Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe
Table of contents
Pot roast is more of a name for the cooking method rather than the meat itself. It refers to a tough cut of meat that is cooked by braising with or without vegetables. Braising is a cooking technique where you start by searing meat on high heat and then slowly cook it in liquid at low temperature.
Using a pressure cooker for this dish will help you achieve the same tender meat in a fraction of the time. In a slow cooker, pot roast takes about 8 hours to cook but in a pressure cooker, it takes less than 2 hours.
Cooking it in an Instant Pot results in the most tender beef and it’s the fastest cooking method. But, you can always use your trustee slow cooker and I have instruction for that below!
Key Ingredients
This Instant Pot pot roast relies on a few classic ingredients that work together to create incredibly tender beef and a deeply flavored gravy. Below are the most important components, plus tips and substitutions where they make sense.
- Beef Chuck Roast – Chuck roast is the best cut for Instant Pot pot roast. It has enough fat and connective tissue to break down under pressure, resulting in meat that’s fall-apart tender instead of dry. Tip: Cut the roast into large chunks before searing. This helps it brown evenly and cook more consistently.
- Red Wine – Red wine adds depth, richness, and acidity, which helps tenderize the beef as it cooks. It also enhances the overall flavor of the gravy. Substitution: If you prefer not to use wine, replace it with additional beef stock. You’ll still get a delicious result, though the flavor won’t be quite as complex.
- Beef Stock – Beef stock forms the base of the cooking liquid and gravy. A good-quality stock makes a noticeable difference here, since it concentrates as the pot roast cooks. Tip: If using low-sodium stock, you can better control the final seasoning.
- Fresh Herbs: Thyme & Bay Leaves – Fresh thyme and bay leaves add classic pot roast flavor without overpowering the dish. They infuse the broth while the beef cooks and are removed before serving. Tip: Dried thyme can be used if needed, but use slightly less since dried herbs are more potent.
- Vegetables – Potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion are traditional pot roast vegetables and hold up well in the Instant Pot when added at the end. Cooking them separately after the beef prevents them from becoming mushy. Variation: You can also add mushrooms, leeks, or parsnips for a slightly different flavor profile.
- Cornstarch (Optional) – Cornstarch is used only if you want to thicken the cooking liquid into a rich gravy. The pot roast is flavorful without it, but the gravy takes it over the top.
How to Make Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Let the beef warm up. Take the beef out of the refrigerator and out of the package. Lay it out on a rimmed baking sheet or a large cutting board and let it rest for about 30 minutes to warm up.
- Cut it in half or in thirds, depending on the size.
- Season the meat. Combine seasoning in a small mixing bowl. Season the beef chunks generously on all the sides and leave the remaining of the seasoning for the broth mixture.
- Sear the beef. Sear the beef halves in the Instant Pot until golden-brown on all the sides.
- Make the broth mixture. Whisk together all the ingredients for the broth mix in a mixing bowl.
- Add the broth to the pot. Take the beef out of the Instant Pot. Pour the broth mixture into the pot slowly while scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Add the beef. Let the broth mixture heat through and return beef to the pot.
- Pressure cook the beef. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and make sure it is latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the pot to cook on high pressure for 70-75 minutes. Make sure to consult your pressure cooker manual for exact control specifications of your appliance.
- Release the pressure. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully quick release the pressure.
- Cook the vegetables. Add vegetables into the pot, close the lid and make sure it’s latched and valve is turned to “seal.” Set to cook on high pressure for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of baby potatoes. Discard bay leaves before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Prepare beef the same way by letting it rest and then season it generously on all sides. Use a large cooking pan to sear the meat on all the sides.
Combine ingredients for the broth mixture in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Bring this mixture to simmer in a sauce pot and take off heat.
Spread vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker and place seared beef on top. Pour in hot broth mixture, cover and cook on HIGH for about 6 hours or on LOW for 8-10 hours.
Discard bay leaves before serving.
You don’t want any of that delicious sauce going to waste! Serve this pot roast with a hearty side like Buttermilk Biscuits, Cheesy Dinner Rolls or Buttermilk Cornbread to help soak up all of that sauce.
You can also balance your hearty pot roast with a lighter side salad. A few of my favorites include Apple Salad, Brussels Sprouts Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and Pomegranate Goat Cheese Salad.
No, since we cut the beef chuck into smaller chunks before cooking, you do not need to increase the amount of cooking time. Cooking time depends not on the size of the meat, but the amount. If you are cooking one large piece, then the time would change, but not if you cut it.
