Recipes
Easy classic pot roast in the slow cooker
Just a few minutes in the morning and your house will smell like heaven all day! 🤤
Jessica Adler
09.29.20

When it comes to making a family dinner, everyone knows that it just doesn’t get any better than a good old fashioned pot roast.

With tender, fall apart chuck roast nestled in a sea of onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes, you really can’t go wrong, can you?

Youtube/Allrecipes
Source:
Youtube/Allrecipes

The answer is no- no you can’t. But, while a good pot-roast is one of those classic meals that everyone seems to love, it’s not a dinner everyone gets to experience on a weekly basis.

That could be because of the fact that to make it perfect, it’s going to command a lot of your time and attention- or, at least until now, that is.

With the help of everyone’s favorite kitchen appliance- the slow cooker- this classic dish couldn’t possibly be any easier to make. Not only does it not require you to stand watch over it all day, but the prep is nearly non-existent!

Flickr/Janine
Source:
Flickr/Janine

Here is what you’ll need to get started:

  • 4 lb chuck roast marbled with fat
  • 2-3 Tblsp. of olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 packet of dry onion soup mix
  • 1 cup of beef broth, burgundy wine, OR water (wine or beef broth will deepen the flavor even more)
  • 3 large carrots chopped into 2″-thick slices
  • 1 medium to large onion, chopped
  • 3 large red or Yukon gold potatoes chopped into 1/4″ pieces
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped
Youtube/Allrecipes
Source:
Youtube/Allrecipes

Step 1- Brown the beef

Once you have all of your ingredients gathered, you will start by drizzling 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat. When your pan is up to temp, lay your roast in it.

Season generously with salt and pepper as it cooks. Once it begins to take on a nice, caramelized brown color, flip the roast onto its other side. Repeat this until all sides of the meat are browned to your liking.

Note: if you’re feeling pressed for time, you do not need to brown the meat at all and it can go right into the slow cooker. However, browning it will give the roast an added depth of both flavor and texture and is definitely worthwhile if you do have the time.

Youtube/Allrecipes
Source:
Youtube/Allrecipes

Step 2 – Get soupy

After your meat has been browned on all sides, transfer it to the crockpot and empty out the contents of your onion soup packet over the top of it.

Next, add in your liquid. You can most definitely get by just fine using water for this step. However, that being said, using a low-sodium beef broth or a nice burgundy wine will add layers of flavor that will take your pot roast to the next level. So, if you’ve got it to hand, we highly recommend going with one of those options instead.

Youtube/Allrecipes
Source:
Youtube/Allrecipes

Step 3- Chop chop

Next, chop your carrots into 2-inch chunks and give your onion a rough chop as well. Add these directly over the top of the pot roast.

Then, peel and chop your potatoes along with the stalk of celery and add those in as well.

Youtube/Allrecipes
Source:
Youtube/Allrecipes

Step 4- cover and cook

Finally, all that is left to do in prepping your easy, classic pot roast is to grab that nifty lid and put it on the slow cooker.

Cook covered on the lowest setting for between 6 to 8 hours and, no matter what, RESIST all urges to open up the slow cooker. This is without a doubt the hardest step in this recipe, as your mouth will be watering within the first hour from the heavenly smell.

Don’t worry, we know you can do it! When you do pull the lid off, you’ll have this beauty staring back at you:

Youtube/Allrecipes
Source:
Youtube/Allrecipes

You will be completely amazed when you plate up this classic, tasty pot roast. It’s beautifully fork-tender and the hearty vegetables make the perfect complement to this old-school meal.

This recipe was inspired by Marie over at Allrecipes.

Get the step-by-step tutorial in their video below!

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