Mississippi Pot Roast

This Mississippi Pot Roast recipe is the BEST pot roast you’ll ever try! It’s so juicy and flavourful with a savoury gravy. It’s easy to make from scratch with real ingredients – no preservatives, no gravy or seasoning packets, just tender, slow-cooked beef made in the Crock Pot, the Instant Pot, or in the oven.

 

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

Every now and then there’s a recipe that just absolutely knocks your socks off. It’s so delicious you find yourself making it again and again, and your family begs for seconds. This Mississippi Pot Roast is THE best beef pot roast you’ll ever try – it’s unbelievably tender and so juicy, with the most delicious savoury gravy.

And the best part? It’s so easy to make in the slow cooker, in the Instant Pot, or in the oven, whatever fits your lifestyle. Trust us, if you’re looking for a new recipe to switch up your family meal routine, THIS is the pot roast you need!

Mississippi Pot Roast is a super popular dish that’s synonymous with comfort food in every way. It’s known for being a flavourful, slow-cooked, beefy dish that originated in from Mississippi. It combines tender, shredded beef, zesty and slightly spicy pepperoncini peppers, and a rich and flavourful sauce. The traditional recipe uses a chuck roast or a round roast because they’re known for their excellent performance when slow cooking.

The classic Mississippi Pot Roast is made in the slow cooker or Crock Pot, but it can also be made in the oven or the Instant Pot.

It’s hard to express just how much we LOVE this recipe, but here are just a few reasons it’s one of our favourite recipes ever!

1. It calls for REAL INGREDIENTS. By using dried spices and real, fresh ingredients instead of processed seasoning packets and gravy mix, this version is much lower in sodium and other additives and preservatives.
2. It’s great for MEAL PREP. We love making a big batch of this Mississippi Pot Roast and serving it throughout the week or freezing it for later.
3. It’s FAMILY FRIENDLY. Add less or more pepperoncini peppers to make the sauce more or less spicy, depending on whether or not you’re serving it to kids or people who don’t like spicy food.
4. It’s SO FLAVOURFUL. The unique flavour of this pot roast comes from the pepperoncini peppers and their juice. It’s not too spicy, but it’s super zesty and delicious!
5. It’s CUSTOMIZABLE. Make this recipe in the oven, the slow cooker or the Instant Pot – whatever you prefer. Adjust the spices, the level of heat, and make it however you like it!

If you’ve been around The Busy Baker for awhile you’ll know how much we love making recipes without using pre-packaged ingredients like seasoning, gravy or sauce mixes. We’ll always choose to cook from scratch, and we love to use fresh ground spices, natural thickening agents like flour and cornstarch, and quality liquid ingredients like Worcestershire sauce and stock to create flavour.

A mix of dried spices like dill, parsley, and thyme give the same flavour as a pre-packaged dry ranch dressing mix that many Mississippi Pot Roasts call for. The combination of beef stock, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, and butter create a deliciously rich gravy that’s far more flavourful than any pre-made packet of au jus gravy mix or brown gravy mix from the grocery store. Our recipe is relatively preservative-free, it’s lower in salt, and it’s even more flavourful!

Mississippi Pot Roast is a versatile dish that pairs well with so many side dishes. Here are a few dishes we LOVE serving with it:

• Best Mashed Potatoes
• Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
• Olive Garden Salad
• Quick Dinner Rolls – Ready in one hour!
• Quick No Knead Bread
• Roasted Vegetables

All that stands between you and the BEST pot roast of your life are a few simple pro tips and tricks!

Opt for a chuck roast or round roast for the best results due to their fat content and tenderness when slow-cooked.

Take your roast out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. This will help the spice rub absorb more deeply into the meat and will help it cook more evenly.

Fat does add flavour, but extra fat isn’t necessary and can add too much grease. Trim any large, thick pieces of fat before cooking.

Pat the meat dry with some paper towel. This will remove excess moisture and help the spice rub stick to the meat.

Adding the spices to the surface of the beef roast creates so much flavour. Don’t skip the step of rubbing the herbs and spices onto the meat instead of just adding them to the pot.

Make sure there’s enough liquid to keep the meat moist and be sure to mix the liquid ingredients before adding them to the pot, Instant Pot or slow cooker.

Adding some of the liquid from the jar of pepperoncini peppers adds a zesty flavour to the sauce that makes this dish unmistakable. Because it adds a ton of flavour and not a lot of spiciness, don’t skip it!

Low and slow is the way to go, whether you’re making Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast, Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast, or Mississippi Pot Roast in the oven – don’t rush the cooking process and you’ll achieve perfect, tender beef.

Here’s a few issues you might encounter when making this Mississippi Pot Roast recipe and what to do:

If the meat is tough, it likely needs more cooking time. Let it cook for an additional 30 minutes to an hour.

If your gravy is too thin after adding the cornstarch and water, you can make another cornstarch slurry and add some more of it into the sauce, cooking it over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens.

If you’d like your roast spicier, you could add a few sliced, pickled jalapeños or banana peppers after cooking.

If your roast is cooked unevenly, ensure the roast is a uniform size. If the roast is very large, consider cutting it into two smaller pieces. This will help it cook evenly and more quickly.

When it comes to making Mississippi Pot Roast, you have 3 different cooking methods to choose from. Each one has its benefits and its drawbacks that influence the outcome of the dish. Here’s everything you need to know to make the best decision: will you make this Mississippi Pot Roast in the oven, the slow cooker, or the Instant Pot?

