The Best Slow Cooker Pot Roast!

This Slow Cooker Braised Pot Roast is sure to become a family favorite.  This is a classic slow cooker pot roast, just like mom used to make!  Pure comfort food! 

Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Is there anything more suited for the slow cooker (crock pot) than pot roast?  I don't think so.  It is the perfect one pot meal and I can think of nothing I enjoy more for a Sunday dinner!  

There is something so wonderfully homey about pot roast.  I eat a lot of foods now that I didn't even know existed when I was young - kale, quinoa, and kohlrabi - to name just a few.  

But a good Sunday pot roast, that feels like it's been around forever.  It never gets old.  Potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and meat all combine to taste exactly like I remembered it from when I was young.  It is comfort food at it's finest.

Ingredients for Classic Slow Cooker Pot Roast

• Celery.
• Potatoes.
• Red Wine - this is optional, but I love the depth of flavor and richness that it adds. 
• Onions.
• Bay Leaf.
• Carrots.
• Chuck Roast - bone in or boneless.  I prefer bone in for the added flavor, but it's boneless is sometimes easier to find.
• Beef Broth. 
• Olive Oil - if you are browning the beef (not pictured.)

How to Make Crockpot Roast Beef

My first two photos are out of order - sorry!  

Sometimes I don't brown the pot roast first, but I find that it adds so much flavor, that if I do have time, I brown it. 

If you are browning the beef, swirl a little olive oil in a heavy pan and heat over medium high heat.  Season the beef with salt and pepper and cook on both sides until nicely browned - about 5 minutes per side. 

While the meat is browning, slice the celery and carrots and cut the onions into a large dice.  Add them to the slow cooker.   

Peel and cut the potatoes into 1 inch chunks and add them to the slow cooker and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the well browned roast on top of the potatoes. 

Pour the red wine into the pan into the pan that you browned the beef (if not using red wine, use the beef broth.   Cook, scraping up the browned bits for a couple of minutes.  Then pour over the pot roast in the slow cooker.  

If you used red wine, add the beef broth now and nestle in the bay leaf. 

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

If you want to thicken the sauce, mix cornstarch with water and stir into the sauce about 30 minutes before serving. 

The Best Pot Roast! 

This is so good.  Pure comfort food!  You can change up the vegetables, but I like to keep it classic with just potatoes, carrots, celery and onions.  

You also can decide if you want to brown the beef or not.  I prefer the beef browned, but if you don't have time, don't let that stop you from making this! 

Serve it with a salad and some bread and you have a heavenly dinner! 

More Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

Even more pure comfort food is this Beef and Barley Soup! 

It doesn't get much better than Slow Cooked Pork Butt!  So many uses for this moist and tender meat! 

How about a bowl of the Best Minestrone - cooked all day in the slow cooker for great flavor! 

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5 from 29 votes

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This Slow Cooker Pot Roast is comfort food at it's finest!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 10 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 901kcal

Author Pam Greer

Ingredients

• olive oil if browning the meat
• salt and black pepper
• 3 ½ pounds boneless chuck roast
• 3 stalks celery sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 3 carrots sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 4 potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 yellow onion large dice
• 1 cup beef broth
• ⅓ cup red wine optional
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

• If browning the beef, add a drizzle of olive oil to a heavy pan and set over medium high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the pot roast and brown in the hot oil. Cook for about 5 minutes per side or until nicely browned.
• While the roast is browning, place the carrots, celery and onions in the slow cooker. Top with the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place the beef (either browned or not) on top of the potatoes and nestle in the bay leaf.
• If you browned the beef, pour the red wine (or beef broth if you're not using wine) into the pan and cook for about 2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits. Pour this over the beef in the slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
• If you'd like to thicken the sauce, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of water and stir into the sauce in the crockpot about 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can use boneless beef or bone in.  

Browning the beef is optional, but it does add more depth of flavor.  

Red wine is optional, you can deglaze the pan with the beef broth. 

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 901kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 83g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 274mg | Sodium: 624mg | Potassium: 2520mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7829IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 168mg | Iron: 16mg

This was originally published in 2014 and has been updated for 2019.