Slow Cooker Pot Roast
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No-fuss, amazingly fall-apart pot roast recipe made in your crockpot with the most tender vegetables! And the gravy is simply perfection.
So I’m not sure if you guys know this but Chicago has some amazing food.
Like really really really bomb food. And I’m not just talking about deep dish pizzas or Portillo’s chocolate cake shake. No, I’m talking about Italian beef sandwiches, Nutella pockets, and ice cream doughnut sandwiches just to name a few.
See, it’s all pretty amazing. But sometimes you just need a classic comfort food dish that brings you back home. Something mom used to make, and something you can enjoy on a Sunday night with friends and family.
And what better way to do that than with a classic pot roast? A pot roast that can cook all day long in your crockpot so all that’s left to do is picking up that bottle of wine to serve.
The pot roast comes out unbelievably fall-apart tender in the slow cooker with the most perfect gravy that you can make from the cooking juices. Not to mention, all the tender potatoes, carrots and celery that soak up all that flavor.
Oh, and I would totally serve this with the wine I just picked up and a slice of Portillo’s chocolate cake for dessert. Just a thought for all you Chicago locals!
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1 3 to 3 1/2 pound boneless chuck roast, excess fat trimmed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- ½ cup dry red wine
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes
- 3 large carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 2 celery ribs, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1 medium sweet onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Season beef with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add beef and cook until evenly browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together beef broth, wine, flour, tomato paste and Worcestershire; set aside.
- Place potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in beef broth mixture; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with beef.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours, or until beef is fork-tender.
- Remove beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion from the slow cooker; shred beef, using two forks. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Strain cooking juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan over medium heat; discard solids. Skim any remaining fat from surface and discard. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until desired thickness, about 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion with juices immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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This is my husband’s favorite meal…EXCELLENT pot roast!!
Super delicious! Definitely a keeper!
Excellent recipe. Just the right amount of wine and broth. I’ve made this 3 times now and it’s the perfect November/December comfort food.
I somehow forgot to add flour to the crock pot! It’s too late now, so can the flour be added to the liquid after it’s done cooking? Will this dramatically change the outcome of the roast?
Excellent and easy. Thank you for posting the recipe. Meat is very tender as so are the veggies. Can’t wait to eat the rest.
Question : Can I sear the roast & assemble ingredients in the pot, store it in fridge overnight, & then cook the next day? Not sure how partly “cooked” meat would keep as such…any insights appreciated. Thanks!
Perfectly fine to do. I do it all the time.
Delicious as is! Great recipe 🙂 I have an idea for those wishing to add the fine to the pot: use the seat feature on your slow cooker (if it has one of course) and you won’t miss any flavor or browned bits! I also wanted to see if anyone has attempted this in a pressure cooker? Thoughts? Thanks!
I love this recipe. I made it originally just as listed. I love Pickapeppa sauce for soups, roasts and stews so I use that instead of Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, but I sometimes add tomato paste also. I thicken the gravy with a roux instead of just flour. Recipe is perfect as it is written though.
As said by my fiancé…”Best slow cooker roast he has ever had! Flavor was amazing!”. I would agree! Next time he wants more carrots though. 😉 I browned the meat in a cast iron frying pan and since I also didn’t want to let all those good brown bits from the pan go to waste, I added some of the wine/broth mixture to the pan to remove them and add to the slow cooker. Although next time time I will do that before I add the flour to the mixture. Thanks so much for the tasty recipe!
Can I use this same recipe in a FOUR QUART CROCK POT ??
Awesome!
I don’t think you’ll find a more perfect recipe. It’s simple, reliable and tastes amazing! The wine and thyme add wonderful layers of flavors. If I have anything to add, like some other reviews here, I take out the veggies a few hours early so they stay firm. Or you can add them a few hours before finish time. Can’t recommend this enough!
This is my go-to pot roast recipe! I add the carrots, potatoes, and about 1/3 of the onions, along with a mess of mushrooms, around the 6 hr mark; otherwise, my slow cooker turns them to mush. If I’m feeling saucy, I’ll double the gravy, which is DELICIOUS.
The mention of the Nutella pocket only leaves me wanting some Stan’s (next time, try the biscoff pocket- it’s become an unexpected favorite!)!
Been making this recipe for years and always come back to it when it starts to get cold.
Loved this, my long term recipe was replaced very quickly after trying this recipe. The gravy has a thicker and richer consistency than my old recipe.. The term “comfort food” reached a new level >
This was a great dinner to make ahead in the crockpot! I only had to mess with the gravy a little bit after it was done cooking. I admit I got lazy with it and just added a little cornstarch and water in the saucepan to thicken it. It turned out delicious and the kids loved it. Only one serving survived out of a three-pound roast and all those veggies.
I did add about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce for more flavor, as suggested by another reviewer.
Great recipe! I did not have celery or parsley but it still tasted so good. The gravy is to die for.
This recipe is very flavorful as is! But the cook in me causes me to explore so I tweek it every time I make it and have fun. It has become my go to foundational recipe that I build on. That said, I leave out the celery and add parsnip, and at the end add 1/2 c English peas 10 minutes before serving. The wine in the broth adds depth of flavor so try not to leave it out. Other ingredients to consider are 1 Tbs of low salt Soy sauce & 1 Tbs of mushroom powder. One time I didn’t have flour so I added 1 packet of brown gravy mix in the broth at the end which thickened & flavored it nicely. Pot roast is so flexible, hearty and delicious and has become a comfort food in my family. Give this recipe a try, you’ll be happy you did.
