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Home Collections Winter Warmers

Pot Roast

By:Nagi
Published:18 Jan '20Updated:21 Oct '20
573 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast in a slow cooker, ready to be eaten

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!

Close up of fall apart beef - Crockpot Pot Roast

How to make Pot Roast

  1. Season beef well with salt and pepper

  2. Sear beef aggressively – this is KEY for flavour in the broth and the beef!

  3. Sauté onion and garlic, then deglaze* the skillet or pot with red wine (or water or broth);

  4. Tip everything into a slow cooker, instant pot / pressure cooker or casserole pot for oven along with beef broth, carrots and celery;

  5. 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;

  6. 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!

How to make a great Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast

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.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast in a casserole dish, ready to be served

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!

Close up of Beef Pot Roast in a bowl, ready to be eaten

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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Slow Cooker Pot Roast in a slow cooker, ready to be eaten

Pot Roast

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 8 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Total: 8 hours hrs 35 minutes mins
Mains, Slow Cooker
Western
4.94 from 155 votes
Servings8
Tap or hover to scale
Print
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Recipe VIDEO above. The ultimate one-pot family meal! Meltingly tender slow cooker beef and vegetables smothered in a gravy like sauce - because it's so much tastier than just a watery broth! I like to make this in my slow cooker but I've also added directions for pressure cooker, stove and oven. 

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:

1. Beef chuck is a slow cooking cut of beef. It sometimes comes rolled and tied with string (like pictured in mine). But it also comes much thicker, shaped like a normal roast cut, and this cut isn't required to be rolled and tied like mine. Both work great.
Recipe as written suited to beef 1 -  2kg / 2 - 4 lb. Works for wide range of weight as you need a certain amount of liquid to partially submerge the beef. Yet the cook time remains the same because it's driven by beef thickness, rather than weight. Feel free to reduce / increase vegetables to your beef size, and also add other vegetables.
OTHER BEEF CUTS: Works great with brisket too. Blade Roast will also work but note that the beef is very lean so while it will be tender like chuck, it's not as juicy inside (which you can disguise by smothering with sauce).
2a. Smashed Garlic - just use the side of your knife and smash it using the palm of your hand. The garlic will burst open but remain mostly in one piece.
2b. Cornflour / cornstarch gluten free alternative: Mix 1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour with a splash of broth, mix then pour in per recipe, in place of flour. Once beef is cooked and removed, check liquid thickness. If you want it thicker, mix 1 tsp cornflour with splash of water and add, heat liquid (residual heat may be sufficient) and it will thicken, repeat if you want thicker. 
3a. OVEN: Lid on dutch oven or similar, 300F/150C for about 2 hrs (1 - 1.5kg / 2 - 3 lb) or 3 hours (2kg / 4 lb), then add potatoes then a further 1 hour until meat is tender.
STOVE: Add 2 more cups of water, simmer covered 2 - 2.5 hrs until meat is starting to be tender, turning meat once or twice. Add potatoes then cook another 30 minutes until meat is super tender and potatoes are soft. Keep an eye on water level.
3b. I add potatoes later otherwise I find they are so soft, they basically disintegrate. If you prefer to add potatoes in at the beginning so you don't have to worry about adding them later, use red potatoes because they hold up better to the long cook time.
4. The carrots and celery are VERY soft by the end, softer than ideal. It's unfortunate, but a necessary sacrifice because having them in the broth for the whole cook time adds great flavour to the sauce.
5. Servings: I allow for 200 - 250g / 6.5 - 8oz uncooked beef per serving which shrinks with the long cook time. The beef pictured was a 2 kg / 4 lb rolled chuck.
6. Nutrition per serving (480g/1lb per serving), assuming all sauce consumed.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 481gCalories: 615cal (31%)Carbohydrates: 23g (8%)Protein: 53g (106%)Fat: 33g (51%)Saturated Fat: 13g (81%)Cholesterol: 173mg (58%)Sodium: 704mg (31%)Potassium: 1563mg (45%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 6416IU (128%)Vitamin C: 15mg (18%)Calcium: 95mg (10%)Iron: 9mg (50%)
Keywords: beef pot roast, Pot Roast, slow cooked beef, Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

 

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Winter Warmers

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

Dozer the golden retriever dog trying to get food tied to car left for homeless man at dog park

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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573 Comments

  1. RobinB says

    December 4, 2023 at 8:19 am

    5 stars
    I tried this yesterday and it worked beautifully. The beef was gorgeously fall-apart tender and moist and the gravy beautifully rich. I think next time I’ll put in more carrot and less potato, and possibly add some mushrooms when I add the potato. I served it with a plate of green beans just to break up the richness.

    Reply
  2. Nancy Hanus says

    November 27, 2023 at 9:35 am

    i cooked this i do not think slow cooker for 5 hours was long enough on low cause if came out dry as if it wasn’t cooked long enough

    Reply
    • Carol says

      November 29, 2023 at 3:55 pm

      Hi Nancy, all up its 8 hrs on low,not 5. At 5 hours you add potatoes and cook for another 3 hrs. Hope this helps.

      Reply
  3. Sandi says

    November 17, 2023 at 6:42 pm

    I’m making pot roast and I look up Nagi’s version to get some new ideas or tips. I’m 66 so I have been making pot roast since I was teen. Looks delish. I would like to say that I have never seen a tied chuck roast. Also, here in FL and VA chuck roast is now 10$. No longer a bargain ! Sirloin at Publix sirloin tip.is 5.99 roast. I’m am going to use that cut. Chuck was my favorite.just sayin. I definitely use a roux because Nagi does . lol

    Reply
  4. Lauren says

    October 24, 2023 at 7:32 am

    5 stars
    Pot roast is one of my favorite homey meals, this recipe replaced my long-standing recipe that I’ve been using for 10+ years! So much flavor.

