made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
Yield: 6 servings
Ready In: 2 hrs
I love using my instant pot to make easy dinners! This pot roast is one of my favorites. And best of all: Everything cooks hands-off in ONE SINGLE (instant) pot for extra easy prep and clean up. And my kids love the hearty comfort food – hooray for the pressure cooker!
Recommended Equipment:
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast (cut in 4 pieces)
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (optional and unconventional, but delicious)
- Black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 medium carrots (peeled and cut into fourths)
- 3 celery stalks (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1. pounds medium-small waxy potatoes (cut in half)
- 1-3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3-4 tablespoons cool water to make a slurry
Instructions
- Brown meat: Season beef roast with salt, garlic powder, dried rosemary, onion powder, dried thyme and pepper. Set instant pot to „sauté“ and add oil. Brown each piece of beef on all sides. Set aside on a plate.
- Start gravy: Add tomato paste to instant pot and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in beef broth, scratching any browned bits off the bottom (do this well, or you may trigger the "burn" warning later). Stir in Worcestershire sauce and check for seasoning.
- Pressure cook: Add the beef back to the instant pot, seal the lid and set the valve to „sealing“. Choose „manual“ or „pressure cook“ (wording depends on your model) and set the timer to 50 minutes.
- Add vegetables: Once cooking time is up, do a natural pressure release for 5 minutes, then manual release remaining pressure. Add vegetables to instant pot, seal the lid and set the valve to „sealing“. Choose „manual“ or „pressure cook“ (wording depends on your model) and set the timer to 5 minutes.
- Finish dish: Once cooking time is up, do a natural pressure release for 5 minutes. Manually release remaining pressure and open lid. Remove meat and vegetables from pot to a plate. Set instant pot to „sauté“ and stir cornstarch slurry into gravy. Simmer until thickened, serve over meat and vegetables.
Step by Step Recipe Video
Nora’s Tips
Ingredient Notes:
- use green beans in place of the celery stalks
- if you don’t have any Worcestershire sauce, use soy sauce instead
- for a delicious flavor twist, use Italian seasoning in place of the herbs and spices called for in the recipe
Cooking Tips:
- Patting the beef dry with paper towels before browning helps the beef caramelize better, which makes the whole dish more flavorful.
- Brown the beef in batches for best results!
- Use leftovers in a sandwich – we love ours with pickles and tartar sauce.
- For a leaner sauce, trim any visible fat from the beef before cooking.
- We buy our potatoes at the farm down the road and they come covered in soil, so I usually peel them. If you’re using small/new/clean potatoes, cut down on prep time by leaving the skin on.
- Don’t skip the natural pressure releases, or your meat may turn out tough.
- The thickening in the end should only take a couple of minutes. If your gravy doesn’t thicken, increase the heat or add a little more cornstarch slurry.
Nutrition
Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 1029mg | Potassium: 1403mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 13667IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 8mg
More recipe information
Join my Newsletter to Get Recipes in Your Inbox
Pair this Pot Roast Recipe With:
Morgan says
This is a dumb question, I’m sorry….but when you say “brown” the meat, do you mean cook it all the way through by itself or just brown the outside and it will cook through with the rest of the ingredients? I’m making it tonight and I’m not that brilliant with cooking terms hahaha
Nora Rusev says
Morgan, there are no dumb questions – only dumb answers 🙂 browning means you’ll just brown the outside of the meat. It will cook through with the other ingredients in the instant pot! Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.
Kathy says
This recipe turns out perfectly every time and is DELICIOUS!! I’ll never go back to using my slow cooker for pot roast because the meat comes out so much more tender and juicy this way and the gravy it makes is a flavor bomb. My whole family loves it.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so happy to hear this, Kathy! It’s one of my favorite comfort food recipes, so I’m glad your family enjoys it so much.
Annie says
This was such an easy and delicious recipe. The Instant Pot makes it so simple to prepare.
Peggy BRAGG says
I made your instant pot pot roast with carrots and potatoes. I also added some onions and it was the best recipe for roast my husband and I ever had. Instead of searing it in the pot I used my flat cast iron fry pan and go a good sear. It was as you said . It had a deeper flavor. Thank you so much. I will always have this in my file. The gravy was also excellent .
Nora Rusev says
I’m so, so happy to hear this, Peggy. Thank you for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it!
Amanda says
Hi I loved this recipe the first time- What would I need to change if I were feeding 10 ppl with 5-6 lbs of meat??
Nora Rusev says
Amanda, I’d say you probably need an 8 quart instant pot for that, if you’re going to double the vegetables as well. The cooking time wouldn’t change as long as you cut the meat in the same size pieces. Hope that helps!
Martha R Johnson says
Hello Nora, I’m a 74 year old retiree with too much time on my hands, and my husband bought me my first instapot for Christmas. Last weekend I finally got to try it out and made your recipe for my son and daughter in law, what a wonderful meal! Like my dearest late mother used to make on Sundays when I was a little girl, only in a fraction of the time. We devoured it, and then had her rice pudding for dessert, everybody was full and happy! Thank you for sharing your recipes, it is a true treasure chest. Best wishes from Washington.
Nora Rusev says
I loved reading this, Martha. Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m glad you enjoyed the roast so much.
Wilma says
I liked your recipes much better than some others I have seen.
Nora Rusev says
Thank you so much, Wilma! That means a lot.
Lola says
Making this tonight. Ingredients call for fried rosemary, but instructions call for dried parsley. Do you use them interchangeably? Novice cook asking!
Lola says
*dried rosemary
Nora Rusev says
Lola, sorry that was a complete mistake on my part! It’s dried rosemary. I’ll correct that ASAP – so sorry for the confusion!
Peter J. says
made for NYE, easy to prep, clear instructions, good result. looked just like the photos. thank you for sharing.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad to hear this, Peter. Thank YOU for making it, and for taking the time to leave a review – I appreciate it very much. Happy New Year!
Ashlynn says
i recently made dinner for my fiancées parents for the first time, and chose this recipe. so glad I did!! it was very well recived (they now think I can cook… lol). skipped the celery bc I didn’t know how they like that, and added an extra carrot. served with the green beans you linked. everything was amazing, thank u so much for saving my butt!!!!!!
Nora Rusev says
Haha, that is amazing, Ashlynn! Thank you so much for putting your trust in my recipes for such an important occasion!