Slow Cooker Pot Roast
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This Slow Cooker Pot Roast yields a tender, shredded chuck roast with baby Yukon gold potatoes and carrots smothered in a velvety, complex-tasting brown gravy. No cream soups or gravy packets here! Just real food goodness that’ll have you asking for seconds!
About My Recipe
Two things are important to me: 1) delicious pot roast (comfort food at its best!) and 2) cooking from scratch and avoiding processed foods for my family. My favorite pot roast recipe from the past included a brown gravy packet mix and Italian dressing packet mix (aka processed junk)…bummer!
So I got to work making an even better version with all real food ingredients. After testing and tweaking this recipe MANY times over the years, I think this Slow Cooker Pot Roast–along with some Homemade Wheat Sandwich Bread to sop up the sauce–might well be my favorite comfort meal of all time.
Ingredients Needed
Looks good, right? Here are the real food ingredients you’ll need to build a complex-tasting pot roast that you’ll be so proud of:
- No-salt tomato sauce (sub: fire-roasted crushed tomatoes)
- Dry red wine (recommended: Cabernet Sauvignon)
- Low-sodium chicken broth or beef stock
- Flour
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- Bay leaf
- Avocado or olive oil
- 1 (2-3 pound) chuck or rump roast, trimmed of visible fat
- Steak seasoning, to taste (sub: salt and pepper)
- Large onion, diced (1 – 1 1/2 cups)
- Celery stalks, leaves and all
- Garlic cloves
- Large carrots
- Baby gold or baby red potatoes (cut into 1-inch pieces if they aren’t already this size)
- Optional: 2-4 stems of fresh thyme
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Now, let’s walk through how to make pot roast in a crock pot with all real food ingredients together.
Sear the Roast
This is optional but highly recommended for the best flavor. After seasoning your beef chuck roast on all sides with steak seasoning, sear in a hot pan on all sides.
Saute the Aromatics
In that same pan, saute the onions, celery, and garlic.
Slow Cook All Day
Add the beef, sautéed veggies, and all other ingredients to the crock pot. Stir together and cover. Cook on Low for 8-10 hours or High for 4-5 hours, until the beef shreds easily and the root vegetables are tender.
Shred the Beef Roast
Remove the roast to a wooden cutting board and shred with two forks.
Serve
Either stir the meat and everything else altogether in the crock pot to serve…
…or transfer the meat to the middle of a platter and surround it with the veggies around the perimeter. Be sure to drizzle the remaining sauce over the top. Add chopped parsley for garnish.
Side Dishes That Go Well With Pot Roast
While Pot Roast is technically a one-pot wonder and works perfectly fine on it’s own in my opinion, here are a few ideas to expand on your meal.
How to Freeze Pot Roast
Leftovers of this Pot Roast freeze well for later. I like to freeze them in individual containers for lunches. Here’s how to freeze leftovers:
Freeze For Later: After the roast has fully cooled, place in an air-tight freezer container or bag.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the refrigerator or microwave using the defrost setting. Warm in the microwave or on the stove top over low heat, stirring regularly.
If you want to prep this meal ahead of time (before cooking), find those detailed freezing instructions in the recipe below.
Check out all of our delicious, easy, and healthy freezer meals.
Tip: Shortcuts for Slow Cooker Pot Roast
If you want to make this recipe even faster, try a few of these tips…
- Use pre-chopped celery and onions from the grocery store (look in the fresh produce area or frozen food section).
- Ask your butcher to trim off the visible fat from the roast.
- Skip Step 2 (pan-searing the roast). That step adds flavor but is not required.
- Instead of sautéing the veggies, add the chopped onions, celery, garlic, and 1 teaspoon oil to a microwave safe bowl and stir. Cover with a napkin or plate and cook for 4-6 minutes or until very tender.
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Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Slow cooker pot roast is a comforting one pot dinner that’s wonderful to serve to a group.
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) can no-salt tomato sauce (sub: 1 cup fire-roasted crushed tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup dry red wine (recommended: Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth or beef stock
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (Gluten-free substitution: Use gluten-free 1:1 flour)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, crushed in hand
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
- 1 (2-3 pound) chuck or rump roast, trimmed of visible fat
- Steak seasoning, to taste (sub: salt and pepper)
- 1 large onion, diced (1 – 1 1/2 cups)
- 4–5 celery stalks, leaves and all, chopped (1 – 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 1/2 teaspoons pre-minced garlic)
- 4–5 large carrots, chopped into 1/2-inch thick slices (2–3 cups)
- 1 1/2 pounds baby gold or baby red potatoes (cut into 1-inch pieces if they aren’t already this size)
- Optional: 2-4 stems of fresh thyme
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Instructions
Make It Now:
(Note: You’ll find some shortcuts in the Cooking Notes below, if you want to save some time on these steps.)
- Mix the Sauce: In the slow cooker, whisk together the tomato sauce, red wine, chicken broth, flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until combined. Add in the bay leaf.
- Sear the Roast: Pat the roast dry with paper towels and season on all sides with steak seasoning. In a large skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over medium-high heat until it’s shimmery. Sear the roast on all sides in the hot pan, using tongs to turn it. This takes about 1 minute per side. Set roast aside on a plate.
- Sauté the Aromatics: Next, sauté the onions and celery just until tender, about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic during the last 30 seconds of cook time, so it doesn’t burn. Be sure to use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits in the bottom, as this adds flavor.
- Combine and Slow Cook: Add the sautéd veggies, plus the carrots and potatoes and optional thyme stems, to the slow cooker. Stir until well coated in sauce. Nestle the roast down into the veggies. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours (or HIGH for 4-5 hours), or until the meat shreds easily.
