Classic Pot Roast
Published 11/29/2022 • Updated 11/5/2024
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Our classic pot roast recipe uses a high-quality chuck roast for the juiciest and most tender beef roast that melts in your mouth! This is one of our favorite recipes to make during the holidays because it serves a crowd and is the perfect hearty meal for Christmas or New Years.
Dutch Oven Pot Roast
If you still need to make a juicy pot roast in a Dutch oven, this is your chance! The convenience of an Instant pot or Crockpot is certainly unmatched, but we find that the Dutch oven will always reign king for making the best-tasting pot roast every time.
Dutch ovens are made from cast iron, making them the BEST for retaining and evenly distributing heat.
Pot Roast vs. Chuck Roast?
A chuck roast is any cut of meat from the steer’s chuck (a.k.a. shoulder). Unlike a chuck roast, a pot roast isn’t a specific cut of meat. Instead, it’s a method of preparing a cut of meat by slowly braising it in liquid (e.g., stock or wine) until juicy and tender.
Pot roasts are commonly made with chuck and are easy to cook in an instant pot, slow cooker, or Dutch oven. The result? A rich, juicy roast that is fall-apart tender!
What You Need to Make this Pot Roast Recipe
Meat: For this recipe, we used a 2.5 lb. chuck roast serving 6 people. We’re confident that anything between 2.5 and 4 lbs. will work just as great for this recipe.
Veggies: Don’t skip the veg! These simple, hearty vegetables cook simultaneously as your pork roast, giving you a finished dish with lots of flavor.
- White onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Baby potatoes
- Bella mushrooms
Seasonings: This recipe uses our own easy pot roast seasoning blend. This delicious dry rub is made with a mixture of smokey, sweet, and salty spices that will add the perfect flavor to your pot roast! Here’s what we use:
- Brown sugar
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- Dried parsley
- Coarse salt
- Black pepper
Gravy: It’s super easy to make the gravy for this pot roast! Once your meat has finished cooking, add a little cornstarch to the braising liquid so that it thickens into a gravy.
try it!
Easy Pot Roast Seasoning
This delicious dry rub is made with a mixture of smokey, sweet, and salty spices that will add the perfect amount of flavor to your pot roast!
How to Make the Best Pot Roast
SEASON CHUCK ROAST
To start, mix your pot roast seasoning ingredients in a small bowl. Then sprinkle the seasoning over the chuck roast, massaging it into the meat with your hands until completely coated. Let the roast sit in the seasoning for at least 30 minutes.
PREHEAT OVEN + SEAR MEAT
Preheat the oven to 300°F and heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Next, add olive oil. When fragrant, add the roast to the oil and sear on all sides for 3-4 minutes. Once your meat is golden brown, remove it from the Dutch oven and set aside.
DEGLAZE
Pour in the red wine and scrape the brown bits from the bottom with a spatula to deglaze the Dutch oven.
What is deglazing? Deglazing the bottom of the pot is an essential step in preventing the burn notice from happening. Essentially you use a liquid (in this case >> red wine, beef broth, and Worchestershire) to remove all the brown bits from the bottom.
SAUTÉ VEGGIES
Next, add the onion to the wine, season with salt, and saute for 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Once the garlic is fragrant, add the carrots, celery, and potatoes. Stir everything together, and then let the veggies cook for 4-5 minutes.
Pro tip: Make sure you’re slicing your veggies, so they’re all similar in size. This will ensure that your veggies have the same doneness at the end.
CREATE THE BROTH + BAKE
In a separate bowl, whisk together the beef broth, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Then pour the liquid over the veggies. Next, place your fresh herbs on top of the veggies to roast.
Cover your Dutch oven and bake for 3-4 hours until the roast falls apart with a fork. After two hours, flip the roast so that each side has a chance to roast in the braising liquid.
Size & Cook Time: Please note that your cook time in the Dutch oven may vary if your meat is smaller or larger than 2.5 lbs.
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
MAKE THE GRAVY
Once your pot roast is finished baking, remove the meat and veggies from the Dutch oven and set aside. Carefully discard the herb stems, add the cornstarch to the pot, and whisk it into the braising liquid.
Pro tip: DO NOT add the cornstarch if the braising liquid is no longer hot! If it isn’t hot, bring the liquid to a boil over high heat and then add the cornstarch.
Add your roast and veggies back into the pot with the gravy to get ready to shred and serve!
SHRED POT ROAST + ENJOY
Now that your veggies are cooked, your gravy is made, and your meat is tender, it’s time to shred your meat!
Use two forks to shred the pot roast into large chunks. We like to drizzle a bit of flavorful gravy over the shredded beef to keep things nice and juicy.
