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
I cooked this last saturday night and used Blade beef and it was amazing. It fell apart as i was trying to take it out of the slow cooker.
So glad I found your website last december
I love cooking your food.
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Linda!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x ❤️
Cooked this tonight-it was delicious!
Can always count on your recipes Nagi
That’s wonderful to hear Bev! Perfect winter evening for pot roast 🙂 I’m jealous! N x
Thanks, Nagi!
That’s what I ended up doing and it came out just fine. Like others, my potatoes were a little undercooked, but adding them an hour earlier should take of that next time. I added whole baby carrots after 2 hours, they were perfectly al dente and the gravy had plenty of sweetness from them.
Hi Nagi,
I’ve been pressure cooking my roasts for over 3 years, but wanted to slow cook one, because I like your recipe. My roast is 2.5 pounds and 2″ thick. How long would you recommend I cook it before adding the potatoes?
Hi Sandy! Same time per recipe please as long as it’s rolled like pictured 🙂 N x
Is the beef chuck bone-in or boneless? I’ve always used bone-in for my pot roasts, but didn’t see it specified. I can’t wait to try this recipe soon. It looks delicious!
Naggi, I saw LOW in bold text but could I cook this in high and for how long?
Sure thing! I think I’d do 4 hours then potatoes then 1 hour, maybe 1.5 hours 🙂 N x
Do you flip the roast sometimes while it is in the slow cooker… to keep the whole roast moist?
^ Cooking noob
Nope! No need. The moisture inside the slow cooker keeps the surface above the liquid beautifully moist!
Hi Nagi,
I`m not going to add potatoes and my beef roast weighs 1,2 Kg, it`s half way covered in veggies and liquids. So your recommendation is 8 hours on low or about an hour on high in the slow cooker? One hour on high doesn`t sound very long, so just checking. Your recipe for the lamb leg in the slow cooker was spot on and just perfect…
Thanks! Xx Nikki
Ok, after watching the video I understand you differentiate between LOW heat on the slow cooker and HIGH heat on the pressure cooker! The poster before me seemed to be confused about the same thing which may be because any slow cooker comes with the two heat settings – high and low and it`s listed under slow cooker recipes.
Perhaps you could specify the times high/low for slow cookers and for pressure cookers for this recipe under “instructions” or “recipe notes” more clearly …. I know when you write it yourself it may sound totally foolproof 😉
Oh! I get it now 🙂 I tightened up my writing to make it clearer! N x
And can you make the quantities in the recipe in a small slow cooker ie 3.5 quarts?…or a crock pot?
Hi Nagi, it looks like your using a pressure cooker verses a slow cooker, is that correct or am I seeing things? Thanks
Hi, this was absolutely delicious! Probably the yummiest recipe I’ve made so far! This is definitely one for my recipe binder. Thank you 🙂 Will be back for more recipes for sure!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Maria! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback! N x ❤️
Is there anything I can substitute for the red wine? My husband can’t eat anything with sulfites – no red wine or balsamic vinegar.
Just skip it Linda, and use more beef broth (same amount) 🙂 N x
I just made this now! First time doing pot roast. Smells great already.
I actually make an almost identical recipe when i make plum lamb shanks/chops, only things different is i dice the vegies a bit smaller and at the wine in the saucepan stage i add half a cup of plum jam and half a cup of prunes. And I do mashed potatoes to serve. Its been a keeper in my recipe book for years and i dare say this one will too. Thankyou!
That’s great Danielle! So pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! N x
Omg! Thank you for a recipe that doesn’t contain pre-made ingredients! Am also a fan of more gravy-like liquid and instructions for EVERY method of cooking!! I am still in the process of making it, but I can already tell its going to be fabulous!!
Do you mind if I ask which brand of slower are you using?
If I do not have a slow cooker, can I still cook this dish please?
Thanks!
Hi Jan! Yep you sure can, I have notes in the recipe for how to cook this on the stove or in the oven 🙂 I have the Breville Slow-Fast Cooker which is the Australian version of the Instant Pot 🙂 It is a slow cooker and pressure cooker in one! N x
Im making the beef pot roast today for dinner, if i dont have flour can i use beef gravy to thicken or should i run out and grab flour?
Do you have cornflour?? If so please see the notes. I would not use beef gravy it will probably make the gravy too salty 🙂 N x
For the United States, I think you mean what we call “cornstarch” 🙂 We don’t call it corn flour up here. 🙂 Maybe could specify that in your recipes 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for the recipe! I was wondering what kind/brand of skillet and slow-cooker you are using. Thanks!
Nagi, thank you for letting me know, on instagram, that you had oven-roasting instructions for this recipe! I know it’s probably a little too hot outside to be making pot roast, but I couldn’t resist any longer!! This is the very first pot roast I have ever made and it is, honestly, one of the best things I have ever eaten!! Wow!! It reminds me soooo much of my mom’s pot roast! I have almost literally been blown away from the memories and the deliciousness of this recipe. Thank you soooo much! 🙂 🙂
YES YES YES!!! I’m so super happy to hear that Jamieanne, thanks so much for letting me know!! N xx
This recipe is amazing! I have made pot roasts in my Dutch oven for years, but thickening the broth is a game changer! I love the gravy-like consistency, and the flavor is perfect, without any changes to the recipe. This is the recipe I will be teaching my kids, THANK YOU!
Love hearing that Tracey! So pleased you enjoyed this so much! N xx
I just peeled and cut up a few large potatoes, steamed them with a fresh rosemary sprig for about 10 minutes until semi-soft and then added them to the cooker when the recipe cooking time was over, that way you don’t have to add raw and wait three hours for them to cook. I then just kept the cooker on warm mode until ready to eat and everythig was great. this is the best recipe for pot roast and so simple!
What a great tip Diane! Thanks for sharing that! N xx
Nice
is it ok if there isn’t enough broth to cover the potatoes when they go in? if not, should i just add more broth?