This Crock Pot Roast recipe is easy to make with potatoes, carrots, and thick and flavorful gravy. The meat is moist and full of flavor, your family will love this home cooked meal!
Be sure to serve this with my Buttermilk Biscuits or Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls.
If you’re looking for the best Crock Pot Roast recipe, (with a ton of flavorful brown gravy), you’ve come to the right place!
I love that this is a complete meal all in one pot. You can do the prep work a day ahead of time, then set it and forget it.
Don’t be alarmed by the number of ingredients. They’re all super simple and really make the difference in this meal- the flavor is like no other.
Best Cuts of Meat for Pot Roast
Below are the 3 best options for making pot roast. Try to find one that has nice even marbling throughout the meat.
- Chuck Roasts (the best option)
- Rump Roasts (2nd best)
- Bottom Rounds (3rd best)
How to Make Crock Pot Roast
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Pat the roast dry and rub with seasoning, then with flour. Sear in a skillet for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Combine gravy ingredients and add them to the Crock Pot along with the roast, potatoes, and carrots.
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6.
- Remove roast and vegetables and tent with foil. Bring gravy to a boil and add cornstarch + water mixture to thicken it. Reduce to a simmer and swirl in cold butter. Serve.
How to Make Brown Gravy More Flavorful
The following ingredients add depth of flavor to brown gravy, but they also help achieve a rich dark brown color.
- Beef and Chicken Broth: I like to use a combination of both for a greater depth of flavor.
- Soy Sauce: You can’t taste it, but the soy sauce enhances the other flavors and adds umami.
- Worcestershire Sauce: A great alternative to soy sauce.
- Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce: I like to add a few drops of for a hint of a darker brown color. You can find it in the aisle where they sell gravy packets.
- Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and extra 1 bouillon.
- Optional additions: Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage.
- Cold Butter: Swirl 1-2 Tablespoons cold butter into gravy at the end of cooking. This is a technique called “Monter au Beurre” which adds a smooth, velvety finish to gravies and sauces.
Make-Ahead Method
- Combine gravy ingredients ahead of time.
- Prepare carrots and wash/dry the potatoes, but don’t cut the potatoes until ready to cook.
- Sear the meat just before cooking or skip that step and place unseared meat in the crock pot with the gravy and carrots.
- Refrigerate for up to 1 day, then cooked as outlined, but add 30 minutes to cooking time since you’re starting from a cold state.
Pro Tips
- Celery, sliced yellow onions, smashed garlic, and fresh rosemary/thyme make great additions to this meal as well.
- Searing the Roast isn’t completely necessary but it adds a nice color, texture, and element of flavor. Even when I’m in a rush, I go for the sear. It’s worth it!
- Don’t open the lid of the Crock Pot during cooking, you lose a lot of heat and about 30 minutes of cooking time.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 89!
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Stovetop Safe Crock Pot
- Rubbermaid Containers with lids– I always use these to combine my corn starch + cold water.
- Instant Read Meat Thermometer -Internal Temperature of the roast should be 145° prior to serving.
- Fat Separator -with strainer on the top and a bottom release. Any fat in the gravy rises to the top and you can dispense just the gravy into the gravy boat and leave out the fat.
- Gravy Boat– I have/love this one. It has a candle on the bottom to keep it warm!
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Crock Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb. Chuck Roast, see notes for other cut options
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Meat Seasoning:
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon EACH: salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Gravy:
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 beef bouillon cube, or 1 tsp better than bouillon
- 1 ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce, can sub Worcestershire
Sides:
- 2 ¼ lbs. baby potatoes, see notes
- 2 lbs. whole carrots, cut into halves or thirds.
For the End:
- 3 tablespoons corn starch + 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2-3 drops Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce, optional: gives it a darker color
- 1 Tablespoon cold unsalted butter
Instructions
- Pat roast completely dry. Combine seasoning ingredients and massage it onto all sides of the roast, followed by the flour.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shiny and heated, add the roast and sear on each side for 2-3 minutes, until a brown crust has developed. Decrease heat slightly if needed during cooking. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Whisk together the gravy ingredients and add some of it to the skillet that you used to sear the roast. Use a silicone spatula to "clean" the bottom and sides of the skillet, this will give the gravy more flavor. Transfer it to the slow cooker along with the remaining gravy mixture, followed by the pot roast and any juices from the plate.
