Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill-Ranch Coleslaw (Gluten Free)

Happy almost St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you have a wonderful day and evening of celebrating the wearing o’ the green! If you have corned beef and cabbage on your menu, I’ve got a great way to use the leftovers, these Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill Ranch Coleslaw are the perfect solution!

And if you’re looking for a terrific side dish for your holiday dinner, try my Bacon and Leek Colcannon, a traditional dish that I’ve updated slightly for more pizazz. It is SO good! 

Head of Napa Cabbage which is elongated instead of round and sweeter.

Once St. Patrick’s Day is over, we are usually left with the challenge of what to do with the leftover corned beef. In the past I have made simple corned beef sandwiches, but I have never tried combining corned beef and coleslaw before. And boy are they good together!

Serving corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day is an American tradition started by Irish immigrants. When they arrived here beef was plentiful and inexpensive, so they adapted their traditional meals to incorporate the new local ingredients.

Corned beef is a fairly strong-flavored meat that stands up well to bold flavors which is why it is often served with a variety of mustards. When I was thinking about what to add to my sandwich, I decided that a cabbage slaw was a fun addition to the norm, but didn’t want the typical mild, sweet version.

I decided to use a combination of dill, celery seed, and ranch dressing seasoning to boost the flavor profile and added bell peppers to the mix. It is wonderful and absolutely perfect for the corned beef sandwiches. Both The Artist and I really enjoyed them for dinner!

You can use ranch dressing packets for flavoring, but I used Penzey’s Buttermilk Ranch Dressing and Dip. It gives you a very similar flavor and you can customize it to suit your own preferences. The extra dill was nicely balanced and the celery seed gave it some of the appreciated traditional flavor.

Because The Artist doesn’t like his slaw too wet I had extra dressing left over. I added some more mayonnaise and buttermilk, turning it into a thinner ranch-style salad dressing. It will make a nice lunch today with greens and chopped fresh vegetables. You could also use this dressing as a dip for crudité vegetables. Delish!

I hope you enjoy your St. Patrick’s celebrations, wear your green, and say “Go Maire Tu” (May You Live Long) to the leprechauns! You are all set to make these wonderful Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill-Ranch Coleslaw. Enjoy! 

Have a fabulous weekend – see you back here for Chocolate Monday next week! 

If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!

Ingredients needed for Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill Ranch Coleslaw:

• Cabbage: Napa cabbage, salt, red or orange bell peppers
• Dressing: mayonnaise, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, dill weed, ground celery seed, buttermilk ranch dressing seasoning, sugar, salt, pepper
• Sandwiches: sturdy bread or GF bread, coarse mustard, mayonnaise, corned beef, cheese

PRO Tip:

Make the slaw up to a couple of days in advance so you don’t have to wait for it when you want your sandwiches. This recipe easily doubles or triples for larger gatherings. The longer it sits, the wetter it becomes (because the cabbage continues to give off liquid). Drain off the excess before placing on the sandwiches or they will be soggy!!

How to make Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill Ranch Coleslaw:

1. Prep the Cabbage: Salt the sliced cabbage, tossing to coat and let rest in a colander about 20 minutes; rinse under running water to remove all the salt
2. Add bell peppers to the cabbage and set the colander aside to drain for another 10 minutes; if you have a salad spinner, spin the cabbage to remove all the excess water, if you don’t have a spinner, just shake the colander well
3. Make the Dressing: Meanwhile, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, dill, celery seed, ranch seasoning, and sugar; whisk until smooth then whisk in salt and pepper to taste
4. Make the Slaw: Place the cabbage and peppers in a clean, thin cotton dish towel and twist to remove excess liquid; transfer to a large mixing bowl
5. Pour a few tablespoons of the dressing over the cabbage, tossing until everything is evenly coated; cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours to chill ideally, then bring out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes ahead of serving
6. Assemble the Sandwiches: Set out slices of bread, spread half with mustard and the other half with mayonnaise, add slices of cheese on all the bread slices, then corned beef on half the slices; top the meat with a scoop of slaw, top with the remaining bread slices, cut in half and serve immediately.

