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Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Image Credit:
Brent Hofacker/shutterstock
Written By: The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors The Almanac Editors and Staff
Yield
Makes 6 servings.
Category
Meat
Course
Main Dish
Occasions
St. Patricks Day
Credit
Mary Howe Schwartz, Lunenburg, Massachusetts
Sources
Recipes with a History

One of our favorite comfort foods, this classic pot roast has just a handful of ingredients, including beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions. It’s inexpensive and hearty, warms the belly, and feels like home.

Pot roast isn’t really a specific cut of meat—it’s more of a method to slowly cook a big hunk of tough meat (the tougher, the better) until meltingly tender. Most people use a rump roast or bottom round cut of meat, but you can also ask for a chuck or brisket.

For another comfort food classic, check out our Super-Creamy Mac and Cheese.

Ingredients
1 pot roast, approximately 4 pounds
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups beef broth
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound carrots, diced
1 pound potatoes, diced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Cut roast in half (optional). In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm oil. Brown roast on all sides. Place roast in a large ovenproof pan.
  3. Pour broth over and around the roast. Add onions and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, or until fork-tender.
  4. You can either place carrots and potatoes around the roast for the last hour of cooking or wait until the roast is done, remove it (keeping it covered and warm), then put carrots and potatoes into the oven to cook, covered, for 45 minutes, or until tender.

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The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Almanac Editors and Staff

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Comments

<span>Denise T</span> Sat, 09/10/2022 - 11:20
Definitely use a nicely marbled chuck roast. I've used bottom and top round and found them too lean and stringy, even when you try to slice them across the grain.
<span>Vicky A Yernesek</span> Tue, 03/08/2022 - 12:32
Chuck Roast.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Sun, 02/23/2020 - 20:19

Most people use a rump roast or bottom round cut of meat, but you can also ask for chuck or brisket.

 <span>Deborah Hollister</span> Wed, 03/05/2014 - 14:09
This is exactly how we have always made pot roast in my family. My maternal grandfather's mother was, in his words, "a full-blooded Irishwoman with hair the color of a new copper penny." May the wind be always at your back and the sun shine on your bonnet!
<span>Silkysilver</span> Wed, 03/07/2012 - 09:23
It would be nice to have slow-cooker alternative times.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 03/07/2012 - 11:45
This recipe is an old one. However, in our experience, cooking on low for 7 to 8 hours works best. But it depends on the size of your crock pot. If using a 4-quart slow cooker, try on low for 7 to 8 hours.
<span>Astrak10</span> Thu, 03/06/2014 - 09:17
hey there! i don't even own a crockpot, but slow cook all the time....in several different Lodge American made cast iron pots/dutch ovens-i have the 3, 5, and 6 quart size, and to date, I have not found ANYTHING i can't make in them, in the oven, that hasn't come out fabulous, including our annual St. patrick's day corned beef dinner. I highly recommend doing away with electrical devices like crock pots and making a very small, but lifetime's worth of happiness investment in a few good pieces of cast iron...you will never regret it! :)
<span>Charlene G</span> Wed, 03/12/2014 - 10:04
I to love my cast iron cookware. I have cornbread pan, skillets, dutch ovens, saucepans, all sizes. I cook everything in them. Gave all of my stainless steel stuff away.
<span>Gene Bunting</span> Wed, 03/07/2012 - 08:41
Good information. I am always trying to find cooking tips.
<span>P. Dyer</span> Tue, 02/08/2022 - 10:27
One important step in making a pot roast is to season the meat prior to braising: Mix together 2 cups of flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper; coat the meat all over and then brown the meat (using bacon fat/grease) on all sides so that a nice crusty outer layer appears -- this totally makes a delicious taste. I cook pot roast on top of the stove in a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid. Ingredients to make it savory include: 1 large onion thinly sliced and browned in same fat of the roast (after roast is browned - remove roast from pot and then add the onions; then put roast back into the pot); then add 2-3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 cup of minced celery, 1 bay leaf, 4-5 whole cloves, 5 black peppercorns, and 1/3 cup tomato paste. Also, I add carrots and parsnips to the pot about 1 hour prior to the end of cooking time so that they don't fall apart. I am not a fan of potatoes so I don't add them. Oh, I like to use Chuck Roast. Just Delicious and the Smell Will Make Everyone Drool !!!