Pot Roast – fall apart beef, tender flavour infused vegetables and potatoes smothered in a rich gravy. It’s mouthwateringly good, yet simple to make, especially if you use a slow cooker. However, this beef pot roast recipe can be made in an instant pot, oven OR crockpot – pick which method works best for you!
Pot Roast
Confession: I wasn’t a fan of pot roast for most of my life. I just didn’t get it – the beef and vegetables were fine, but typically they are braised in just liquids that aren’t thickened in any way so the end result is like a watery broth.
Plenty of flavour in it, but when you pour it over the beef and vegetables, it doesn’t cling to it at all because it’s watery.
So I decided to change it and thicken the sauce using a touch of flour. So it’s more like a gravy. Now THAT’s a pot roast worthy of company, in my humble opinion!!!
If you love meltingly tender, slow cooked roast beef and deeply flavoured gravy, this pot roast recipe is for you!
How to make Pot Roast
Season beef well with salt and pepper
Sear beef aggressively – this is KEY for flavour in the broth and the beef!
Sauté onion and garlic, then deglaze* the skillet or pot with red wine (or water or broth);
Tip everything into a slow cooker, instant pot / pressure cooker or casserole pot for oven along with beef broth, carrots and celery;
Sprinkle with dried rosemary and thyme then slow cook 8 hrs low, 55 min pressure cook on high, or oven 4 hours at 300°F/150°C;
Add the potatoes partway through cooking and by the time the potatoes are cooked, the beef will be meltingly tender!
* Means simmering liquid and scraping bottom of pan to release the flavour stuck on the bottom of the pan from searing. It adds a ton of flavour into the cooking broth!
Best cut of beef for pot roast is chuck roast
The best beef for pot roast is Beef Chuck Roast. It’s an economical cut of beef that’s marbled with fat that needs to be slow cooked to breakdown the tough connective tissues so it becomes ultra tender to eat.
Chuck roast can be purchased in large pieces that are or aren’t rolled. You want to use rolled chuck roast for this recipe, otherwise the beef ends up all warped. Supermarkets and butchers should carry chuck roast that’s already rolled, otherwise, you can roll it yourself and tie with kitchen string or ask the butcher to do it for you.
It’s essentially a slow cooked Roast Beef!
The key point of difference with this pot roast recipe is that the braising liquid is thickened so it comes out like a deeply flavoured gravy rather than a watery broth which is how most pot roasts are made.
So it’s essentially a slow cooked Roast Beef that’s fall apart tender that comes with a gravy and tender flavour infused vegetables. Complete meal in one pot!
Because the beef needs to be mostly submerged in liquid while it slow cooks, you end up with lots and lots of liquid in the finished dish.
Which means, in my Pot Roast, you end up with lots and lots of very tasty gravy.
This is a sensational “problem” to have. Keep leftovers, drown your potatoes with them, toss through pasta (oh yes!!), serve it as a sauce for tomorrow night’s dinner. – Nagi x
PS Bread to mop your bowl clean wouldn’t go astray. Try these No Knead Dinner Rolls, a quick No Yeast Irish Bread or these moreish Cheese Muffins.
Watch how to make it
Note: My slow cooker looks like a pressure cooker because it’s a multi function slow cooker (but no, it’s not an Instant Pot!).
This pot roast recipe was originally published January 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare! 🙂
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Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 kg / 4 lb beef chuck roast , rolled (Note 1)
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (large), cut into large dice
- 5 garlic cloves , peeled and smashed (Note 2a)
- 5 carrots , peeled and cut into 2.5cm/1″ pieces
- 3 celery stalks , cut into 4 cm / 1.5″ pieces
- 1 cup (250ml) dry red wine (sub with beef broth)
- 3 cups (750ml) beef broth , salt reduced
- 1/3 cup (50g) flour (plain / all purpose) (GF – Note 2b)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 750g / 1.5 lb potatoes , peeled and cut into 2.5 cm / 1″ pieces
Instructions
- Pat beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper all over.
- Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Brown aggressively all over – a deep dark brown crust is essential for flavour base! Should take about 7 minutes.
- Transfer beef to slow cooker.
- In the same skillet, add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes until onion is browned.
- Add wine, reduce by half. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Mix together flour and about 1 cup of the broth. Lumps is fine. Pour into slow cooker.
- Add remaining broth, carrots, celery, rosemary and thyme into slow cooker.
