This Instant Pot Pot Roast recipe is an easy, comforting dinner that comes together so quickly in the pressure cooker! With tender veggies (not mushy!), a fall apart tender roast and seasoned gravy. With step by step VIDEO
Love pot roast? Try my Easy Pot Roast recipe or my Slow Cooker Pot Roast next!
This recipe was originally posted in 2018, but has been updated to include new step by step photos and video.
Table of Contents
September is one of the best months of the year, and not just because it’s my birthday month. It means that things like this Instant Pot Pot Roast are back on the table.
Comfort foods, especially those that are healthy and nourish our bodies, are my favorite kinds of meals!
This Potato Soup, this Rigatoni Pasta Bake, and so many of these Easy Crockpot Meals are popping up on our table again and again (and no one’s mad about it).
When the weather starts cooling off, there is just nothing like a cozy meal to gather around with the family — especially if it’s cooking in the Instant Pot, hands off!
This Instant Pot Roast comes out perfectly cooked and has the best gravy (just check out the reviews below!), plus no mushy vegetables to speak of!
You can even throw the roast in completely frozen if you’ve got a little extra time to let it cook (and it turns out just as great as these Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot and this Instant Pot Whole Chicken you can cook from frozen as well!)
Why we love this Pressure Cooker Pot Roast!
This Instant Pot Roast is so tender it falls apart when you try to take it out. It has such great flavor, that you can even skip the searing if you want (I’ll be honest, I am often to lazy to sear my meat first!).
One thing it is missing? Mushy vegetables.
Vegetables in the Instant Pot cook very quickly, often just a few minutes or less, so it’s better to leave them out while the roast cooks, and add them later at the end.
I know that this is an extra step and you might be wondering if it’s worth it.
Trust me on this one.
This way, you will have a perfectly juicy and tender pot roast, and perfectly cooked but still totally appetizing veggies.
You know I’m not into any extra unnecessary steps (or dishes, or ingredients!), but the potatoes and carrots will cook in just a few minutes and if you buy small, pre-washed potatoes, you don’t even need to chop them.
How to make Instant Pot Pot Roast:
- Season and sear: Cut your roast beef into roughly 1 pound pieces and coat them with the seasoning blend. Meanwhile, turn your Instant Pot to saute, and brown each piece in oil on every side. You can skip this step, but I find it does add a lot of flavor and helps to keep the juices in the meat.
- Remove the beef and cook the onions: cooking the onions adds another layer of flavor to our gravy! Then add the garlic and cook just a minute, so that it doesn’t burn.
- Deglaze the pot: Add the rest of the gravy ingredients (still on saute). Scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot with a wooden spoon to remove any bits that might be stuck on the bottom.
- Add the roast and pressure cook until tender: If your roast is cut into 1 lb chunks, it shouldn’t matter how large it was to begin with — they will all cook in about the same amount of time. I cook mine for 60-65 minutes. Depending on the type of roast you have and how you like your meat cooked, you may want to add additional time.
- Let the pressure release and add the vegetables: at this point you have the option to remove the roast if it is cooked and tender, and shred it while the vegetables cook, or just add the vegetables on top of the roast.
- Once everything is cooked, let the pressure release again and serve: Letting the pressure release naturally, completely (turning it off and not opening the valve until the pin goes down on its own) is the best way to ensure moist and juicy pot roast. Once the pressure is released, open it up and thicken the gravy on saute if desired.
Instant Pot Pot Roast FAQs
The short answer? About 1 hour.
The long answer:How long a roast will need to be pressure cooked depends mostly on how large the roast or the pieces are that you cut it into. I prefer to cut my roasts into chunks that are approximately 1 lb in size (so if you have a 3lb roast, you’ll cut it into 3 pieces).
However, the cook time also depends on the thickness of the pieces, so there has to be some wiggle room. To be on the safe side, you can always allow for a little extra time pressure cooking the meat — I opt for about 1 hour pressure cooking on high for smaller pieces.
If your roast is frozen, or it is in one large piece, you will want to add a significant amount of time to ensure that your meat is fall apart tender.
Absolutely!
Increase the cook time to 90-100 minutes for a 3 lb roast, and 100-110 minutes for a 4 lb roast, and 120 minutes for anything larger than 4 pounds.
You won’t sear a frozen roast, but you can sprinkle the seasoning on and add the liquids as the recipe calls for below.
