A Classic Pot Roast

I have a few pot roast recipes on my blog, and they are all delicious, and I make them all. With that being said, this is a timeless classic that is always perfect for any Sunday supper. It is simple, slow-cooked to perfection, and so wonderful. With just a few ingredients, you can turn that beef roast into a tender pot roast your whole family will enjoy. Serve this with my garlic parm mashed potatoes for a delicious pairing.

Let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2 to 3 lb) beef roast
Salt and pepper – to taste
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Onions – ends cut, peeled, and quartered
4 to 5 Carrots – peeled or washed well, ends cut, and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 cloves of garlic – peeled and smashed
2 tbsp Tomato paste
4 C. Beef broth
4 sprigs of fresh Thyme ( 1 tsp if using dried thyme)
3 -4 Sprigs of Rosemary (1 tbsp if using dried rosemary)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 325*. Get out your large Dutch oven and set it on the stove. Preheat your Dutch oven over Medium-low heat while you prepare your beef roast.
2. Place the beef roast on a plate and pat dry with paper towels on both sides. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Prepare your carrots and onions while the Dutch oven is still preheating. You want it super hot to sear the beef.
4. Once you are ready and the Dutch oven is super hot, add the olive oil to the Dutch oven. Place the beef roast in the Dutch oven and let it sear for 2 minutes on one side, and then flip it over and let it sear for another 3 minutes. Remove the beef roast to a plate and set aside.
5. Place the onions, cut side down, into the Dutch oven along with the carrots. Let the onions sear on one side for about a minute or so to get a nice caramelized color. Toss the carrots around to sear as well. Flip the onions over to sear the other side for another minute or so.
6. Add in the tomato paste and mix thoroughly with the carrots and onions. Let it heat through for about 30 seconds.
7. Add the beef broth and stir to combine everything.
8. Add the beef roast back in, making sure to press gently down into the broth.
9. Add the rosemary sprigs and thyme sprigs to the top of the beef roast. Attach the lid and place in the preheated oven.
10. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. I like to cook it for 4 hours. I use the last 30 minutes to make mashed potatoes. (see note)
11. Once the beef is nice and tender, remove the thyme and rosemary stems and discard them, then you can shred the beef. I like to shred the beef in the cooking liquid. Once it is shredded, you can attach the lid to keep it warm until you are ready to eat.
    

• If you have a larger beef roast, you will want to cook it longer. Sometimes that may take about 4 1/2 to 5 hours+, depending on the size of the beef roast. For this particular recipe, it is for a 2 to 3 lb roast.
• Yes, you can cook this in the crockpot. Reduce the liquid by half and let it cook low and slow for about 10 hours or until tender. When I do cook this in the crockpot, I put it on to cook around 6 in the morning, and it is nice and tender by dinner time at 6pm.
• If you want to add celery, you can. I would do about 2 or 3 stalks, cut about the same size as the carrots.
• If you do not want to make mashed potatoes, you can add the potatoes to the roast about halfway through the cooking process to ensure they cook through without becoming too mushy.
• If there are any vegetables you do not like, simply omit them.
• If you want the broth to be less brothy and more like gravy, just remove the beef and veggies, heat the broth on the stove until it begins to simmer, add in a bit of slurry ( 1/2c water to 1/4 c cornstarch), and add just enough of the slurry until it thickens to a gravy-like consistency. Place the beef roast and veggies on a serving platter and the gravy in a gravy boat on the side. Or you can add everything to the gravy and serve it as is.