Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Pot Roast is a mouth-watering, hearty meal that will feed the entire family. This beef roast is a stick-to-your-ribs meal with plenty of flavor, and it only requires a few minutes of prep before cooking. You can come home at the end of a long day to a nice hot tender pot roast.
An Easy Pot Roast Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 8 hours, Total Time: 8 hours and 15 minutes
Servings: 8, Preparation Level: Beginner +
This easy pot roast recipe features veggies, potatoes, chicken broth, and lots of tender meat for a well-rounded meal. It’s comfort food at its best. This might be one of the best Crock Pot roast recipes because you can toss the simple ingredients in the pot in under a few minutes, turn it on, let it cook, and come home to a delicious meal.
What I Love About This Recipe
- It’s easy to throw together and get cooking. It takes me about 15 minutes to peel the potatoes, chop some onions and celery, and add everything to the Crock Pot.
- It’s super versatile: You can add red potatoes, Russet potatoes (that’s what I use), sweet potatoes, or Yukon gold potatoes, and they have a ton of flavor. You can add just about any type of veggie, red wine vinegar, onion flakes, ranch seasoning, or anything you’d like. Tomatoes, green beans, corn, butter beans, and so much more can be added to the roast.
- After picking up kids from school, going to practices, and running errands, it’s nice to come home to a finished meal that has been cooking on the low setting all day.
- I love the way the roast falls apart, and the veggies are soft and piping hot. There’s a whole intermingling of flavors that is just amazing.
Ingredients Needed
- 3 pounds of chuck roast
- 6 large potatoes (cut into 1-1/2″ pieces)
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 1 celery stalk (diced)
- 1/4 onion (diced)
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 ounce package of onion dip
- 14.5 ounce can of chicken broth
- 2-1/2 cans water (use the chicken broth can)
Full printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
What is the Best Cut of Meat for Pot Roast?
Chuck roast is the best cut of meat for a pot roast, which is the shoulder section. But there’s more than one type of meat, including:
- Boneless chuck roast
- Shoulder pot roast
Don’t be worried about the fat in the meat because it will add a lot of flavor to this dish and help create tender meat that can’t be beaten. If you place your fork on the meat after it cooks, it falls apart so easily. And fork tender is the best kind of slow cooker pot roast.
Is There a Difference Between Pot Roast and Roast Beef?
The main difference is that roast beef is cooked without liquid, and pot roast is cooked with liquid.
Is a Beef Chuck Roast Tender?
Yes, any meat that comes from the shoulder will be tender cuts of beef, and very delicious after the cooking process.
And when you cook the meat on low for 8-10 hours, the meat will be the most tender roast.
Where do you Buy Your Meat and Veggies?
I usually buy the meat at Publix or Fresh Market when it goes on sale. You can freeze it until you’re ready to use the meat and then you can set the meat in the refrigerator at least one day ahead to thaw it out a little. I buy the veggies at Aldi’s Grocery Store or Kroger delivery because I get a great deal on the veggies. You can buy a large bag of potatoes for around five dollars.
How To Make the Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Add the beef to the slow cooker. Cut up the celery and the onion and add it in.
Next add the carrots to the slow cooker. Peel, cut, and add the potatoes to the cooker. Add the minced garlic, and sprinkle the seasoning packet on top.
Finally, pour in the chicken broth. Add a little extra water if needed. You want to make sure the potatoes are covered with liquid so they will cook. Give everything a little stir to mix the ingredients. Place the lid on top and cook on low for eight hours.
Tips and Variations
- I always spray the cooker with non stick cooking spray before adding any food. It helps make clean up easier.
- I buy minced garlic in a small jar. It just makes life easier and I can spoon some out and put it in the slow cooker.
- If you don’t have any dry onion soup mix, you can sprinkle on some dry ranch dressing mix instead, beefy onion dry soup mix, or French onion soup mix. The other soups make for a flavorful roast, as well.
- If you want to make your own soup mix, give this homemade dry onion soup mix a try from The County Cook.
- Some people like to sear both sides of their meat in a large hot skillet with butter before adding it to the slow cooker. You can do that, but it’s not necessary.
- I didn’t add too much salt, because the onion soup can be a bit salty. Wait until the food cooks before adding salt. Taste it first and if you think it needs salt, add it then.
- If you want to cook the roast in less time, you can cook it on the high setting for about five to six hours. Just be sure it’s done cooking. The temperature should reach 210 degrees when it’s done cooking.
- You can also switch out some of the veggies for broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, or some butter beans.
Making Gravy
One of the great things about this recipe is that it has some versatility to it. You can take some of the liquid and create a brown gravy mix with a cornstarch slurry, and create a very rich gravy to pour over the roast and veggies.
To do that, remove about two cups of water and add about two tablespoons of cornstarch to the water. Then, mix it well and pour it back into the Crock Pot. Let it cook for another 30 minutes or so to thicken.
You can add more or less cornstarch depending on how thick you want the gravy. You will need about one to two parts cornstarch to the water.
What to do With Leftover Pot Roast
We love leftovers here, and that’s one more night I don’t have to cook! To store the leftovers, put them in an airtight container and refrigerate. You can reheat the pot roast the next day on the stovetop, in the oven, or in the microwave.
What To Serve With Pot Roast
- Moist Jiffy cornbread goes along great with a delicious pot roast. It only takes a few simple steps, but you get big flavor every single time.
- Homemade dinner rolls are not only easy to make but taste wonderful fresh from the oven. You can dip them in your pot roast for added flavor.
- Green salad from Gimme Some Oven
- For dessert, you can have some easy (but addictive) chess squares or some buttermilk Texas sheet cake.
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- 6 large potatoes cut into 1-1/2″ pieces
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 1/4 onion diced
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 ounce package onion dip
- 14.5 ounce can chicken broth
- 2-1/2 cans water use the chicken broth can
Instructions
- Add the chuck roast to the slow cooker.
- Next, add the diced celery, carrots, and garlic.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into 1-1/2" pieces, and add to the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the onion dip mix over the potatoes.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper, if desired.
- Pour in the can of chicken broth and 2-1/2 cans of water to the slow cooker. (You might need a little bit more or less water, depending on the size of your slow cooker). Give it all a stir to combine the ingredients.
- Place the lid on top, set on low heat, and cook for 8 hours or until the roast is tender.