Another damn delicious recipe! I did not have red wine in the house so I subbed 1/2 cup cranberry pomegranate juice and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. The meat was fork tender after 7 hours and the gravy delicious. Thank you!
This recipe makes a delicious pot roast. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m not sure what I may have done wrong after looking at all the 5 star reviews. This is a pretty easy recipe to make but I didn’t think it was all that flavorful. In terms of seasoning the meat before searing, I put a fair amount of salt and pepper and also quite a bit of garlic powder. I used extra garlic (you can never have too much garlic!) as well, but the final result was lacking. I’m not what was missing. I’m thinking some mushrooms would definitely have helped this. I also used some wine to deglaze the pan after searing and added that to the liquid.
I will try this again, but use additional salt in the broth.
One suggestion…. in terms of using the flour, I put the flour in a small bowl and then poured in a couple or three tablespoons of the broth and mixed it up into a kind of paste before putting with the rest of the liquid ingredients to make sure the flour didn’t lump up.
This was the best crockpot pot roast recipe that I have ever used! The meat literally fell apart it was so tender. The only thing I did differently was use a little cornstarch in the final step to thicken the juices a bit more. Will definitely make this again. Thanks!
Wow this was really good! To save myself some time I used a 1 lb. bag of baby carrots and it worked great. This makes a lot of food and it’s nice to have leftovers or freeze some. All of her recipes are so good!
One massive error in this recipe. The beautiful and precious browning pan has been ignored! After you dear your roast and remove it, add some wine and use a rubber spatula to get every last brown bit from the bottom of the pan. Add that to your “sauce” mixture. Also, a tip, slice or shred your meat and let it rest in warm sauce. Makes it much more juicy.
My observation also. Don’t ignore that delicious fond left in the bottom of the browning pan.
It’s funny.. I didn’t see your comment about deglazing the pan and made a comment about that as well in my review, lol.
Thanks for all the great recipes! I have made this for my husband several times and it comes out perfect! I am a vegetarian, so your basic recipes I make for him and I use them to be inspired to make veggie versions. I just bought your meal prep book on Amazon – looks like a lot of good ideas there. Love your site and recipes! Don’t change a thing!
It’s super easy and delicious THANK YOU
I have been looking for a crock pot, pot roast recipe that we like, tried others and were disappointed. Made this today and we loved it! Thank you for sharing and I will be back for more recipes!
We would all like to use olive oil or real butter in our recipes but not for high heat. If you don’t like canola oil just keep a little bottle of organic peanut oil in the refrig to use for high heat cooking, especially for such a small amount.
Avocado oil has a super high smoke point and is very good for you! A much healthier option than canola oil!
Yum!! Definitely use meat pan to mix your gravy sauce in. I always add a teaspoon of Dijon or champagne mustard to any type of roast for a little richer flavor if you have it on hand
Just served this for Christmas Eve dinner and it was superb!! Comfort food at it’s best. Perfect to come home to after a busy working day. Star of the show, according to my brother, were the carrots! I thought the gravy was divine. Will be adding this to rotation. Thanks for the great recipe!
I usually never leave reviews…but I had to after making this for dinner last night. Unbelieveably delicious. The only change I made was that I browned the tomato paste in the oil that I browned the roast in and than used the beef stock/red wine mix to deglave the pan. After a few bites my boyfriend stopped and looked at me and said that it was soooo good! I think I will be making this for Christmas Dinner, so easy and I can enjoy the day!
Will this recipe make lots of gravy? I know there are potatoes BUT I like gravy!
I made this last night and we had plenty of gravy! It was awesome!
As always, your recipe is amazing!!! So glad I tried it. I was totally over turkey and ham having just celebrated an isolated Thanksgiving. This was perfect for a Saturday dinner.
all good but why would you ever use Canola Oil? It’s a man made product and not good for you. Have you ever seen a Canola tree??
Not sure if you’re trolling or just ignorant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola_oil
“According to the Canola Council of Canada, an industry association, the official definition of canola is “Seeds of the genus Brassica” Canola oil is considered safe for human consumption, and has a relatively low amount of saturated fat, a substantial amount of monounsaturated fat, with roughly a 2:1 mono- to poly-unsaturated fats ratio.
In 2006, canola oil was given a qualified health claim by the United States Food and Drug Administration for lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, resulting from its significant content of unsaturated fats.
A 2014 review of health effects from consuming plant oils rich in alpha-linolenic acid, including canola, stated that there was moderate benefit for lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, bone fractures, and type-2 diabetes.
If you don’t think that it comes from a plant then just look up images of canola fields.
I love how simple yet amazing your slow cooker recipes are. I’m staying with my father who has diabetes trying to help him eat healthier to improve his health. He’s a much better cook than I am but he wants to fry absolutely everything. You’re slow cooker recipes even impress him, and we’re finally getting his sugar under control. Thank you so much for simplifying a very complicated issue.
I just have to say that we must be careful to use Wikipedia as a good source of info. Canola Oil is a very poor choice for an oil. https://livelovefruit.com/8-health-dangers-of-canola-oil/
But this is a great recipe! Thank you.
So use something else for high heat and move on!
Wow someone doesn’t like criticism lol
Delicious! I made one change, I have a ton of tomatoes leftover from my garden, so I diced one versus using tomato paste. Everyone in the family loved it!
My girlfriend loved it the best roast recipe she has eaten so far! Hey what do you think about keto?
Oh my goodness! Followed this exactly and it’s the best roast I’ve ever made! I was worried the veggies would be mushy but they were not, just perfect and wonderfully flavorful. Thank you for sharing!!
