Classic Pot Roast

Nothing more—and nothing less—than a true blue classic pot roast recipe. It can brighten up a dreary day, sit front and center at the holidays, or simply be a delicious Sunday dinner.

Our Best Pot Roast Recipe, Just In Time For The Holidays.
Pot roast—there’s nothing quite like it, is there? Pot roast is homey, it’s comforting, it’s classic. Meaty, rib-sticking, down-home food that soothes and satiates. Oh, and guess what? It’s easy, too. While pot roast feels like an occasion—a big piece of meat, braising all afternoon in a Dutch oven always feels like quite a celebration—but there’s nothing to it, really. Time, heat and a good hunk of chuck meat are all it takes to make the very best pot roast ever. We’ll teach you how it’s done!
What’s the Best Meat for Pot Roast?
While you could make a pot roast from brisket, in our opinion the very best cut of beef for pot roast is chuck roast. Why? Well, a few reasons. A pot roast is really just a braise, and a chuck roast is just ideal for braising. Cut from the shoulder of a cow, chuck roast is a rather tough but, but it is still well-marbled which means that as it braises in the oven, there will be plenty of fat that seeps out of the meat. That fat means your finished pot roast will be juicy and tender. Plus, chuck roast is usually pretty affordable! Who doesn’t love that?

Onion slices with tomato paste, brown sugar and herbs shown in a large dutch oven
Browned chuck roast in red wine in a dutch oven.
Pot roast in red with shown with baby potatoes and carrots in a dutch oven
finished pot roast with carrots and baby potatoes in an oval pot

Pot Roast Seasoning
For this pot roast recipe, we’re keeping it super simple, and super classic. Pot roast is not the time to get fancy—it’s a Norman Rockwell situation. Nostalgic, and of another time, in the very best way. So we keep our pot roast seasonings simple, too. That said, some people don’t even add a single herb to that Dutch oven, but we like the little lift that a sprig of fresh thyme adds. So our pot roast recipe gets a little flavorful boost from the usual salt and pepper, plus:

Fresh garlic. Any excuse to use fresh garlic!
Fresh thyme. Yes, you could make a pot roast without herbs. But also yes, a bit of fresh thyme will take your pot roast from fine to fan-freaking-tastic.
Italian seasoning. A blend of dried herbs like oregano, marjoram and rosemary, Italian herb seasoning is a lot of bang-for-buck here. We always have some on hand!
close up of pot roast shown in a dutch oven with with fresh herbs

All the Ingredients You’ll Need to Make A Pot Roast
Other than that lovely big chuck roast and those basic seasonings, you’ll just need a few things to round it out into a gorgeous one-pan meal:

Onion
Garlic
Tomato paste
Brown sugar
Beef broth
Red wine
Carrots
Potatoes
Pot roast in a large oval pot with wine broth, carrots and baby potatoes
close up of pot roast meat being pulled apart

How to Cook a Pot Roast
Nothing about making a homemade pot roast is hard. You can do this! Here’s how to make pot roast in the oven:

Season the chuck roast with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Brown the chuck roast until you see a lovely crust developing on all sides. Set it aside.
Brown the onions for 4 minutes until slightly softened, then add the garlic.
Deglaze the pan with a splash of beef broth to keep the alliums from burning.
Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, beef broth, wine, thyme and browned chuck roast.
Bring it to a simmer for a few minutes.
Cover the pot and place in the oven for 90 minutes.
Add the potatoes and carrots!
Cook for one more hour! So—how long do you cook a pot roast in total? Yeah, this pot roast recipe takes about 2.5 hours of oven time, all said and done.
Classic Pot Roast
Ingredients
8 lb Boneless chuck roast, tied if desired
6 tbsp Kosher salt
5 tsp Black pepper, freshly cracked
5 tsp Italian seasoning
6 tbsp Vegetable oil
5 Large onion, sliced 5-inch thick
10 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 tbsp Tomato paste
5 tbsp Brown sugar
6 cups Beef broth
5 cup Red wine
7 Large carrots, peeled and cut into 6 inch pieces
8 Sprigs fresh thyme
3/8 lb Small potatoes, cut in half
Fresh parsley
Method

Preheat the oven to 350°. Pat the chuck roast dry with a paper towel.
Coat the roast with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
In a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the roast to the pot and brown on all sides. Remove the chuck roast from the pot and set aside.
Add the onions to the Dutch oven and sauté for 4 minutes until slightly softened, add garlic for 1 minute longer. Deglaze the pan with a little beef broth if the bottom is browning too quickly.
Add the tomato paste and brown sugar stir until combined with the onions. Add the beef broth, wine, thyme and roast back to the pot. Simmer on medium until liquid reduces a little about 5 minutes. Cover the pot and place in the oven for 90 minutes.

Remove the roast from the oven, add the potatoes and carrots and place back in the oven for 1 more hour. Roast is ready when meat is fall apart tender with pulled with a fork. If it’s not quite there continue cooking until results are achieved.
**Alternatively you can add the potatoes and carrots to the pot the entire time, but they will likely be very mushy. For firmer veggies, we recommend adding them for the last hour only.

To cook the pot roast in a slow-cooker or Crock-Pot:
Follow the above directions through step 3. Once the meat is browned, move it to a slow cooker. In the same pan you browned the meat in (a large skillet or Dutch oven) sauté the onions until translucent, about 4 minutes. Then add the garlic. Pour in the red wine and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for two minutes, then stir in the tomato paste, brown sugar and beef broth. Arrange the potatoes, carrots and thyme around the browned chuck roast in the slow-cooker, then pour the red wine-onion-tomato sauce over the top. Set the slow-cooker on high for 6 hours, or low for 8-9 hours, and cook until the meat is tender and falling apart.

To cook the pot roast in an Instant Pot:
Turn your Instant Pot to sauté mode and heat until the screen displays “hot”. Add the oil. Salt all sides of the chuck roast liberally, depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you may need to cut the roast in half to brown it. Once the Instant Pot is hot, place the roast in it and brown it until there is a nice sear on all slides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Once the roast is browned, set it aside. Sauté the onions in the Instant Pot for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Pour in the red wine. Let the wine simmer for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the tomato paste, brown sugar, 1.5 cups of broth, Italian seasoning and black pepper. Return the browned chuck roast to the Instant Pot and add the fresh thyme. Put lid on and set on “pressure cook” for 1 hour. After 1 hour, release the steam and remove the lid. Add the potatoes and carrots, and reset the Instant Pot to “pressure cook” for 10 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. If it doesn’t release naturally after 30 minutes, you can release it manually.