–Beef chuck roast: (most common meat for pot roast) It’s a tough cut but very flavorful and perfect for braising. (You can use it in many recipes for soups and stews like Borscht recipe
–Bottom round or rump roast: These two cuts are tougher than the top round and better to use in stews and slower cooking.
–Brisket: If using a brisket for pot roast, make sure to NOT pull cooked meat but slice against the grain instead. (Check out slicing and other technique in my beef brisket recipe.)
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Let it rest: Take the meat out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Cold meat will seize when it hits high heat suddenly so for the best results, remember to let it warm up.
- Season the meat generously: Before searing the meat, season it generously with salt/pepper/garlic powder/onion powder mix. This will give the meat much more flavor and not just in the juices.
- Sear, sear, sear: Don’t skip this step! Searing the meat first adds even more flavor to the beef and it’s an important step in the braising process, which starts with introducing blast of high heat to the meat.
- Add wine: I highly recommend adding wine to pot roast. It doesn’t just add a whole new level of flavor, it also adds acidity, which helps to break down the connective tissue in touch meats. Other acidic additions include balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce/paste. So unless you have prohibitive reasons for not using wine, I recommend that you add some.
- What vegetables to use: Classic vegetables include onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. You can also add some leek, mushrooms, green beans, butternut squash, and other types of dense winter squash.
- Cooking vegetables: There are two ways you can cook vegetables and that is with meat or without meat. In an Instant Pot, vegetables should be cooked at the end, after the meat is done, because they only take a few minutes. If cooking a large piece of meat, vegetables may not fit. So take the cooked beef out but leave all the broth in the pot. Cook vegetables in the broth as instructed. For a smaller piece of meat, you can add vegetables to the meat and cook together.
- Using leftover broth/gravy: You’ve heard the saying that there is never too much gravy in the pot roast. That is because you can always find more uses for leftover broth/gravy! Use it to dip sandwiches, or mix with some pasta as a sauce. You can also use it on mashed potatoes with another meal.
More Instant Pot Dinner Recipes
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Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe
Ingredients
Beef:
- 3-5 lb beef chuck roast*
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
Broth mixture:
- 1 cup red wine
- 3 cups beef stock
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 6 cloves of garlic pressed
- 3-4 sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
**Vegetables:
- 3 long ribs of celery
- 1 lb carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 1.5 lb baby gold potatoes
Thickening (optional):
- 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold beef stock
Instructions
Beef:
- Take the beef out of the refrigerator and out of the package. Lay it out on a rimmed baking sheet or a large cutting board and let it rest for about 30 minutes to warm up. Cut it in half or in thirds, depending on the size.
- Combine seasoning in a small mixing bowl. Season the beef chunks generously on all the sides and leave the remaining of the seasoning for the broth mixture. (Depending on the side of meat, you will probably use 1/2 to 3/4 of the seasoning.)
- Preheat Instant Pot on "saute" setting and drizzle oil over the bottom and some up the sides. Sear the beef halves until golden-brown on all the sides.
Cooking Pot Roast:
- Combine all the ingredients for the broth mix in a mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth.
- Take the beef out of the Instant Pot.
- Pour the broth mixture into the pot slowly while scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Let the broth mixture heat through and return beef to the pot.
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot and make sure it is latched. Turn the valve to "seal" and set the pot to cook on high pressure for 70-75 minutes. (Make sure to consult your pressure cooker manual for exact control specifications of your appliance.)
- Let it naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully quick release the pressure.
- **Add vegetables into the pot, close the lid and make sure it's latched and valve is turned to "seal." Set to cook on high pressure for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of baby potatoes.
- Discard bay leaves before serving.
Thicken Gravy:
- If you want to thicken the broth and make gravy: take cooked meat and vegetables out of the pot right away. Turn on "saute" setting and stir cornstarch mixture together with hot broth in the Instant Pot until it thickens.
Video
Notes
- *NOTE for cooking larger piece of beef: you can cook 3 to 5.5 lb beef chunk in a 6 quart Instant Pot since meat is cooked first without vegetables. You will need to cut larger size beef into 3 or more pieces and you will most likely need to sear some pieces separately.
- **If you have a smaller piece of meat (3-4 lbs), you can cook the veggies at the end right with the meat. If you use a larger piece of meat (around 5 lbs.), all the vegetables will not fit safely with large piece of beef so you will need to cook the vegetables in the broth without the beef. To do that: cook meat for 75-80 minutes, take cooked beef out of the pot and set it aside. Add vegetables to the pot with all the cooking broth remaining in the pot and cook as instructed, for about 8 minutes.
- Storing: Make sure to cool the pot roast completely to room temperature before storing. Store it in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it will last 3-4 days. Always use a clean ladle to scoop out individual portions to extend the shelf life.
