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 have read through all these comments and it seems that everyone has had a successful roast. I have followed the instructions to a T and it has been on for eight hours and I don’t think it is ready. I have been using an internal thermometer and it is still sitting around 85° I read online that tender pull apart roast should hit 96° is this correct? Have I completely stuffed it up? I’m in Australia and used a bolar blade roast
Hi Kaylah! Keep it cooking. 🙂 Bolar blade is a leaner cut so it will take longer, and be prepared for the meat to be not quite as juicy as the video and photos you see as chuck is fattier. You are correct, meat is usually fall apart around the 95C mark. Hope you enjoy! N x
Hi. Can beef chuck cross rib steak be used for this recipe (pot roast)? I live in Colorado where one would think good cuts of beef would be in abundance but the contrary, at least in my experience. Usually tough results – seared, grilled, slow cooked, etc.
I followed this recipe exactly (and I came back and double/triple checked before writing this) but my gravy is more like soup, so I’m going to leave my slow cooker on high for a bit with the lid off. Has anyone else had this issue? Never found a single flaw in a Nagi recipe but this one just isn’t co-operating today
I had the same issue. I used the low setting but it had way too much watery liquid at the end of the cooking period. The flour didn’t seem to thicken it up much at all, given the volume of liquid. But the roast was still delicious.
Oh 100%, the meat was delicious. What I ended up doing was scooping out some of the broth/soup and mixing it with more flour, stirring it on the stove and adding more liquid until I had basically made a gravy to add back in. It thickened somewhat but the flavour was sub par. A definite anomaly because recipetineats recipes are basically religious texts in my kitchen. No worries! This one just wasn’t for me 🙂
Hi Chris, I added a bit more flour than was in the recipe, and ended up with a thicker gravy but still had tender meat.
This exactly happened to me. I put the slow cooker on and went out for the day. We got home late and didn’t have time for reducing anymore (after cooking for 8.5 hours) I thickened with gravox as sauce was thin and tasteless. Better result probably in the oven. It felt like nowhere near enough flour.
I learned a method for thickening broth/gravy. Take 2 tablespoons of flour and mix with 2 tablespoons of room temp butter. Smash it together till mixed then whisk it into your broth at the end of cooking. Much better than just straight flour. And no lumps if you whisk. I think this is a French method.
Can I add pumpkin to this recipe? At what point would you recommend adding it?
Yes you can – cut it about twice the size of the potatoes and do it when you add them in! N x
Hi Nagi love all your recipes! I have a TON of beets r.n. can I add them to this and when would you recommend? Thanks!
How can I make this without flour for Type 1 diabetics please?
You can try smashing some of the cooked potatoes when they’re softened and keep cooking it away, the starch should thicken the gravy. Otherwise, cassava flour is another option, used in the same way as Nagi’s instruction. Alternatively you can also use xanthan gum and you’ll need much less of this but it is used a lot in keto cooking and is diabetic friendly. With that, I’d take some of the broth out and then mix in maybe 1/4 tsp to start. With all the above options, I’d still do the ‘boil it down to reduce liquid’ method so you don’t need to use too much or either substitute thickener. Hope this helps!
Thanks for great ideas.
Thanks for the heads up.
You can use Xanthan gum or Guar gum to thicken instead of flour. It does not take a lot to thicken so, use 1/4 teaspoon at a time sprinkled lightly in broth or hand blended in broth set aside.
I made this pot roast for Passover and it was so delicious!! The meat was fall apart tender and the sauce was amazing. I love your recipes, Nagi! Love to Dozer!
I am thrilled that you liked the recipe Robin!! N x
My beef only weighs 1.152kg, should I adjust the timing?
See Note 1 under the recipe regarding this Claire! N x
This is my first time leaving a review on any of the hundreds of recipes I’ve tried online. I’ve spent years in search of the best stew recipe. Complex ones requiring the purchase of ingredients I’ll never use again, as well as simpler ones with fingers crossed that less truly is more.
