Slow Cooker Pot Roast – melt in your mouth beef, tender potatoes and carrots and a rich beef gravy. Delicious fall or winter comfort meal.
This is the best Pot Roast you’ll find. I’ve been making it for my family for decades and it’s always a favorite.
It’s delicious, comforting and make a great transition into the fall and winter menu. I’m sharing two cooking options – slower cooker and oven braised. Either way it’s a fuzzy slippers, football game on, Sunday Supper kind of meal.
Why I’ve been making this recipe for decades:
- Versatile – slow cooker or oven braised – depending on my day.
- Delicious, comforting, it’s a whole meal in one pot.
- Leftovers reheat easily and make a good meal another day.
Ingredients needed to make Slow Cooker Pot Roast:
- olive oil
- butter
- salt and black pepper
- approximately 3 pound chuck roast
- garlic cloves
- beef stock
- fresh rosemary (can sub fresh thyme)
- worcestershire sauce
- tomato paste
- dry red wine (cabernet or merlot)
- yellow onion
- carrots
- potatoes
- cornstarch
- optional garnish: fresh chopped parsley
How to make Slow Cooker Pot Roast:
- Season & sear: Bring roast to room temperature and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet; sear roast on all sides.
- Make the sauce: Remove roast. Add tomato paste, Worcestershire and wine to the skillet; cook 2–3 minutes, allowing the wine to reduce.
- Assemble and cook: Add onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, herbs and beef to the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour sauce over the top. Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW 7-8 hours. Recipe tip: be sure the meat is fork tender (not mushy) before removing from slow cooker.
- Thicken gravy: Whisk cornstarch with 3 tablespoons beef stock. Stir into the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2–3 minutes, until thickened. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper.
What kind of beef roast is best for this recipe?
- High Marbling: It features plenty of internal fat that keeps the meat juicy.
- Collagen Breakdown: Long cooking melts tough connective tissues into rich gelatin.
- Budget-Friendly: It remains an economical choice compared to premium roasting cuts.
Beef chuck roast is the absolute best cut for making Pot Roast and here’s why:
- Marbling – to keep the meat juicy.
- Budget friendly – compared to premium cost.
Here’s what I’d suggest if you use a different cut of meat:
- Beef brisket
- Round roast (bottom or rump)
Subs and variations:
- Flour can be used in place of cornstarch.
- Use beef broth or bone broth instead of stock.
- Add additional vegetables like celery, parsnips, turnips, frozen peas or green beans.
- Swap mini yukon or red potatoes instead of russet.
How to make Pot Roast in the Oven:
- Prep and sear the roast: Preheat oven to 350°. Pat roast dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then sear roast on all sides until browned. Remove and set aside.
- Build the braising base: Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook 3–4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and cook 2 minutes. Pour in wine, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer a few minutes to reduce.
- Braise the roast: Stir in stock and add thyme and rosemary. Return roast to the pot, cover, and bake for 2 hours, carefully turning it over halfway through.
- Add the vegetables: Season potatoes and carrots with salt and pepper. After 2 hours, nestle them around the roast. Cover and bake about 1 hour more, or until the roast and vegetables are fork tender.
- Make the gravy: Transfer beef and vegetables to a platter and cover with foil. Discard herbs. Blend cornstarch and extra stock together, then slowly whisk into the liquid over low heat until thickened. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- To serve cut beef into large chunks. Add to a platter with the vegetables. Drizzle gravy over the top and serve extra gravy on the side.
Storage and reheating:
Cool beef and vegetables completely then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a sauce pan on the stove.
Use the beef in other recipes, like Beef Stroganoff or Hot Beef Sandwiches with gravy.
More easy crock pot recipes:
Slow CookerLasagna (no boiling noodles)
Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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Classic Pot Roast
Classic Pot Roast ~ easy to follow instructions for tender beef chuck roast, potatoes, carrots and rich, flavorful gravy.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- approx. 3 pound boneless chuck roast
- 1 medium onion peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red wine dry – not sweet wine (cabernet or merlot)
- 1 cup beef stock + 3 tablespoons for cornstarch slurry to thicken gravy
- 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary OR thyme
- 4-5 medium carrots peeled and chopped into 2-3 pieces
- 2-3 large russet peeled and halved (or swap small potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Bring roast to room temperature and generously season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet; sear roast on top, bottom and all sides.
- Remove roast from the skillet to a platter. Add tomato paste, Worcestershire and wine to the skillet; cook 2–3 minutes, allowing the wine to reduce.
- Add onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic and herbs to the slow cooker along with the roast. Pour sauce over top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours or LOW for 7–8 hours, until tender.
- Once the roast is tender and finised cooking remove meat and potatoes from the crockpot. Whisk cornstarch with 3 tablespoons beef stock. Stir into the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2–3 minutes, until thickened. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper.
Notes
OVEN METHOD:
- Prep and sear the roast: Preheat oven to 350°. Pat roast dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then sear roast on all sides until browned. Remove and set aside.
- Build the braising base: Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook 3–4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and cook 2 minutes. Pour in wine, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer a few minutes to reduce.
- Braise the roast: Stir in stock and add thyme and rosemary. Return roast to the pot, cover, and bake for 2 hours, carefully turning it over halfway through.
- Add the vegetables: Season potatoes and carrots with salt and pepper. After 2 hours, nestle them around the roast. Cover and bake about 1 hour more, or until the roast and vegetables are fork tender.
- Make the gravy: Transfer beef and vegetables to a platter and cover with foil. Discard herbs. Blend cornstarch and extra stock together, then slowly whisk into the liquid over low heat until thickened. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I loved the fact that you did it two ways! The slow cooker would work better for me and the clean up a definite easy!
Actually with your photos – I could almost taste it!
Hugs
Yes! The slow cooker definitely makes it easy – and every bit as delicious as the oven method! Thank you!! That’s the goal with the photos! Hugs to you too
I used the liquid to make traditional gravy with butter, oil rue with flour. I made mashed potatoes, too.
Delicious!
LTanya – ooooh that sounds divine! Creamy mashed potatoes and gravy with the roast sounds like the perfect comfort meal. So glad you enjoyed the recipe – thank you! ~ Bernie
This is one of my favourite pot roast recipes that does not disappoint. I do the slowcooker version and add the carrots but no potatoes. When cooked I take the juices out with the vegetables and strain the fat off. Then i add to a saucepan ( including carrots and onions) and purée using my immersion blender. Then I add
1/4 cup veloutine (gravy thickener/darkener) and simmer. It makes a rich, dark thick gravy to put over mashed potatoes and a side os maple syrup glazed carrots and green beans.
Hi Tammy – Thank you so much for sharing this! ❤️ I love how you make the gravy by puréeing the vegetables with the juices — that sounds like it adds tons of flavor! — and the maple syrup glazed carrots and green beans sound like the perfect addition. I’m so happy this recipe is a favorite of yours – it’s one of my family’s favorites too! — Bernie