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Slow Cooker Pot Roast

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Slow Cooker Pot Roast with tender vegetables is juicy and flavorful – your entire meal is made right in your crockpot.

platter of pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Crockpot Pot Roast

If you are searching for the best pot roast recipe in the slow cooker, you found it!

Fall apart tender with a savory broth to spoon over the meat and potatoes.

Prep your crockpot pot roast in the morning and come home after a day of work to a delicious dinner. This recipe is great to serve up any day of the week or for Sunday dinner.

pot roast topped with gravy over vegetables

Whenever I see beef roasts on sale, I always pick up a few. They are great for so many different recipes, but pot roast is always a hit.

This crockpot pot roast with gravy is a very hands-off recipe – just prep it in the morning and it’ll be ready for you after work.

Equipment you’ll need

  • Slow Cooker – You’ll need at least a 4qt slow cooker for this recipe. I like one that switches over to WARM after the designated cooking time is up (because I’m often at work for longer than the cook time).
  • Silicone Brush – To brush the seasoning paste onto the roast. I feel like silicone is easier to clean than a traditional brush.
  • Meat Thermometer – To be safe, it’s best to check internal temperature of meat to make sure it has hit 160 degrees. Some slow cookers have them included.
plate of pot roast topped with gravy

Ingredients

Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.

  • Carrots and/or parsnips – Both have a sweetness to them, but a parsnip is almost spicy (like nutmeg).
  • Onion – I use Vidalia here, they are sweet.
  • Potatoes – I recommend Yukon Gold or red skins.
  • Chuck Roast – You’ll want a 2.5-3lb roast.
  • Garlic – Either freshly minced or the diced shortcut garlic packed in olive oil that I love.
  • Cloves – Ground gloves.
  • Nutmeg – Ground nutmeg.
  • Thyme – Dried thyme.
  • Ginger – Ground ginger.
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Tomato Paste
  • Red Wine
  • Beef Broth
pot roast ingredients prepped & laid out in glass bowls

Do You Have To Brown The Roast Before Putting In The Slow Cooker?

You will see many recipes sear the outside of a roast in a skillet before they place it in the slow cooker. Searing the meat helps add texture and flavor to your meat, but to me, it defeats the purpose of a slow cooker meal.

I like to make the WHOLE thing in the crockpot, not have steps beforehand.

I put a paste on the roast that helps add incredible flavor to this recipe, but if you want to add the step of searing your beef first, go for it.

Why Is My Pot Roast Tough?

If you follow this recipe, you will end up with a tender fall apart roast.

If your roast is tough, it needs to cook longer. I chose to cook in the slow cooker for 7-8 hours to ensure it ends up extra tender.

Always reach for a slow cooker recipe when it comes to roasts – low and slow is the way to go & you’ll love how it turns out every time.

collage of slow cooker pot roast process shots

How Long Does It Take To Cook A Roast In The Crockpot

You can cook on high for 4 hours or opt to do the low setting for 7-8 hours.

Like i mentioned above, low & slow will yield the best results, plus I’m at work for 9+ hours per day, so that works well for us.

How To Know When Pot Roast Is Done

The easiest way to tell when your roast is done is to stick a fork in and see if it is fork-tender. It will pull right off if you stick a fork in.

The other method is reaching for a thermometer to ensure it has the proper
internal temperature. Well done, roasts should reach 160 and above.

How Do You Thicken Gravy For A Pot Roast

To make a homemade gravy for your roast and vegetables. You will remove some of the liquid from the roast and then pour it into a saucepan. Then you will heat it up on the stove and add in flour to thicken it.

Or if you don’t want to use flour, you could also create a cornstarch slurry to mix in and thicken it that way.

If you want to make homemade gravy without using the drippings, this this brown gravy recipe.

platter of pot roast topped in gravy

Need more slow cooker recipes? Try these:

crockpot pot roast surrounded by veggies on a platter
plate of pot roast topped with gravy

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with tender vegetables is juicy and flavorful – your entire meal is made right in your crockpot.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 682 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup carrots and/or parsnips diced
  • 1 large Vidalia onion sliced thin
  • 2.5 cups potatoes cut into 1/2-1″ cubes
  • 2.5-3 lb chuck roast
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 TB tomato paste
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 2 cups beef broth

Instructions
 

  • Add your chopped vegetables to the bottom of the crock pot.
  • Nestle the roast into the vegetables.
  • In a small bowl, make a paste by whisking together 1/2 cup of the red wine and the seasonings. Brush the paste onto the roast.
  • Pour in the remainder of the red wine and broth into the crockpot, carefully so as not to rinse any of the paste off the meat.
  • Cover and cook on LOW 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
  • Be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat as well as the tenderness to the vegetables.
  • To make a gravy, ladle a cup of the liquid into a small saucepan over medium heat on the stovetop. Add ⅓ cup of flour or your go-to thickener.
  • Drizzle the gravy over your meat and vegetables and top with fresh parsley if you're feeling fancy.

Notes

Use at least a 4 quart slow cooker.
I recommend using Yukon Gold or red skin potatoes.
To thicken the gravy, use either flour or cornstarch.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 682kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 60gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 196mgSodium: 1363mgPotassium: 1798mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 5505IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 126mgIron: 11mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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