- Freezing: To freeze the pot roast, cool it completely to room temperature. Transfer the pot roast with gravy and veggies into an air-tight freezer storage container or portion it into individual portions. Get as much air out as you can, label, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw slowly, in the refrigerator overnight, for up to 24 hours.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in January, 2020.
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Categories:
Beef Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Instant Pot Main Dishes, Instant Pot Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Delicious Recipe! Made it in my instant pot. I was short on time so I chose this method. It turned out perfect! Fall apart Roast and Veggies were tender and it was very flavorful.
I’m so glad you loved it! The Instant Pot is such a lifesaver when you’re short on time, and I’m thrilled to hear everything turned out perfectly. Thanks for sharing your experience! 😊
Love this recipe! So many flavors.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🥰
This looks so delicious. I’m going to make it this weekend. I have a 2 lb pot roast and want to know if I still cook it for 70-75 minutes in the insta-pot ?
Me and my family love this recipe!!!! There’s nothing that needs changed and ANY time my family is craving pot roast this is the come to recipe!! Thank you so much!
I am so glad you and your family like it, Ashley!
What about in a slow cooker?
Hi Patti,
I am so sorry I am just now seeing your question. If you look towards the bottom of the post I go over how to cook this in the slow cooker.
This is an excellent pot roast. I adapted it a little according to what I had and our tastes. I used about 4 oz. Of tomato sauce instead of paste., only 14.5 oz can beef broth and two packets of brown gravy mix. I used just a little over 1/4 cup of red wine.
I am glad you liked it, Nancy!
Absolutely the best recipe!! I’ve made it twice in two weeks. Doubled the broth recipe for extra potatoes and veggies. It was perfect! Definitely not going to lose this recipe. Thank you so much!
I am so glad you liked it, Margo! 🙂
I made a rookie mistake! I used red wine vinegar! It was too tangy. As I was pouring it into the measuring cup I thought to myself. “I better double check the recipe, this seems like a lot” It didn’t occur to me until after my family was like ewe. I know this will be a great recipe. Once I used the right ingredients. For next time, what wine do you like to use?
Oh no! I hate that it was ruined! You can use whatever wine you like to drink, I use all kinds. But last time was a Chateau Ste Michelle and it was good.
New favorite!! Followed directions exactly and it was perfect! I am not usually a fan of pot roast, but absolutely loved this recipe!
Awesome! I am so happy you liked it!
Six stars! My husband had some dental surgery and is on a really soft food diet. To that end, I made everything exactly as the recipe says. I did use better than bouillon beef base in water instead of broth simply because I don’t have beef broth. Everything else was identical. Our piece of chuck was 2#. We are only three so it doesn’t make sense to get a bigger roast. I did put in the recipe amount of veg and probably more potatoes only because I knew they’d be really soft when it was all done and I knew my husband could eat them easily. So…I rubbed the chuck with Paula Deen’s house seasoning and then seared it. I used a good pour of my red wine (100 Prisoners table red – quite dry) and deglazed. I made the broth using the full amount of wine since mine had basically cooked away. I put the chuck on a plate and heated the broth. I did put the chuck on the rack in the instant pot only because if one more thing comes up as “burn” I’ll freak! :-). I cooked it on high pressure for 50 minutes. I let it natural release then quick release after 10 minutes. I put the veg in and set it for 20 minutes. Everything came out perfectly!!!! The meat shredded and was amazing. The veg were soft. I used corn starch to make a nice, thick gravy and poured it in the meat to keep it moist once I cut and plated it. I put extra gravy in a measuring cup and fished it up. Needless to say, even my husband who was incredibly pessimistic that the meat would be soft enough went back for seconds. So did my son. Fortunately, I grabbed my pot roast before they got around for their seconds!!! It was delicious. Thank you so much for such a fabulous dinner. It’s the first meal since my husband’s surgery that made his tummy happy!
I loved reading this so thank you for sharing! I am so glad everyone liked it and I hope your husband feels better real soon!
Was fantastic! Made very tender meat didnt have wine so subituted for acv. Very healthy and hearty meal. Thank you so much!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
Just made it tonight 1st time. ..2 1/2 lbs. My hubby, a fussy eater, liked it. May reduce seasoning slightly. Had veggies in 6 minutes…next time 7-8. Will make again or cook with roast ( was afraid they would be too mushy for entire cooking time).
Recipe is a keeper.
This was delicious! My chuck roast was only 2.59 lbs and I took the advice of another reviewer and cooked for 55 minutes. I also threw in the carrots, celery and onion with the meat. I served over mashed potatoes instead of whole potatoes. My family loved it!