Excellent recipe! Made this recently on a cold, rainy day and it was perfect. I cooked the tomato paste slightly in the saute pan after removing the meat and as others have suggested, I deglazed the saute pan with some of the broth mixture. Cooking the tomato paste slightly removes some of the ‘tomato’ taste from the sauce and deepens the flavor. This recipe is a keeper.
Can you cook this on high for less time?
Absolutely the best Pot Roast recipe I have found. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Amazingly tender and so flavorful.
This is the absolute best pot roast I’ve ever had. I am glad to replace our family recipe using packaged onion soup mix with wine and fresh herbs. Thank you for this recipe! It is damn delicious!
I’m new to the slow cooker and I’m hoping you can help. I’d love to try this, but my roast is 1.5 lbs. Is there any way to change the timing to make that work? Thank you!!
Just google the time suggested to cook the size your roast is.
Delicious, I didn’t have tomato paste so I just used ketchup, hope that wasn’t a cardinal sin. I used dried thyme and a dried bay leaf. This is a great recipe, my husband loves it! I’ve tried many pot roast recipes… MANY, this will be my one and only!
The name damn delicious is very appropriate. Pot roast came out tender & flavorful Gravy was perfect I will definitely make this again.
I have never found a great slow cooker pot roast recipe until this one. Very tasty even with the smaller amount of salt that I added. Everyone in the family enjoyed it and we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I make this exactly to the recipe with one exception – on the recommendation of some Jewish friends, I substitute one cup of Manishevitz wine -any sweet Kosher wine will do. It somehow breaks down the fibers in the meat making it the most tender we have ever had. Today is the fourth time I’ve made it since discovering your website.
That looks delicious! Gonna try it this weekend (but might be hard to get my hands on some ingredients).
Delicious. Thank for the simple recipe. It came so tender and delicious.
It was amazing. Followed the recipe to a T and was not disappointed
Im so happy I tried this recipe. My slow cooker pot roast turned out AMAZING!! It filled the house with the most amazing smell too. Thank you. Also, I just have to say, “Damn delicious” is literally the BEST recipe and weight loss community anywhere on the internet. I always find cool new stuff to try everyday and am so grateful I found KetoCustomPlan. This was truly a game changer for me. It created a custom keto meal-plan tailored around what I already like to eat that worked FAST!! I not only lost weight quickly but kept it off for good! I hope this helps some others.
Emily, are you reviewing the recipe, or spamming and promoting the keto custom program???
Excellent recipe! I deglazed the browning pan with some extra red wine and added that to the crock pot as well! Easy recipe just have to wait till it cooks. Recommend this for flavor and ease of prep!
Excellent!! I used broth instead of wine!, lots of carrots, no celery, lots of garlic and a can of fire roasted petite tomatoes! Cooked it on low, done in 7 hours!! Used rosemary, out of thyme!! (Not a pun)
I don’t think I could find all the ingredients you listed in the recipe. But my wife said she already keep this in her bucket list.
Pot roast perfection. I prefer less fatty cuts of meat and it was richly delicious in every bite. I also prefer less of a tomato base so I cut back on the paste but did include some which added to the flavor profile of the amazing gravy. Highly recommend!
looks delicious . my husband and i are preparing this roast recipe as we speak!
While sheltering in place, I wanted real comfort food and this was it! Damn delicious for sure! After it was done, I did pull off the broth and after removing most of the oil (my roast was HUGELY FAT), I used the broth and some extra flour to make the gravy. I can pretty much grab a recipe from your website and love it.
I made this recipe pretty much to the word, except I didn’t have wine (drank it all day before unfortunately) so I added more beef broth. Maybe that was the reason the gravy didn’t thicken. It smells delicious and it shredded nicely after cooking for 7.5 hours. Have to wait for hubby to get home now, excited to see how it tastes! I am concerned about the tomato paste comment because mine isn’t as brown, but we’ll see! Thanks for an easy-to-follow recipe!
I made the slow cooker roast beef very delicious.
I love cooking. I will be using some of your recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Best ever! As noted by others left out celery..halfed the tomato paste. No kidding..best.
great recipe!
Added ‘shrooms and deleted the potatoes (we had ’em last night)
Set up to cook @ 9:15 –> done to perfection by 5:30
Loved it all, gravy worked great right out of pan.
Thanks and stay safe!
Worked like a dream! Family favorite. Thank you.
We have made this a couple times and have it dialed in to suit our taste.
First I agree with the other reviewers: cut the tomato paste in half.
We subbed out celery for mushrooms for obvious reasons.
Also we deglaze the pan we cook the meat in with a little wine and into the pot it goes.
We have found the gravy to be thick enough straight out of the pot, but we are into mashing up the potatoes or swabbing up the gravy with bread.
The one problem with this recipe is you have to open a bottle of red wine at 8AM. This is s problem because I have to have a glass! Does this mean I’m a problem drinker?
Does this mean I’m a problem drinker? Not if you’re French (like I am).
Great additions to the recipe. Thank you! I deglazed and it was ridiculously hard not to get a glass out for the open bottle of wine!
Planning to make pot roast next week while my sister in law is staying with us. I’m torn between this recipe and your instant pot version… which one should I try out?
This one!! You don’t need speed today, but need kthe house smelling great.
Learned that the InstaPot slow cooker does not cook like a real slow cooker 🙁 Cooked the recipe 8+ hours in the IP but even the veggies weren’t done. So, day 2, placed meat in the bottom of the real crock, poured the veggies and sauce in on top. Cooked it on high for 4 hours. So, so good! Will definitely make this again. Thank you!
Wow, this looks soo good! I love that you have both red wine and Worcestershire sauce in there. I’m going to save this recipe for the next time I make a roast. Thanks so much for posting!
