Steakhouse-Style Baked Pot Roast
🥩🎉 An EASY recipe for fork-tender baked pot roast OR you can make it in your slow cooker! This boneless beef chuck roast is slowly braised to perfection along with carrots, onions, and fresh herbs which add so much FLAVOR that it rivals any steakhouse! The pan drippings are great to create a rich gravy that'll coat every scrumptious bite of tender meat!
Servings: 6
Calories: 660cal
Equipment
- 1 5-quart braising pan (or similar sized Dutch oven or stove-to-oven-safe pan) OR
Ingredients
Pot Roast
- 3 ½ to 4- pound beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion halved and sliced into 1/4-inch wide strips
- 4 whole carrots peeled and chopped into 2-inch segment
- 1 ½ cups beef broth I use reduced sodium
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried thyme may be substituted by sprinkling it over everything
Gravy, optional
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled, plus more for serving/garnishing if desired (I recommend blue cheese from a block of cheese, not "blue cheese crumbles", see the FAQs about the types and intensities of blue cheese)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- Fresh chopped parsley optional and as desired for garnishing
Instructions
- Pot Roast
- Oven Baking: Preheat oven to 325F.
- Evenly season the chuck roast with kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder on all sides.
- To a 5-quart braising pan (or similar sized Dutch oven, or high sided pan that's safe to use from stove to oven), add the roast and sear the roast on all sides over medium-high heat, about 4-5 minutes per side, or as necessary to brown it. Tip - Don't skip the searing step because this will really help add flavor and lock in the natural juices.
- Turn off the heat, add the onions and carrots around the sides of the roast. Then evenly drizzle everything with olive oil, add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and evenly place the thyme sprigs around the pan. Cover with a lid and bake for 3 hours.
- Slow Cooking: Everything is the same in that you will season the meat, sear it, but then transfer it to the slow cooker insert, scatter the carrots and onions around it, drizzle with olive oil, add the broth and Worcestershire, place the lid on top, and slow cook for about 4 to 6 hours on HIGH. Or about 6 to 8 hours on LOW. Slow Cooking Tip - If you are going to cook on low, I would wait to add the carrots and onions when there is ~4 hours left to prevent them from turning into mush.
- Both Baking and Slow Cooking: Pot roast is done when the internal temp is between 195-200F. I strongly recommend checking with a digital read thermometer and do not guess. Cooking times listed for either baking or slow cooking are approximate. Your roast could be done faster or slower than indicated based on the size, your cooking pot, your oven or slow cooker's intensity or lack thereof, etc. Always cook until done, whatever that means for you. Remove the roast, carrots, and onions from the pot or slow cooker, and allow the meat to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Discard thyme sprigs.
- Blue Cheese Gravy, optional: Remove the roast and vegetables from your Dutch oven (if you're doing this in a slow cooker same - remove everything and let it rest, then transfer the cooking juices into a saute pan) and place the pot with the cooking liquid on the stove. Whisk in minced garlic, blue cheese, and heavy cream. Cook for 7-10 minutes over medium heat, or until sauce has thickened; whisk very frequently like you would when making any gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired. If you want a thicker gravy, a quick cornstarch slurry will do the trick. Simply whisk together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch + 2 tablespoons of water. Then whisk the slurry into the gravy after the blue cheese has melted. It will thicken within a couple of minutes. See Notes below for other gravy recipes.
- Serve the pot roast, with or without gravy, along with the vegetables and your favorite sides (links for various potatoes and veggies sides are in the blog post).
Notes
Nutrition Stats: Calculated with the blue cheese and heavy cream gravy. If you omit or make another gravy, this meal will become lighter.
Other Gravy Recipes: You can skip making the blue cheese gravy entirely. Or you can replace it with Mushroom Gravy, Sausage Gravy, or this easy Gravy Using Store Bought Broth. Or simply spoon the pan juices over your pot roast without doctoring them up at all.
Storage: Leftover pot roast and vegetables will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave, or as desired. Store any gravy separately. Always take care when reheating gravy, and especially a dairy-based one if you make the blue cheese gravy. I do not recommend freezing gravy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 660cal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 213mg | Sodium: 1026mg | Potassium: 1161mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7273IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 6mg
