Recently one of my loyal readers, Debbie, sent me a recipe she said I would absolutely love. It looked good on paper but I had no idea it was an absolute treasure that I will probably make more than 400 times over my lifetime.
I thawed a beef roast, fired up the slow cooker and gave it a shot (with some slight modifications). Over the course of the day, the smell in the house started to get really amazing! Finally, it was perfectly tender and I tried a forkful.
It. Was. Just. So. Good. The texture was perfect which I think can be hard to come by with slow cooked beef. The flavor was deliciously beefy, gently and carefully seasoned. I loved that there was plenty of sauce for gravy or to use as the base for a hearty beef stew. It was hands down the best pot roast I have ever made in any way shape or form. My mother, who hates any meat cooked in a slow cooker, would love this recipe!
Later that evening Jon got home from work and instantly appeared in the kitchen. He ended up standing at the slow cooker eating right at the counter and never made it to the table at all. Granted, we don’t stand on a lot of ceremony at our house but neither are we prone to eating our dinner standing up at the counter.
Debbie graciously said I could share the recipe with all of you and I’m very excited to do so. We made it several times and Jon said he would love to have it 1-2 times each month. The only other dinner he wants that often is corned beef! I hope you all enjoy it as much.
Thank you, Debbie, for sharing one of your families great dinners with me! We will always think of you when we are making it!
Summer Cooking: Hot weather is coming and when it does I don’t much care to keep the crock pot in the kitchen. I love to cook with it in the garage though! Wherever you put the pot, make sure to set a timer that will help you to keep track of. This one is new in our house and I love being able to have four different timers running on one gadget!
The Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes pictured with the beef are really wonderful. You can get the recipe here.
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3-5 pounds of beef roast any fatty cut such as chuck
- 2 cups water
- 2 packets of McCormick Brown Gravy Mix or 6 Tbsp. from the canister
- 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Mix or 3 Tbsp. from the canister
- 1 packet of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix
- 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour for gravy optional
Instructions
- Note on servings and meat selection: You need a fatty cut such as chuck. It should be well marbled and may have a fat cap or other larger pieces of fat. Your butcher can help you select one. With a fatty cut of meat like this that will be roasted and reduced I plan on about 1/2 pound per person (raw weight). If I want to serve six, I buy a 3 pound piece of beef. That being said, my husband came home starving one night and ate most of a 3 pound roast the first time I made it. I was rather surprised, even for him that is a large meal.
- Place meat in the bottom of a large crock pot. If there is fat cap on one side place it up so the fat can run down and baste the meat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together water, brown gravy mix, ranch mix, Italian dressing mix, and black pepper.
- Pour the mixture over the roast and turn the crock pot on low. for about 5-6 hours. The meat is done when it is no longer at all rubbery. It will be so tender that when you poke it with a fork chunks will just fall off.
- DISCLAIMER: Remember that all crock pots have different cooking times! I have a medium pot that I used for a 3 pound piece that took over 7 hours. In my larger crock pot I was done at 6 hours. If you don't check the meat every so often it can easily be overcooked and thus ruined. I suggest checking at two hours and then every hour or so after that. When the meat is close to being done it is best to check every 30 minutes.
- To make gravy: Measure two cups of the hot sauce out of the crock pot. Pour about 1/2 cup in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
- Whisk in the flour until no lumps remain. Gradually add in the rest of the two cups of hot sauce, whisking through each addition until it is all incorporated. Continue to whisk until the mixture is thickened. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust as needed. Serve with the roast.
Susan // the wimpy vegetarian
This looks perfect for my husband! He would absolutely love it. And I’m a fa of the McCormick Skillet Sauces, so I know I’d love their Brown Gravy Mix!
Mirlandra
It really is one of those classic “man” dinners you think of. I was surprised the first time I had the brown gravy mix as gravy. I thought that gravy had to be from scratch to be good but I actually like theirs a lot and it makes a great base for things like this.
The Food Hunter
this sounds really good…might try it this weekend.
Mirlandra
I hope you enjoy it!
Amanda Paa
i love recipes that have a story behind them, and so fun that this awesome pot roast came from your dear friend! nothing like a good plate of comfort food with little work.
Mirlandra
Yes, indeed!
Steph @ Steph in Thyme
Pot Roast was the first thing I learned how to cook as a kid. When my mom was on night shift at the hospital, I would come home from school and put together all the ingredients she laid out and follow the directions to cook it in the oven. She could’ve just put it in the slow cooker, would’ve been a lot easier LOL!
Mirlandra
I love that story! It is so great that she tried to make sure you had homemade food even with her schedule.
Sabrina Modelle
YES! Those dinners where you can’t help but hover over the slow cooker are the BEST.
This looks so fantastic; thanks for sharing, Mirlandra.
Mirlandra
Thank you, Sabrina!
Kim Honeycutt
Hi Mirlandra! I saw this on The Country Cook Weekend Potluck and had to pin it! Sounds delicious!
Mirlandra
Thanks, Kim! Jonathan and I can’t get enough of it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Tara
Making this recipe now….have you added potatoes to this? Wondering if it would be good
Mirlandra
I have not. I make mine on the side so that the meat can cook for the perfect amount of time. It might work well.
Don
Can you add veggies?
Mirlandra
You can. I don’t have the timing because I don’t do it that way. Remember that adding tomatoes can make the meat tougher and adding carrots will give everything a strong carrot flavor – a pro or con depending on what you like personally.
Rachel
I have put potatoes in it. It still tasted great. Turned out perfect. My families favorite roast!
Mirlandra
Yum! I’m so glad to hear your family has enjoyed it so much. Thank you for sharing!