Don’t make excuses for failure, just find a way for success
We enjoyed this recipe. I omitted the bay leaf and celery because we don’t like them, but otherwise made the recipe as written. The meat ended up overcooked and dry, but I forgot to check the poundage before I set it to cook so that was probably my fault since I think it may have been a little small. Next time I’ll watch it better and/or use a meat thermometer. The sauce helped with the dryness and it was delicious! The potatoes were cooked perfectly and the carrots seemed to absorb the thyme flavor the most, which I thought was funny but didn’t mind because I LOVE thyme.
All in all, we’ll definitely be using this recipe in the future.
Great recipe, easy to prepare and follow. I had a 2.5lb cut, seared it first on the stove and then nestled it in the vegetables and gravy in the Crock-Pot. Cooked on high for about an hour and then low for about 5 hours and it was done. My husband, who doesn’t really like roast but agreed I could make it, actually said it was tasty and satisfying. Our one beef (sorry) was that the gravy had a pronounced tomato flavor, and bordered on BBQ sauce flavor. Next time I will reduce or leave out the tomato paste to make a more traditional-tasting brown gravy. Thanks for a great, easy to prepare recipe!
Try using canned diced tomatoes or diced fresh instead of tomato paste. I use both canned and fresh. If cooked several hours, the tomatoes will break down and it will add richness and nutrition to the drippings without the “BBQ” taste. You can get canned diced tomatoes in regular flavor and with additional seasonings (like roasted garlic). I usually use the regular. low salt variety.
Did I read that right? Your husband ‘said you could make it?’ I had to have read that wrong. Show husband where the kitchen is where he doesn’t need permission to cook whatever he likes for the family.
I highly doubt she meant she had to get his permission. I took it that she was being considerate of him not caring for roast.
It was great. One thing I did was at the end. I did not strain the juices. I put them in my Vitamix and blended it until it was to the thickness I wanted. Absolutely delicious!!!!
Wonderful! Part of the quarantine cooking trend, I used this recipe today and it was the best. It was 2.75 lbs and cooked in 7 hours.
Didn’t have tomato paste so I used pasta sauce. Also used rosé in place of the red wine.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
This recipe was a 2nd attempt at slow cooked meat, and it was amazing! I actually left out the carrots, potatoes, and celery to dedicate the slow cooker to the meat alone. Roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts on the side instead.
The meat came out beautifully, falling apart easily with a fork. The gravy was similarly incredible, and produces a lot for leftovers or other dishes.
I’ll be recommending this recipe to family and friends.
I used a 2.75 flat piece of Chuck.. and cooked it 8 hrs on low and it still was not tender at all. Had to raise to high and cook two more hrs ..
Do not love cooking in slow cooker . Rather just make beef stew .. in a regular pot.
KAREN TIGHE — Thanks for the tip! I too let it cook all 8 hours on low. The meat was incredibly tough – could barely cut it with a knife, and all the veggies were way undercooked. Following your recommendation, I let it cook on high for another 2 hours, and that made all the difference in the world! I was able to shred the beef with a fork, and the veggies were mostly cooked. I’m guessing another hour on high would have helped even more, but 2 hours made it edible.
I had the exact same issue. Very disappointing to eat 2 hours later than planned, especially when I used a smaller roast. Veggies were tough and meat wasn’t even remotely tender after the recommended time. Will definitely be altering the recipe if I even choose to reuse it.
I have never really liked pot roast before. The meat is pretty flavorless and always dry.
But my husband asked for it, so I found this recipe. I added about 2 pounds more beef, 1.5 cups more broth, mushrooms (my favorite part), and leeks. I also marinated the beef for two days before making it in red wine, water, soy sauce, salt, pepper, chopped onion, and garlic.
This was so good. No one could believe I’ve never made it before. The gravy was a little too thin even after I added more flour, but very flavorful. The beef was perfectly tender and moist and just so tasty. The veggies were super flavorful. Just very good overall. I love the addition of the fresh, bright green parsley at the end. Thank you so much for the delicious meal.
We also had green salad and garlic bread. I may try to grill the meat instead of pan sear it before adding it to the crock pot next time.
Very delicious and tasty! Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe! Since I do not own a crockpot, could this be made in a roasting pan or dutch oven instead? Also, would brisket work instead of boneless chuck roast? Thank you in advance!!
Hi! I’m trying this recipe tomorrow for easter dinner. We only have 1.32 lbs of chuck roast (only my husband and I are eating) and have a rice cooker that also turns into a slow cooker on hight. This is my first time to make a pot roast. I have a few questions hopefully someone will answer. Do I have to half the recipe? We do like gravy a lot! And how long should I cook this if it is high?
Thank you! Im very excited to try this!
My family loved this dish! This recipe will be going into our regular rotation for sure. It was delicious!
Best roast we have ever had!
Another amazing recipe! I didn’t have all the ingredients for my usual recipe and chose to make this instead on the fly. Easy, simple and delicious! The roast was fall apart tender and the gravy was perfect!
I wanted to give this a lower rating because of how mine turned out but wanted to give it 5 stars because it was my fault how it turned out. The flavor of the gravy, to die for! Soooo good! I had a slightly smaller roast so had already planned to check it well before the suggested 7-8 hours. However, after only 3.5, mine was well done and not tender at all. I did it on the low setting. I have high, low and warm. I guess next time, I’d do it on the warm setting. Anyway, after discovering it was well done and not tender, I turned it to warm and also took the potatoes out. It was sort of salvageable but only because of the veggies and gravy. I would try again and just be so much more careful about the settings and not to overcook it. Again, the gravy, amazing!!!