Pro tip: discard any large chunks of fat before serving!
ENJOY your classic pot roast recipe!
Storing Your Beef Pot Roast
Store your pot roast in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days or up to 3 months in an air-tight container in the freezer.
To Reheat Pot Roast
Place your leftover pot roast and veggies in an oven-safe dish, and cover. Reheat at 325°F for 10-15 minutes or until completely warm.
To reheat on the stovetop, place your leftover pot roast and veggies in a heated pan with olive oil, and sauté on medium heat until warm.
Great Jones
The Dutchess
This is hands-down our favorite Dutch oven. It’s a 6.75 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven that’s super high-quality and gorgeous.
Dutch Oven Pot Roast FAQs
A tough roast that won’t easily pull apart means the meat is undercooked. Give it an extra hour or two, and it should shred easily with a couple of meat forks.
If you’re not using a chuck roast but bigger or tougher cuts of beef, you may need to increase the cooking time so that the collagen can properly break down and become tender and juicy.
Your pot roast will b able to fall apart when it is at an internal temperature of 190-195°F. At this temperature, the tough connective tissues begin to break down for meat that’ll be melt-in-your-mouth tender.
We find that boneless chuck roast is the best beef cut for pot roasts. However, shoulder steak, chuck shoulder, chuck seven-bone, beef chuck arm, and brisket work just as well!
Although searing your meat is optional, choosing not to sear can result in a pot roast that tastes flat and boring. Conversely, having a good sear will create a better texture and enhance the overall dimensions of your roast.
Yes. You’ll know when your pot roast is overcooked when the meat is dry. To prevent this, ensure you have enough braising liquid in the pot and end the cooking time when your meat hits an internal temperature of 190-195°F.
For smaller roasts under 3 pounds, check for doneness after two hours. For larger roasts, check after three hours.
Pot Roast Recipe
Ingredients
Pot Roast Seasoning
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1.5 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1.5 tablespoons coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
Other Ingredients
- 2.5-4 lbs. boneless chuck roast, not chuck steak
- ⅓ – ½ cup pot roast seasoning, depending on how big the roast is
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup red wine, we used cabernet
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 large carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
- 3 celery stalks, cut into thirds
- 2 lbs. baby potatoes, cut in half
- 8 oz. bella mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh sage
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients for the pot roast seasoning in a small bowl. Remove the chuck roast from the packaging and sprinkle the seasoning over the pot roast. Massage the seasoning into the roast with your hands. Be sure the whole roast is coated. Let the roast sit in the seasoning for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
- Heat a large Dutch oven with a lid over medium/high heat. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven. When the olive oil is fragrant, add the roast and sear it for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the roast from the Dutch oven.
- Deglaze the Dutch oven with the red wine and scrape the brown bits from the bottom with a spatula. Add the onion to the wine and season with salt. Let the onion saute for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the garlic, and cook for another 1 minute.
- Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes to the Dutch oven and stir all the ingredients together. Let the vegetables cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Whisk together the beef broth, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl and then pour the liquid over the vegetables. Place the fresh herbs and roast on top of the vegetables. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 3-4 hours or until the roast falls apart with a fork. Flip the roast after 2 hours so each side can roast in the cooking liquid.
- Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Enjoy immediately after discarding the herb stems.
- Remove the roast and vegetables from the Dutch oven and set aside. Discard the herb stems and add 2-3 teaspoons of cornstarch to the pot. Whisk the cornstarch into the cooking liquid. If the liquid is still hot, the cooking liquid should thicken within a few minutes. If the cooking liquid is not hot, bring the liquid to a boil over high heat on the stovetop and then add the cornstarch.
- Add the roast and vegetables back into the pot with the gravy and enjoy.
Tips & Notes
- We used 2.5-lb. chuck roast and ⅓ cup of pot roast seasoning. Use as much seasoning as needed to coat the whole roast. You can store the rest of the seasoning in an airtight container for later.
- How long the roast is in the oven will vary by the oven and by the size of the roast.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Thru my many attempts at making a good pot roast over the years I either wound up with a tender roast with no flavor or a flavorful roast that was tough no matter how long it was in the oven. THIS one was perfection! The seasoning rub was wonderful with the sear. I did not put potatoes in with the beef and vegetables and instead made mashed potatoes. I roasted some mushrooms in a separate dish during the last 30 minutes and served them with the roast and other vegetables. I didn’t put them in the roast because I did not want them to soak up the beautiful beefy liquid in the Dutch oven so there was enough to make that delicious gravy. This recipe will be made again and again!
Bonus… my kitchen smelled heavenly 🙂