Here’s what we love about making this Mississippi Pot Roast in the oven:

• Consistent Cooking: The oven provides a steady and consistent heat that can be easily and precisely controlled so the roast cooks evenly. This is very helpful when you’re cooking larger cuts of beef.
• Perfect Caramelization: Roasting in the oven allows for better caramelization of the meat’s surface, giving it a richer, deeper flavour. The downside of this caramelization is that the crust of the beef can dry out slightly while the inside becomes tender, but it’s still delicious served with all that gravy.
• Flexibility: The oven option is perfect if you want to add vegetables or potatoes in the same pot part way through cooking.

Oven-cooked Mississippi Pot Roast tends to have a firmer texture with a very well-browned exterior. The flavours can be more intense because of this caramelization.

Here’s why we love making Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast:

• It’s SO Easy: Perhaps the biggest advantage of the slow cooker is how easy it is to set-it-and-forget-it. It’s excellent for busy home cooks who don’t want to fuss over dinner every single night.
• The End Result is Extra Moist: Slow cookers use lower temperatures than the oven and they utilize covered cooking to keep meat moist and tender as it cooks. Slow cookers cook evenly for a delicious flavour throughout the meat.
• Flavour Development: Cooking over a long period of time allows for deep flavour development. Slow cooked pot roast is known for being extra flavourful.

Slow cooker pot roast is extremely tender meat that easily pulls apart. It soaks up more of the cooking liquid that almost any other cooking method.

Here’s the one BIG reason we love making Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast:

• It’s SO Fast: The Instant Pot drastically reduces cooking time compared to the oven or the slow cooker and this pot roast is ready in about one hour instead of the 3-6 hours it would take using one of the other methods.

Quick pressure cooking in an Instant Pot results in a roast that is tender and flavourful with results similar to the slow cooker but in a fraction of the time. To make it even more flavourful, reduce the sauce on sauté mode after cooking the meat.

Here at The Busy Baker we have shared so many of our favourite mealtime tips, tricks and secrets with you over the years. If you haven’t already signed up, we offer a FREE email course where we share our BEST weeknight meal tips, tricks and recipes to help you feed your hungry family without losing your sanity. Sign up for our FREE course below:

And if you’ve already taken the course, we offer 11 weeks of family meal plans for sale in The Busy Baker shop, complete with a week’s worth of meals planned for you, a grocery list ready to go, all our best mealtime tips and tricks, and an optional meal prep guide to help you get ahead of the dinnertime game. We hope you’ll check them out!!

Here’s a list of the basic kitchen equipment you’ll need to make this delicious recipe (paid links):

• Slow Cooker or a large dutch oven pot or an Instant Pot, depending on the method you choose to make this roast
• Butcher’s twine
• a pair of Tongs
• measuring cups and spoons
• an Instant Read Thermometer

Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need to make this amazing Mississippi Pot Roast recipe (paid links):

• 2.5 to 3 pound beef chuck roast or use a beef round roast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 8 to 10 pepperoncini peppers
• 1/4 cup pepperoncini juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons butter

TO THICKEN THE GRAVY:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons water

Take this Mississippi Pot Roast recipe to the next level with one of these delicious variations:

1. Make it spicy. Add some pickled jalapeños instead of the pepperoncini peppers for an added spicy kick. Add some red pepper flakes to the spice rub, too!
2. Add some veggies. Chopped potatoes, baby carrots, and even onions are a great addition to this pot roast to make it a meal.
3. Add more flavour. Add more herbs like rosemary and basil to take the flavour to the next level.
4. Make it a wrap. Serve the shredded beef with melted cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and other burrito ingredients.

Here’s how to make this Mississippi Pot Roast recipe in the oven:

• Preheat your oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Pat your pot roast dry and tie it with butcher’s twine if it’s not even or it’s falling apart.
• Season the roast with the spice mixture after patting the roast dry with paper towel.
• Over medium heat, sear your roast in your dutch oven on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side until you get a nice browning on all sides.
• Add the sauce mixture and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
• Add the peppers and the butter and add the lid to the pot.
• Roast in the oven for about 3 hours. Remove the lid, then continue roasting for about 45 minutes more. When it’s done, the roast should reach an internal temperature of about 205 degrees Fahrenheit (96 degrees Celsius).
• Remove the roast from the pot and let it rest while you add the cornstarch slurry to the pot. Whisk to thicken the sauce while it’s hot from the oven.
• Shred the roast and add it back into the pot before serving.

Here’s how to make this Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast recipe:

• Rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the beef roast after you pat it dry with paper towel.
• Add the rack to your Instant Pot and place the roast on the rack.
• Add the peppers, the sauce ingredients, and the butter in the same way as in the slow cooker method.
• Add the lid and seal the Instant Pot, setting the valve to sealing and setting the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 60 minutes.
• Let the pressure release naturally, then open the lid and remove the roast, letting it rest for a few minutes.
• Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode and mix together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch slurry to the Instant pot and whisk it into the remaining liquid. This will thicken the sauce.
• Shred the beef and add it back into the Instant Pot, cancelling sauté mode.
• Serve and enjoy.

We hope you love this Mississippi Pot Roast recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite easy comfort food meal? We’d love to know!

• Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
• Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches
• Instant Pot Roasted Chicken and Gravy
• Air Fryer Meatloaf
• Pork Steak
• Instant Pot Roasted Chicken and Gravy
• Meatball Soup
• Cast Iron Steak
• Homemade Rotisserie Chicken
• Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili (Slow Cooker)

Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!