition of Guinness) shares it.

We use cauliflower for the topping instead of the usual mashed potatoes; cauliflower has twice the fiber and about a fourth of the carbs. For a gluten-free version, use 2 tablespoons cornstarch in place of the all-purpose flour in step 3 of the recipe.

Gorgeous, incredibly easy to make, and with an I-can-put-my-finger-on-that-flavor yumminess—we love everything about this fruity chocolate bark. The earthy taste of the matcha enhances the flavor of the tart cherries, but the real key to deliciousness is that flake salt on top. If you don’t have flake salt (though we’d love for you to go get some), you can sub a crunchy sea salt.

This hearty stew, layered with complex flavors from caraway seeds, sweet raisins, and full-bodied Guinness Draught pays homage to the best of Irish cooking and earned our test kitchen's highest rating. Food Editor, Ann Taylor Pittman, promises “This meaty stew is so good, I sopped up every drop of the gravy-like broth with bread.”

Bitterness rating: 3/10. If the dough’s stickiness makes it difficult to work with, dampen your hands slightly before shaping it.

There's no better way to celebrate St. Paddy than with a showstopping feast of beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. To create the traditional flavor profile of corned beef and cabbage without the traditionally massive sodium spike, we simmer brisket in a strong aromatic spice blend at low and slow heat rather than starting with brined beef. Brisket, like other tough meat cuts, holds up wonderfully in a slow cooker. The meat relaxes and tenderizes in the low heat and long cook time, yielding amazingly tender beef. While flat-cut brisket is leaner than point-cut and so can often be dry and tough when cooked improperly, the slow stewing here keeps the meat juicy and moist.

"Frenched" racks of lamb are trimmed so that the bones are cleaned of fat and meat; if you can't find pre-frenched lamb racks, ask the butcher to french them for you.

Cooking cabbage soup in your Instant Pot helps to maintain a bit of texture in the ingredients, though not too much crunch. Veggie-packed, yet still bright and fresh-tasting, the flavors in this ultra-healthy soup don’t get muddy as vegetable soups sometimes do.

A simple crust of toasted pistachios takes salmon from everyday delicious to special enough for guests. For even cooking, look for a fillet that is about the same thickness throughout, or ask at the fish counter to trim off the tail end. Serve with rice pilaf or farro.

Seamlessly work matcha into your diet if yogurt is one of your go-to breakfast staples. It pairs incredibly well with sunflower granola and raspberries. Store granola in an airtight container and serve over yogurt for a hearty and nutritious breakfast.

Filled with tender sweet potato, meaty mushrooms, and shredded chicken, these personal potpies are a one-dish meal your family will love. Let the puff pastry thaw in the fridge for about 45 minutes before using.

You can mix matcha powder into almost any dessert, from cookies to cupcakes to ice cream. It pairs very well with a light and fluffy vanilla cake. Plus, it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy!

Ready to make your own matcha beer? We partnered up with Seth Piracci, owner of The Starliner bar in Brooklyn, New York, to create a better-for-you alternative to green Guinness for your next St. Patty’s Day party. Matcha will leave you with a naturally colored beer that’s both healthy and extra frothy.

If you find yourself searching Pinterest for St. Patrick’s Day snack mixes, you’re going to come up rather empty-handed. A search returns some ideas that, though cute, don’t even near the healthy hemisphere. This fun and festive snack mix was made for everyone to don some green, avoid the pinches, and say cheers with healthy green drinks and snacks. Imagine a spicy-sweet grouping with lots of crunch!

These slow-roasted wedges will make a cabbage convert out of anyone and are a beautiful first source sub for the usual appetizer salad. Leave the core intact so the wedges hold their shape. Caraway has an earthy, anise-like flavor, almost like a combination of cumin and fennel seed. Use a mortar and pestle or small heavy skillet to crush the caraway seeds, or pulse in a spice grinder.

Coat the lamb with Dijon mustard to add flavor and help the breadcrumbs stick.

Rutabaga has a luscious buttery quality when cooked, so naturally, this root veggie shines in mash form. We incorporate potatoes as a way to provide the starch that rutabaga lacks, making for an ultrasilky, comforting hearty spin on classic Irish champ.

This salad is full of lovely textures ranging from crunchy to creamy. You can make the zippy lemon dressing and blanch, drain, and chill the peas and asparagus up to 2 says ahead, but combine all the elements shortly before serving to preserve the color of the avocado and the crunch of the greens.

A stovetop sauté and an oven braise gives the spuds a bronzed exterior and creamy interior. The stock mixture reduces in the oven, giving the potatoes their own rich gravy. Serve with a simply roasted chicken or pork loin.

Use preground fennel and coriander seeds if you’re short on time; you’ll lose the texture the crushed seeds provide, but you’ll get the same great flavor. Substitute 2 teaspoons each of the ground seeds for 1 tablespoon whole seeds.

These little potato pancakes take almost no time to pat together and quickly sauté to golden-brown perfection. Topped with smoked salmon, sour cream, and chives, they're an elegant party nibble. Serve with a dollop of applesauce in place of the fish for a fast meat-free option.

There’s a serious matcha movement happening, and we are in full support. Matcha is praised for providing a sustained energy boost, a wealth of antioxidants, and for providing a “calm-alertness” thanks to the amino acid L-Theanine. Though there’s something beautifully simplistic about the matcha latte in its unembellished state, we’ve taken it one step further and added our favorite “liquid gold” to the mix. Tahini adds warm depth of flavor and a silky mouthfeel that classic latte lovers will appreciate. We recommend using almond milk as opposed to water, as the subtle sweetness rounds out the earthiness of matcha.

Chuck roast, a tough cut of meat, grows tender in the slow cooker. Serve this rustic stew with crusty bread and red wine—perhaps a Côtes du Rhône or Chateauneuf-du-Pâpe from southern France.  If you don't want to use wine in the recipe, you can substitute 1/4 cup of additional beef broth.

We kept the luxe creamy mint Shamrock Shake flavor you love from McDonald's—but our version has just 248 calories and slashes 76g of sugar from the fast food version. Talk about finding gold at the end of the rainbow!

Roasting the turnips softens their peppery bite, resulting in a caramelized flavor that goes perfectly with smoked paprika. Pair with roasted pork tenderloin and a salad to make an easy, company-worthy dinner.