This easy oven Pot Roast recipe makes a truly delicious dinner idea, perfect for a family meal or holiday dinner! With juicy roast beef seasoned in a homemade spice rub, it’s cooked with potatoes and carrots until tender in a flavorful gravy made from scratch – it’s the perfect pot roast!
Looking for more ways to prepare a chuck roast? Check out this Perfect Instant Pot Pot Roast or this Slow Cooker Pot Roast with the BEST gravy!.
Table of Contents
There’s something truly special about a classic pot roast recipe that’s been slowly cooked to perfection.
The meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender, complemented with savory vegetables and the best gravy, it’s such a welcoming and comforting meal!
While this recipe has a longer cooking time, it’s made with simple ingredients and only requires 15 minutes of prep time. Plus, the cook time is hands off!
For more delicious Sunday dinner recipes, check out my Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork, Honey Baked Ham, or these Baked Tuscan Chicken Breasts!
Ingredients Needed:
- Oil: any kind of cooking oil will work for sautéing. I tend to use canola oil or olive oil.
- Onion: to provide a savory flavor base for the dish.
- Spice Rub Seasoning: use a combination of Lawry’s seasoning salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and black pepper to season the beef before searing it.
- Beef Roast: beef chuck or blade roasts are optimal because of their marbling, which breaks down during slow cooking, ensuring a juicy and flavorful result.
- Broth: use a low-sodium beef broth as the base for our cooking liquid. It infuses the roast with a deep, beefy flavor. Chicken broth can be used for a lighter taste if you prefer.
- Carrots: classic to a traditional pot roast, they add color and nutrients to the dish and are great for soaking in the rich flavor of the gravy.
- Potatoes: I like using baby or creamer potatoes, but any variety will work well.
- Balsamic Vinegar: adds a tangy kick and helps break down the meat’s fibers, enhancing its tenderness.
- Tomato Paste & Worcestershire Sauce: adds a rich, umami depth to the dish as well as a bit of acidity and sweetness, while Worcestershire sauce provides a salty and savory punch.
- Honey: This sweetens the dish slightly, balancing out the savory elements.
- Corn Starch: helps thicken the gravy, giving it a luscious consistency that’s perfect for drizzling over the roast and side dishes.
- Spices: use Paprika, Salt, Black Pepper, these seasonings are essential to elevating the dish’s flavor profile.
- Ketchup: a touch of ketchup can add a sweet and tangy brightness to the sauce, use your favorite brand.
How to Make Dutch Oven Pot Roast
This recipe is easy to make, but the slow cooking method does take some time, so be sure to plan accordingly. Full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
- Sauté onion: Cook the onion in the Dutch oven with oil.
- Season beef: Mix rub seasonings and rub the mix over the meat on all sides.
- Sear the beef: Sear the roast in the Dutch oven on all sides until golden brown.
- Deglaze the pot: Pour some broth into the Dutch oven and deglaze the pot.
- Add veggies: Add the onions back into the pan with the carrots and potatoes.
- Add gravy mixture, cook, and serve: Whisk together the gravy ingredients and pour it over vegetables and meat. Put the lid on and cook until everything is tender. Thicken the gravy as desired, slice or shred the meat, and serve.
How do I store Beef Pot Roast?
Store leftover pot roast once it has fully cooled Stored correctly in the refrigerator, your pot roast should remain delicious for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, you can place it in a large pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until it’s warmed through. Add a splash of beef broth to rejuvenate the dish and ensure the meat remains moist.
Can I freeze Beef Chuck Roast?
If you’ve made a larger batch or simply want to save the roast at a later date, you can freeze it. Keep in mind that the potatoes and carrots will have a softer texture after freezing, so you might prefer to freeze just the beef in the gravy and add vegetables after thawing.
Make sure it’s in a freezer-safe, airtight container, and it can last up to 2-3 months in the freezer. To enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat as mentioned above.
Classic Pot Roast Variations
- Make a lower-carb version. Use cauliflower instead of potatoes for a lower-carb pot roast. Remember that cauliflower cooks more quickly than potatoes, so you will want to add them halfway through the cooking time.
- Use the crock pot or instant pot. Use my Crock Pot Pot Roast recipe to make this dish in a slow cooker, or this Instant Pot Pot Roast recipe to make it in a pressure cooker.