- Cut the potatoes in half or thirds of equal size. (If 1-2 inch potatoes, you can leave them whole.)
- Peel the carrots and slice them into halves or thirds. Very thick carrots can also be sliced in half lengthwise.
- Arrange the potatoes around the roast and top with carrots. Place the lid securely on top and resist the temptation to open it during cooking as you’ll lose a lot of heat.
- Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.
- Carefully remove the carrots, potatoes, and the roast and set on a serving platter. Tent with foil.
Prepare the Gravy
- Use oven mitts to lift the crock and transfer the juices to a saucepan, OR, if the crock is stovetop safe, you can place the crock right on the stovetop.
- Bring the juices to a boil. Whisk together the corn starch with cold water until completely combined. Gradually add it to the gravy and whisk continuously to incorporate.
- Decrease heat to low and simmer until ready to serve. It will continue to thicken. Add a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce if a darker color is preferred. Swirl in 1 tbsp. cold butter prior to serving.
- Season carrots/potatoes with salt and pepper if desired and serve!
Notes
• Rump Roasts (2nd best)
• Bottom Rounds (3rd best)
Potatoes: I used 3-4 inch round white potatoes, cut in half. Red potatoes or sliced Yukon Gold potatoes make great options as well.
This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 89!
EASY and tasty! I use my crock pot for other things, but usually steer away from it for my roasts. I like to do those in the oven in an old fashioned roasting pan, but today I was going for something a little easier – so I gave this a whirl.
I was using up some crappy quality chunks of beef that I found in my freezer from forever ago. I added celery and onions. Gravy came out great, the meat fell apart, and the veggies were cooked perfectly. Made biscuits for the side. Yum, yum, yum. Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Don! I love being able to turn a cheap piece of meat in into a delicious meal. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review!❤️
My Nana was the best cook and often made pot roast for Sunday dinner. Since she passed away I’ve spent years trying to recreate her dishes through memory and similar recipes. This one is spot on! Thank you so much for sharing. When I tasted it it literally brought tears to my eyes. <3
Wow that’s so great to hear Amber! I love how food can bring you back like that. Thanks so much for sharing such a nice moment❤️❤️❤️
Try this one,it’s a delicious Sunday dinner with garlic mashed potatoes and a side salad
I am so happy that you enjoy this recipe Dianne, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
One of the easiest & tastiest pot roast recipes I’ve found! Amazing!
Yayyy! I’m so happy to hear that Laurel😁! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!
Amazing. Easy. Tasty. Through it together before work. The whole family loved it
That’s so great to hear Sam! I love the crock pot!❤️ Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
So so yummy and easy to make. First time making a pot roast and will definitely be making again. Thank you!!
I’m so happy you were victorious with your first ever pot roast Lauren! Great Work!😍 Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!
Loved it! Very tender meat, gravy was excellent.
Excellent!! I’m so happy to hear that Jeff, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I sooo appreciate it! -Stephanie
I’m so happy you love it Jeff!❤️ This is one of my favorite family meals. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
.Great recipe! I had to do the copycat rolls twice since I cooked them a little too long the first time. Thank you for sharing!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe Doug! It was a rainy day over here, I could go for this right now! Thank you for the review!! -Stephanie
As always Stephanie…everything I make from your recipes is always amazing!! Im telling you..Food Network is missing out. You need to be the next Food Network star. I love how you go step by step with your pictures so as we follow the recipe we can see if it looks like yours. Your recipes have lifted my spirits on my hardest day and they never disappoint. This Pot Roast was spot on and I followed your recipe to the “T”. Thank you for being so awesome at what you do!
Blessings
Donna
Hi Donna! I am SO happy to hear that you loved this Pot Roast!!! Your kinds words REALLY made my day, it is so nice to know that my recipes have helped you out, thank you SO much for taking the time to share these lovely thoughts. It means a LOT. Have a wonderful rest of your week! ❤️ -Stephanie
So delicious! The meat was so tender ( used a Rump Roast) and the vegetables were cooked to perfection. I’m making pot roast sandwiches for lunch this week with the leftovers!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it Jessica and the sandwiches sound like SUCH a great idea!! Especially if you have some leftover gravy to go along with it! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review!! -Stephanie