Slow Cooker Pot Roast is made with only 5 key ingredients and minimal prep work, yet is one of the most flavorful, comforting recipes for pot roast you will ever enjoy!
The Best Pot Roast Recipe
Crockpot Pot Roast is one of those meals that brings me back to my childhood. I have memories of sitting around my grandparent's table enjoying one of my Papa's signature dishes, like Chicken Pot Pie, Pork Roast, or this Pot Roast.
He was famous for his pot roast and with good reason. It is could not be easier to make, as the slow cooker does the work for you. But what makes this recipe stand out above the rest is the flavor.
My Papa's secret ingredient to making the best pot roast was horseradish. The horseradish adds a subtle flavor to the roast, but it also helps to tenderize the meat. This addition results in the most tender, juicy, flavorful pot roast. It is everything you want in comfort food.
Notes on Ingredients
- Chuck Roast: The best cut of meat for a pot roast is a chuck roast, as it is marbled with fat. That fat will break down as the pot roast cooks, rendering out the flavor, and becoming so tender it is able to fall apart with a fork.
- Beef Broth: This recipe calls for a lot of broth, which helps prevent the roast from drying out. Just be sure to use low-sodium beef broth or beef stock to control the level of sodium.
- Potatoes: Use baby potatoes or larger potatoes, like russet, Yukon Gold, or red potatoes, that have been cut into 3-inch chunks.
- Carrots: Use peeled carrots quartered, cut into 2-3 inch chunks, or whole baby carrots.
- Prepared Horseradish: Use prepared horseradish, which is found in the regfirgerated deli section at the grocery store. You do not want to use horesradish sauce.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Add oil to a heavy bottom skillet or dutch oven, and heat over medium-high heat
- Season the roast on all sides gernously with salt and pepper.
- Once the oil is heated, place the roast in the pan and sear the roast for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until each side is browned. You will know the meat is ready to flip when it comes away easily from the skillet. If the meat starts to tear, it needs another minute or two.
- While the meat is searing, add the carrots and potatoes to the slow cooker.
- Place the seared chuck roast on top of the vegetables.
- Spread the prepared horseradish over the top of the roast.
- Pour beef stock around the meat, adding more stock if needed to ensure the beef stock reaches ¾ of the way up the pot roast.
- Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, or on high for 5-6 hours. If you need to speed the process up, use my Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe.
- Once the cooking process is complete, remove the roast from the crock pot and place onto a cutting board. Tent with foil and let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing up and seving with a side of the potatoes and carrots.
Gravy for Pot Roast
The beauty of this recipe for pot roast is that it is so tender and juicy it does not need gravy. However, if you love serving gravy with your pot roast, you can use the cooking liquid to make a rich gravy quickly.
- After the pot roast and vegetables have cooked, remove them from slow cooker to a platter and tent with foil to keep them warm.
- Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain off the cooking liquid to remove any solids and set aside to use for the gravy.
- In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.
- Whisk in 2 tablespoon flour, and cook for 1 minute, to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in 1 to 2 cups of strained liquid, whisking well.
- Season with salt and pepper and cook until thickened.
Pot Roast FAQs
You can skip searing your pot roast, but I highly recommend taking the extra few minutes to sear your meat. This step seals in the juices of the roast and will help deepen the flavor of the overall dish.
No. The horseradish is not overpowering, nor is it considered spicy to sensitive palates.
No! I love preparing the potatoes and carrots along with the roast because it makes this an easy one-pot meal and the carrots and potatoes soak up the rendering from the meat, but feel free to omit one or both and serve the pot roast with homemade mashed potatoes.
The horseradish is the secret to success and flavor for this pot roast recipe, so don't SKIP on that. I know most people prefer dry onion soup mix, but I am telling you that horseradish will blow you away.
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And don't forget, if you enjoyed this recipe for my Papa's Pot Roast, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below!
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon oil for searing meat
- 2 to 4 teaspoons salt divided
- 2 teaspoons pepper divided
- 2-4 pound chuck roast
- 3 pounds russet or yukon gold potatoes scrubbed and quartered
- 2 pounds carrots peeled and quartered
- 1 teaspoon onion powder or 1 sliced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic optional
- ½ cup prepared horseradish (not horseradish sauce!!)
- 4 to 5 cups beef stock
For Gravy
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups cooking liquid
Instructions
Crock Pot Pot Roast
- Heat a heavy bottom skillet or dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Season meat liberally with 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt and ½ to 1 teaspoon pepper, just enough to coat the meat.
- Once skillet is hot, add in oil into skillet. Sear roast on each side until browned--about 2-3 minutes per side, or once the meat easily pulls away from the pan.
- Layer potatoes and carrots in the slow cooker. Top with garlic and onion powder (or sliced onion), if using. Sprinkle vegetables with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Lay the roast in the middle of the vegetables, nestling into the vegetables. Spread the horseradish evenly over the roast. Pour 4 cups beef broth around the meat (not over it, as that would wash away the horseradish). Add in additional stock if needed to be sure the chuck roast is submerged ¾th of the way with the broth.
