Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This Slow Cooker Pot Roast recipe is the easiest way to make everybody’s favourite comfort food! With tender, fall-apart beef, slow roasted potatoes and vegetables, all in a savoury beef gravy, this Crock Pot Pot Roast is the perfect set-it-and-forget-it family meal that’s perfect for a busy weeknight!

 

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Everybody loves a good, dependable comfort food recipe, especially one that’s perfect for busy weeknights. This Slow Cooker Pot Roast recipe is one of our tried and true, standby recipes that never disappoints even the pickiest eaters. What’s better than tender, juicy beef, potatoes and carrots all in a savoury gravy, you might be asking… only juicy beef, potatoes and carrots all in a savoury gravy that you didn’t have to stand over a hot stove for hours preparing!

If flavour and comfort-factor isn’t enough, you’re going to LOVE this recipe because it’s SO EASY to make in the slow cooker. Trust us, if you’re looking for a new recipe to switch up your family meal routine but you don’t want to compromise on flavour, THIS is the pot roast recipe you need in your life!

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 like beef chuck roast or beef round roast that benefit from slow cooking over time at low temperatures. This allows the dense connective tissues in the meat to break down slowly, making it very tender while at the same time infusing the roast with lots of moisture and rich flavours from the liquid it’s cooked in. Pot roasts sometimes 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.

This version is made in the slow cooker, which means the prep is minimal. Everything gets added to the Crock Pot and a few hours later, you’re left with a delicious and perfectly cooked roast. No stirring, no babysitting, and no worrying about whether or not you’re burning your dinner!

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, sugars, 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 Slow Cooker Pot Roast and serving it throughout the week or freezing it for later.
4. It’s SO FLAVOURFUL. Slow cooking the beef creates a 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!

Here’s why we love making Pot Roast in the slow cooker or Crock Pot:

• 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.

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

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. It’s not an absolutely necessary step, but it does help add a ton of flavour!

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

Here’s a few issues you might encounter when making this BEST Slow Cooker 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 or more.

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 to be 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.

Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious slow cooker pot roast recipe (paid links):

• Butcher’s twine
• Tongs
• large skillet
• liquid measuring cups
• Slow Cooker
• small pot
• Whisk
• Cutting Board and a large knife

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

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 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
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 medium onions
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds carrots
• 2 pounds baby potatoes (or use chopped Yukon golds or red potatoes)
• 2 stalks celery optional
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cups beef broth
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

FOR THICKENING THE GRAVY:

• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

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, nutrition, and flavour.
• 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 two hours of cooking for a delicious flavour that compliments the beef perfectly!

We hope you love this Crock Pot Pot Roast recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite slow cooker meal for busy weeknights? We’d love to know!

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