I think the problem may have been the short cook time. Pot roast will look done based on the color quite quickly. The tenderness comes from the long slow cook. What was tough at 3.5 hours could have been meltingly tender by 7-8 hours. Hopefully you’ll try it again. 🙂
Agree with Melinda: Just because something ‘looks’ done doesn’t mean it IS done. Recipe times are for a reason. The gravy will get richer and the roast will be done and tender if the timing is followed. Suggest making it again and no peek until the timing suggested is done.
Excellent! Only thing I did differently was liberally salted/peppered the check roast the night before, and the next morning seared in on my GRILL instead of in a pan on the stove … that (in my opinion always takes meat to the next level). Sear at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, turn 90 degrees or so and sear for another 5 minutes. Flip after the first 10 minutes and repeat.
You wont regret it!
First, I don’t own a slow cooker of any kind. I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven to brown the meat and then just threw everything in. I bake at 350 F for about 3 hours. A couple changes, I did not use the celery, as I didn’t have it on hand. I used ketchup instead of tomato paste, because that’s what I had on hand. Just used a heaping table spoonful of flour. This was AMAZING and everyone liked it. Even my MIL complimented it! Thanks for such a great recipe!! There’s not one recipe I’ve tried from this site that I haven’t liked and is one of my go to sites for recipes.
You too good for a slow cooker?
The flavor of this roast and vegetables and gravy was wonderful, and it was so aromatic as it cooked.
However, the vegetables took on the brown-burgundy color of the beef broth and the wine; the Angus chuck roast was not quite “fork tender.”
I used a 7.5 qt. newer Cuisinart, and cooked it for 8 hours on low. I followed the recipe exactly.
Perhaps the next time I will put the roast in the crock pot first, then the vegetables on top, unless there is any other advice?
Did you sear the roast before putting it in? Could affect the level of cook. I also try to put celery down first, leave potatoes a little bigger and add them next then nest the beef in there and put the Carrots around the outside. Pot roast tend to turn out best if they start out partially in the liquid. Definitely try playing around with the layering till you get it how you like
Delicious. I marinated the beef overnite in Lawreys Italian marinade, washed it off next morning and browned beef! I added more carrots and potatoes, garlic and did everything else in recipe. Did not add wine!! Cooked on high for an hour, turned to low when I left house!!
Very tender and good!!
I follow the basics, pot roast (seared), potatoes, onion and carrots, except I put two cups of water in the crock pot and add one envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix, instead of the sauce mentioned. When I make the gravy with the meat juice, I use Kitchen Bouquet.
It is so simple and tastes like my Mother’s recipe!
So you didn’t make this recipe. Thanks for wasting our time with your “review.”
Absolutely delicious. The gravy is the best
Great recipe. My 2.5 lb roast was fork tender in about 6.5 hours. I put the potatoes on the bottom, and the carrots & onions on top. I browned the roast on my gas grill (try it; it’s easy and one less skillet to clean) with a little baking soda rubbed in to promote the Maillard reaction and gave it a generous splash of balsamic vinegar once in the crock pot.
My fiancé isn’t a big fan of pot roast, so when I said I was going to make a crock pot pot roast he was a little hesitant. I prepared everything before going to work so it would be ready when I got home. My fiancé said it was the juiciest and most tender pot roast he had ever had and he really enjoyed it, as did I! I skewered the onions (kabob/like) as he doesn’t like onions, which worked out wonderfully! Love this recipe and will be trying others off of this site soon! Thank you for a delightful dinner!
Get another BF.
D.A. – thanks for the wonderful tip about using a skewer for the onions, it’s brilliant! I have one picky eater in a 3-person household and onions and mushrooms are a particular issue. I’m going to use this trick from now on!
Marry him dear. The sooner the better, and just maybe keep him out of the kitchen.
I’ve never been known for my cooking skills but I wanted to have a few friends over for dinner and I followed this recipe. I shocked even myself when it turned out to be absolutely amazing. I will be making this pot roast again tomorrow for Sunday dinner for my father and brother. Looking forward to trying other recipes on your site.
It was perfection!
LOVE this recipe!
This is my go to!
Is there a recipe to make it in an instant pot?
Yes! I try to make this every Sunday for the family! 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2018/04/12/instant-pot-pot-roast/
This was insanely good. So easy and everyone loved it. I will definitely make it again.
This pot roast was by far the best one I’ve made. I cooked for 5 hours on low in the crockpot. I could tell it needed to speed up so two more hours I cooked on high. IT WAS Perfect and the meat was tender. I did prep the meat overnight with salt, pepper, olive oil, and Worcester Sauce. This is as good as my Grandmothers and that’s hard to beat.
This roast was damn delicious by far. I served in a bowl as pictured it’s all about presentation too! The family loved it, the bowl was wiped clean. The gravy had a great taste very pleased. You will not be disappointed. p.s. used 1/2 cup more of beef broth and eliminated red wine.
This recipe was good. I didn’t have any dry red wine so I substituted red sherry cooking wine and a splash of balsamic vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Likewise I didn’t have any fresh herbs or bay leaf do I used dried basil and oregano for bay leaf and dried parsley, thyme, No Salt (salt substitute due to dietary restrictions) I’m sure these substitutes change the flavor profile slightly.
Second time I’ve followed this recipe. I seriously save this for special occasions or sudden celebrations. Today called for it. This recipe walked me through the steps, the process, to get to the final product. It’s now sitting in my Slow Cooker doing its thing. It already smells heavenly.