    Reply
  5. Christine Hewitt says

    July 30, 2023 at 3:13 am

    5 stars
    Cooked this today in oven using a small one pound piece of meat…there is only two of us elderly folk with small appetites. Have meat etc left can I freeze and reheat in low oven? Anyone done this?

    Reply
  6. Carol says

    July 25, 2023 at 8:12 am

    Could i cook in cast iron camp oven over fire?

    Reply
    • Susan says

      August 12, 2023 at 1:41 pm

      I wouldn’t because you can’t really control the temperature with a campfire. Happy camping 🔥🏕️😊

      Reply
  7. Anne says

    June 20, 2023 at 12:24 pm

    5 stars
    I forgot the rating in my last comment, oops! Here you go. 5 stars 🙂

    Reply
  8. Anne says

    June 20, 2023 at 12:23 pm

    Nagi, you’ve done it again! Like you, I’ve never been a huge fan of pot roast (didn’t love it, but didn’t dislike it), but my husband requested some for Father’s Day and this recipe turned out great! I love that the sauce is thickened for a more gravy-like consistency.

    I did make a few small adjustments. I added a bay leaf and 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and subbed 3 tsp of fresh rosemary. I also used baby red potatoes with the skin on, halved. I roasted the potatoes with salt, pepper, and a few sprigs of rosemary for about 10 mins to get them a bit crispy and then placed them in the slow cooker with about 2.5 hours left. I already had the baby potatoes on hand and figured roasting would be less effort as trying to skin the tiny potatoes, haha. The meal was perfect and the beef was so tender and flavorful. Thank you!

    Reply
  9. Rachel dos Santos says

    June 9, 2023 at 10:52 pm

    4 stars
    The whole family enjoyed this. I didn’t have rosemary or thyme, so it would have been even better.
    I pressure-cooked this recipe and added carrots and potatoes for the last 10-15 and I would not have wanted them any softer.

    Reply
  10. Shez says

    June 6, 2023 at 10:02 am

    2 stars
    Have to say, this is the first very ‘meh’ meal I’ve cooked from Nagi’s website I feel the gravy needed a lot more oomph or spice (enough S+P). And like she said, the veg component was very mushy…doubtful I’d make this again.

    Reply
  11. ss says

    May 11, 2023 at 8:21 pm

    4 stars
    I made this in the instant pot. I cut the chuck roast in half and seared the meat very well in a cast iron on the stove, sautéed the onion and garlic in the Instapot, then added the meat and pan juices. I added a big splash of Worcestershire and soy sauce, plus a crumbled oxo cube to the liquid. I pressure cooked for 45mins in high, then added the potatoes and carrots for 20mins, leaving an extra five mins for natural release. I thought the gravy was going to be too watery but actually it thickened perfectly. A good, filling family dinner for a cold night. Economical too, I got a 1.6kg chuck roast on special from Harris Farm for $20.

    Reply
  12. Silvia Barquero says

    April 27, 2023 at 3:36 pm

    Who would think your recipe from across the globe would end up being enjoyed for dinner in my table in San José Costa Rica? Made it tonight following exactly the recipe and it turned out amazing. We don’t do a lot of stews in our regular costarrican cuisine but had the opportunity to have ZHARKOYE some time ago and wanted my family to try something similar. Yours was better. When I want to surprise my family and brag about my culinary skills I will always come to your blog to find inspiration and it always surpasses my expectations. Thank you for sharing with the world

    Reply
  13. Lois Kahle says

    February 21, 2023 at 4:09 am

    5 stars
    This is the BEST pot roast we’ve ever had. Smells so good while it’s cooking, too. I used 1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes and it worked beautifully. Really good sauce.

    Reply
  14. Stephanie says

    January 23, 2023 at 10:48 am

    5 stars
    This was dinner tonight and it was amazing! I used a Dutch oven to make it in the oven with great results. Left the carrots a little large so they wouldn’t get too soft and after I removed the roast potatoes and carrots used my immersion blender to blend in the celery and onion to help thicken the gravy. Leftover gravy has been saved for poutine later this week 😉

    Reply
  15. Michelle says

    January 21, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    5 stars
    Turned out awesome. I followed the recipe except for adding a cup of brewed coffee in place of some of the broth.

    Reply
  16. Lee says

    December 21, 2022 at 6:16 pm

    5 stars
    I made it in the pressure cooker and it was incredible.

    The chuck roast is so much more tender than brisket (an option offered). It just falls apart.

    I also took the tip and added red potatoes for 10 mins at the end. They turned out perfect this way and not mushy like they usually do in the pressure cooker.

    This is my new ‘entertaining’ recipe. Thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  17. Aislng De Paor says

    December 21, 2022 at 3:20 am

    5 stars
    Any recipe I have used from tineats has been amazing !!!! Definitely my go-to page. Thanks Nagi 🙂

    Reply
  18. kitty says

    December 16, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    Hi i’m cooking for christmas would this work with one 2kg piece of meat and one 1kg piece or will the 1kg piece dry out, please answer. Thank you

    Reply
  19. Emily says

    December 11, 2022 at 8:56 am

    5 stars
    Always comes out perfect. Chuck roast is my favorite, though more expensive here in California. I use the instapot and double the cornstarch for thick gravy. Very easy and delish meal.

    Reply
  20. Lindsay says

    November 30, 2022 at 11:05 am

    How would you cook this on high in the slowcooker? Is this possible to do?

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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