- Shred the Meat & Serve: Remove the roast to a wooden cutting board and shred using two forks. Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems and discard. Gently stir the meat back into the veggies and sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.
Freeze For Later:
Method #1 (Uncooked): (This method yields best results.) Skip Steps 1 & 2*. Follow Step 3 and set the veggies aside to cool. To a gallon-sized freezer bag, add the tomato sauce, red wine, broth, flour, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons steak seasoning. Seal and shake/massage until combined. Add in the bay leaf, the roast, carrots, potatoes, and cooled veggies. Seal and massage the bag and make sure the potatoes are fully submerged in the liquid (they will turn brown if not). Freeze.
Method #2 (Fully Cooked): Fully cook and cool the roast (do not leave out of refrigerator or freezer more than 2 hours). Place leftovers in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Try to remove as much air as possible and seal and/or wrap it well before placing in the freezer.
*Note: You cannot partially cook a piece of meat and freeze it safely, so you’ll skip the searing step when freezing. It will still taste good.
Prepare From Frozen:
Method #1 (Uncooked): Thaw completely in the refrigerator (place in a dish to prevent spills). Add to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours (or HIGH for 4-5 hours), or until the meat shreds easily.
Method #2 (Fully Cooked): To reheat, thaw for 24-48 hours in the refrigerator (preferred method) or in the microwave using the defrost setting. Then, warm over low to medium-low heat on the stove or in the microwave, gently stirring occasionally.
Notes/Tips
Where We Get Our Roasts: We get our beef from ButcherBox. The beef is grass-fed and curated from trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, chicken, and wild salmon–and have used it for years ourselves. Read my honest ButcherBox review.
Shortcut Method: To cut down on time, try these shortcuts…
- Use prechopped celery and onions from the grocery store (look in the fresh produce area or frozen food section).
- Ask your butcher to trim off the visible fat from the roast.
- Skip Step 2 (pan-searing the roast). That step adds flavor but is not required.
- Instead of sautéing the veggies, add the chopped onions, celery, garlic, and 1 teaspoon oil to a microwave safe bowl and stir. Cover with a napkin and cook for 4-6 minutes or until very tender.
Do you freeze the cooked vegetable as well? I am wondering about the potatoes. Is there a noticeable change in their texture?
You know, there is a little textural change. But as long as it’s covered in liquid from the soup while frozen and warmed slowly once it’s thawed, we still really enjoy it.
What kind of steak seasoning and italian seasoning did you use to avoid the packets? Do you have a receipt for them if you made them yourself?
The Italian Seasoning is just a mix of real herbs in the spice section. Steak seasoning is a little more tricky to find an all-natural version. But I’ve found that Emeril’s All-Natural Steak Seasoning is really good; just beware, it makes me sneeze like crazy though!
I am loving how this recipe is making my house smell! I’m a new cook, and I always double guess my own cooking.. Is there enough liquid in the crock pot to cook down everything?
Oh yes, it’ll be perfect if you followed the directions. And, honestly, it’s hard to mess this one up. It’ll be great even if you didn’t follow it perfectly. I make this often!
So excited to try out and freeze your recipes before baby arrives! If I want some for dinner and some to freeze, do I need to double the recipe or are all of your recipes enough for both purposes?
Thanks! Most of my recipes make 4-6 servings (enough for my family), but some make more. Just be sure to check the number of servings on the recipe. Most of them have it.
Do you cook enough to shred with fork before freezing?
Yes, you’ll want to shred it before freezing and then add all the liquid to it. To warm, put in a low oven or on the stove top over low. You may need to add a little more stock at that point, if it needs more moisture.
I’m expecting my first baby in about a month and I think it’s about time I got serious about freezing meals! What sort of container should I use to store this in? I don’t want to cook a bunch of meals and then be devastated at the results when I thaw them. 🙁
And would I thaw this in the refrigerator? Sorry, I’m such a noob! 🙂
Hi Maria. Congratulations! I wrote a post that should answer all your questions here: http://thrivinghomeblog.com/healthy-recipes-index/healthy-freezer-meals-recipes/. If it doesn’t please, write again and I’ll do my best to help! Yes, this pot roast will thaw in the fridge or you can just reheat it on defrost in the microwave.
How long is this pot roast good in the freezer for?….3 months?
I would say 3 months is fine if it is tightly wrapped and stored well. Most sources say you can keep meals longer in a deep freeze–up to 6 months. To be honest, I’ve eaten a meal like this up to a year later! But, I wouldn’t recommend that. 🙂
Would it be okay to leave out the red wine? It’s not something I typically have (we don’t drink wine at all and I don’t generally cook with it either).
Absolutely. It adds some flavor but definitely not necessary. Note: Do not add red wine vinegar in place, though. It will not add the same flavor at all.
Okay, i just finished preparing this for dinner tonight. I made 2 (hopefully small modifications): 1. Instead of wine I used beer. Why you ask? Well, the wine I purchased for this recipe magically disappeared 2 nights ago (I think my fiance felt he needed it more than the pot roast). We had a couple of craft beers left over from the other night so I used about 3/4 cup. 2. Instead of whole wheat flour I used spelt flour. I do realize the flour is the thickening agent and we do not use traditional wheat products at home, i didn’t research it first, but I’m hoping the spelt flour will have a similar effect on the meat.
All of the prep was easy and fast, it smells wonderful already! I cannot wait to have this for dinner tonight!
Am I right to assume that after slow cooking you would portion this, then freeze?
Many thanks
Yes, that’s what I usually do. Make sure to wrap it up tightly.