Everyone at my house has different tastes. There’s Brandon, who only wants meat and potatoes. Then there’s Bug, who wants lots of vegetables. Belle and I fall somewhere between the two extremes. Needless to say, it’s hard to find a meal that we can all agree on. Enter pot roast.

Pot roast is a classic American dish. Everyone makes it, and everyone has a different recipe. I think it’s so popular because it’s comforting and has a little bit of something to please everyone. Even better, it only takes about 15 minutes to put it all together in the crockpot.

Below you’ll find my recipe. It’s simple and delicious – perfect for those days when no one can agree on what they want to eat for supper. 😉

Crockpot Pot Roast Recipe

Ingredients

• One 3 to 5-pound chuck roast
• 1 whole sweet onion, peeled and quartered
• 5 carrots, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
• 4 peeled yellow potatoes, cut into bite size cubes
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 packet Beefy Onion Soup Mix
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of bacon grease
• Salt and Pepper
• Italian seasoning
• Paprika
• Minced garlic
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 Teaspoon Gravy Master
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons water
• Pat of butter

Directions

Roast

1. Season the chuck roast with salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Set aside and allow to reach room temperature.
2. Add 2 cups of water, beefy onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, Gravy Master, minced garlic, carrots, onion, and potatoes to the crockpot.
3. Sear roast in bacon grease until brown on all sides.
4. Deglaze the pan with beef broth.
5. Add beef broth and roast to the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Gravy

1. Remove roast and vegetables from the crockpot. Pour broth into a pot and bring to a low boil.
2. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing two tablespoons of water with two tablespoons of cornstarch. Add to boiling broth. Stir until thick.
3. Remove from heat, add a pat of butter, and stir.

Tips

• Don’t forget to sear the roast. Browning the meat first adds to the richness of the flavor of the whole dish. And though many would disagree, I swear it helps lock in moisture.
• Don’t submerge the roast in broth. 1/2 to 1/4 of it should cook above the liquid line. I do this by laying my roast on top of the vegetables.
• Throw some mushrooms in the mix. Belle loves it that way.
• Cut down on prep work by replacing whole carrots with a 1/2 bag of baby carrots.
• Once you place the lid on the pot, leave it there. Trust the process.
• Use olive oil instead of bacon grease if you prefer.
• Skip adding potatoes, and serve your roast over a scoop of mashed potatoes instead. It’s Brandon’s favorite way to eat pot roast.
• Add a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme.
• Switch out one cup of water for red wine. It deepens the broth flavor.