- Cook on low 10-12 hours or high 5-6 hours.
Pot Roast Gravy (optional)
- After the pot roast has cooked, remove from slow cooker and let rest on cutting board, tented with foil to keep warm. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and cover with foil to keep warm as well. Strain the cooking liquid to use for gravy.
- Heat 2 tablespoons butter in small saucepan. Whisk in 2 tablespoon flour, and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in 1 to 2 cups of strained liquid, whisking well. Season with salt and pepper and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2014 but was updated in 2021 with new photos and tips.
Kristi
Can this be made with a roast straight out of the freezer? If not, what’s the best way to defrost a whole roast? Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kristi! You can make a frozen pot roast if using an Instant Pot, but if using a slow cooker, it needs to be defrosted. The best way is to place the frozen roast (sealed in a bag or packaging) in water in the fridge. It will take 12-24 hours to defrost. I hope that helps!
Addie
Hi, Kristen
I'm assuming this dish can be converted for the IP using your conversion chart? Would there be any changes to the recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Addie! I would just use my recipe for Instant Pot Pot Roast--that way the veggies are not overcooked.
Caroline
How do you make this freezer friendly?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Caroline! Are you asking how to freeze after cooked? Or are you asking to freeze all ingredients together to prep for another time? You can place cooled leftover pot roast (with potatoes, carrots, and cooking liquid) in freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months. I do not recommend freezing potatoes before they are cooked.
John
If I don’t have 10 hrs, can you do do 2 high and 7 on low? Also if yes , do high first or last? Thanks
Kristen Chidsey
Hi John! I would do high on 2 hours first, and then low for 6-7 hours. Hope you enjoy!
Jamie
What is prepared horseradish? Directions please?
What is "baby of baby carrots"?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jamie! Prepared horseradish is just pre-gated fresh horseradish you find in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. The only ingredients should be horseradish, salt and possibly vinegar. And great catch--the notes were supposed to read Bag of baby carrots. Not baby of baby carrots--LOL! I had a hard time spotting that mistake.
Melissa
I made the non-frozen version without the veggies last night and it was a huge hit! So delicious and fall-apart tender. I stumbled across this recipe yesterday and will definitely be trying others on this site. Thanks again for sharing this delightful dish!
Kristen Chidsey
You are so welcome. I hope you find many more recipes for your family to enjoy.
Michelle
I made this recipe and I highly recommend it! I have never reviewed a recipe before but I had to review this recipe....that is how strongly i recommend it! I am a terrible cook and have ruined many a roast. This was so good i couldn’t stop eating it and I have never liked roast. I don’t know if it was the horseradish or maybe I never cooked roast long enough, honestly, there are probably more than 20 additional possible reasons for failure but I followed this to the letter (except I didn’t really pay any attention to how many veggies I put in and I added onions and it was fantastic! I’m making it again tomorrow. I hope I didn’t make a mistake by buying a better roast but I’m sure it will be fine.
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you Michelle for taking the time to review this recipe! I am SO SO glad you enjoyed this roast--and I bet it is the horseradish--it really makes a stand out dish. All the best!
Tina
Not sure if I overlooked it somehow, but what is your recipe for your prepared horseradish? Never heard of putting it on roast. Thanks
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Tina! Prepared Horseradish is something you buy in the refrigerated section. It is just ground fresh horseradish. I hope you give it a try.
Jen
I have a recipe for pot roast that is simple and easy to cook! My problem is when I tried it in the pressure cooker it ended up tough! Did I use the wrong meat? When I used my old crock pot, the meat would be falling apart, moist and tender. What type of roast would you use for this recipe?
1 roast
1 pkg. Lipton onion soup mix
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Onion quartered
Carrots cut in pieces (I used pkg. baby carrots)
Potatoes quartered (or baby potatoes)
I put in the roast, add veggies along side roast. Sprinkle onion soup mix on roast and spoon mushroom soup by the spoonful over roast and veggies. NO WATER ADDED Cook in crock pot for 7-10 hours. The soups make a lovely flavorful "gravy". Almost a stew instead of pot roast.
Any idea what kind of roast I should use? Would I cook it in I.P. for same length of time? Ideas?
Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jen!
There are several things you can do to make this work better for you.
First of all, you MUST have 1 cup liquid (I would use beef stock) you can not only use the cream of mushroom.
Secondly, make sure you let your instant pot NATURALLY release. If you do a quick release the meat will be tough.
You can use any roast you like, but for a 3 pound roast, I would cook at 40 minutes on high. Once released pressure add carrots and potatoes and cook an additional 10 minutes on high. Hope that helps.
Kristen Chidsey
Jen, I should also state that I don't use cream of mushroom soup, but I do know that you put have that on top of the meat so it won't burn in your instant pot. Hope that helps
Jane Calderazzo
Sorry for the typos...lol
Kristen Chidsey
I am known for my typos too, so no worries there 😉