This pot roast recipe is foolproof. With fresh ingredients (no packets!), it has the best flavor and the beef slowly roasts until it is fall-apart tender. It’s a complete, cozy meal in one pot, with tender meat and lots of veggies, smothered in rich gravy.
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Here’s Why Thousands Rave About This Pot Roast Recipe…
- This recipe has been tested to perfection and makes a tender roast every time.
- It’s easy to make with fresh ingredients. No packets or ‘cream of’ soup needed.
- Vegetables are added to make it a complete meal in just one pot.
- I’ve included step-by-step instructions for a savory gravy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Easy to prepare, this recipe never disappoints! It is tender and tasty every time. I use the Dutch oven in my oven and it slowly cooks to perfection!”
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.
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: The best cut for pot roast is a chuck roast or boneless beef blade roast. Other cuts of beef with marbling, like round roast or rump roast, are also great options for cooking low and slow. Be sure to select a roast that has lots of marbling in it which carries flavor and helps make the gravy absolutely mouth-watering!
- Onions: Cook the onions with the roast, they will dissolve into the gravy, adding flavor. If you’d like chunks of onion, add extra with the other vegetables.
- Vegetables: 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. You can add other veggies like mushrooms, turnips, or sweet potatoes.
- Broth: Use beef stock and red wine when cooking the meat. You can replace the wine with additional broth. Do not use low-sodium broth, or the gravy won’t have enough flavor.
How to Make a Pot Roast
This is an overview of the steps to make a pot roast. Find full details below!
- Sear beef: Season and sear the beef chuck roast in a Dutch oven or large pot.
- Add onions & liquid: Add onions, broth, wine, and seasonings. Bake in the oven for 2 hours.
- Add vegetables: Add vegetables and cook until the roast and vegetables are tender.
- Make gravy: Separate the fat from the drippings and prepare the gravy according to the recipe directions.
How to Check if Pot Roast Is Done
For this recipe (which uses the technique of braising), skip the thermometer and go by feel. Insert a fork into the roast and twist it slightly. It should be very tender, have very little resistance, and come apart easily.
If the meat isn’t fork-tender, cover it and cook for 20 to 30 minutes longer, then check it again.
Instead of a Dutch oven, try using an oven-safe pot with a lid, a deep roasting pan covered tightly with foil, or a casserole dish with an oven-safe lid.
You can use additional beef broth in place of wine.
Cooking times vary depending on the size and type of roast you purchase. Here are approximate cooking times for pot roast in the oven:
– Cook a 3 lb. roast for a total of 3-3.5 hours
– Cook a 4 lb. roast for a total of 3.5-4 hours
– Cook a 5 lb. roast for a total of 4.5-5 hours
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.
Turn this into a slow cooker pot roast recipe with the following changes:
Reduce the broth to 1 cup and the wine to ½ cup.
Cook in the slow cooker on 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high.
Note: In our tests, we found the roast to be more tender when cooked on low. Larger roasts will need extra time.
I recommend searing the roast to create a flavorful crust. This, along with deglazing the pan, really enhances the flavor of the gravy. You can certainly skip the searing if you’d like.
Turn the sauce into a great pot roast gravy in only 3 steps!
1. Whisk two tablespoons of corn starch in cold water until smooth (this is called a slurry).
2. Remove beef and veggies. Leave the broth and bring it to a simmer. You should have about two cups; add more beef broth if needed.
3. Whisk the slurry into the simmering broth until thickened.
Storing Leftovers
- Fridge: Keep leftover pot roast in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze portions in zippered bags for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
What to Serve With Pot Roast
To stretch this pot roast a little further, add some sides to go with your mouthwatering roast.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 to 4 pounds beef chuck roast or rump roast
- 1 large yellow onion chopped, or two small onions
- 2 cups beef broth or as needed
- 1 cup red wine *see note
- 4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound baby potatoes or chopped red potatoes
- 4 carrots cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 ribs celery cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
For the Gravy
- all-purpose flour or cornstarch, see notes
- butter for optional roux-based gravy, see notes
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 cook 2 hours.
- Add potatoes, carrots, and celery, cover and cook an additional 2 hours (for a 4 lb. 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.
Video
Notes
- Combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth.
- Remove beef and vegetables from the pot. Use a gravy separator or a spoon to separate the fat from the drippings.
- Bring the remaining broth/drippings to a boil and whisk in the slurry 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.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
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Hi there!
I just have a question ☺️
What size Dutch Oven do you use for this recipe (in Qts.)?
Thank you VERY much!!
I use a large dutch oven for this pot roast recipe, about 7 to 8 quarts. As long as your roast fits in your dutch oven it should be fine!
It was delicious
I made this tonight and the first time in the oven than a crock pot. This was the best pot roast I have ever made, everything came out perfect. The meat was tender, I used Yukon potatoes layered them first then added carrots and celery. The veggies came out perfect and not soggy. I did not have cornstarch so I used flour to make the gravy with salt and pepper. Definitely keeping this recipe.