Pure deliciousness. The only change I made is that I added a couple of pepper flakes to the veggie stock mixture. I also added a bit of oregano and cumin to the seasoning of the meat before searing it. It was absolutely gorgeous to serve
Trying this for dinner tomorrow. I prepped everything in advance and threw the sauce and veggies in the crockpot and cooked the meat as stated in the recipes. I did wrap the meat in foil and then threw it in the fridge until tomorrow morning when I’ll put it all in the crockpot. Is it ok that I left the veggies and sauce in the crockpot together and I’m just letting it sit until tomorrow? Kind of worried I may have screwed up making in advance ♀️ First time making a pot roast.
Am I the only one who couldn’t fit the beef on top of everything else? I had to put it at the bottom and pile everything else on top or around it. I guess we will find out in 7 hours if it works!
I think I found my husband. I want to learn new recipes and this is the first one I picked. I made Angus steaks last night and he loved it. I dont want to cook the same thing unless he ask me. I want everyday with him to feel new and food is a way to open doors to more new and exciting experiences.
Do i have to do step number 7?
Found the recipe last night, and I’m making it this morning. Had everything except the thyme and bay leaf. Im sure it will still be delish…cant wait!
This was an excellent meal. I used a little bit of pinot grigio because I had no red wine. I cooked on high for 5 hrs and my chuck roast was only 2 lbs. I will definitely make again. I may use Guinness the next time. Delicious!
I must have done something wrong because after8 hours the meat was tough and I couldn’t shred it finally just cut it up. Do you think I got a bad cut of meat.
Another thing to consider is how old/what type your crock pot is. I was having a terrible time with roasts (especially beef ones) being horribly dried out until I started using my husband’s grandma’s crock pot from the 70’s. Turns out that modern crock pots cook with a higher temperature than older ones. So if you’re using a pretty new one, you might try either decreasing the cook time or using the warm setting. Just a thought.
Mine also came out dry and tough – 3.3 lbs, 6.5 hours on low. Such a bummer.
Mine was the same after 7.5 hours. Put it back for another 2 hours!?
I’m making this right now. Merry xmas everyone.
Great recipe. I replaced the wine with extra stock and a table spoon of apple cider vinegar. Instead of paste I used ketchup. Small Maine potatoes, baby carrots are and boiling onions instead were used as that is what I had on hand otherwise followed the recipe and came out delicious!
I made this for for Christmas Eve dinner and it was fabulous! I used a Pinot Noir. This will definitely be my go-to pot roast recipe going forwards.
Merry Christmas!
I made this today and have to say it’s THE BEST pot roast I’ve ever had. Cudos!!!
This was AMAZING! Best beef roast receipe I’ve ever had! I used 2 cups beef broth since I can’t have wine and no Worcestershire
sauce since I’m Gluten free and it came out perfectly! I absolutely LOVED this. I have shared this with numerous people and am excited to make this again! It’s easy and effortless and tastes wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
So does leaving out the Worcestershire sauce make this recipe gluten free?
What a terrific recipe! For those wanting to reduce cooking time without sacrificing the tenderness of the meat, or turning the veg to mush, you can start off on high, and then turn it down to low after an hour. It will be done in 5 to 6 hours, rather than 7 to 8.
Thanks for all the great recipes you post – you are one of my favorite sites!
I used to just throw the beef in the crock pot with some potatoes, carrots and onion soup mix. Now that I’m retired, I decided to put a little more time and effort into the meal using your recipe. So glad I did. It was damn delicious!
I made this yesterday but added an extra 1/2 cup of broth and an extra 1/4 cup of wine. I left it for just under 7 hours and it was PERFECT. Thanks for the recipe:)
Making this right now. Didnt have any Thyme, so will see how it goes, but smells great already.
It smells great right now! But really wish there was a video for it! I just like to know I’m doing things right! We also didn’t have any Worcestershire sauce so I had to figure out a sub. We shall see how it goes! Will change my rating if need be after eating but it was super simple to throw together.
I made this but I made a few changes based on what I had and my tastes. I substituted ketchup for tomato paste. I used 1 cup cream Sherry for wine(very sweet). Himalayan Pink salt. 3 cups beef broth( I wanted more liquid since I added more veggies) 6 Rosemary and 1 sage spring. I did not strain the sauce but removed the stalks and left the sage leaves with the veggies. I left out the onion and parsley. Added two more carrots and celery ribs. I used 4 medium potatoes since I don’t have a scale handy. It turned out amazing.
my husband made this just the other night and it is damn delicious. Honestly the best pot roast ever! So glad we tried it. We followed the recipe just added a rutabaga and a parsnip and sweet potatoes, and yes it is even better the next day.
Excellent! My husband, who is not a pot roast person loved it! 8 hours on low was perfect! The vegetables did not fall apart, were cooked perfectly, just as the roast was! And the sauce very tasty! Too full right now, but can’t wait to have the leftovers again! Thank you for a great recipe.
This is a good recipe that produces a delicious roast that only gets better days later. I chopped my vegetables a lot smaller than the recipe recommends and added a few dashes of Maggi seasoning. Simmered overnight on the stove. Very tasty and will make again.
Is the 1/4 cup of flour used in step 7?
The all-purpose flour is used in step #3:
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together beef broth, wine, flour, tomato paste and Worcestershire; set aside.
My roast is 2.25 lbs. should the cooking time be less? If so, how much time? I like lots of veggies, more than the recipe calls for. Does this affect the cooking time? Thanks
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this ourselves, we cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let us know how it turns out! Good luck! 🙂
Oh. My. God. This was the best pot roast I have ever made! Thank you so much for the recipe! My family loved it and I want to cook it again for my extended family someday this winter. It surely fills you up and is one of the best comfort food dishes! Will be sharing this recipe for sure!