PRO Tip:

Cutting lettuce and cabbage with a metal knife can accelerate discoloration. Use a ceramic knife if you have one anytime you are making coleslaw or chopping salad.

PRO Tip:

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by adding 1 tsp vinegar to 3 tbsp milk. Let stand for a few minutes then stir to thicken the milk. This is in addition to the vinegar called for in the recipe.

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board
• Colander
• Mixing bowls
• Kitchen scale

Gluten-Free Tips:

Be sure you use gluten-free bread when making these sandwiches and watch the corned beef – sometimes there may be gluten in the preparation process. Double check to be sure you’re safe. Alternately, you can make your own from scratch and control all the ingredients.

Most of the photos are of the sandwich I made for my husband who isn’t gluten-free. He loves rye bread. My sandwich was on gluten-free bread that was lightly toasted.

You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

Continue to Content

Yield: 4 servings

Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill-Ranch Coleslaw

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Happy almost St. Patrick's Day! I hope you have a wonderful day and evening of celebrating the wearing o' the green! Once St. Patrick’s Day is over, we all have the challenge of what to do with the leftover corned beef. These Corned Beef Sandwiches with Dill-Ranch Coleslaw are pretty darned amazing!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cabbage

• 1/2 head Napa cabbage, finely sliced or chopped
• 1 tbsp kosher or fine sea salt
• 2 red or orange bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

Dressing

• 1/2 cup (118ml) mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp buttermilk
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried dill weed
• 1 tsp ground celery seed
• 1 tsp buttermilk ranch dressing seasoning, such as Penzeys brand
• 1 to 2 tsp granulated sugar, to taste (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Sandwiches

• 8 slices of sturdy bread or gluten-free bread, toasted
• Coarse mustard
• Mayonnaise
• About 1/2 lb (227g) thinly sliced corned beef, at room temperature
• 8 slices Swiss, Gruyere, or Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Prep the Cabbage: Place the sliced cabbage in a colander set over a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss well, and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the colander occasionally. This will help draw out most of the moisture from the cabbage while leaving it crisp. Rinse under cold running water, tossing to be certain all excess salt has been washed away. Shake the colander well to remove excess liquid.

2. Add the peppers to the cabbage and toss together and set the colander to drain for another 10 minutes, shaking the colander occasionally to remove excess liquid.

3. Make the Dressing: While the cabbage is draining, in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, dill, celery seed, ranch seasoning, and sugar. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings until you get the flavor you like. Keep the dressing thicker than normal because there will be residual liquid in the cabbage that will thin it.

4. Make the Slaw: Open a clean thin cotton kitchen towel and place the cabbage and peppers in the center. Pull the ends up together and twist until tight. The tighter you twist the towel the more liquid will be extracted. Squeeze the towel to release as much of the excess liquid as possible. Transfer the vegetables to a mixing bowl.

5. Pour 2 to 3 tbsp of the dressing over the cabbage and peppers. Toss until everything is evenly coated, adding more of the sauce if needed. Some people like “wet” slaw and others prefer a drier version.

6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator, 2 to 3 hours. If you prefer warm slaw on your sandwiches, you can skip the chilling or remove the slaw from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving to warm up. Pour off excess liquid and add a little more dressing if desired.

7. Assemble the Sandwiches: Spread half the slices of bread with the mustard and the other slices with the mayonnaise. Place a slice of cheese on the mayo covered slices of the bread, top with the corned beef. Place a large spoonful of slaw on top of the meat. Set the second set of bread pieces (with the mustard) on top of the slaw.

8. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately. Store any leftover slaw, covered, in the refrigerator up to a week.

Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com

Notes

If you want to turn the leftover slaw dressing into a salad dressing, whisk in another couple of tablespoons each of mayonnaise and buttermilk until thinned. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to two weeks.

You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 660Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 2841mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 4gSugar: 14gProtein: 34g

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

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