Slow Cooker Pot Roast
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This easy slow cooker pot roast cooks low and slow right in the crockpot, yielding the most fall-apart tender beef and the dreamiest gravy!
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Why you’ll love this slow cooker pot roast
- Classic comfort food. Sometimes you just need a classic comfort food dish that brings you back home. Something mom used to make, and something you can simply enjoy on a Sunday night with friends and family with all the crusty bread.
- Easiest crockpot recipe. This is truly the easiest pot roast recipe that can cook all day long in your slow cooker for 7-8 hours, filling up the entire house with a cozy, homey feeling all around.
- Includes a built-in gravy. The meat not only comes out unbelievably fall-apart tender, but the recipe also includes the most perfect gravy that you can make from the leftover cooking juices!
- Freezer-friendly. Pot roast is an excellent dish to freeze for meal prep, whether it’s for a new mom, a neighbor, or a loved one recovering from surgery, keeping in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Key Ingredients
Beef
Boneless chuck roast
Vegetables
Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, celery, and sweet onion
Liquid
Beef broth, red wine, flour, and tomato paste
Aromatics
Garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and parsley
how to make the easiest crockpot pot roast
- Prep the beef. Season the chuck roast liberally with salt and pepper.
- Sear. Brown the chuck roast in a hot cast iron skillet until a nice crust forms, about 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Combine. Whisk together the beef broth, red wine, all-purpose flour, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Layer the ingredients. Place the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf at the bottom of a 6-qt slow cooker, then stir in the liquid mixture and season with salt and pepper. Place the seared chuck roast on top of the vegetables.
- Cook low and slow. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours. The pot roast will be done when it is fork-tender and falling apart.
- Shred the beef. Remove the beef and vegetables from the slow cooker, then pull the meat apart using two forks or a hand mixer. Cover with aluminum foil and keep warm.
- Make the gravy. Strain the leftover cooking juices from the slow cooker into a small saucepan, then skim the fat (or else you’ll end up with greasy gravy). Bring to a gentle simmer until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve. Serve the shredded meat with the vegetables, spooning the gravy over on top.
PRO TIP
This pot roast makes for great leftovers.
Use the leftover meat for sandwiches, soups and stews, stroganoff, tacos, burritos, quesadillas and casseroles.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH POT ROAST
Tools For This Recipe
Slow Cooker Pot Roast: Frequently Asked Questions
Chuck roast is ideal but brisket or rump roast (bottom round roast) can also be used.
Not at all! Additional beef broth can be used for red wine as a non-alcoholic substitute but broth will be less acidic and more mild in flavor than red wine.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh thyme = 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
The pot roast is ready when it easily pulls apart with a fork. If there’s any resistance, that’s a sign that the connective tissue (collagen) has not broken down yet. You can also insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, checking that it reaches 190-205°F.
Yes! Don’t have 7-8 hours to wait in the slow cooker? Here is one of my favorite pot roast recipes made in the oven.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Pot roast freezes like a dream and can keep in the freezer for 2-3 months, perfect for quick and easy meals during those busy weeks ahead.
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pound boneless chuck roast, excess fat trimmed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- ½ cup dry red wine
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- 3 carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 2 ribs celery, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1 medium sweet onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Season beef with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Heat canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add beef and cook until evenly browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together beef broth, wine, flour, tomato paste and Worcestershire; set aside.
- Place potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in beef broth mixture; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with beef.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours, or until beef is fork-tender.
- Remove beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion from the slow cooker; shred beef, using two forks. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Strain cooking juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan over medium heat; discard solids. Skim any remaining fat from surface and discard. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until desired thickness, about 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion with juices immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Sear the meat. Searing the chuck roast – top, bottom, sides, everything and all around – over medium high heat will add all the extra, deeper flavors here, sealing all the juices inside.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Yukon golds hold up very well. Yukon golds hold up much better throughout the long cook time than russet potatoes, which tend to break down and fall apart. Red potatoes can also be used.
- Carrots and celery should be cut in larger pieces. The vegetables should be cut a little larger here as they will cook down quite a bit in the slow cooker (or else they will be overcooked, fall apart and turn to mush).
