Slow cooker pot roast is pull apart tender beef chuck roast slow cooked with potatoes, carrots and mushrooms and served with a delicious red wine gravy.
Classic Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Pot roast is a classic recipe that everyone needs in their recipe box...or on a Pinterest board (comment below if you still print recipes). If you want to get straight to the recipe, click here. If you want a few pointers, if you're a pot roast newbie, here's a few tips before you get started.
Why do you need to pan sear?
Pan searing the roast, will not only give you that crisp browned outside, but you'll also lock in all the delicious tenderness of the meat. Get your oiled skillet nice and hot and cook the meat 3 minutes on all sides. You'll end up with a beautiful golden brown on the outside.
What Is The Best Meat For Pot Roast?
Of all the cuts of meat I have tried to use in the recipe, boneless chuck roast always ends up the most flavorful has the best texture. If you want other options or to read more in detail, check out this article from
Red Wine Sauce
Slow Cooker Pot Roast is all about the gravy...or the sauce that becomes the gravy. Onions, garlic, red wine, beef broth and a touch of tomato combine to make a thick, rich sauce that will get soaked up by all the veggies and meat in the crockpot. The consistency will be similar to ketchup, but it will thin out with the drippings of all the other ingredients.
What's the Best Wine to Use?
Any dry wine will work just fine. You definitely don't want it too sweet. I used a cabernet and it was perfect. It's also the wine I like to drink while I cook dinner, so it really works out for me.
Tips for Making the Gravy
It's super simple, but you have to be patient. The gravy is simply a reduction of the sauce and all the dripping from the meat and vegetables after cooking in the crockpot all day.
Once you remove all the meat and vegetables, you'll run the liquid through a mesh sieve to strain out any solids. The remaining liquid just simmers on low heat for about 15 minutes or until it reduces volume by about half. That's your pot roast gravy. Easy and
How to Make it Ahead
I know this isn't a "dump and go" crockpot recipe like we all love to throw in on a busy Monday morning. However...the extra stovetop work is not only worth it, but you can do it all the night before:
- Arrange the veggies in the bottom of the crock pot container.
- Brown the meat and make the sauce as instructed
- Once the meat has cooled to room temp, place it over the veggies and put the lid on the container.
- Pour the sauce in an airtight container
- Refrigerate both containers overnight (I wouldn't go past the 24 hour mark)
- In the morning, just pour the sauce over the top and arrange the bay leaf and thyme around the meat and turn the slow cooker on high.
More Weeknight Recipes
📖 Recipe
Red Wine Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1 (3-4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
- Kosher salt and course ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion (roughly chopped)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¾ cup dry red wine
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 14-16 ounces whole white mushrooms
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Season the beef with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper, adjusting for your taste preference and the size of the meat.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the beef to the skillet and brown all sides for about 3 minutes per side.Once all sides of the meat are browned, remove from the head and set aside.
- With the same skillet on medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onions. Cook over medium heat until translucent (about 4 minutes).
- Reduce the heat to low and sprinkle flour over the onions and stir to coat. Slowly pour in red wine to deglaze the pan.Scrape any leftover brown bits from the sides of the pan. Add stock, tomato paste, and garlic, whisk until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Arrange the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onion, thyme and bay leaf into a 6-qt slow cooker. Pour the broth mixture over the veggies and then top with beef. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours on high, or until meat is fork-tender.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms from the slow cooker. On a seperate plate or cutting board, use two forks to tear the beef into smaller pieces and discard any extra fat. Cover with aluminum foil.
- Strain the rest of the juices through a mesh sieve into a 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Throw away the solids left in the sieve. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Continute to simmer and stir occassionally until it reduces to about half of its original volume, around 15 minutes.
- Serve the beef and veggies together and pour 2-3 tablespoons go the sauce over the top and enjoy!
MAKE AHEAD:
- Arrange the veggies in the bottom of the crockpot container. Brown the meat and make the sauce as instructed. Once the meat has cooled to room temp, place it over the veggies and put the lid on the container. Pour the sauce in an airtight container and refrigerate both containers overnight (I wouldn't go past the 24-hour mark). In the morning, just pour the sauce over the top and arrange the bay leaf and thyme around the meat and turn the slow cooker on high.
Nutrition
RECIPE EQUIPMENT
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