Chances are, it just hasn’t cooked long enough. A beef roast will safe to cook long before it is tender, so giving it a little extra time doesn’t hurt anything.
I like to cut my pot roast into smaller chunks so that it cooks and tenderizes more quickly. If you are using a less-than-ideal type of roast (something lean with not much fat), you may want to cut it into even smaller pieces.
It’s up to you! I don’t usually trim much, as the fat makes the roast so juicy as it cooks. It can easily be trimmed once it is cooked.
If you prefer less fat cooking with your fat, you can trim the larger pieces.
Tips for making the best Instant Pot Pot Roast:
- Like I mentioned before, please do not add the veggies for the first cook time. You do not want your veggies cooking an extra 60+ minutes under high pressure! 3 minutes and they are perfectly tender and fluffy.
- You can skip searing the meat if you need to cut out some prep time, but it does add significant flavor to the dish overall. If you don’t sear, you’ll find that your juices (and therefore gravy if you thicken it) will be more “beefy” and you will taste less of the other flavors.
- If you need to save some time, cut the roast into 2-3″ chunks and pressure cook for 40-50 minutes, or save even more time by using pre-cut stewing beef.
- All of my Instant Pot recipes are tested in a 6 quart Instant Pot.
Looking for more Instant Pot dinner recipes?
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin & Potatoes
- Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- Easy Instant Pot Baked Ziti Recipe
Instant Pot Pot Roast (with the BEST gravy!)
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons seasoning salt (I use Lawry’s)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 lb beef chuck roast cut into 1lb chunks
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (finely minced)
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ lb Creamer potatoes (or baby potatoes) whole
- 3 large carrots peeled and cut into thick slices
- 1 tablespoon ketchup (or honey)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine seasoning salt, garlic, parsley, onion powder and pepper. Sprinkle over roast to season.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute. When it reads hot, add the oil and sear roast on all sides. To do this, place the roast in the pot and do not move for 2-3 minutes. When you flip it, it should release from the pan easily. You may need to add extra oil to brown all of the pieces and cook them in 2 batches. When browned, removed the meat from the Instant Pot.
- Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened (adding more oil if necessary). Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- To the Instant Pot add broth, vinegar, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce — if there are brown bits stuck to the bottom from the meat, give them a scrape with a wooden spoon and they should release easily — this will help to prevent a burn message. Stir to combine.
- Add the meat back into the pot. Put the lid on and turn the valve to sealing. Select Manual or Pressure Cook and set the cook time for 65 minutes on high pressure (90-100 minutes for a frozen roast).
- When the cook time is over, turn the Instant Pot off and let the pressure release naturally (this should take 10-15 minutes) before turning the valve to venting and opening the lid.
- Remove the roast to a plate, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and carrots, put the lid back on, turn the valve to sealing and select Manual or Pressure Cook for 3 minutes.
- While the potatoes and carrots cook, shred the beef and keep warm.
- When the cook time is over, let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes before moving the valve to venting, gradually releasing remaining pressure and opening the lid.
- Remove potatoes and carrots from Instant Pot and place on a platter with the beef.
- Stir in ketchup (it's not necessary but as a nice brightness and contrast to the savory flavor of the beef). Whisk together corn starch and water and stir into gravy.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute and cook, stirring often, until gravy has thickened. Serve with roast beef and vegetables.
Notes
- I added a sauteed onion and garlic to the gravy. You can skip this if you didn’t miss it 🙂
- I increased the broth to 2 cups from 1 cup — this gives us more gravy! I also increase the vinegar, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to match.
- I removed the roast after pressure cooking to add the potatoes and carrots, but you can still do it either way. This way, the roast has time to rest and we can shred it while the vegetables cook.
- I added a tablespoon of ketchup to the gravy — this just brightens the flavors and adds a subtle touch of sweetness.
Nutrition Information
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Susan says
Confused on the veggie part – when you add those in does the pressure have to come back up again first? If so, isn’t it just easier to microwave them?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Susan, yes in step 7 you need to bring it back up to pressure and cook for 3 more minutes. The pressure should come back up fairly quickly.
Hannah says
Hi! I’m making this tomorrow and I just wondered if this Recipe would still work if I just put everything in the instant pot at once and let it cook during the day? just because I have to work and don’t have time to do all the steps. Thanks!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Hannah, I’ve only tested the recipe as is, so I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Ana says
I thought it was a bit bland and I even added extra salt and seasoning throughout the process.
