Pot Roast Recipe

This pot roast recipe contains everything you want in a family favorite comfort food dinner: melt-in-your-mouth beef, carrots, and potatoes, all swimming in a succulent beef gravy.

Classic pot roast is the perfect soul-warming one-pot dinner. This beef roast dinner always hits the spot on chilly nights. You can make this classic recipe in the oven, a crockpot, or an instant pot. I’ll take you step-by-step through all of the instructions.

What You’ll Need

Homemade pot roast is traditionally roasted in a dutch oven. This is my favorite way to make pot roast. However, you can also cook this family favorite in a slow cooker or an Instant pot.

Ingredients For Pot Roast

• Beef Roast — a 4 to 6-pound beef chuck roast.
• Fat for browning – I like to use butter and bacon fat or avocado oil.
• Vegetables — Onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and potatoes. I also like to add mushrooms and turnips. Use Yukon gold or russet potatoes.
• Herbs — fresh rosemary, thyme, and a few dried bay leaves.
• Tomato paste — tomato paste add richness and acidity to the sauce. i recommend buying a tube of tomato paste.
• Braising liquid — dry red wine and beef broth. I like to use both. You can skip the wine if you don’t have any on hand. I usually use a dry Italian wine, nothing too pricey but still drinkable.

How To Make Pot Roast In The Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
2. Trim any excess fat off of the chuck roast.

Step 1 – Season and brown

1. Season both sides of the meat well with salt and pepper. I recommend seasoning the meat and letting it sit for 30 minutes to an hour before browning. [note 1]
2. Brown the chuck roast. Add the butter and the oil to the dutch oven and brown both sides of the roast over med-high heat. You want a deep brown crust on the roast to maximize flavor. [note 2]
3. Remove the chuck roast from the dutch oven and set it aside on a plate.

Step 2 – Slice and Saute The Onions

1. Reduce the heat to medium, and then add the onion, celery, and carrots to the dutch oven. Sauté the vegetables until the onions are translucent and slightly caramelized. Stir the vegetables often as they are cooking. You want to use the liquid to help scrape off the browned bits from the dutch oven.
2. Add in the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.
3. When the vegetables are soft and fragrant, add in the tomato paste. Allow the tomato paste to cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 3- Cook The Pot Roast

1. Add the wine to the pan and deglaze the pot to incorporate the brown bits into the sauce. Add the roast to the oven, and then add the beef broth and the herbs.
2. Cover the roast and place it into the oven—roast for 3 hours.
3. Add the remaining vegetables to the pot and cook for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. until the vegetables are fork-tender.

Step 4 – Serve The Roast

1. Using a slotted spoon remove the vegetables to a large platter for serving. Cover with foil and set them aside.
2. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent it with aluminum foil.
3. Serve the roast with gravy.

Making Gravy For Pot Roast

1. Strain the cooking liquid into a large bowl. Set aside to use in the gravy. [note 3]
2. Make a roux: Add the butter and the flour to a saucepan. Whisk the butter and the flour together to make a loose paste. Allow the roux to turn a light brown color.
3. Start adding the cooking liquid to the roux. Add a small amount of liquid at first and whisk it well to form a thick paste. Continue adding the cooking liquid a little bit at a time, making sure to whisk it in thoroughly after each addition.

Making Pot Roast In A Crock Pot

It’s super easy to make this recipe in a crock pot. So if you’d like make a slow cooker pot roast, there are just a few alterations to the recipe.

1. You will still season and brown the roast in a skillet. Set the meat aside.
2. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and diced carrot to your slow cooker. I recommend putting the onions on the bottom of the slow cooker, then the roast.
3. You will reduce the liquid to 1 and a half cups. Use this liquid to deglaze the pan in which you browned the roast. After deglazing, add this liquid to the slow cooker.
4. Add a cornstarch slurry, made with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water, to thicken the sauce as the pot roast is cooking.
5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Easy peasy.
6. Add the carrots and potatoes on top of the meat. Note: I highly recommend adding in the potatoes and carrots to the crock pot not sooner than halfway through the cooking time, if you can. Vegetable cook in a lot less time than meat. Cooking the veggies for 4 hours will make them mushy. No one wants that.

Instant Pot Directions For Pot Roast

1. You will still season and brown the roast in the Instant pot set to saute. Add in a few tablespoons of butter, ghee, or other fat for browning.
2. Remove the roast and add the sliced onions, diced celery, and carrot. You can skip the celery and carrot in this step. Sauté the onions until they are translucent a slightly caramelized.
3. Add in the tomato paste and sauté for a few minutes.
4. Deglaze the pan while it is still on sauté. You will be using 2 cups of liquid in the instant pot.
5. Return the roast to the pot and set on manual high pressure for 60 to 70 minutes. Allow the steam to release for 10 minutes.
6. Add the vegetables to the instant pot at this time and set to manual high pressure for 3 minutes. Let the pressure release for 5 minutes.
7. Remove the vegetables and meat from the instant pot.
8. To make pot roast gravy set the Instant pot to sauté and add in a cornstarch slurry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Serve With Pot Roast

More Beef Recipes To Try

You might be in the mood for a Saucy Beef Stew, or a Rich Meaty Bolognese Sauce. Beef always make a satisfying dinner. Try a Grilled Steak or Beef Shish Kabobs.