- Cover and slow cook on LOW for 5 hours. (45 min pressure cook on HIGH, Note 3a for Oven and Stove)
- Add potato, slow cook on LOW for 3 hours. (10 min pressure cooker on HIGH, Note 3b)
- Remove beef. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice thickly.
- Adjust salt and pepper of Sauce to taste.
- Serve beef with vegetables and plenty of sauce! Bread also terrific for mopping up sauce – try these No Knead Dinner Rolls, No Yeast Irish Soda Bread or these fabulous Cheese Muffins.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More slow cooked beef recipes
Because nothing beats the flavour of beef cooked long and slow until it’s meltingly tender….
Life of Dozer
When the homeless man at the dog park isn’t at his car (usually off tending to the park grounds – best groundskeeper EVER!), I tie food to the boot of his van. Pot Roast, in this case!
And this is Dozer, trying to figure out if he can reach the bag. #SHAMELESS
A suggestion. I try to catch the name of the people who are without a home instead of the homeless guy by the grocery store or the the metal scrapper who rides around our beach town by bike hunting for scrap metal or whatever. I call him John when he comes by or if I run into him at the grocery store. Just saying. I love your recipes and send links to your blog to my 4 granddaughters my son text me and his nieces a picture of a tray bake vegetable mix . I asked him where he got it and he listed you! You teach me I teach my kid..my 50 year old kid. He cooks often for his wife and so does my youngest son. Always have great meals. Your videos are enjoyable and informative.
This was amazing!!
I didn’t know what to do first, clean my plate or leave review.
Great depth of flavor and fall apart tender. We made traditional baked dinner and served with mashed potatoes, roasted pumpkin and minted peas. The gravy … Oh my, the gravy! Stop what you are doing and make this.
What is a ‘chuck roast’. I’ve never seen that name on any joint in supermarkets?
If you’re in Australia, Coles usually have what they call a Slow Cooker Chuck Roast. It’s already rolled and tied.
Wow! This was the best pot roast ever!! I left the rosemary out, as I’m not that big a fan of it. Terriffic!!!!!
Love this recipe!
Out of curiosity, what slow cooker machine do you recommend and use. My instant pot does not work great as a slow cooker and looking to buy a new cooker.
I’d like a pot roast version of your meat pie. I can’t stand to prep & sauté all the meat & veggies. Can I follow this recipe & just sub Stout for wine & add beurre manie later?
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Hi, I am in the UK; what type of meat should I use? There is no such thing as chuck roast, thanks xx
You can get it at a butcher, best to pre order. Supermarkets always for some reason slice it.
Has any one used a rump roast for this?
Used a 1kg rolled chuck roast, fresh rosemary and fresh thyme (didn’t have any dried). Otherwise recipe as directed, ended up cooking about 3 1/2 hours in oven in cast iron pan. Came out tender and so flavorful. My carrots were soft but not mushy, used Cypriot potatoes and they stayed nice and firm. Perfect and easy to put together. Served mine with oven baked polenta.
Used a 1kg rolled chuck roast, fresh rosemary and fresh thyme (didn’t have any dried). Otherwise recipe as directed, ended up cooking about 3 1/2 hours in oven in cast iron pan. Came out tender and so flavorful. My carrots were soft but not mushy, used Cypriot potatoes and they stayed nice and firm. Perfect and easy to put together. Served mine with oven baked polenta.
Hi, 3.5hrs at what temperature? Thanks
Will the alcohol cook off during cooking in slow cooker?
If I have two smaller pieces of brisket will the cooking time be the same in pressure cooker?
made this on the weekend for Christmas in July, easy recipe that kept the oven and stove free before dinner time.
Delicious!!! Nagi’s recipes never disappoint!
My husband said this was the best slow cooker meal he had ever had!
Thanks
Have never roasted beef successfully. Always thought a bit dry, have done this recipe twice now and very good. Lovely flavour and moist.
Nagi,
I admire your cooking and teaching abilities. Few people will tell you why to do something a certain way and why it produces better results. Others provide a recipe, you provide the how and why. I did a very fast version of the roast and it was fantastic! My wife was very impressed with it. However I had to confess that you were really responsible.
Thank you,
George
Excellent! My pot roast was so tender and tasty.
Can I ask UK fans – what I would look for in the supermarket, as rolled chuck roast is not a thing in the UK… thanks !!
Just ask your butcher for a piece of meat suitable for pot roast – or if you’re shopping in the supermarket, look for ‘suitable for slow cooking’. Doesn’t have to be chuck steak, that’s just what we call it in Aus 🙂 (sorry this is a bit late!)