by Holly
Every home cook needs to have a classic recipe for pot roast served with gravy, carrots, and potatoes!
This easy recipe is great for beginners and delivers incredible results every time! Chuck roasts are inexpensive cuts of beef that cook in the oven at a low temperature for a few hours. Add in a handful of veggies and some savory herbs for the perfect meal.
Similar to Mississippi pot roast which is made in a slow cooker, this pot roast is made in the oven, but pot roast can also be made in the instant pot if you’ve got one!
Pot roast is an instant favorite in any household! Not only is it easy to put together, but it makes for great pot roast sandwiches as leftovers, or tucked into a wrap or pita. Serve this hearty and heartwarming recipe over mashed potatoes and with a side of homemade garlic bread.
What is Pot Roast?
This is a culinary classic and for good reason!
A pot roast is a beef roast that is generally a tougher cut. Cooking at a low temperature for a long time breaks down the tough connective tissues resulting in deliciously tender beef with a flavorful gravy.
Good choices for a pot roast include a chuck roast (my favorite choice), a round roast or even a rump roast
The meat is seared, surrounded by carrots, onions, and a savory combination of herbs and spices and baked until melt in your mouth tender.
How to Cook a Pot Roast
- SEAR Add oil to the pan and sear chuck roast in oil (bacon grease is better if you have it!) until browned on all sides.
- ADD BROTH Place the onions around the roast and add wine, broth, rosemary, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and then bake two hours in the oven.
- ADD VEGGIES Add potatoes and carrots and bake until the potatoes are tender, about two more hours. Remove the bay leaf.
- SERVE Cut the roast into smaller pieces or shred with two forks and serve.
How Long to Cook a Pot Roast
This recipe is based on a typical chuck roast, about 4lbs (give or take). Pot roast is best cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time to break down any tough tissue.
- Cook a 3lb roast for 3-3.5 hrs
- Cook a 4lb roast for 3.5-4 hrs
- Cook a 5lb roast for 4.5-5 hrs
Cook times can vary based on the type of roast. Check the roast with a fork, if it is tough, the roast probably needs MORE time to cook. Cover it back up and let it keep on cooking.
How to Make Pot Roast Gravy
This gravy is super simple and simply delicious, in only 3 steps!
- Whisk two tablespoons of corn starch in cold water until smooth (this is called a slurry).
- Remove beef and veggies the broth and bring to a simmer. You should have about two cups, add more beef broth if needed.
- Whisk the slurry into the simmering broth until thickened.
Tips for the Perfect Roast
- Select a roast that has lots of marbling in it -which carries flavor and helps make the gravy absolutely mouth-watering!
- Baby potatoes are a great choice. They don’t require peeling and hold their shape well (russet potatoes tend to fall apart, although they still taste great)
- Cut the carrots and celery a bit bigger so they don’t overcook
- Fresh herbs are best but dried ones can be used, just use them sparingly since dried herbs have a more concentrated flavor than fresh.
- Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste to the broth if desired.
Favorite Cozy Beef Meals
Did you make this Chuck Roast? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Perfect Pot Roast
Prep Time 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3-4 pounds chuck roast or rump roast
- 1 large onion chopped, or two small onions
- 4 carrots cut into 2" pieces
- 2 stalks celery cut into 1 ½" pieces
- 1 pound baby potatoes
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef broth or as needed
- 4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Season roast with salt and pepper.
- In a large dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the roast on each side until browned, about 4 minutes per side adding more oil if needed.
- Arrange onions around the roast. Combine wine, broth, rosemary, garlic, and thyme. Pour over the roast. Add bay leaf.
- Bring just to a simmer on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Once the broth is simmering, cover and place in the oven and bake 2 hours.
- Add potatoes, carrots, and celery, and bake an additional 2 hours (for a 4lb roast) or until the roast and potatoes are fork-tender.
