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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Lincoln says
My go to pot roast recipe. The gravy makes my family rave how good it is!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lincoln! We love it too!
Carmen Orrego says
Hello! I made this the other day and it was great! thank you! I didn’t change a thing.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Carmen!
Cassy says
This is a absolute CLASSIC! Turns out perfectly every time I make it and I want to pick at it all evening! I retired all my other roast recipes – truly the GOAT!!
Angela says
Wow! This is fantastic. Your instructions are on point! I didn’t use the tomato paste because I didn’t have any and it still came out tender, juicy, and full of flavor. It was a huge hit with all of my kids. Thank you so much!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Angela! I’m so glad!
monicaalandt@yahoo.com says
Is there a substitute for the balsamic vinegar?
Ashley Fehr says
I would substitute apple cider vinegar if you have it
Cindy says
You could use red wine vinegar, or just add a little more tomato paste. Balsamic Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, Ketchup, Fish Sauce…these are all flavor boosters with great “umami.” This isn’t a complete list of “umami foods,” but it gives you an idea why you see them in so many recipes. (Ketchup really surprised me — I never would have put it in the list, myself.)
Dina says
What if I don’t have balsamic vinegar?
monicaalandt@yahoo.com says
I just googled it and apparently balsamic vinegar can be made with red or cider vinegar and 1/2tsp sugar.
Lisa says
I have made it 3 times and my family loves it!!! I also tried it once with red wine in place of broth and it was equally delicious! It’s my pot roast go to!!
Angela says
Oooooo… I should have used red wine too. I will next time. 🙂
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lisa! I’m thrilled to hear that!
Theresa says
Wonderful recipe!!! This time around I have a frozen roast, how would I adjust the cook time? Thank you for all the great recipes:) This site is my go to for new dinner ideas!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much Theresa! For a frozen roast, if it’s in one big chunk I would start at 90-120 minutes cook time.
Ashley Gordon says
Hi there.
How much liquid do you add to the pot when pressure cooking a frozen roast?
Ashley Fehr says
You shouldn’t need to add any liquid, in fact, the frozen roast will release more than fresh so you may end up with much more liquid in the end
Curtis says
Thanks for the instructions.. Great recipe!
Nancy says
I have a 5.5 lb roast. How long should it cook?
Ashley Fehr says
If you are cutting it into 1lb chunks as recommended, the cook time won’t change
Marisa Medlock says
We love this recipe! I do add onions with the vegetables. Also, I didn’t want to open a can of tomato paste and just use part of it, so I substituted Trader Joe’s Harissa Hot Chili Pepper Paste. The flavor was incredible! I’m sure it’s delicious both ways, but wanted to let you know this was a fun substitute. Thanks for such a delicious recipe…the meat was perfect and I liked the text/flavor better than using a slow cooker.
Ashley Fehr says
That is a fun substitute! Thanks for sharing!
Nicole Nelson says
If I’m using a smaller roast that’s approx 1.5lbs do I need to adjust the cooking time?
Can’t wait to try this recipe out!!
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Nicole! I would just cut it in half and continue with the recipe as written
Dianne Morgan says
I know what you mean about having unused tomato paste. I learned a hack – spoon leftover tomato paste into an ice cube tray in 1 tablespoon portions and freeze. If you like, you can move the frozen portions to a plastic bag and keep in the freezer for future recipes. It’s a nice solution because the tomato paste does add a kick. And thank you for suggested substitute.
Great original recipe! I have always liked pot roast as a comfort food. This recipe is richer and more mature than the pot roasts from my childhood, which was made on the stovetop with Lipton’s onion soup mix and flour for thickener.
Kasie says
This has become one of our favorite recipes in our home! It’s literally a staple! One question that I’ve never thought to ask before but is one serving equal to one cup?
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it! One serving is equal to about 1/8 of the recipe.
