Instant Pot Pot Roast is a cozy one pot meal made up of fall-apart tender beef, perfectly cooked carrots and potatoes, and savory gravy. This pressure cooker version of the classic comforting home cooked meal comes together in a fraction of the time!
Transform a tough beef roast into mouthwatering fall-apart tender meat with vegetables and gravy for a delicious Sunday supper! For more Sunday worthy dinner recipes, try my Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin, Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Gravy, and Mini Meatloaf.
Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
This tender roast and vegetables is made with just a few simple ingredients but is so flavorful, comforting, and satisfying. The whole family is sure to enjoy it!
Ingredients for Pot Roast:
- Chuck Roast– This cut of meat is affordable and has great marbling which creates a delicious tender and juicy roast.
- Onion– Gives flavor to the roast, vegetables, and gravy. It can be eaten or discarded.
- Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes– Yukon or red potatoes can be used since they are waxy potatoes and hold their shape. Russet potatoes tend to fall apart in pot roasts. If using regular size potatoes, cut into about 2 inch pieces.
- Baby Carrots– No peeling or chopping required! If you want to use large carrots, peel and cut into pieces the size of your finger.
- Beef Broth– This helps create the gravy. You can use stock or water mixed with bouillon (I use Better than Bouillon).
- Tomato Paste– Rounds out and gives more flavor to the pot roast.
- Worcestershire Sauce– Contains vinegar that helps tenderize meat and is able to penetrate its savory flavor deep into the meat.
- Garlic– Fresh pressed garlic is best and gives this simple dish additional flavor.
- Salt & pepper– Don’t skimp on the salt. The meat and potatoes need quite a bit.
- Paprika– Adds as beautiful flavor to the roast as well as the gravy.
- Ginger– This warm spice is the perfect addition to this cozy cold weather meal.
- Cornstarch– This needs to be mixed with equal parts cold water before adding to the broth to make the gravy.
How to make Instant Pot Pot Roast:
Time needed: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Juicy tender beef with perfectly tender vegetables and a savory gravy all cooked together in the instant pot in less than 2 hours.
- Prep
Place oil in the bottom of the Instant Pot pot and press the “sauté” button.
- Season and Sear
Mix the spices together and rub all over both pieces of roast.
Sear one piece of meat for about 2-3 minutes per side (it will lift easily from the pot when it is properly seared and ready to flip). Remove and repeat with other piece and then remove. - Deglaze the Pot
Drain or wipe out excess oil with a paper towel from the bottom of the pot. Add 1/2 cup of the broth to the pot and deglaze the pan (use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits off the bottom). Turn off the pot.
- Cook
Whisk the remaining broth with tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Add the roast back to the pot along with the broth mixture, bay leaves, and onion. Cover, close valve, and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes with a 10 minutes natural release. Release remaining pressure, open, add carrots and potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cover, close valve, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes followed by a 10 minute natural release.
- Shred and Plate
Quick release remaining pressure. Open and remove the vegetables to a platter and meat to a cutting board. Shred the beef and place on the platter. Cover with foil.
- Make Gravy
Set Instant Pot to sauté function and bring juices to a simmer. Whisk in the cornstarch/water mixture and continue to cook and whisk for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Taste and season. Turn off pot, pour gravy into gravy boat, and serve with roast and vegetables.
FAQs
After searing any meat, some bits get stuck to the bottom of the pot. If these are not removed, they will burn when pressure cooking and the error “BURN” will appear and turn the pot off. Adding water (or broth) and letting it simmer while scraping the bottom of the pan removes these bits.
Roasts are tough cuts of meat requiring more time to tenderize. If the vegetables are cooked for as long as the roast, they would be over cooked and mushy.
A natural pressure release is important when cooking meat because it allows for a gradual change in pressure. A quick change in pressure can cause the meat to become tough. The natural release is similar to letting meat rest after grilling, allowing it to relax and become more tender.
If cornstarch is added directly to a warm liquid it will clump. Dissolving it in a little water (equal parts), prevents it from clumping.
TOOLS USED TO MAKE THIS INSTANT POT POT ROAST:
- 6-Quart Instant Pot– As much as I love my slow cooker, you can make things way faster (1/8 the time!) in the pressure cooker. It’s truly amazing! You can make anything in it from soup to rice to fall-apart tender roasts.
- Metal Tongs– When working with a big hot roast, strong sturdy tongs are needed to easily flip and remove the meat without getting burned or dropping the roast.
- Whisk– I prefer this narrow whisk when cooking sauces in a skillet compared to the balloon whisk I use when mixing batters in a bowl.
LOOKING FOR MORE BEEF DISHES? CHECK OUT THESE:
Instant Pot Pot Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 pounds chuck roast, cut in two
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sweet onion, quartered
- 1.5 pounds baby yukon potatoes, whole
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water, mixed together
Instructions
- Place oil in the bottom of the instant pot pot and press the "sauté" button.
- Mix the spices together and rub all over both cuts of roast.
- Sear one piece of meat for about 2-3 minutes per side (it will lift easily from the pot when it is properly seared and ready to flip). Remove and repeat with other piece and then remove.
- Drain or wipe out excess oil with a paper towel from the bottom of the pot. Add 1/2 cup of the broth to the pot and deglaze the pan (use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits off the bottom). Turn off the pot.
- Whisk the remaining broth with tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Add the roast back to the pot along with the broth mixture, bay leaves, and onion.
- Cover the pot, close valve, and set to high pressure for 40 minutes followed by a 10 minutes natural release. Turn the pressure knob to release any remaining pressure. Once the pressure valve drops, open the lid and carefully add the potatoes and carrots to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cover, turn the release valve to close, set to high pressure for 8 minutes followed by a 10 minutes natural release. Carefully turn the steam realase valve and release any remaining pressure. Once the pressure valve drops, open lid.
- Place vegetables on a platter. Shred meat on a cutting board and add to platter. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Set Instant Pot to sauté function. Bring juices to a simmer. Whisk in the cornstarch/water mixture into the juices and continue to cook and whisk for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Taste and season as desired. Turn off pot, pour gravy into a gravy boat, and serve over meat and vegetables.
Made thus tonight. Only used 1.5 cups of broth, 3 sounded like a lot. Did not have any fresh garlic, so added 1 tsp garlic powder to spices….and I dumped the spices that fell off meat into broth mixture….didn’t want goodness to go to waste. Used russet potatoes, cause store didn’t have anything else. AMAZING flavor!! Thank you for sharing!!