Pot Roast

This Pot Roast recipe is the BEST classic pot roast that’s easy to make – even for beginners! It’s so juicy and flavourful with a savoury gravy and roasted vegetables – tender, slow-cooked beef made in the Crock Pot, the Instant Pot, or in the oven from scratch!

 

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

Everybody loves a good ol’ dependable comfort food recipe, and this Pot Roast recipe is one of our tried and true, standby recipes that never disappoints. What could be better than tender, juicy beef, potatoes and carrots all in a savoury gravy!?

And as if the flavour and comfort-factor isn’t enough, 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!

Pot roast is a timeless classic recipe that’s made its way onto tables across the world for ages. But it’s not just a simple dish – it’s a cooking method that transforms tough cuts of beef into tender, flavourful, fall apart meat that’s fit for a family meal any night of the week.

Traditionally, a pot roast is made using cuts such as beef chuck roast or beef round roast that benefit from slow cooking at low temperatures. This allows the dense connective tissues in the meat to break down, making it oh so tender and infusing the roast with moisture and rich flavour. Pot roasts usually involve browning the meat first to develop flavour and then slowly cooking it in a covered pot with a liquid along with hearty vegetables like onions, carrots, and potatoes.

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 real, fresh ingredients instead of processed seasoning packets and processed gravy mix, this pot roast recipe is much lower in sodium and other additives and preservatives than some versions.
2. It’s a ONE AND DONE meal. No need to prep a bunch of sides, this pot roast recipe is a one pot meal with carrots, potatoes, beef and a delicious gravy.
3. It’s great for MEAL PREP. We love making a big batch of this Pot Roast and serving it throughout the week or freezing it for later.
4. It’s SO FLAVOURFUL. Slow cooking the beef creates and ton of flavour!
5. It’s CUSTOMIZABLE. Make Crock Pot pot roast, Instant Pot pot roast, OR pot roast in the oven – it’s your choice!

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

• Olive Garden Salad
• Quick Dinner Rolls – Ready in one hour!
• Quick No Knead Bread
• Roasted Vegetables
• Homemade Biscuits
• Easy Homemade French Bread

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!!

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

Opt for a beef 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 flavour 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 and mustard to the surface of the beef roast creates so much flavour. Don’t skip the step of rubbing it onto the meat instead of just adding them to the pot.

Searing the roast on all sides before cooking it in the liquid helps lock in moisture and creates so much flavour. Don’t skip this step, especially if you’re making pot roast in the oven!

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.

Low and slow is the way to go, whether you’re making Instant Pot Pot Roast, Crock Pot Pot Roast, or 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 BEST 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 more flavourful, you could add a few drops more Worcestershire and some extra Dijon to the cooking liquid as you whisk together the sauce. Serving the meat in the sauce certainly adds a ton of flavour.

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 a classic 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 Pot Roast in the oven, the slow cooker, or the Instant Pot?

Here’s what we love about making 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.

Oven-cooked 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 Slow Cooker 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 and slow cooked pot roast is known for being extra flavourful.

Crock Pot 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 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’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 have on hand to make this BEST pot roast recipe (paid links)

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast (or use a beef round roast)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard optional
• 3 medium white or yellow onions (large onions work well too)
• 6 garlic cloves

FOR THE GRAVY:

• 1 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 cups beef broth or beef stock
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

VEGGIES:

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds carrots
• 2 pounds baby potatoes
• 2 stalks celery optional

Take your pot roast up a notch with one of these absolutely delicious variations!

• Veggies: Add more root vegetables like parsnips or sweet potatoes for added fibre and nutrition.
• Fresh Herbs and Garlic: Add 10 or more fresh cloves of garlic and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme in with the potatoes and carrots for an extra herb and garlic flavour that’s infused throughout the meat and the veggies.
• Mushroom: Add whole mushrooms in the last hour of cooking for a delicious flavour that compliments the beef perfectly!

Here’s how to make this Crock Pot Pot Roast recipe:

• Pat your pot roast dry, spread a very thin layer of mustard on it and season well with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika on all sides.
• Over medium heat sear your roast in a pan on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side until you get a nice browning on all sides. Remove your roast to a plate and add in 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add in the onion wedges and sauté them, removing the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add in the 1 cup red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan very well.
• In a measuring cup add the gravy ingredients (reducing the beef broth to 3 cups) and mix well. Place your veggies in the Crock Pot along with the onion and wine mixture. Add in the roast, nestling it between the veggies, pour your sauce ingredients over them and cook in the crockpot for 6-7 hours on high.
• When the meat shreds easily, remove the butcher’s twine and shred.
• For a thicker gravy, make a cornstarch slurry from 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of water and mix it with the cooking liquid in a small pan. Boil over medium heat until the cornstarch is cooked and the gravy’s consistency is to your liking.

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

• Rub the seasonings and mustard 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 all the other ingredients in the same way as in the slow cooker method.
• Add the lid and seal the Instant Pot, setting it to cook on high pressure for 60 minutes.
• Let the pressure release naturally, open the lid and remove the roast and the veggies.
• 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. Let it simmer for a few minutes, whisking regularly. 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 BEST pot roast recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, will you make this pot roast in the Instant Pot, the Slow Cooker, or in the oven? We’d love to know!

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!