Gabby
With all the “fixin’s” it sounds like it might be a little salty. Especially if you use a 3-pound roast as opposed to a 5-pound roast. Just wonderin’. Thanks.
Mirlandra
I have made it with several sizes of roasts and always added salt to the meat on my plate afterwords. Granted, I like food saltier than some people do. Salt is such a personal preference for people that I would have a hard time predicting if you personally would find it salty. If you are worried about it you might start with a larger roast and plan ahead on some leftovers. The leftovers do freeze well in the sauce or make an excellent beef stew! Happy cooking and Merry Christmas!
Emilie
Mirlandra, I wanted to thank you for this recipe. I was looking for a slow cooker pot roast recipe when I stumbled upon this recipe a few weeks ago. Up at 4.30am this Christmas morning and got it started. Amazing! Great flavor, easy and my family loved, loved, loved it! This will certainly be a future go-to meal for our family for many years to come. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Mirlandra
Emilie thank you for sharing! I’m so, so, so glad that your family enjoyed the meal. It is always wonderful to find an easy dinner that everybody looks forward to! We are having a baby next month and stocked the freezer with about five chunks of meat just so we could make this frequently! It is prefect with a newborn in the house. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Howie
This is the way pot-roast is supposed to be!!!
I’m 65, a consummate cook, and have eaten & made more than a few pot-roasts through the years.
The appearance, taste and texture of Mirlandra’s pot-roast were were absolutely perfect.
My only variation was to add a couple spoonfuls of kitchen bouquet about half way through.
Kudos…
Mirlandra
Wow! Thank you. That is quite the compliment.
Siobhan
Love love love this recipe. Had many roasts and this is by far the tastiest! Already made it a few times & made a huge mistake by not choosing a fatty chuck, that didn’t turn out too good! But with a good fatty roast it’s perfection. Even the gravy is perfect, so much flavor! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Mirlandra
Awe, thanks! I’m so glad it was a hit at your house.
HEATHER
I have made this once before and loved it! My mother is coming to visit for the weekend and she hadn’t been here in nearly a year so I’m trying to impress! Do you think I could add carrots and red potatoes like you would with a regular roast (cooking it all together) instead of the mashed potatoes on the side?
Mirlandra
I’m excited you get to spend time with your mom and I hope your meal goes well. The challenge with putting the veggies in with the meat is getting them done at the same time as the meat. One of the reasons this recipe works so well is that all you are trying to get done is the meat. There is no risk one will beat the other. You can try putting them all in together but I don’t have any suggested timing for you as to when to add them or check them. I’m afraid that might not be much help to you!
Jasmine
I filler this recipe exactly and it came out wonderfully! Definitely my go-to recipe for a roast!
Mirlandra
Thank you! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.
Deanna
Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe! It is now in regular rotation at our house! I let my three year old make the mix and pour it over the meat, he loves to tell everyone he made dinner!
Mirlandra
That is wonderful! Start them young and they will always be able to feed themselves. I love that you included him! It has been at least a month since we have had this. I think we might need to fix that!
Patty Langfitt
This recipe is fantastic. The first time I put potatoes and carrots in it. Turned out yummy. This time without veggies for dip sandwiches later. Thank you so much for sharing.
Mirlandra
You are welcome! I’m so glad it went so well for you.
Elaine
Thank you for this recipe!! I’ve always used lean cuts of beef for a roast and they were always TERRIBLE! Just couldn’t get them to fall apart. Your instructions are so helpful. We are headed to the beach with all the kids and grandkids and this will definitely be on the menu. Thanks again!!
Mirlandra
I am SO glad! I used to dread any beef in a slow cooker but this is now one of our favorites. Jon asks for it even in the summer.
Paige
I just made this recipe. I was afraid it would be too salty but it’s DELICIOUS.
Mirlandra
It does sound like a lot of salt for one meal and I was hesitant at first but it is just a big enough roast that the salt level is actually great. I feel like one of the harder things to do in cooking is to learn how to season food well with salt – enough and not too much!
Elaine
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE 2 CUPS OF WATER
Mirlandra
It gets whisked together with the other ingredients and poured over the meat. This creates the wonderful broth that the meat cooks in.
Ashley
My go-to recipe for my roasts.. n have been making more recently since finding 😉
Mirlandra
I’m so glad to hear that! We are having it for dinner tomorrow 🙂
Aileen
Hi Mirlandra,
I finally tried this recipe yesterday. I have used the various similar ones floating around on the internet but I have to say that your version is the best one! It’s a keeper recipe. As a young adult I used to cook roasts on the stovetop or oven with my own seasonings including making the gravy from scratch the way I learned from my German mother. I don’t know what she would think about me making a roast in this way if she were still here. Lol. The taste was perfect and the gravy so flavorful and good. And the color of it was very appetizing as well. I served it with mashed potatoes and green peas but next time I will try adding onions, potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker as my husband prefers roasts that way.
Question, do you drain any of the fat after it’s cooked? I skimmed some of it off the top with a spoon. I know it adds flavor so most of it was left in.
Thank you for sharing this!
Aileen
Mirlandra
Hi Aileen! Thank your for sharing! It is wonderful to hear that you enjoyed it so much! We continue to make this often as it is so popular at our house! I do sometimes drain some of the fat depending on how much is floating on top. Different pieces of meat render different amounts of fat. I like a modest bit of fat for flavor but not so much that the dish seems greasy. If you like, you can save the fat from this in the freezer and add a Tablespoon or two to a beef soup if the meat you are using is quite lean. I save all the hamburger fat that I drain and use it to add a bit of flavor to other dishes. My mom used to do it and I’m impressed with the difference it made in her food!