Sunday Pot Roast
Comfort Food · 6 Servings · About 3.5 Hours
Pot roast is the original set-it-and-forget-it dinner. A cheap, tough chuck roast goes into a Dutch oven with wine, broth, and aromatics, and three hours later it falls apart at the touch of a fork. The braising liquid reduces into a rich, silky sauce that coats everything. The vegetables cook right in the same pot, absorbing all that beefy flavor.
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb boneless chuck roast
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 lb baby potatoes, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine (Cabernet or Merlot)
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Pat the chuck roast completely dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Sear the roast: Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until it shimmers. Sear the roast until deeply browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Build the base: Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and carrots, cook 5 minutes until starting to color. Add garlic and tomato paste, stir for 1 minute until the paste darkens slightly.
- Deglaze: Pour in the red wine, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom. Let it reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
- Add broth and herbs: Pour in beef broth. Add rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. Return the roast to the pot — the liquid should come about halfway up the meat.
- Braise: Cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2.5 hours without peeking.
- Add potatoes: Tuck halved potatoes around the roast, cover again, and cook 30 more minutes until potatoes are tender and the meat shreds easily.
- Serve: Discard herb stems and bay leaves. Slice or shred the meat and serve with vegetables, spooning the pan juices generously over everything.
Pro Tips
- Don't skip the sear. That deep brown crust on the meat creates hundreds of flavor compounds through the Maillard reaction that end up in your sauce.
- If you don't have red wine, use extra beef broth plus a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
- Low and slow is the rule. At 325°F, the collagen in the chuck slowly converts to gelatin, which is what makes the meat tender and the sauce silky.
- Leftovers make incredible sandwiches — pile shredded pot roast on crusty bread with the reduced pan juices for dipping.
Variations
- Slow cooker: Sear the meat on the stovetop, then transfer everything to a slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours or high 5 hours.
- Mississippi pot roast: Skip the wine and tomato paste. Instead, add a packet of ranch seasoning, a packet of au jus mix, a stick of butter, and pepperoncini peppers.
- Beer-braised: Replace the wine with a dark beer like a stout or porter for a maltier, richer flavor.
- Italian pot roast: Add a can of crushed tomatoes, swap rosemary and thyme for oregano and basil, and serve over polenta.
Nutrition
Per serving (with vegetables and sauce):