Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Looking for a comforting recipe? My Slow Cooker Pot Roast - complete with tender, delicious vegetables - will hit the spot time and time again.
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
For The Chuck Roast
- 3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
- 1.5 c. beef broth
- 4 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 1 lb. baby carrots whole
- 2 vidalia onions roughly sliced
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. rosemary
- 1 tsp. kosher salt more to taste
- 1 tsp. course black pepper more to taste
- 1 tsp. garlic powder more to taste
- 1 tsp. onion powder more to taste
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika more to taste
- .5 c. dry red wine optional
- extra virgin olive oil for cooking
- parsley optional, for garnish
For The Thickening Agent (Sauce/Gravy)
- 2 tbsp. corn starch
- 2 tbsp. cold water
Instructions
For The Roast + Vegetables
- Pat the boneless beef chuck roast dry with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Season both sides.
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Brown chuck roast on both sides - roughly 4-5 minutes per side. Once browned, add chuck roast to your slow cooker.
- On top of chuck roast, add the celery, baby carrots, onions, red skinned potatoes, thyme, rosemary, and beef broth. Add the wine, as well, if you so choose. Stir.
- Cook on low heat for roughly 8 hours. You will want your beef to reach an internal temperature of, at minimum, 145F. I usually cook mine to 155F-160F.
- Serve roast and vegetables topped with gravy/sauce; garnish with parsley, if desired.
For Thickening Sauce
- If you want your sauce to be thicker, similar to gravy, remove roast and vegetables from the slow cooker. Strain the liquid into a saucepan. Mix together corn starch and water and pour into the liquid. Whisk constantly for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture has reached your desired consistency.
Notes
- Don't skip the browning - it makes all of the difference!
- Thicken the sauce with a cornstarch mixture; see below.
- To add additional depth to the flavor, add ½ - 1 cup of dry red wine.
- Cut your vegetables very thick/rough -- they will be cooking for a significant amount of time. i.e.: thick baby carrots, thickly-sliced onion, thickly-sliced celery.
- Cook on low -- I find that this is the optimal way!
- Don't serve anything else with this dish; it's a balanced home run in and of itself.