St. Patrick’s Day Recipes and Menu Ideas for an Authentic Irish Experience

The biggest St. Patrick’s day food myths center around two of the most well-known St. Patrick’s Day foods: corned beef and cabbage and green beer. Neither of these is traditionally Irish nor ordinarily consumed in Ireland!

According to many historians, corned beef gained acceptance by early Irish immigrants as a cheaper and more available substitute for their traditional pork. And as for green beer, traditional Irish stouts and porters like Guinness are too dark to be dyed green! The invention of green beer is usually attributed to Bronx coroner Dr. Thomas Hayes Curtin in 1914.

So what do the Irish actually eat on St. Patrick’s day? You may be surprised! As Mairead Geary revealed on her blog, Irish American Mom, “Paddy’s Day is an incredibly popular day to order pizza or Chinese delivered to your house in Ireland. It’s a bank holiday there, so most people have the day off work, and many take a day off from cooking too.”

But for anyone who wants to prepare a traditional home-cooked Irish feast in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, read on!

Authentic St. Patrick’s Day main courses

• Irish celebrity chef Donal Skehan offers a flavorful family recipe for Irish Stew with lamb. If lamb isn’t your thing, try Authentic Killarney Guinness Beef Stew. This savory recipe also includes instructions for the Instant Pot.

• To the Irish, nothing is more traditional and festive than a holiday meal starring roast lamb. “It is a family day where we will cook a traditional spring meal at home. Nobody will be doing corned beef and cabbage," Irish chef and cookbook author Cathal Armstrong told Smithsonian Magazine about St. Patrick's Day. "Lamb will pretty much be on everybody’s table.” Here’s his dinner-party-worthy version of Roast Leg of Lamb au Jus with Herb Pesto.

• Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie are basically the same — where Shepherd’s Pie features lamb, Cottage Pie features beef. No matter what you call it, there’s nothing like the hearty comfort of saucy, tomato-y ground meat and vegetables topped with creamy, browned mashed potatoes. This delicious version of Shepherd’s Pie can also be prepared with ground beef. And for you plant-based meal fans, here’s a not exactly traditional Vegan Shepherd’s Pie.

Authentic St. Patrick's Day Sides

It’s not a cliché. The Irish love potatoes, and they’re served at practically every meal.

• According to blogger Mairead Geary, the Irish difference lies in the choice of potatoes. She tells us in her recipe for Irish-style Mashed Potatoes, “Using floury potatoes is the best cooking hack for perfect Irish mash. I find Russets are good, and Idaho baking potatoes are pretty ‘floury’ also.”

• Rich Colcannon is a dish of buttery mashed potatoes, mixed with cabbage, and sometimes kale.

• The Irish version of potato pancakes, crispy, creamy Boxty, is made from grated potatoes and mashed potatoes, then fried like a pancake.

• Onion lovers will rejoice at this delectable recipe for Champ: mashed potatoes flavored with scallion-infused milk.

Don't forget to finish your meal with a traditional Irish dessert!

• The beginnings of Irish Soda Bread lie in the early 19th century when this simple, inexpensive and filling bread was first introduced to Ireland. Tradition has it that it’s baked with a cross carved into the top to let the fairies out. Don't the name fool you — this "bread" is really more of a cake!

• There are many varieties of Irish Apple Cake. Some are topped with a yummy custard sauce, while other equally delicious versions are somewhat similar to a pie.

• Rich, chocolatey and delightful, Guinness Chocolate Cake is a guilty pleasure you won’t want to resist.

• Nothing could be more Irish than Potato Pie for dessert! This recipe was brought to America by the cook’s great-great-aunt.