Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast (Printable)
Hearty beef chuck cooked slowly with root vegetables and savory herbs for tender results.
# What You Need:
→ Beef
01 - 3–3.5 lb beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
→ Vegetables
02 - 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
03 - 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
04 - 2 medium onions, quartered
05 - 2 medium potatoes, cut into large chunks
06 - 2 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
07 - 4 cloves garlic, smashed
→ Seasonings & Herbs
08 - 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
09 - 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 - 2 tsp dried thyme
11 - 2 tsp dried rosemary
12 - 2 bay leaves
→ Liquids
13 - 1 cup beef broth
14 - ½ cup dry red wine
15 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
16 - 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
→ For Searing
17 - 2 tbsp olive oil
# How-To:
01 - Pat the beef roast completely dry with paper towels. Generously season all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, pressing the seasoning into the meat.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the roast on all sides until deeply browned, approximately 4 minutes per side. Transfer the seared beef to the slow cooker.
03 - Arrange carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onions, celery, and garlic in the slow cooker, placing them around and beneath the beef roast.
04 - Whisk together beef broth, red wine, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the mixture evenly over the beef and vegetables.
05 - Sprinkle dried thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves over the contents. Cover and cook on low for 8–9 hours or on high for 4–5 hours, until the beef is fork-tender and vegetables are fully cooked.
06 - Remove and discard bay leaves. Slice or shred the beef against the grain. Serve with vegetables and pan juices.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The beef becomes so tender you can cut it with a spoon, literally falling apart under its own weight
- Vegetables cook in the same pot, absorbing all that savory beef flavor until they are sweet and creamy
- Eight hours of hands off cooking means you get all the credit with almost none of the work
02 -
- Skip the searing step and you will still get a tender roast, but you will miss those incredible caramelized flavors that make this taste restaurant quality
- The vegetables should be cut into large chunks because they will shrink and soften considerably during eight hours of cooking
- Keep the lid on unless absolutely necessary because every time you peek, you add thirty minutes to the cooking time
03 -
- Trim some of the exterior fat but leave the interior marbling because that is what keeps the meat moist during eight hours of cooking
- If the sauce looks too thin at the end, transfer just the liquid to a saucepan and simmer it down while the beef rests