Some have been tasty, others not so much. But this… GOODNESS, this ones takes the cake and reigns supreme as THE BEST STEW RECIPE EVER! Not only is it the most simple, requiring the least amount of prep and cost, but also the most flavorful. And tender. Oh god, so so so mouthwateringly tender.
As a general rule, I always follow a recipe for the first time as written. And in this case, I wouldn’t change a thing. Thoroughly seasoning your meat and getting a well-earned seared is key. The only thing I changes was adding whole baby bella mushrooms halfway through.
Thank you so much. My search is finally over. Cheers.
I am happy that you enjoyed it Natacha! N x
This recipe is delicious and I will never make pot roast any other way. I doubled the recipe and cooked it in the oven in a large foil ti using your tips. It was perfect. Thank you!
Nagi I made this today!
My first ever Pot Roast!
Everyone in my household thoroughly enjoyed this!
I’m just trying to think of All your recipes that I have ever done, I haven’t ever been even slightly disappointed!
Thankyou so much for your Amazing efforts!
God Bless
Cathy x
That makes me really happy to hear! I work really hard to be sure the recipes really work before I post them!! N x
I am sure there are lots of people that can tell that!
That’s why we come back of-course! 😉
The simplicity that you write recipes with as-well as the options you give help A lot too!
Cathy x
I never cooked a pot roast before and don’t really care for it much at all, but this came out AMAZING!!! Thank you, Nagi! <3
Hi Nagi and fellow followers im just curious if you could cook this on high in a slow cooker for a shorter amount of time than the 8 hours on low? I never usually have that amount of time spare to cook a meal but would love to try this recipe it is something ive always wanted to try!
Thanks
Ash xx
This was delicious. I added mushrooms but otherwise followed it exactly in the crockpot. Will make again.
Hi there. I’m making for a late family Christmas party and doubling the recipe.I have to travel two plus hours with it so could I make the night before and then reheat in the oven when I get there ?? Ps I LOVE YOUR RECIPES !!!
Can you substitute sweet/yam potato for the regular white?
My 98-year-old mother recently came to live with me and since she has very little appetite, I am always looking for meals that she will enjoy. One thing I know she likes is pot roast, but I have never made one (I guess, like you, I found it a little boring.) So of course recipe tin eats is the first place I check out. I followed your recipe and not only did my Mom love it, but I did also, and my 17-old-granddaughter who was sleeping over loved it also. AND–the 16-month old baby had leftover potatoes and carrots today for lunch and she positively gobbled it up. So there you have it, loved by all-from 16 months to 98 years old!
I have made this recipe several times and I wouldn’t bother roasting beef any other way anymore. Nagi can you cook this in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours? I would love to cook our beef like this for Christmas lunch, but I don’t want to be putting it on in the middle of the night 😅
Step 4 – Please also mention to add the carrots and celery before adding the wine/broth. This was shown in the video.
HI Brittany – That’s mentioned in Step 7 of the recipe – you add them at the same time. N x
👍🏻👍🏻 Thank you! I made this recipe today. It’s a very hearty dish and is great with the cold weather rolling in.
Chose a portion of beef for cost. Made the slow cooker recipe. Amazing!. Just like Mom used to make on Sundays;
Hi Nagi!
I have made this recipe a number of times and it’s a hit with the family. As is the bolognese sauce, the broccoli pasta, the lentil salad, the ragù, the oven baked vege rice, the emergency rice, the Greek chicken and rice, the sticky chicken…
Um… I think I only ever use your recipes Nagi because they are easy and delicious! I’ve forsaken all others!
Thank you for your amazing dishes!
When is the recipe book going to be available? 😍😍😍😍😍
Made this tonight & it is a winner. My sister said it was the best roast beef she had. It stays very moist & lots of gravy! I did thicken it a bit more after it was done.
What kind of red wine,..dry I assume?
Just an inexpensive one Regina such as a merlot or shiraz. N x