I am so pleased you liked it, Kristen! Thanks for stopping by!
Made this with a venison shoulder. It was the best I have ever had. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh wow! Glad you liked it, Hollie! Thanks for stopping by!
Made this for our Passover meal and it was a hit. My husband has asked to make this part of our menu, at least once a month. Loved the flavor. Thank you for an easy to follow recipe. Very tasty!
Thank you, Alma! I love hearing that! Thanks for stopping by to let me know.
AMAZING! Hands down the best roast I have ever had. My family loved it and are asking for it next week again! So much flavor and the veggies were perfect.
Wow! Thanks, Tiffany! I am so glad you and your family loved it! Thanks for stopping by to tell me!
Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Can I use top round meat cut?
This recipe is awesome. I made it two weeks ago, and am making it again tonight. I love and make pot roast all the time, but this is the best.
Awe thank you, Janet! So kind of you to stop by and tell me! 🙂
Hi Jennifer,
I am so happy you liked it! Yes, you can absolutely make this in a slow cooker. If you scroll up I have given instructions on exactly how to make it in the slow cooker!
My husband LOVED this!! Are you able to also do it in Crock-Pot/slow cooker? I work a later day shift and get home at dinner time and would love to set and forget!
Absolutely amazing recipe! I’ve tried so many pot roast recipes and this one is by far our favorite. Hubby wants it every day!
Wow! Thank you, Kelsey, for the sweet complement! I am so glad you liked it!
Too peppery and the vegetables were hard. Even cooked them for another 8 minutes and still hard. Next time I will steam them first.
This had a real good flavor. I loved the suggestion to put the veggies in foil on top of the meat. I had an extra sweet potato so I made a sweet potato pouch too.
My roast was 2 and a half pounds. The recipe said 3-4 or pounds of chuck steak. It said 60 minutes, and I dropped it down to 45 the veggies were pretty over cooked. Next time I will drop it down for 30 minutes. Its easier to see it needs a few more minutes, and start it back up again, then over cook vegetables until they are soft enough to be baby food.
I will give this recipe another try – and cook it a short amount of time.
oops it looks like I left feedback on the wrong recipe. I think next time I will try this one instead of the one I used.
Tried many a recipes hands down the best recipe for pot roast
Thank you, Karolyn!
I am always up for an awesome potroast. I tweaked it a little. I did add the merlot as I always do, I added a large can of tomato sauce instead of paste , cut out the Worcestershire sauce and instead substituted Better Than Bouillon Base, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley along with the thyme and Bay leaf. I had fresh rosemary from my garden, and added 1/2 teas chopped fine. I used pearl onions instead of a large onion. Out of this world pot roast, so flavorful. I cut potatoes out of the pot, and instead made oven gold mashed potatoes and l poured the pot roast over the top. Amazing!! Did I just change your recipe?? nope… yours is awesome as is. I just tweaked it to my liking!. Thanks for the inspiration of deliciousness!!
Awesome, you were able to make it your own. I am glad you liked it.
Made this and it turned out SO AMAZING. The directions were so easy to follow. My family wants me to make it for Christmas Eve dinner. So excited!
Wow! Awesome! I am so glad you liked it!
What type of wine do you recommend ?
I like to use a dry red wine like a merlot or a cab, not a sweet wine.
Came out great thanks, wanted a good old fashioned pot roast in the Instant Pot. No soup mix, jarred gravy etc. Thanks!
You are so welcome, Amalia! I am glad you liked it!
For the nutritional facts is that for one serving? Or for the entire pot? How many grams is that
It was oddly sweet for using a dry wine. I will definitely not use a wine next time. And the veggies were not cooked all the way, or hardly at all, though I cooked for 10 minutes…. the meat was very tender and fell apart as I tired to take it out of the pot, hence the 4 start vs 3 (as I was debating). Though I was honestly disappointed in this meal. But next time I know NO wine. And at least 15 minutes on the veggies if not longer — the potatoes and even carrots were still partially raw.
Hi Sara,
You can definitely not use wine it is a personal preference, you can just use extra beef stock. As for the veggies I am very surprised they didn’t cook through because the pressure cooker cooks very fast, possibly the potatoes were too large did you use baby gold potatoes like the recipe stated? If you use bigger potatoes you can adjust the time accordingly.
Try a Merlot, much better! I found the same thing for the veggies 15-20 minutes.
I used your recipe to make Instant Pot pot roast and it was amazing. The meat was so moist and the vegetables cooked so fast and were tender. Thank you so much,. My husband told me I could make it every week, he loved it that much!
Awe, Thanks Susan! 😀