Nicole says
The recipe is fine but your website is insanely clunky with the size and amount of ads it displays.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Nicole, Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ve had discussions with my ad network about the amount of videos and slow loading ads on the page, and I was really hoping things were better now. It’s something I’m always working on improving! Also you can always just hit the print button for the recipe and it will get you the recipe without all of the fuss. Thanks!
Kenya says
Literally the best pot roast I’ve ever had 😭 my partner and I scarfed up the whole pot with barely any leftovers. The gravy was so flavorful and even though I really am not a fan of carrots, they added just the right amount of sweetness. Very yummy!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kenya! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
ChefRick says
The cooking time for the meat is way too long.
I took the pieces out and they were overcooked and like rubber.
Laurie Wing says
Hi,
Can this recipe be used with an 8 quart instant pot instead of a 6 quart?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Laurie! Yes! You shouldn’t need to adjust the recipe, but I know that some like to make sure they are over the minimum liquid requirement which I believe is higher for the 8 qt than the 6 qt. If you want, you could double the sauce just to ensure there is enough liquid but it should work even without.
Taylor says
I have used this recipe 10x now and it is the best roast I have ever had. The broth is very savory with a tomatoe taste, oh man it’s amazing!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Taylor! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Gerald says
Added a garlic to chili paste I get at the 99 store gives it a nice kick and such good flavor
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear, Gerald!
Tami Carda says
Yum! I didn’t have any balsamic vinegar but it turned out great! We’ll be having this many more times. Thank you for an excellent instapot beef pot roast recipe!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Tami! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Sophie says
OMG! I just made this and I can’t believe how yummy it is! I don’t usually like carrot but they’re just done to perfection. And the gravy is sooooo good! I’m so happy I was able to learn this new recipe and now I can eat it with the sound of the rain outside (it’s Winter here in Australia).
THANKYOU! 🙂
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sophie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Meg says
My dad is recovering from a stem cell transplant so his appetite has been diminished and nothing has tasted right. I made this for him last night, and he ate two helpings. He couldn’t stop saying how good it tasted. THANK YOU!!!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Makes me so happy to hear Meg! Thank you!
Norma Houghton says
I found this incredible recipe earlier today and knew I had to give it a try. I cooked it and fed the elderly at our condo complex and have heard nothing but RAVE REVIEWS!!! I’ll definitely be making it again and again!!! Thank you for sharing!!
I’m looking forward to trying your potato soup recipe next!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Norma! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Michelle says
Loved the recipe! Had a 2 1/2 lb chuck roast and looked for a recipe on the internet that had all the ingredients in my pantry. Found your recipe and followed it exactly. Came out perfect, potatoes and carrots were perfect and not mushy. I made it for myself and have eaten it for 3 days and I will freeze the remainder. It was so delicious! Thanks
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Michelle! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Cesar F. says
Great Recipe! I’m a new Instapot cook. It turned out great. Very easy and directions are easy to understand.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Cesar! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Liz says
Do you have any recommendations for how to make this with a regular crock pot? I don’t have an InstaPot but it looks so yummy!
Ashley Fehr says
Yep! Right here:https://www.thereciperebel.com/slow-cooker-pot-roast/
Irina says
Do you have any recommendations if I want to double the recipe? How long would I cook it for?
Ashley Fehr says
The cook time should be the same as long as the pieces are the same size
Jess says
I absolutely love this recipe. The flavors are ON POINT.
Estee says
This was a really great, easy to prepare recipe. I added some more veggies like celery and a can of tomatoes! Total winner.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Estee! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Jeru Marshall says
This recipe was a total hit in my house. Everyone e loved it! Even my picky 11 year old daughter!! Thanks for sharing!!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that!
kristin penland says
This recipe is insanely delish and easy to make! I normally don’t like pot roast meals and I’m use to complicated Ina Garten recipes and spending all day in the kitchen….this was so good and elevated enough for a dinner get together!
The only thing I didn’t do was add the cornstarch – we prefer the broth over gravy. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written.
This is a winner!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kristin! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for this review!
Jan says
Very good! I followed exactly except instead of tomato paste I just used ketchup, instead of cornstarch I used my fav Wondra and I did 6 minutes for the veggies based on the comments PERFECT. Will make again for sure! Awesome recipe thank you.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and the feedback on substitutions!