Pot Roast Sauce Slow Cooker

A classic meal with a few updates, this Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Gravy is easy to make and cooks with the gravy right in the pot for the perfect one-pot meal!

white plate with serving of pot roast, carrots, potatoes and gravy topped with parsley

For Instant Pot Pot Roast click here

There may be some people that turn their noses up at the though of pot roast, but I think it's just because they haven't had a really delicious, perfectly cooked pot roast. If every roast you've ever had was dried up and tough, then it's time to try my Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Gravy. It turns out fork-tender with tons of rich flavor and perfectly cooked carrots and potatoes for an all in one pot meal that the whole family will love. Serve it up with some biscuits and some salad for a Sunday quality family meal any night of the week.

Which roast is best for the slow cooker?

I love to use chuck roast. It a tougher cut of meat with more muscle but more flavor. It's great for slow cooking all day because it has just the right amount of fat but even more meat and will break down to become totally tender after a long day in the slow cooker.

In fact, this recipe is a great one for cooking all day, up to 10 hours. It's not done until it's fall apart tender.

Do you put water in a slow cooker to cook a roast?

It depends on your final goal for the recipe, but in this case, yes. We are submerging this roast in a broth and wine mixture which not only will help with making the meat super tender, but with the addition of just the right ingredients, will also thicken the broth to a gravy.

For this recipe, I used both cornstarch and tapioca pearls. I like the smoothness of a gravy thickened with tapioca but I also love the additional thickness of the cornstarch. Using both was the perfect combination for me, but feel free to use one or the other.

How do I keep the veggies from getting overcooked?

When leaving this for 8-10 hours to cook, one option would be the add the veggies later. But, since the idea of slow cooking is so that you can put it all in to cook and not worry until dinner time, I like another option instead.

I make sure I put large carrots and potatoes into the slow cooker, because they will take longer to cook. The bonus is that if you are using baby carrots and baby potatoes, you can throw them in whole with no extra chopping work!

Now, of course, the big question is always whether you should brown the meat first. I did this time, but I don't think it's critical. If this topic interests you, you can check out my experiment here. If you like to brown your meat but don't like washing an extra pan, I highly recommend this multi-cooker which let's you do everything all in one pot.

white plate with serving of pot roast, carrots, potatoes and gravy topped with parsley

Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Gravy

A classic meal with a few updates, this Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Gravy is easy to make and cooks with the gravy right in the pot for the perfect one-pot meal!

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 8 hrs

Total Time 8 hrs 15 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 5

Calories 547 kcal

2 pound chuck roast
1 tablespoon herb and garlic seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ sweet yellow onion cut into ½" pieces
2 cloves garlic
8 oz baby carrots
16 oz gold potatoes halved or quartered if large
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup red wine
3 cups beef broth
¼ cup tapioca pearls

Season roast with herb and garlic seasoning
Heat olive oil and butter over medium high heat in skillet or multi cooker
Brown roast on both sides and transfer to slow cooker along with onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes
Make a slurry of cornstarch by whisking until smooth with ¼ cup water
Whisk cornstarch slurry with all remaining ingredients and pour into slow cooker
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours until fork tender

I don't recommend cooking this recipe on high.

Red wine can be omitted or subbed for additional beef broth.

Browning roast before cooking is optional.

Calories: 547 kcal Carbohydrates: 34 g Protein: 40 g Fat: 26 g Saturated Fat: 11 g Cholesterol: 131 mg Sodium: 802 mg Potassium: 1334 mg Fiber: 5 g Sugar: 5 g Vitamin A: 6495 IU Vitamin C: 14.9 mg Calcium: 140 mg Iron: 9 mg

Important nutritional disclaimer

looking down into slow cooker full of pot roast, carrots, potatoes and gravy

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