American
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
A chuck roast, potatoes, and carrots cook until the beef pulls apart. You sear the roast first, then leave the lid on for the long cook.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 8 hr
- Total
- 8 hr 20 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Why you’ll love it
- Chuck becomes tender with time. A lean roast will not.
- The sear is where the gravy flavor starts.
- Vegetables cook in the same pot.
- It is a dinner that waits for you.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Season the roast with the salt and pepper. Sear it in the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until both sides are deeply browned, about 4 minutes a side. Move it to the slow cooker.
- 2
Stir the flour into the broth and tomato paste so there are no dry lumps. Pour that around the roast. Add the onion and thyme.
- 3
Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. Leave the lid on.
- 4
Add the carrots and potatoes for the last 2 hours on low, or the last 90 minutes on high, so they do not collapse. Put the lid straight back on.
- 5
The beef should shred and read about 200°F in the center. If it is still tight at the clock, give it another 45 minutes.
- 6
Rest the roast 10 minutes, then slice or shred and spoon the juices over it.
Pro tips
- Opening the lid to check the vegetables lets heat out. Add them and close it.
- Flour in the broth means this is not gluten-free.
- A 3-pound roast needs space. If it is jammed against the lid, cut it in half before you sear.
Easy substitutions
- All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with the broth at the end for a gluten-free gravy, then cook on high 15 minutes
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes, added at the same time
- Thyme
- Rosemary
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Reheating
Warm sliced beef and vegetables in the juices over medium-low until hot. Do not boil it hard or the beef dries.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 480
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
Moderate · Slow Cooker, Stovetop · Dairy-Free, High Protein
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From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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