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!
I am confused about the flour…. it is mentioned in the ingredients, but no instructions on when to add it. It is very vague when you said “add the gravy ingredients” … is that when the flour was supposed to be added? Into the crock pot? Or as part of the spices to brown the meat? Or into the gravy afterwards with the corn starch? I’m having to add it last because I didn’t see the step. I hope it works!
Hi Lena!
-Step 1 indicates when to add the flour: “Pat roast completely dry. Combine seasoning ingredients and massage it onto all sides of the roast, followed by the flour.”
-As for the gravy ingredients, those have their own section in the ingredient list, (There is a header that says “Gravy” and everything below that header is part of the gravy mixture.)
-Are you using a 3rd party to view this recipe? If so, that could be the cause of some of this confusion as 3rd party apps can cut things off or compromise the instructions/ingredients.
At this point you can just skip the flour, it just adds texture to the outside of the meat and creates a barrier between the meat and the pan so that it’s less likely to stick to the pan when you sear it.
Can this be cooked in the oven too? Is so, how long? I onlyhave 2 1/2 pound chuck roast. Thanks!
Hi Chauntelle, You can cover and bake it at 225 degrees for 7 hours.
My family loved it! Didn’t do the gravy portion but they enjoyed it like a hearty soup. Thank you!
I’m so happy the family loved it Cindy!❤️ Thanks so much for the great review!
Is itbokay to use a smaller piece of meat? It us for the two of us and all the other cuts were nearly 6lbs
Hi Cindy, you can, that’s fine!
This was such a delicious meal. It’s all gone and apparently, I’m making more next week. This was my first time ever to make a Pot Roast, so a BIG Thank you is in order here for sharing your recipe with us.
sounds like you nailed it Mary, great job!👏 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
this was so easy to put together
Thanks Paula! I love how easy the crock pot is, and I think it’s definitely the best way to do pork!😃
I made this with a 3.5 lb chuckroast for Christmas eve. Used my ninja slow cooker. Did not put any veggies in with roast though. Slow cooked for 8.5 hours. Meat was so tasty and tender. Gravy was amazing. I am making another one tomorrow. Thankyou for the wonderful recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the pot roast Diane! Such a great holiday dinner. Sounds like you nailed it. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!❤️
I have a 4 qt slow cooker, how can I adjust this (if needed) to fit my slow cooker better?
Hi Elly, does it not fit in your 4 quart? You may to use less potatoes or leave those out and only cook the roast but It sounds like you’re not sure if that’s an issue or not. I haven’t tested it in a 4 quart myself.
I’m just getting ready to go to the store to buy my groceries but I’m worried it won’t fit! I’ll give it a try 🙏🏼 thank you for such a prompt reply
You’re welcome, I hope you love it!!!
Your directions say 8 to 10 hours on low. I have a 4 pound roast. Should I plan on 10 hours since it is larger?
Yes, I would do 9 or 10.
Would like to do make ahead suggestion. Worried about letting it sit in all that liquid overnight. Does it change the texture of the potroast compared to doing it right before cooking?
Add the pot roast overnight is fine, just wait on adding the veggies 😉