It’s the time of year for warm scents of a roast filling your home over the course of the day. As a full-time Anesthesiologist I admittedly don’t have a lot of time to make dinner for my family on working days, so I rely on people/spouses to help me and we utilize meal delivery services 3 days out of each week.
But I’ve made a pot roast several times now and even though I consider myself more of a baker and less of a gourmet chef, this is so simple and tasty that even I can do it and get slurpy head-nods of appreciation at dinnertime. It boosts my ego enough to make me want to make it again in short order! Here’s the slow cooker I keep raving about!
Simple, Scrumptious Slow Cooker Pot Roast
This easy set-and-forget meal is not short on flavor but it takes less than 15 minutes to prep in your busy morning before you head out for work or carpool.
Equipment
- Slow cooker / Crock pot
- Skillet for browning (if slow cooker does not have a Sear function)
- cutting board
- tongs
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb chuck roast – choose the roast with the most marble for tenderness & flavor; for more servings choose a 4-5 lb roast and add an hour of slow cook time on low.
- 1 lb carrots, washed, peeled and chopped into large chunks – the key here is to make the veg all the same size and large rustic pieces so they still have some substance at the end of a long cook
- 3-4 sweet onions – alternatively: white onion, yellow onion, or package of frozen pearl onions
- 2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, chopped – alternatively, can use russet
- 3-4 cloves garlic – I use whole cloves but you can mince
- 3 c beef broth
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 5 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp avocado or canola oil
Instructions
- After patting the roast dry, season chuck roast front and back with the salt and pepper liberally.
- Set the slow cooker to Sear (or skillet to Medium-High) after adding the oil. Brown the chuck roast on both sides 4-5 minutes per side until just browned. I like to get the sides too for thicker cuts.
- Take out of the cooker/skillet and transfer juices or browned bits as well if using a skillet. Add in the vegetables & garlic, place the roast on top of the vegetables.
- Pour in the beef broth
- If using fresh thyme, add sprigs on top of the roast, or sprinkle dried thyme over everything. Optionally, add your favorite dried/fresh herbs (rosemary, parsley, oregano are good choices).
- Set the cooker to LOW for 9 HOURS (add additional hour for larger cuts of meat) and walk away!
- In the last HOUR of cooking, you can add 2 tbsp of cornstarch or flour to thicken the sauce (whisk in 2tbsp of water first to prevent clumping)
- Plate and serve. Keep leftovers refrigerated up to 7 days and use on sandwiches!
Notes
For even more time-saving tips, prep your veg by chopping it all up the night before and throwing it in a ziplock bag in the fridge!
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
