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If you’re craving a comfort food classic, this Instant Pot pot roast recipe will warm you from the inside out! It’s melt-in-your-mouth juicy and the best family meal.
Want to make pot roast in the oven instead? Try my Sunday Pot Roast. Or make my crave-worthy Mississippi Pot Roast for a twist!
Why you’ll love it
There are times when I’m craving pot roast but don’t feel like heating up my kitchen, so I came up with this Instant Pot version instead! It has beautifully concentrated flavors, frees up your stove, and is faster than the oven method. No fancy ingredients are needed.
This homey, comforting Instant Pot chuck roast has fall-apart tender beef, potatoes, and carrots that are bolstered by a herb and red wine sauce. It’s what old-fashioned Sunday supper is made for and is definitely now one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes!
What you’ll need
- Beef – the gold standard for pot roast is a generously marbled chuck roast
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion and garlic – our tasty aromatics. I like sweet (Vidalia) onions for this one.
- Red wine – choose one you’d actually enjoy drinking, not a cooking wine. I recommend merlot or cabernet sauvignon.
- Beef broth – the base of the sauce
- Worcestershire sauce – for added savory flavor. Don’t skip it!
- Italian seasoning – this is a powerhouse blend of dried herbs that comes in a single jar
- Carrots – sweet, tender carrots balance all the flavors
- Potatoes – Yukon golds are my recommendation since they hold up well in the IP
- Cornstarch – for thickening up the sauce a touch
What beef is best for pot roast?
- American readers: purchase a 3-4 pound beef roast labeled as “chuck roast”. I’ve also seen it labeled as chuck shoulder pot roast, shoulder steak, or boneless chuck roast. It’s a tougher cut of meat that makes a great pot roast since it’s richly flavored and becomes irresistibly tender in the Instant Pot.
- International readers: the naming system can be quite different, e.g. in Canada I look for “blade roast” or “cross rib pot roast boneless”.
How to make Instant Pot pot roast
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cut the roast in half, and season with salt & pepper. Add half the olive oil to your Instant Pot. Working in two batches, sear on all sides until browned using the sauté function. Transfer to a plate. Add more oil if needed, then sauté the onions until lightly browned. Stir in the garlic.
Pour in the wine, broth, Worcestershire sauce, and add the Italian seasoning. Let it start to simmer. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up all the browned bits to avoid a burn warning. Return the roast to the IP and pressure cook for 60-70 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep the potatoes and carrots. Add them on top of the meat, and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Once you’ve released the pressure, skim the fat off the top. Remove the veggies and roast, and shred the beef. Add in a cornstarch slurry to the IP, and simmer until thickened. Season generously with salt & pepper, return the roast and veggies to the IP, and serve.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Our kitchen uses an older model, but here’s the latest similar Instant Pot.
- For scraping up those tasty browned bits after sautéing, I use a trusty wooden spoon.
- Apart from being really cute, this garlic saver helps keep your garlic fresher for longer.
- A chef’s knife is great for everything, including chopping the onion and carrots here.
Helpful tips
- Instant Pots have changed over the years, and some of them now have different buttons (for example, the “manual” button that I have on my 2018 Instant Pot now says “pressure cook” on some models). If in doubt, consult your appliance’s manual on how to operate it.
- Don’t cut your carrots and potatoes too small. You want them to be soft, not mushy!
What to serve with pot roast
- I think this Instant Pot pot roast is a fabulous complete meal in and of itself, but a slice of crusty bread (try sourdough) or a piping hot dinner roll is always a good idea.
- Looking for a side salad as a fresh complement? Try spring mix and whatever fresh veggies you’ve got on hand with my Homemade Ranch Dressing or this Creamy Balsamic Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- The flavors of this pot roast will intensify over time, so it makes fantastic leftovers. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Reheat in a saucepan over a low heat until hot. Others like to use leftover meat to make a sandwich and dip it into the gravy!
- It’ll freeze for a few months, but note that the carrots and potatoes will soften up. It will still taste good.
If you made this easy Instant Pot pot roast, leave a star rating and review below! Any questions not answered in the blog post? Let me know. As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Instant Pot Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds beef chuck roast (boneless) see note
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 large onion sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 large carrots peeled & cut into 2" chunks
- 1.5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes cut into halves or quarters
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Cut the roast in half and then season each half with salt & pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your Instant Pot. Press the "sauté" button and sear each piece on all sides until nicely browned (do 2 batches). Transfer the meat to a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the IP if it's looking a bit dry, and then add the onions. Sauté for 5 minutes or until softened and lightly browned.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add in the wine, broth, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning. Let it start to simmer. Very important: to avoid a burn warning, thoroughly scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the IP (a wooden spoon works well for this).
- Add the roast back in, close the lid, and set the valve to "sealing". Pressure cook on high for 60 minutes for a 3 pound roast or 70 minutes for a 4 pound roast.
- Once the countdown has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, and then do a quick release of the remaining pressure. I like to prep the carrots and potatoes at this point.
- Add the carrots and potatoes to the Instant Pot on top of the meat and seal the lid up again. Ensure the valve is on "sealing", and then pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
- Once the countdown has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, and then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Skim as much of the fat off the surface as you can (I just use a large spoon) and discard it. Take the potatoes, carrots, and meat out of the IP. Shred the beef with two forks (you may want to put it on a separate plate to make this easy).
- Make a cornstarch slurry by adding 3 tablespoons of cold water to the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and mixing it together. Pour it into the IP and then simmer using the sauté function until the gravy thickens a bit. Give it a taste and add more salt & pepper as needed (I am generous with both).
- Add the beef, carrots, and potatoes back into the IP, toss with the gravy, and let the beef heat through a bit. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Inactive time represents the time it takes the Instant Pot to get to pressure and to release pressure.
- Try my Dutch Oven Pot Roast recipe.
- Crockpot: Try 8-9 hours on low. I would still do the searing steps for extra flavor and then transfer to a slow cooker. Add the cornstarch slurry after everything is cooked and use the “high” setting to activate it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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