- Tomato paste adds so much flavor. Tomato paste is a key ingredient in pot roast, adding body and richness in small amounts without adding too much liquid to the roast. Opt for tomato paste in a tube, using up only what you need at a time without having to open up a whole can.
- Freeze as needed. Pot roast freezes like a dream! Freeze the shredded meat separately from the sauce, packing the meat tightly in freezer bags with a little bit of the cooking juices to prevent the meat from drying out. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking in the leftover gravy!
Did you make this recipe?
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Learned that the InstaPot slow cooker does not cook like a real slow cooker 🙁 Cooked the recipe 8+ hours in the IP but even the veggies weren’t done. So, day 2, placed meat in the bottom of the real crock, poured the veggies and sauce in on top. Cooked it on high for 4 hours. So, so good! Will definitely make this again. Thank you!
Wow, this looks soo good! I love that you have both red wine and Worcestershire sauce in there. I’m going to save this recipe for the next time I make a roast. Thanks so much for posting!
We enjoyed this recipe. I omitted the bay leaf and celery because we don’t like them, but otherwise made the recipe as written. The meat ended up overcooked and dry, but I forgot to check the poundage before I set it to cook so that was probably my fault since I think it may have been a little small. Next time I’ll watch it better and/or use a meat thermometer. The sauce helped with the dryness and it was delicious! The potatoes were cooked perfectly and the carrots seemed to absorb the thyme flavor the most, which I thought was funny but didn’t mind because I LOVE thyme.
All in all, we’ll definitely be using this recipe in the future.
Great recipe, easy to prepare and follow. I had a 2.5lb cut, seared it first on the stove and then nestled it in the vegetables and gravy in the Crock-Pot. Cooked on high for about an hour and then low for about 5 hours and it was done. My husband, who doesn’t really like roast but agreed I could make it, actually said it was tasty and satisfying. Our one beef (sorry) was that the gravy had a pronounced tomato flavor, and bordered on BBQ sauce flavor. Next time I will reduce or leave out the tomato paste to make a more traditional-tasting brown gravy. Thanks for a great, easy to prepare recipe!
Try using canned diced tomatoes or diced fresh instead of tomato paste. I use both canned and fresh. If cooked several hours, the tomatoes will break down and it will add richness and nutrition to the drippings without the “BBQ” taste. You can get canned diced tomatoes in regular flavor and with additional seasonings (like roasted garlic). I usually use the regular. low salt variety.
Did I read that right? Your husband ‘said you could make it?’ I had to have read that wrong. Show husband where the kitchen is where he doesn’t need permission to cook whatever he likes for the family.
I highly doubt she meant she had to get his permission. I took it that she was being considerate of him not caring for roast.
It was great. One thing I did was at the end. I did not strain the juices. I put them in my Vitamix and blended it until it was to the thickness I wanted. Absolutely delicious!!!!
Wonderful! Part of the quarantine cooking trend, I used this recipe today and it was the best. It was 2.75 lbs and cooked in 7 hours.
Didn’t have tomato paste so I used pasta sauce. Also used rosé in place of the red wine.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
This recipe was a 2nd attempt at slow cooked meat, and it was amazing! I actually left out the carrots, potatoes, and celery to dedicate the slow cooker to the meat alone. Roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts on the side instead.
The meat came out beautifully, falling apart easily with a fork. The gravy was similarly incredible, and produces a lot for leftovers or other dishes.
I’ll be recommending this recipe to family and friends.
I used a 2.75 flat piece of Chuck.. and cooked it 8 hrs on low and it still was not tender at all. Had to raise to high and cook two more hrs ..
Do not love cooking in slow cooker . Rather just make beef stew .. in a regular pot.
I have never really liked pot roast before. The meat is pretty flavorless and always dry.
But my husband asked for it, so I found this recipe. I added about 2 pounds more beef, 1.5 cups more broth, mushrooms (my favorite part), and leeks. I also marinated the beef for two days before making it in red wine, water, soy sauce, salt, pepper, chopped onion, and garlic.