P.S. I did not strain the juices because I didn’t want to lose all the yummy herbs and spices. After reducing it by half in a saucepan, the gravy was perfection! I also used the high setting on my crockpot for 7 hours and everything was perfect.
Happy crockpotting everyone!
First time trying this recipe so I’m not sure how it will come out. Gave 5 stars for the simplicity of the recipe.
One question, is the meat supposed to sit up so high or do I need to move veggies to the sides and bring it lower?
The chuck roast should be sitting on top of the vegetables. There is no need to bring it down lower. Hope that answers your question, Evelyn! 🙂
Can this recipe be made without the vegetables? My family prefers oven roasted veggies so I’d like to cook them separately.
I had the same question. Thank you.
I made this today and it turned out really delicious!! I have made similar recipes before, but the last step of straining the juice, removing the fat and biking/stirring to thicken really made the dish!! I used a gravy separator to help get the fat separated from the sauce. I will definitely make this again!!!
This was Damn Delicious :). My husband grew up in the Midwest, and had many pot roasts growing up. He said this was the best pot roast he’d ever had. It was so good, even my picky son liked the roast without the gravy. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!!
P.S. I forgot to add the bay leaf and thyme, so I added them to the gravy while reducing. Turned out perfectly.
Recipe came out great….will need salt to taste but awesome meal
My first crock pot recipe EVER and it acme out PERFECTLY. the ratios were great too! I didn’t use the Worcestershire sauce and it didn’t make an ounce of a difference. My house smelled great too!
SO easy and tender and glad I stumbled upon this blog!
Thanks for sharing!
Im making this today using two 2 1/2 lb roasts. Not using potatoes as im making mash potatoes. Sounds so good!! I will cook up to 10 hrs if needed
Turned out great. Very simple recipe. If I use this one again I would only do 1lb of potatoes and double or triple the carrots. Maybe more flour as I couldn’t get the broth to thicken up. But still great flavors.
Excellent pot roast, I just had major surgery recently and my neighbor made this for me and my family the day I came home from hospital, OMG what a treat.. real food! I have since made it a few times… Thank-you! we love one pot meals x
Question: do you cut the beef before you cook it on the skillet?? Or do you prepare it on the skillet whole, then shred it all later?
Thanks! Looks delicious & cant wait to try it!!
Hi Landon! The beef is shredded in step #6 after it is cooked on low heat for 7-8 hours. Hope that helps!
Just got it in the slow cooker. Can I cook on high so it will be ready sooner??. It will be bedtime before it’s done.
Yes, absolutely, but I find that this is truly best when cooked low and slow for 7-8 hours. 🙂
Perfect
My house smells like Fall and this pot roast is amazing! First time using a slow cooker and wont be the last. Simple and easy and most important tasty!!!
Great. First time I made a pot roast in the slow cooker. The prep as easy and the results were amazing.
What a great recipe. Just the perfect ingredients to make a delicious pot roast. It tasted great! The recipe made enough for 3 people to eat dinner, and still have leftovers. I will definitely make this again!
Can i cook this for half the time (4 hours) on high?
Hi Candace, that’s a great idea but without having tried that ourselves we cannot answer with certainty. If you do try it, please use your best judgement. Good luck!
So much flavor!!
My roast was almost 4 lbs. Tried this recipe today and cooked on high for 6 hours, but removed the veggies after 5 hours. The roast is done, but I like mine super fall-apart-tender so I kept it in an extra 30-40 mins.
Tip: If you do choose to cook on high, make sure your veggies are cut into large chunks; smaller pieces will just disintegrate.
Sauce was tasty, but after 7 1/2 hours on low? The vegetables were nowhere CLOSE to being cooked. The onions were crunchy and the potatoes were still so hard that they were difficult to cut. My slow cooker is not the problem – I use it frequently and other recipes on low work fine. I ended up boiling the veggies in the liquid wot some added beef stock, but the dinner was pretty much ruined. This recipe is fine for flavor but if you make it? Cool for 8 hours on HIGH!
Hi Andrew! I’m so glad you tried this recipe – it’s one of my favorites, especially for a Sunday night dinner with the whole family!
As for the vegetables – how did you cut them? Of course, larger-sized vegetables will take longer to cook but I worry with 8 hours on high, all the vegetables will turn to mush. 🙁
delicious
Hi there. May I substitute the flour with cornstarch?
I love damn delicious cooking! All my faves are from you. You are my first and only recipe go to!
Absolutely fantastic. I didn’t make any adjustments perhaps a little extra wine. A winner. Thanks
Thank you for sharing this awesome pot roast recipe. This was soooo delicious! Next time, I will add sautéed mushrooms to the already-done vegetables. And the sauce was perfect, too, so again, thank you. 🙂
I’m sure mushrooms would be so great with this, Lynette!
So I think where the confusion lies…you didnt mention adding step 3 to step 7. You set it aside and never mention it again. Just to drain the cooking liquid, discard solids and boil and whisk to thicken. Common sense would be to decipher and realize oh they must mean to mix the set aside and cooking liquid. However, common sense isnt so commom these days. Maybe this little tid bit will help someone out there.
Step 4 says to stir in the beef broth mixture.
I plan to use this recipe as the main course for an informal dinner for eight guests. Should I buy two 4 lb chuck roasts and prepare them separately? I have two 7 quart slow cookers. I might be able to fit both roasts in one cooker but worry about adjusting the amounts of the other ingredients.
What would be a good substitute for the wine?
Karla, you can substitute additional beef broth for the red wine. 🙂
Just finished making this. Delicious! Love the sauce, great idea to strain it.