That’s a completely different recipe.
I just made this. I am so happy with the results, husband and kids loveeed it.
Thank you!!!
This was the best! I kept going with the leftovers and made soup.
I will make this for company next time!
I’m making it in a Sunoven. The only difference was the cook time. We’ll see how it turns out!!
love this recipe
Amazing! I will admit I did only follow the recipe maybe 85/90% but nothing that I did NOT change would have gotten me below 5 stars. I already had russet potatoes so I used them instead. Decent but should have started them before the carrots. Good but slightly under cooked compared to my carrots which came out perfect as per recipe. I used veg vs beef broth because I already had 1 I needed to use up. I also tend to like spice more then most so I rubbed the meat with a Penzy mix before searing that had some mild & medium peppers in it instead of S&P. Delicious!
Increased the Thyme, Garlic, but skipped the celery because I’m not wild about it unless it’s crisp. I did use Dutch oven although I’ll probably try it in both pressure cooker and crock pot eventually.
100% recommend this recipe.
Thanks Spend Pennies!!
So happy you enjoyed it, David! Thank you for sharing your alterations, they sound delicious.
New to the Dutch Oven. First Recipe.
Followed this recipe to the T and it was fabulous; very tasty. Left overs were even better with the gravy. I used the bite sized potato blend which worked well in the recipe.
I usually make pot roast in a crockpot, but the dutch oven is my new favorite way. Especially because it cut the cook time in half! This recipe has been added to our regular dinner rotation. It is comforting and delicious, everyone loved it!
Hi! Can I put more beef broth in replacement of the wine? Any other recommendations? I wanted to use a healthier alternative to wine but don’t want to ruin it because I once made this recipe for xmas (after I had made it once succesfully with wine but I think doubling the recipe for a bigger crowd went wrong and made it really watery and flavorless.
Hi Maria, you can replace the wine with additional broth and it shouldn’t affect the flavor that much. I am not sure what went wrong when the recipe was doubled.
Great! Thanks – for smaller roast I only cooked 3 hrs. Husband LOVES it!!!
This was a delicious meal that my whole family loved. The meat was so tender and flavorful and the gravy was amazing. I’d suggest you put Salt and pepper in the ingredient list. I missed it in the directions although seasoning beef during browning should be a no brained. I added it to the gravy instead and each person added seasoning to their meat and vegetables. I added sliced, fresh mushrooms to the pot the last 30 minutes of cooking and they added a richness to the gravy. Thanks for a great recipe that I’ll make again!
I have two pieces of meat that total a little bit over 4 lbs. Should I cook it for about 4 hours?
For a ~4lb roast we cook it for 2 hours, add the potatoes, carrots, and celery and cook for an additional 2 hours or until the roast and potatoes are fork-tender. I hope that helps!
So even if there are 2 pieces of meat (Maybe 2.5 lbs. + 1.5 lbs.) still have to cook for the same length of time as one 4 lbs. piece of meat?
You will want to watch it towards the end to make sure it doesn’t over cook but that should work. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
what kind of wine would work best?
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!
This is the ONLY way I will ever cook pot roast again! The only things I do differently is I use water and caldo de res for my beef broth, I put extra carrots and put them in only for the last hour and I seat the roast (which we get from a local farmer) in bacon grease! Soooo amazingly delicious!!
The key is to make your own stock. Very simple great flaver. It’s hard to mess up pot roast, but this recipe is excellent. I prefer to use flour and butter for my Roux.
This was so easy and delicious!!! I mostly cook vegetarian because of my spouse so I stress when I cook beef for other people. I used Costco Steak seasoning on the beef, 1 1/2 cups of red wine and doubled the garlic. I don’t have a dutch oven so I put a covered baker in the oven to heat up while I cooked the meat on the stove and then put into the warmed baking dish. It was the best roast I’ve ever cooked!
This came out SO delicious and tender. I had to change to 350 for 3 hours cause I have a little one, and I just put the veggies in after 1.5 hours. Also I added a large spoon of tomato paste cause I put that in everything =)
This recipe was perfect! I only had a small chuck roast that was a little over 2 pounds (for just 3 people), but it took awhile to cook, I guess because it was not a very tender cut? I’m not sure. The key is to check it with a meat thermometer, throughout the process. When it was almost done, I sliced it up and put it into the gravy to finish cooking and it became very tender. Perfect!
How long did you cook it for? I have only 1lb
Hi Jordyn, I haven’t tried this recipe with a roast that size before. I would check it at the one hour mark and add time accordingly. If it is tough, the roast probably needs MORE time to cook.
I have made this about 5 times now. my go to recipe and the smell in my house of onion, roast, rosemary, wine… just feels like home. Thank you!