This delicious seasoned beef pot roast with tender vegetables is slow cooked to perfection in your crock pot. You won’t believe just how easy it is to make!
This is a hearty and comforting dinner the whole family will love. The leftovers are even better the next day (if you’re lucky enough to have any!).
The arrival of cooler weather has me craving all things comfort food (hello there, GRAVY!). This tender beef chuck roast loaded with potatoes, carrots, celery and onion in a mouthwatering gravy tops my list of favorite comfort food dinners.
How to Make It
Generously season roast, then brown all sides of the beef roast in a large skillet. Browning isn’t technically necessary, but it’s definitely worth the little bit of extra effort to get the most flavor.
Place the vegetables in your slow cooker insert and pour in a mixture of beef broth, browning sauce and herbs. Place the browned roast over the veggies. Cover and let your crock pot do the rest!
What is Browning Sauce?
Browning sauce is a dark-colored sauce that adds depth of flavor (and color) to meats, soups and gravy. I like to use it my recipes if I can, but it’s not required in this dish (OR you can substitute Worcestershire sauce).
Here is a good article that explains browning sauce and what it is used for.
Once cooked, I transfer the beef and vegetables to a platter and add a simple cornstarch slurry to thicken the broth. This is an optional step but makes a thicker gravy.
Speaking of gravy, don’t forget the dinner rolls to enjoy with that deliciousness (who’s counting calories here, anyway?!). Enjoy!
More Slow Cooker Dinners You’ll Love
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 cups beef broth or stock low sodium
- 2 teaspoons browning sauce*
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 ½ to 3 pound boneless chuck roast
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large carrots peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion halved and thickly sliced (about 1 inch)
- 2 stalks celery cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes scrubbed, rinsed and cut into 1 ½ to 2 inch pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons corn starch**
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley optional garnish
Instructions
- Spray a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker insert with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk together beef broth, browning sauce, thyme and rosemary in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Combine salt, pepper and garlic powder in a small bowl. Season roast by rubbing it in all sides of roast.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown roast on all sides (about a minute on each side).
- Place carrots, onion, celery, potatoes and bay leaf in prepared slow cooker insert. Pour broth mixture over vegetables.
- Place browned roast on top of vegetables.
- Cover and cook on low heat (preferred) for 8 to 10 hours or on high heat for 5 to 6 hours, or until beef and vegetables are tender.
- Carefully transfer roast and vegetables to a serving platter. Remove and discard bay leaf.
- Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Pour into your slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until thickened.
- Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- *Browning sauce can be omitted or substitute with Worcestershire sauce.
- **Cornstarch slurry step can be omitted, but makes a thicker gravy.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
Originally published December 2016. Updated with new photographs, new text, recipe revised and republished September 2020.
Turned out really good, and was so easy. This will my new go to. Thank you for the recipe!
Sounds good. What would be wrong with using a pork roast instead of beef?
Hi Daniel! I haven’t tested this recipe using a pork roast so I can’t say with 100% certainty how it would turn out. Let me know if you try it!