Very bold flavors, with the beef dominating. Will put this one in my recipe box. 🙂
We love hearing that! Thanks for sharing, Nichole!
Total victory for family dinner tonight. Wife loved it, teenagers loved it, younger kids loved it. Only problem was…….no leftovers!!!
Wow, and it’s so hard to make everyone happy at dinner time! Thanks for sharing, Geoff! 🙂
No review yet..making today. The beef is sitting on top of veggies, hardly any broth touching it, is this correct? Worried the beef will be dried out. Thanks, Marianne
It should be fine, Marianne. What size slow cooker are you using?
I had the same issue, but the broth wasn’t anywhere near the beef. So, I made another batch of the sauce and added. Hope it doesn’t ruin the recipe. Can’t wait to try it tonight; it smells amazing.
My boyfriend said “that was delicious.” “Would you say it was damn delicious?” I asked. “Oh yeah.” he replied.
Such great flavor from the wine, the meat fell apart after about 8 1/2 hrs and the veggies were perfect. I had bigger yukons so I quartered them and it worked great. Thanks!
We love hearing that, Jen! Thanks so much for sharing.
Think you forgot that add flour to the stock to make gravy part…?
This is mentioned in the list of ingredients and in the directions in step #3.
Step 3 is to add to the crockpot, not the gravy afterwards.
B, the flour is added in step #3. The gravy is made in step #7. Hope that helps!
So I think where the confusion lies…you didnt mention adding step 3 to step 7. You set it aside and never mention it again. Just to drain the cooking liquid, discard solids and boil and whisk to thicken. Common sense would be to decipher and realize oh they must mean to mix the set aside and cooking liquid. However, common sense isnt so commom these days.
Your gorgeous
By far the best pot roast I’ve made yet! The secret is the sauce , I’ve not taken it out and thickened it like this before, so good! Didn’t change a thing, recipe is perfect as it stands. Tip- use a wine you like!
So happy you liked this, Jan! Thanks for sharing!
This was delicious! Nothing else to add 🙂
We love hearing that, Molly!
I totally agree that this recipe is DAMN DELICIOUS! I am throwing out all of my pot roast recipes and only using your fantastic recipe from now on! I cooked it today and it is so great! Easy recipe and the gravy was perfect. As a former Chicagoan who knows and appreciates great food, congrats to you!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Karen!
I made this recipe yesterday, and it was the best pot roast I’d made. Looking forward to the leftovers tonight! I don’t like using the pre-made packets of slow cooker mix, so this recipe is all natural, all homemade, and simple–not to mention better in taste and flavor.
You get to tweak each ingredient for more or less of a given flavor, so that makes it a more personal meal. I prepared it exactly as the recipe calls for, and it was really, really good. Thanks!!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Mike! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed this!
This was very delicious and simple to put together! Thank you so much!
You are so welcome, Claudia!
I was planning on using a cut-left over piece of fresh brisket to cook this recipe.
I began to question it though; these grandchildren don’t appreciate “shredded or pulled apart…anything.”
Sliced, only.
I’m thinking if I cook it to the pull-apart stage, I won’t be able to slice any of it. I’ve had that happen before
with crock pot roasts.
What say you>
I’m asking before I waste a dinner/brisket and because I have your book
and trust your recipes.
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Loved this, and so easy! I used rump roast, local grass-fed beef. I put in both fresh thyme and oregano, upped the garlic cloves, and used small red potatoes. A dash of cream in the gravy right before serving was a nice finishing touch. Can’t wait to make it again!
That sounds great!
Delicious, delicious, delicious!!! Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re so welcome, Shari!
Made this tonight and will absolutely make it again – and I don’t normally even like slow cooker pot roast! My husband brought home a 3 lb cross rib roast from the butcher that was pretty lean to begin with, so we didn’t end up with greasy gravy which was great. I omitted the red wine as we don’t drink and instead used a total of 2 cups homemade beef broth (I would have been fine to leave it at the 1.5 cups of broth per the recipe). Next time I’ll have to cut my potatoes larger as they were borderline mushy for my liking, but otherwise everything was amazing. Thank you for another keeper – your recipes never disappoint, Chungah!
Thank you for your feedback, Jen! We’re so glad you liked it!
thanks
i will try this one
If I had a roast twice this size would I double the recipe?
What a great idea! Yes, I recommend doubling everything but unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This looks divine! Would you still rest the meat once it’s stopped cooking or do you skip this step for crockpot meals?
Yes, I recommend letting it rest for 5-10 minutes.
So glad you tried Portillos! Yes Chicago has the Best food not sure if it makes up for their winters Enjoy the summer weather and definitely go to Taylor Street for the Best Italian. Have a great weekend!
Could you put all the ingredients together, and pre cook the beef, put the crockpot insert in the fridge and then pop it in the crockpot the next morning to cook?
That should work. But as always, please use your best judgement when making modifications. Good luck!
Lena – Yes – that’s exactly what I did. All the prep the night before, including the liquid mix, all in the fridge. Just before work, I put it all together and used the spices I left out on the counter, and let it cook the whole day. My magnificent other and I came home to a great dinner. I stopped and picked up a fresh baguette on the way home just to finish off the meal.
Mike, you even pre seared the beef, as well?
I am wondering this too. Pan sear and put in oven overnight?
Okay, first time using my Instant Pot on slow Cooker setting. Came home and nothing happened. Apparently, it was in keep warm mode all day instead of slow cooking! So, I put on high pressure for an hour, saying a few Hail Mary’s, and hoping someone else can tell me if this will even be okay. Its filled really high, so I’m VERY NERVOUS. Anyone experienced out there with advice?