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I love to make a slow Sunday pot roast. It’s one of my favorite meals to make on a lazy weekend day at home but would you believe me if I told you it’s one of my favorite convenience meals to make too? You might not think of pot roast as your go-to convenience dinner but I’m about to change your whole world. With an instant pot (or any other electric pressure cooker), you can have tender, savory pot roast and all the veggies that go with it (gravy too!) in just over an hour. Dreams do come true.
You don’t need a specific weight of roast for this. Anywhere from three to five pounds works well (it has to fit in the instant pot, after all) and chuck roast works beautifully in the pressure cooker thanks to its nice marbling. The beauty of the instant pot is that you can sear your meat right in the pot, so start by heating up some olive oil with the “saute” function.
While it heats up, season the roast with a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper and then brown it on all sides. Have patience and really give it three to four minutes per side before turning it — you really want to develop a nice crust to give this maximum depth of flavor.
Once that meat is browned, change your pressure cooker setting to manual pressure cook and set it for 60 minutes if your roast is on the smaller side and 80 if it’s towards the higher end of the weight range. Add baby potatoes, garlic, onion, and carrot on top of the roast and then add some beef broth, Worcestershire, thyme and rosemary too.
Close that lid and come back when your instant pot beeps at you. Let the pressure release naturally for about ten minutes and then flip the valve to do a quick release and you can remove your meat and veggies. Why? Because we’ve got to make the gravy!
Set the instant pot to the “soup” setting and strain out any veggie and meat bits from the liquid in the pot. Make a simple cornstarch slurry and then whisk it into the liquid and let it come to a bubble and thicken up. It’s really as easy as that.
Then, of course, pour that gravy all over the meat and veggies. I’m partial to the potatoes myself.
I’ve made this more times than I can count before running out the door to take my kid to soccer or violin or gymnastics and it’s always the perfect meal to come home to. Still succulent, still fork tender, still full of slow cooked flavor. And for us, it makes enough for leftovers and they’re even better the next day!
Instant Pot Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1 3-5 lb beef chuck roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 lbs baby potatoes
- 4 large carrots, chopped into large pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Turn instant pot to "sauté". While pot heats up, in a small bowl, stir together garlic powder and onion powder with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Rub mixture all over roast.
- Add oil to pot. Once hot, add beef roast. (If needed, you can cut roast in half to fit in pot.) Let brown for 3-4 minutes without moving. Sear on all sides until brown, 3-4 minutes per side.
- Change instant pot setting to "pressure cook" on high and set to 60 minutes for a smaller roast and 80 minutes for a larger one.
- Add potatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots to pot.
- Pour beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and rosemary over the top. Cover with lid and lock in place. Turn vent to "sealing."
- Once cooking time is up, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then turn vent to "venting" and let steam release. Once pressure has dropped, remove lid.
- Transfer roast and vegetables to a plate or platter and slice meat or shred into large chunks.
- Set instant pot to "soup" setting. Strain any bits from broth. Whisk cornstarch into 2 tablespoons cold water, then whisk into broth in instant pot. Let thicken, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve gravy over roast and veggies and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Le Creme De La Crumb.