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!
Try These Next
Get My Free Meal Plan
I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my super popular recipes (complete with grocery list)! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
And follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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!
Just made this for dinner and it was amazing!! My family doesn’t usually like pot roast but they all loved it. I am so excited to now have a yummy cozy winter pot roast recipe that is crazy easy on a busy school night.
I’m so happy your family now has a pot roast they love Megan! My family was the same for a while and they love this one. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and review!💕
How are two pounds of potatoes, two pounds of carrots and a big roast supposed to fit in the crock pot? I tried and it’s so full I’m worried it won’t cook fully or evenly
Hi Sabrina, as you can see from my process shots, they fit just fine in a 6 quart crock pot! It’s okay if yours is on the full side, it will cook, as long as you leave the lid on throughout the duration of cooking. 😊
Just got a crock pot a month ago and I’ve made this recipe 3/4 Sundays in that month! My boyfriend LOVES it and before this, we never ate roast because he wasn’t a fan. This recipe has been life saving as I have always loved roasts 😅
Wahooo! I’m so happy you’re having cozy Sundays making this roast Brittany. Crock pot recipes really are the best, so comforting. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💗
Trying this now!
Stay tuned!
Great, hope you love it Craig! I’m actually making it now too, LOL.
Yummy, 2nd time making this! So easy yet do delicious ! Thank you for sharing !
You’re very welcome Karen! I’m so happy you’re enjoying this one, thanks so much for the great review!❤️
I’m thinking about making this for the 4 male inmates who work at our company next week. Does this 4lb roast really feed 8?
Hi Kurt! This basically assumes 1/2 pound of meat per person. If you’re worried, you can bump that up!
Kurt – this is a perfect recipe to make for the men that work for your company. I only had a 2 pound pot roast and my family (2 adults, 1 pre-teen boy, 1 kid) ate all the meat because it was so delicious! If these inmates are not used to having regular amazing home cooking you might want to up the meat because I have a feeling they will want extra!!
Delicious !!!! I have made this a few times … for those of us living alone, I suggest buying a chuck roast; chopping it into sizes that would make 2 meals so I got 3 chunks out of my roast! Cook it up as per recipe (the seasonings are perfecto ) !! so I’m getting 6 meals out of my roast .. I call that economic !!!!! I tried freezing the cooked roast but not a fan so I started doing it this way .. leftovers for one meal !!!
Definitely a great economic way to do this Wendy, nice work and thanks for sharing! Thanks for taking the time to comment and leave a review!😀
Hi. Not sure if I missed it somewhere but how many will this serve? Thanks
Never mind. Sorry, I just saw it. Thanks anyway
Hi Lisa, this serves 8. I have the number of serving in the recipe card towards the bottom of the post 💗
I’ve made this three times now. We’ve both made many different pot roast but my husband and I agree this is the best pot roast.
I’m so happy you and your husband think this roast is the best! Yayyyy! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Renie!❤️
Just put this in my crock pot. Tree-trimming party and pot roast dinner tonight!! Question: What is “seasoning sauce” that I could add to my gravy at the end? Thanks!
Hi Carole! A few options are Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce or Gravy Master! It’s not necessary though! 🙂
Second Sunday in a row!
Husband and kids love it.
Used leftovers on hoagie rolls with melted Swiss and banana peppers. Gravy used to dip. So good!
My husband loves banana peppers, they add so much flavor! I’m so happy the hubby and kids are enjoying this Brandi, thanks so much for the great comments and review!💗