- Discard bay leaf. Gently pull beef into large pieces with a fork or slice into thick pieces. Serve with juices (or make gravy below if desired).
Recipe Notes
- Combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth.
- Remove beef and vegetables from the pot and set on a plate to rest. Add extra broth if needed.
- Bring broth to a boil and whisk in cornstarch mixture a little bit at a time until thickened.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Very very good and easy meal to prepare! Everyone loved this roast, it was super tender and full of flavor!
Thank you.Easy and JUST PLAIN GOOD.So hot today cooked on the stove top.
Delicious…I added Worcestershire sauce; a can of roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms and green beans with more wine and it was perfect❣️
Recipe was perfect! Family LOVED IT!
Followed the recipe, and overall, it was great! There is a lot of liquid, enough to cover the roast, and most of the veggies. Because of that, the veggies were a touch softer than we’d prefer. Next time, I will probably put the veggies in with only 1 hour left, so they don’t cook quite as long. Flavor was excellent, and the roast was wonderfully tender and flavorful!
How long should I cook a 2lb roast?
We haven’t tried a roast of that size Carolyn, but think it would be about 2 ½ hours. I’d suggest that you check after 2 hours to see how tender it is. Enjoy!
Will cooking at 300 for 4 hrs get the roast well done? Roast is 3.5 lb
Yes, it may be done slightly before 4 hours. Enjoy Helen!
I only had a 2# roast… something came up and I had to leave the house and turned off the oven with roast still in it. Came home, placed on stove top to bring to a boil again and back in the oven for another 1.5 hours.
– family agrees Best Pot Roast I have ever made. Flavors and texture were perfect.
Made this exactly as written. Used angus chuck roast. So tender and delicious. Thankyou
You’re welcome Jean! So happy to hear that!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I used fresh herbs instead of dried and we loved it! Thank you for this keeper recipe!
You’re welcome Deb!
Chuck roast with potatoes and carrots came out great. Cooked 3 lb. roast for 4 hours at 325.
Cooked 3 lb. Chuck roast at 325 for 4 hours with potatoes and carrots in beef broth. Came out great
I just made this recipe with a 2 1/2 pound chuck roast. Seared it with S&P in EVOO ’til brown. I hate the texture of celery, so did not use stalks. I did use 1 tsp dried celery seasoning, just because. Also used organic dried onion and garlic. Not a fan of cooking with wine, so used 1/2 cup beef broth and half cup of Captain Morgan. Brought it to a simmer, covered it, and put in in the 300 degree oven for an hour and a half. Put in some baby potatoes and baby carrots and cooked for another hour and a half. Internal temp was over 170 degrees, potatoes were done, so set it out to serve. Seeing as how it was over 170 degrees, the alcohol cooked off, leaving the spice flavor.
This really turned out nice! My family very much enjoyed it for dinner. No leftovers. I will be doing it again with a MUCH larger roast so I can some sandwiches the next day!
Thank You!!
You’re welcome Don! Awesome to hear that!
I am making mine with 2 roasts about 2.5-3 lbs each. How long should I cook it?
We haven’t tried with that size roast, but I’d suggest checking after about 2 ½ hours to see how done they are. Likely they’ll take about 3+ hours. Make sure that the roasts are not teaching and have space around them for air circulation. Enjoy Danielle!
Im going to try this recipe but u do have a question. What kind of red wine should i use and can this also be done in a crock pot?
I usually use a cabernet as that’s what I usually have on hand. It doesn’t have to be expensive to add great flavor to this pot roast Tina. You can ask at the liquor store for a full bodied red wine and they’ll be able to recommend something. This can be cooked in the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours. Enjoy the roast!
Your “Perfect Pot Roast” is THE BEST!!!! We raise our own beef (so we eat a lot of it), so Im always looking for ways to prepare a delicious and tender cut of beef and this is it! Thank You!
You’re welcome Carrie! So glad you love the pot roast recipe!