Caitlin Schultice says
Hi Ashley. I didn’t realize it is 8 servings and its just myself and my boyfriend. I got enough ingredients to follow the recipe. Do you think it is something I could freeze after cooking? If not. Would you recommend just cutting the recipe in half? Would that still work with instapot
Ashley Fehr says
The meat will freeze great, but unfortunately potatoes don’t freeze well. I would probably cut it in half!
Jordyn says
If I am using slices of top round (precut usually used for fajitas), how long should I cook it for? I have an 8-Qt instapot! Thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
It would depend on how thick the slices are, maybe 20 minutes? I can’t really say as I haven’t tested it before
Lainey says
I have tried this recipe before and it is my absolute favorite! I have an appointment tomorrow during dinner time and was planning on using the timer feature. Would you recommend this for this recipe or not? My thought is that I would sear the meat at 3:30pm and set the time for pressurizing for 5pm for an hour. Would that work? Fairly new to cooking and instant pot world. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
I actually haven’t used the timer more than once and never with meat! The tricky part is just making sure the meat isn’t sitting at room temperature for too long. I would probably set the cook time to start earlier, at 4 or 4:30, because you can cook it for 90 minutes and it’ll be great, and even if you leave it sitting on warm for 30-60 minutes while the pressure releases and it will be great
Oscar Arango says
Made this yesterday and simply put it was delicious! My daughter who is a pretty picky eater said “Daddy will you make that meat you made again? It was delicious!”. I can’t disagree with her, not only was it simple to make, with only a few ingredients, it turned out perfect. I cooked the potatoes and the carrots for 5 mins and they turned out great. Everything else I followed to a T; I may add some quartered onions next time. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Oscar! I am so so happy to hear that!
Josh Ison says
Tried this recipe today and it is delicious! I used some Italian seasoning as well and I also added quartered onions and celery. Not to mention I added some minced garlic during searing! Great recipe and don’t ever be afraid to add your own twist!
Ashley Fehr says
I totally agree! Thanks Josh!
Jolie J. says
Absolutely delicious! I’ve been doing roasts a long time, but this flavor profile and method is my favorite. I’m just getting comfortable using my Instant Pot. What made your recipe special is your step by step instructions for IP searing, setting temps and times, adding veggies and optional corn starch to thicken the broth. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Jolie! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Claudia says
Delicious!! Had larger potatoes so cut them to be similar in size to the minis. But the roast and juice/gravy is the STAR of this show. Will make again. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Claudia!
Vanessa Ames says
I am hoping to make this tomorrow evening but I wanted to do whole russet potatoes and fresh carrots. Should I quarter the whole potatoes to make them the size of the little potatoes. Also could I sup French Onion Soup for the beef broth?
Ashley Fehr says
I would cube the potatoes so they are roughly the same size, yes, and French onion soup would be great!
Brittany says
I made this recipe tonight and it is absolutely delicious! So delicious that I came to write this review before I’ve even finished my serving! I did use 3 lbs potatoes and added quartered onion with those and the carrots. Due to that, I pressure cooked the last session at 10 minutes and let it release pressure while I finished cleaning the house. Recipe bookmarked for future use. Thanks!
Brittany says
Oops! I also had to substitute with apple cider vinegar as recommended in another comment, as I didn’t have any balsamic vinegar on hand. Same with beef broth – I had to use chicken broth! Still, amazing!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Brittany! I’m so glad you loved it!
Michelle says
I made this recipe yesterday and it was amazing! I added a few cloves of minced garlic and used 3lbs of little potatoes because I had a 3 lb bag. I also used baby carrots since that was what I had. I used a full can of beef broth (14oz) and a heaping tbsp of tomato paste. Tiny changes but I thought I’d mention them in case. I’ve always had issues with bland pot roast from the IP but this was hands down the opposite. So much wonderful flavor and a beautiful broth (I did not thicken mine). Pinned this one for next time! Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that Michelle! Thanks for coming back to let us know your swaps!