This was so good. No one could believe I’ve never made it before. The gravy was a little too thin even after I added more flour, but very flavorful. The beef was perfectly tender and moist and just so tasty. The veggies were super flavorful. Just very good overall. I love the addition of the fresh, bright green parsley at the end. Thank you so much for the delicious meal.
We also had green salad and garlic bread. I may try to grill the meat instead of pan sear it before adding it to the crock pot next time.
Very delicious and tasty! Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe! Since I do not own a crockpot, could this be made in a roasting pan or dutch oven instead? Also, would brisket work instead of boneless chuck roast? Thank you in advance!!
Hi! I’m trying this recipe tomorrow for easter dinner. We only have 1.32 lbs of chuck roast (only my husband and I are eating) and have a rice cooker that also turns into a slow cooker on hight. This is my first time to make a pot roast. I have a few questions hopefully someone will answer. Do I have to half the recipe? We do like gravy a lot! And how long should I cook this if it is high?
Thank you! Im very excited to try this!
My family loved this dish! This recipe will be going into our regular rotation for sure. It was delicious!
Best roast we have ever had!
Another amazing recipe! I didn’t have all the ingredients for my usual recipe and chose to make this instead on the fly. Easy, simple and delicious! The roast was fall apart tender and the gravy was perfect!
I wanted to give this a lower rating because of how mine turned out but wanted to give it 5 stars because it was my fault how it turned out. The flavor of the gravy, to die for! Soooo good! I had a slightly smaller roast so had already planned to check it well before the suggested 7-8 hours. However, after only 3.5, mine was well done and not tender at all. I did it on the low setting. I have high, low and warm. I guess next time, I’d do it on the warm setting. Anyway, after discovering it was well done and not tender, I turned it to warm and also took the potatoes out. It was sort of salvageable but only because of the veggies and gravy. I would try again and just be so much more careful about the settings and not to overcook it. Again, the gravy, amazing!!!
I think the problem may have been the short cook time. Pot roast will look done based on the color quite quickly. The tenderness comes from the long slow cook. What was tough at 3.5 hours could have been meltingly tender by 7-8 hours. Hopefully you’ll try it again. 🙂
Agree with Melinda: Just because something ‘looks’ done doesn’t mean it IS done. Recipe times are for a reason. The gravy will get richer and the roast will be done and tender if the timing is followed. Suggest making it again and no peek until the timing suggested is done.
Excellent! Only thing I did differently was liberally salted/peppered the check roast the night before, and the next morning seared in on my GRILL instead of in a pan on the stove … that (in my opinion always takes meat to the next level). Sear at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, turn 90 degrees or so and sear for another 5 minutes. Flip after the first 10 minutes and repeat.
You wont regret it!
First, I don’t own a slow cooker of any kind. I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven to brown the meat and then just threw everything in. I bake at 350 F for about 3 hours. A couple changes, I did not use the celery, as I didn’t have it on hand. I used ketchup instead of tomato paste, because that’s what I had on hand. Just used a heaping table spoonful of flour. This was AMAZING and everyone liked it. Even my MIL complimented it! Thanks for such a great recipe!! There’s not one recipe I’ve tried from this site that I haven’t liked and is one of my go to sites for recipes.
You too good for a slow cooker?
The flavor of this roast and vegetables and gravy was wonderful, and it was so aromatic as it cooked.
However, the vegetables took on the brown-burgundy color of the beef broth and the wine; the Angus chuck roast was not quite “fork tender.”
I used a 7.5 qt. newer Cuisinart, and cooked it for 8 hours on low. I followed the recipe exactly.
Perhaps the next time I will put the roast in the crock pot first, then the vegetables on top, unless there is any other advice?
Did you sear the roast before putting it in? Could affect the level of cook. I also try to put celery down first, leave potatoes a little bigger and add them next then nest the beef in there and put the Carrots around the outside. Pot roast tend to turn out best if they start out partially in the liquid. Definitely try playing around with the layering till you get it how you like
Delicious. I marinated the beef overnite in Lawreys Italian marinade, washed it off next morning and browned beef! I added more carrots and potatoes, garlic and did everything else in recipe. Did not add wine!! Cooked on high for an hour, turned to low when I left house!!
Very tender and good!!