This Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast recipe perfectly combines tender and juicy beef, flavorful vegetables, and aromatic pot roast seasoning. It's slow-cooked to perfection in your slow cooker creating a cozy home-cooked meal perfect for any day of the week!
Pot roast is an iconic American comfort food meal that consists of tender beef and vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions, slow-cooked until tender. This dish has been around for centuries and continues to be a favorite family meal due to its delicious flavor combination and warm and hearty feel.
This dish starts with a chuck roast, a cut of beef that is well suited to make this meal because of its marbling. Carrots, onion, and potatoes are added for additional flavor, nutrients, and texture, making it a full meal. This recipe really comes together with the addition of homemade pot roast seasoning that combines salty Worcestershire sauce with seasonings like rosemary, thyme, mustard, and sweet tomato paste.
Once the beef is seared on all sides to lock in the flavor, all of the ingredients get placed into the crock pot, where they are slowly cooked for hours, allowing the meat to become ultra tender along with the vegetables.
Serve slow cooker pot roast with a side of fresh steamed vegetables or garlic mashed potatoes for a complete meal!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The beef breaks down in the slow cooker making it super tender and can easily be pulled apart with a fork.
- It’s an easy set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker meal that requires minimal prep work.
- The pot roast seasoning really takes this dish to the next level with a combination of salty Worcestershire sauce with flavorful seasonings that give it an herbed rich tomato flavor with a hint of tanginess.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Olive Oil - Heats up in the skillet to sear all sides of the chuck roast creating a golden brown crust that locks in the juices while slow cooking.
- Chuck Roast - This inexpensive cut of beef is perfect for slow cooking. You can also use rump roast for this recipe.
- Salt & Pepper - A mix of salt and black pepper enhances the natural flavor of the beef.
- Pot Roast Vegetables - You'll need peeled carrots, yellow onion, red potatoes, and minced garlic to create a vegetable blend that is hearty and comforting.
Pot Roast Seasoning:
- Dried Herbs - A mix of dried rosemary and dried thyme helps give this dinner an herbed flavor.
- Beef Broth - Helps complement the natural juices and keeps the chuck roast moist and tender.
- Worchestershire Sauce - This salty condiment adds umami flavor to the meat and helps tenderize the meat.
- Yellow Mustard - A smidge of this acidic condiment makes the pot roast seasoning zing.
- Tomato Paste - A touch of sweetness and tanginess that helps bind all the ingredients together.
- Bay Leaf - This dried herb adds a subtle woodsy taste to the pot roast.
How To Make Pot Roast In The Slow Cooker
Sear the chuck roast: Pat the beef dry with paper towels on both sides. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Place the seasoned beef in the hot oil for three minutes on each side until browned. If needed, add more oil to the skillet.
Arrange the pot roast: Add the seared pot roast to the bottom of the crock pot, then arrange the chop vegetables around it evenly.
Mix the pot roast seasoning: In a medium-sized bowl, add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, and tomato paste. Whisk until well combined and pour over the roast and vegetables. Then place the bay leaf on top.
Cover and cook: Add the lid to the top of the crock pot and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Slice and enjoy: Once fully cooked, remove the bay leaf and pull the roast apart into shreds or slice into thick slices with a knife. Serve the meat over the veggies and pour the juices over top. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to sear all sides of the pot roast for a golden brown crust that locks in the juices as it slowly cooks.
- If you have larger red potatoes, chop them into quarters to ensure they are all roughly the same size.
- The safe internal temperature for cooking pot roast is 145°F. Insert a meat thermometer into the middle of the pot roast to check for doneness and safety before serving.
- Let the pot roast rest for 10 minutes after cooking to let the juices redistribute before slicing.
- Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf from the pot roast before serving!
Variations
- Use red wine instead of beef broth for a more robust pot roast seasoning.
- Add celery and mushrooms to the pot roast vegetables for extra texture and flavor.
- Substitute sweet potatoes for the red potatoes for a sweeter pot roast.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the pot roast for a hint of sweetness.
- Substitute boneless pork roast for the chuck roast for a delicious pot roast variation.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Once cooled, separate the pot roast and pot roast vegetables into airtight containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Freezing: Place cooled pot roast and pot roast veggies into an airtight container or resealable freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheating: The best way to reheat pot roast is in the oven on a baking sheet covered with foil. Reheat at 350°F until warmed through. You can also reheat pot roast in the microwave, but it will be less moist than if you reheated it in the oven.
FAQ
Once the pot roast is cooked, pour all the juices from the pot into a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to ¼ cup of cold water and whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture into the pot roast liquid and simmer over medium-low heat until thickened.
Pot roast is great served with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or cooked rice. A nice green salad pairs well too.
Other cuts of beef that can be used to make pot roast include chuck shoulder pot roast, sirloin tip pot roast, blade pot roast, and bottom round pot roast.
More Slow Cooker Beef Recipes
- Crock Pot French Dip Recipe
- Crock Pot Steak Bites Recipe
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
- The Best Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches
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Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 lb chuck roast (or rump roast)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 large carrots (peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut 2" long)
- 1 medium yellow onion (sliced)
- 1 lb petite red potatoes (cut in half)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Season chuck roast with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add one tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, place the roast in the skillet and sear each side for around 3 minutes or until browned. You may need to add more oil to the skillet if necessary.
- Place the chuck roast in the slow cooker. Arrange carrots, onions, and potatoes around the roast.
- Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, and tomato paste. Whisk until well combined and pour over the roast and vegetables. Then place the bay leaf on top.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Remove the bay leaf and use a fork to pull apart the roast into large pieces or slice it into thick pieces. You can serve the meat with the juices or make gravy using the remaining liquid.
Notes
- Choosing a chuck roast with lots of marbling is ideal for creating a mouth-watering gravy, as the fat in the marbling carries a lot of flavors and helps to keep the meat juicy and tender throughout the cooking process.
- To make gravy, mix two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl until the mixture becomes smooth. Then, remove the beef and vegetables from the pot and place them on a plate to rest. Next, add some broth to a medium pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture a little bit at a time until the sauce thickens. Add more broth if necessary.
Nutrition
*All nutrition information provided is automatically calculated and is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients, brands, and changes in cooking methods listed in the recipe. If you need exact numbers on your ingredients, I would recommend calculating them with your prefered nutrition calculator.
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