by Holly
Melt in your mouth tender, full of rich beefy flavor, and all cooked in just one pot, the ultimate comfort food.
Every home cook needs to have a classic pot roast recipe served with carrots, potatoes, and rich brown gravy!
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.
What is Pot Roast?
This is a classic recipe and for good reason! A pot roast is a beef roast that generally starts with a tougher cut of beef. Cooking at a low temperature for a long time breaks down the tough connective tissues resulting in deliciously tender beef with a flavorful gravy. The meat is seared, surrounded by carrots, onions, and a savory combination of herbs and spices and baked or oven-roasted until melt in your mouth tender.
This is one of the best pot roast recipes because it isn’t overly salty with additions like packets of onion soup or canned soups.
The Best Roasts for Tender Pot Roast
The best pot roast is made with the right cut of beef. For pot roast choose meat with nice marbling throughout and cook it low and slow. Tougher cuts will become fork tender.
- boneless beef chuck roast (my favorite choice)
- round roast
- rump roast
How to Cook a Pot Roast
Similar to Mississippi roast this can be made in a slow cooker (this recipe is made in the oven), but pot roast can also be made in an instant pot (or pressure cooker) too! While this oven version is our favorite an instant pot pot roast is great when you’re short on time!
Here’s how to make pot roast:
- SEAR BEEF 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.
Pot roast is an instant favorite! Not only is it easy to put together, but it makes for great pot roast sandwiches as leftovers with gravy or in a crusty bun dipped in the leftover juices (like a French dip). Serve this hearty and heartwarming recipe over creamy mashed potatoes and with a side of homemade garlic bread.
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
Turn the sauce into a great pot roast gravy 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
- After searing, add a little of the broth to the pan and scrape up any browned bits, they add lots of flavor.
- 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 Pot 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
- 2 cups beef broth or as needed
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Follow Spend with Pennies on Pinterest
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 broth, wine, garlic, rosemary, 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.
- Bring broth to a boil and whisk in cornstarch mixture a little bit at a time until thickened. Add extra broth if needed.
- 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.)
Just awesome pot roast and so quick and easy to make too. It is much better than crock pot recipes I’ve tried.
This recipe was absolutely delicious and a huge hit with my family. I have been experimenting with different pot roast recipes (crock pot vs. instant pot vs. oven) and I think this one is our favorite! Veggies were perfectly cooked, meat was tender and flavorful and the gravy was an added bonus. I added cherry tomatoes with the other veggies for extra flavor and they were a tasty extra.
That is awesome! Glad you found this one ❤️
Hi I’m cooking it right now–I wanted to make sure I got this right. After the first 2 hrs of cooking, you mentioned putting potatoes and everything in but you don’t say that we should cover it again. Is that the case or should i cover it?
It should be cooked covered. Enjoy the recipe.
Very good!
Hi Holly,
After searing it, you said cover it and put it in the oven. Aluminum foil?
Thanks!
Lili.
I cook in a dutch oven with a lid, if your dish doesn’t have a lid, foil will work.
Excellent recipe! It was definitely worth the wait! I’ve never enjoyed my pot roast as much as I did tonight! So tender & flavored just right! Delicious! Thank You
You’re welcome Kathy! So happy to hear that!
Can’t rate this yet- Would like clarification on celery.
For the 2 stalks celery…about how many ribs in each stalk? The stalks vary so much in size. Weight? Cups?
Thank you.
Hi Heidi, we use two ribs of celery in this recipe. Hope that helps clarify :)
I was wondering if you can make this in a crock pot?
This can cook in the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Enjoy!
I was wondering what type of wine do I use to make this. Sorry it will be my first time cooking like this and never used wine to cook.
Hi Christina, I use whatever I have on hand (which is usually a cabernet). It doesn’t have to be expensive to add great flavor to this pot roast. Ask your local liquor store for a full-bodied red wine and they can usually recommend something that will work well. Hope that helps!
Yes, Cabernet Sauvignon!
Really delicious recipe. I love it yummy!!! It’s really awesome.
We prepped and made this anticipating a busy sports evening and it did not disappoint! My kids and husband were so eager that I didn’t even get to make the gravy Still delicious!
I love that I am glad they still enjoyed it, even without the gravy!
Greatest recipe for pot roast
Always turns out flavorful
I don’t use wine. Can I use something else in place of the wine?
Thank you
You can use additional beef broth.
why do you show us how to cook Pot roast so beef is rare. I usually cook mine about an hour and it is great
This pot roast is made with a cut of beef that will not be as tender if cooked rare. If cooking a roast to rare or medium-rare I use or a more tender cut of beef. Hope that helps!
I just made this pot roast and it was the VERY BEST one ever. If you follow the instructions, you cant go wrong.
This recipe is FANTASTIC! It’s big competition to try and impress this family with a a better pot roast and it IS PERFECT! I did use some butter and coconut oil while searing the beef; however, that is the only thing I changed and the flavor and tenderness is absolutely the best. I would rate this a perfect 10!
My roast is 2.68 pounds..2 and 1/2 hours meat is tough. 3 hours still tough…can I salvage this???
What type of roast did you use? If it is intended for slow cooking in the oven, you can add more time and ensure it is covered.
Thank you this was the best pot roast I have had in years. I am 70+ and have been using my slow cooker for toast for years, when I saw your recipe I remembered how great these oven cooked pot roast were. I just took a chuck roast out of the oven and I could not be happier with the results. Thank you.