Serving Suggestions
This Pot Roast is a great one pot meal, with the meat and veggies cooked together in a melody of aromatic flavor!
It’s the epitome of comfort food, and it’s perfect for serving at a dinner party.
If you want to make it go further or have some extra things to make it more of a complete meal, try some extra vegetables and bread side dishes.
These Roasted Green Beans, Roasted Vegetables would provide more color and nutrients to the meal and don’t require much prep to make.
Try some of our favorite bread side dishes too, like these Homemade Dinner Rolls, Mom’s Homemade Buns, and my Homemade Crescent Rolls!
More Delicious One-Pot Recipes to Try
Easy Pot Roast Recipe (with the BEST gravy!)
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
Spice Rub
- 1 medium onion (cut into 1" pieces)
- 1½ teaspoons seasoning salt I use Lawry’s
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pot Roast
- 1.2-1.5 kg beef roast (about 2.5 -3 lbs (chuck or blade is best)
- 1½ cups beef broth (divided)
- 3 large carrots (peeled and cut into 1.5" pieces)
- 1½ lbs baby potatoes
Gravy
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ketchup optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Turn the oven to 275 degrees F.
- Cook the onion in the dutch oven until beginning to brown, then remove from the pot.
- Combine seasoning salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and rub over roast on all sides. If you have a larger roast, you can cut it into 2 equal pieces and season.
- Sear the roast in the dutch oven on all sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
- Pour ½ cup broth into the dutch oven and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to remove any browned bits.
- Add the onions back in along with the carrots and potatoes (optional: you can add the potatoes and carrots after 1½ hours cook time has passed for firmer vegetables).
- Whisk together remaining 1 cup broth, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, honey, corn starch, paprika, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables and meat.
- Put the lid on and roast at 275 degrees F for 3-3½ hours, until the vegetables are tender and the meat pulls apart easily with two forks.
- If desired, remove the roast and the vegetables to thicken the gravy further. Place the dutch oven on the stove top on medium heat and whisk together 1 tablespoon corn starch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir into the sauce with the ketchup (optional, but really helps to brighten the flavor!) and cook until thickened.
- Slice or shred the meat and serve with vegetables and gravy.
Notes
- Chuck or blade roasts are best, as they have the perfect amount of fat to melt down and get nice and tender. You can use a leaner roast, but it may not be as tender. For better results with a lean roast, you can cut it into 2-3 pieces to cook.
- Potatoes: I like to use baby or Creamer potatoes and leave them whole since we will be cooking them for a long time. You can also use Yukon gold potatoes, but I’d recommend cutting them into large pieces, about 2–3 inches in diameter.
- Balsamic vinegar and ketchup: these two ingredients might seem like untraditional additions, but they really add a lot of punch to the flavor. I don’t like boring gravy! You can omit them or add them gradually at the end if you are unsure about the flavor.
- Store: Store leftover pot roast once it has fully cooled Stored correctly in the refrigerator, your pot roast should remain delicious for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, you can place it in a large pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until it’s warmed through. Add a splash of beef broth to rejuvenate the dish and ensure the meat remains moist.
- Freeze: If you’ve made a larger batch or simply want to save the roast at a later date, you can freeze it. Make sure it’s in a freezer-safe, airtight container, and it can last up to 2-3 months in the freezer. To enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat as mentioned above.
Nutrition Information
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Lynn Gardner says
I’m not usually a big pot roast fan but this was delicious. Kind of a lot of steps but so worth it. I made the Instant pot version and will definitely make this again.
Amanda Acosta says
Best pot roast I’ve ever made! My husband couldn’t stop raving about the gravy and scooped up every last drop! Definitely keeping this recipe as a favorite. Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear, thank you Amanda!
Edna Wilmoth says
What do little blue symbols mean at bottom of recipes?
Edna Wilmoth says
I love being part of your community. The recipes I have tried are always a hit. I have looked but can’t find the meanings of the ‘little blue symbols’ at the bottom of your recipes. Can you help me out? EW
Margaret Munch says
Absolutely the BEST pot roast recipe I have tried…….and I have tried many!!
Definitely a keeper
Margie