Sunday Pot Roast
This is the pot roast that makes the whole house smell like Sunday. You brown the roast, pile everything in the crock, and come back eight hours later to a full dinner — meat, vegetables and gravy all in one pot.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 20 min
- Yield: 6 people 1x
- Category: Beef
- Method: Slow cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 to 4 pounds)
- 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into thick wedges
- 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, halved
- 4 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Pat the roast dry and season it all over with the salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the roast about 4 minutes per side, until it has a deep crust. This step is worth the extra pan.
- Put the onion, potatoes and carrots in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Set the browned roast on top.
- Whisk the beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and garlic together, then pour it over the roast. Tuck in the thyme.
- Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours (or High for 5 hours), until the roast pulls apart easily with a fork.
- Move the roast and vegetables to a platter and cover with foil. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the liquid in the crock, set to High, and cook uncovered 10 to 15 minutes until the gravy thickens.
- Slice or shred the beef and spoon the gravy over everything.
Notes
No time to brown the roast? Skip it. The pot roast will still be tender — just add an extra tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce for depth.