Slow Cooker Pot Roast Recipe (2024)

Cook's Illustrated has an easy way to keep root vegetables from becoming soggy & overcooked after 8 hours in a slow cooker: instead of combining them with the meat, make a packet out of aluminum foil, put in the vegies and a bit of the wine mixture and a bit of the herbs, salt & pepper. Seal up the foil packet and place it ON TOP of the meat in the slow cooker. Cover & cook as normal. When done just open the packet (carefully, it's hot!) and mix in with the meat. Perfect vegies every time!

As written, this dish has almost no flavor. I was able to salvage it by adding a Tbsp of beef demi glace, a Tbsp of roasted garlic paste, 1/4 C of soy sauce, 3 oz of tomato paste, and 2 Tbsp of Dijon mustard. If I had it to do over from the start, I’d hold the water and use beef broth for the liquid and let it reduce a bit before adding it to the slow cooker. I don’t often eat red meat, so I like to make it count when I do. I’m disappointed this took so much doctoring to get enough flavor.

I used a Dutch oven and did low and slow in a 225 oven. (I like the smell of the roasting meat) Perfectly tender and delicious after 8 hours. Added potatoes along with the other veggies. Pretty classic pot roast and there is nothing wrong with that!

Based on others’ feedback, I added extra herbs, doubled wine, doubled vinegar, added soy sauce and tomato paste. It was delicious.

This was delicious with a few changes: twice the red wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and beef broth instead of water. But 1.5lbs of combined carrots and potatoes ran out fast! So now I'm cooking maybe another 3lbs of carrots and potatoes in the leftover broth so we have more for the leftover meat. Served with a nice salad with vinaigrette and crusty bread.Next time I'll see if I can cram more veggies in? Which might require more broth ...

I find that this(and most other pot roast recipes) benefit from a splash of fish sauce added to the cooking liquid. It doesn't taste fishy or even vaguely Asian but it gives the sauce/juices a umami boost that is fantastic. I reduce the salt and add a good splash of fish sauce ,add the lid and cook.

Delicious and easy pot roast. Used a mix of white and marsala wine as I didn't have red on hand - made such a fabulous gravy. Used rosemary as my herb. Cut a yellow onion into chunks instead of pearl onins. Don't forget the pickled onions (I used a sliced yellow onion) they are so good! I made mine with apple cider vinegar and added a few shakes of crushed red pepper and a bay leaf to give it a kick.

Rutabega! Don't know why more pot roast and beef soup recipes don't include them. They add more "beef" flavor while kind of disappearing into the gravy. Plus the above recipe really cries out for a good dose of yellow onions.

We added a tbsp of whole grain Dijon and tomatoe paste when we sautéed the garlic and pearl onions and it was incredible. Otherwise I think it would have been bland.

For folks like me who never have liquor in the house, substitute an equal amount of really, really strong coffee for the wine. It certainly deepens the flavor. And yes, I also support increasing the herb mixture.

For reduced meat consumption: use 1 lb stew meat & add mushrooms for more meaty flavor. Add lots of carrots, parsnip, turnip and potato, powdered thyme & 5 sprigs of rosemary from the garden. 1 yellow onion was not enough - after the cooking period the broth definitely needed more onion flavor so add more wine & a packet of onion soup mix. Let the stew cook 1 hour longer. Serve with salad from the garden (with balsamic dressing & pistachios) & garlic bread. Yum. Equals 4 meals for 2 retirees.

Parsnips and herbs were too strong flavored- overwhelmed the dish

I added a teaspoon of wet bouillon to the water I mixed in with the red wine for a nice flavor boost.

I've made this with no alterations and it tastes awesome! I do use fresh herbs. Two sprigs sage, one thyme, and one rosemary.

Roll meat in flour

Add few herbs and wine to root veggiesPut in tin foil on topIncrease garlic and herbs

As usual for NYT recipes, a "heaping tablespoon" isn't NEARLY enough salt. Just season your meat by eye, and be generous. Also, while it says it's "enough" to just sear one side, just go ahead and sear both sides. I think those two things will fix the "flavorless" issues that people are talking about without needing to fuss with additional ingredients.

Added 2 tablespoons tom paste, beef broth instead of water, splash soy sauce, yellow onion instead of pearl (store sold out of pearl)

Instead of a slow cooker, I used a Dutch oven. Three hours at 300 degrees. After 2.5 hours, I took the meat out of the pan. I transferred the juices and veggies to a stainless steel bowl to cool them down enough to run them through a food processor. This gives a wonderful gravy. I added water and wine to reduce the average fat content and thickened the gravy with flour. Put the gravy and meat back into the Dutch oven and let them simmer for a final half hour. You could eat it with a spoon...

Luckily I read the Notes, so added another cup of wine and tablespoon of red wine vinegar. I also adapted the suggestion about creating a foil pouch for potatoes and carrots and lots of thyme. Also made gravy with 2 cups of the liquid plus a roux of butter + flour. Added mushrooms I sauted separately during serving. Absolutely delish!

I just made this for the second time, and I'm grateful for the commenters who suggested upping the red wine vinegar, using beef broth instead of water, and adding soy sauce, tomato paste, and Dijon mustard. I also made it the day before I served it, which allowed me to skim off the fat and strain the sauce. Pot roast was my mother's request for her 84th birthday, and she was thrilled with this one, as was everyone at the table!

Is it possible to reduce the cooking time by adding the root vegetables at the same time as the meat?

I made this tonight, but added a couple of my own adjustments. I want to thank all the other cooks who added their suggestions. I added 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar instead of one, a quarter cup of soy sauce, two anchovies, and I also threw a couple Bay leaves into the slow cooker. I also utilized the Cooks iIllustrated version of making an aluminum foil pouch to put the vegetables in so they don’t get soggy- a foil pouch of vegetables with oil and S&P on top of meat in cooker.

My meat was pull-apart tender after 7 hours. I added parsnips and carrots after 4 hours and would not cook them more than 3 hours total in the crockpot. Used Zinfandel instead of a drier red wine because that's what I had. Used fresh rosemary and sage picked from my yard seconds before going in. It was yummy, but I might punch it up a bit next time: add a fresh bay leaf, use beef stock instead of water, and add another tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

Extra herbs double wine double vinegar add say sauce and tomato paste. Beef broth instead of water and add mustard

Delicious! I did as others recommended: I added a couple teaspoons of mustard, worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. (although I may have added too much soy sauce, because it was a little salty, and I had salted the meat, plus the veggies). Oh and I added 'better than bouillon' to some hot water and added that. I added the veggies only about an hour before serving. I also sauteed some crimini mushrooms with butter and added that right at the end. Yum! Everyone raved.