16 Pot Roast Recipes You Need To Try

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Nothing beats pot roast as a comfort food, especially on a cold and overcast day. It's an excellent way to transform a tougher and often inexpensive cut of meat into something that's sure to please. All you need is a bit of inspiration, a few ingredients, and the patience to cook it low and slow. Eventually, you'll have flavorful, fall-apart tender meat and, in many cases, veggies that are infused with a similar flavor and deliciousness.

Even if you have a family pot roast recipe you've been making for years, there's a world of variations that are well worth a try. Our favorite recipes, which we've gathered for you, range from traditional to those with international flair, the latter of which use unconventional spices and seasonings like juniper berries or harissa. Plus, there are not only beef recipes, but also those that use chicken, pork, venison, and even mushrooms. You can choose just one based on what's in your cupboards, or use this list for ideas on how to make your next pot roast even better. 

While your ordinary beef rump roast with potatoes, carrots, salt, and pepper is delicious, there are a few extra ingredients you can add to enhance it. Tap into new possibilities with a combination of beef broth and balsamic vinegar as the roasting liquid, along with aromatic garlic, rosemary, and thyme. 

It's cooked low and slow for eight hours, meaning it'll fall-apart tender by the time you're ready to eat. Break out a bottle of dry red wine to complement the roast's robust flavors.

Recipe: Rump Roast Crock-Pot

One of Germany's national dishes is sauerbraten, a pot roast that marinates for days and can contain unique ingredients like gingersnaps. This German-style beef chuck roast features a shorter, eight- to 12-hour marinade and is cooked with traditional German ingredients like Dunkel beer, juniper berries, and aromatics. 

Not only does it contain carrots, potatoes, and onions, but also bratwurst and red cabbage, which complete its German profile. Plus, it comes with a gravy sauce. Serve it with fresh spaetzle.

Recipe: German-Style Pot Roast with Beer Gravy

For a slightly sweet and rich twist on pot roast, turn to figs. Of course, when figs are in season in the middle of summer, we aren't thinking about pot roasts. However, in this recipe, dried figs, red wine, and brown sugar help create a dark braising sauce that takes chuck roast to the next comfort level in colder months. With its rich sauce, which includes onions and carrots, it's amazing on its own, but it's even more filling when served over potatoes.

Recipe: Super Tender Herb and Fig Pot Roast

Mississippi roast originated when a mother adapted a spicy pot roast recipe to make it milder for her children. Over the years, it gained popularity through her church cookbook and is still popular today.

This recipe has a ridiculously simple list of ingredients but packs plenty of flavor. All you need to do is put a chuck roast in the slow cooker with a stick of butter, a package of onion soup mix, a package of ranch dressing mix, and pepperoncini peppers with juice, and cook until tender. It's great served as a sandwich.

Recipe: Mississippi Roast

This classic pot roast uses sirloin tip, which is inexpensive and lean but needs a long, low cook to make it tender. An initial searing, along with a red wine and beef stock braising liquid helps enrich the flavor, along with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf. 

While it already includes slow-cooked carrots, an onion, and celery, it begs to be served over mashed potatoes, ladled with reduced au jus, and topped with fresh chives.

Recipe: Classic Braised Sirloin Tip Roast

You don't have to use a piece of meat to make a pot roast, as evidenced by this one made with portobello mushrooms. The trick is to make a braising liquid full of umami flavor, with ingredients like red wine, tomato paste, soy sauce, and vegan Worcestershire sauce, imbued with the flavors of onion, garlic, thyme, parsley, and pepper. You'll also want to add some good roasting veggies, like potatoes and carrots. Be sure to have some nice crusty bread to help you enjoy it.

Recipe: Almost Meaty Portobello "Pot Roast"

Harissa sauce and chickpeas can offer a spicy Moroccan twist on your chuck roast that you'll want to repeat often. It's a beef pot roast that works in both hot weather as well as cold.

While harissa has plenty of flavor on its own, the seasoning adds an additional lift. Adding carrots and parsnips completes the flavor profile, and it's excellent when paired with couscous.

Recipe: Harissa Beef Pot Roast

If you can't quite decide between beef stew and a pot roast, you can use your slow cooker to create a meal that's a little bit of both. This recipe transforms beef chuck roast into a tender pairing with carrots, onions, and diced tomatoes. 

There's no need to cut your meat into chunks first, since it will shred beautifully after five hours of cooking. Add Worcestershire sauce, red wine, and beef stock, and you'll have a delicious roast ready to serve over mashed potatoes.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Just because this recipe is made in an Instant Pot in under an hour doesn't mean it can't be turned it into a gourmet creation. This one uses flavorful liquids and seasonings, including rehydrated porcini mushrooms, tomato paste, beef stock, and red wine vinegar, and calls for searing the chuck roast first to give it even more dimension.

Carrots and celery also add flavor and interest. Serve it with freshly chopped parsley and sourdough bread.

Recipe: Instant Pot Roast

Joshua Weissman (of YouTube cooking fame) learned how to make pot roast from his mom and published the recipe in his cookbook, "An Unapologetic Cookbook." 

The recipe takes a chuck roast and turns it into a delicious meal in just over three hours, with only 10 minutes of prep required. While it starts as an ordinary roast with onions and carrots, flavored with beef stock, thyme, salt, and pepper, it hits the next level when ladled with gravy made from the roasting liquid.

Recipe: Joshua Weissman's Mom's Pot Roast

You don't have to stick to red meat when making pot roast. This one with chicken is very comforting, especially thanks to smoked bacon. White wine, bay leaves, garlic, and thyme further enhance the flavor. 

It only needs a little over two hours of cooking time, and keeping it uncovered during the last few minutes crisps the skin. Cooking it with carrots, potatoes, and peas makes it a complete meal; just don't forget to add a little freshly ground black pepper on top before serving.

Recipe: White Wine Braised Pot Roast Chicken with Vegetables and Potatoes

When you want a pot roast that's lip-smackingly delicious and relies on strong flavors, you'll want to try this unique roast beef recipe. The chuck roast, carrots, onion, celery, and garlic part of the recipe is certainly on the ordinary side, but the flavorful roasting liquid really drives things home and sets you up for a super flavorful experience. After two hours of roasting in a Dutch oven, it begs to be served over garlicky mashed potatoes.

Recipe: Unique Roast Beef

Venison is a worthwhile pot roast protein to consider beyond beef. Next time you have access to a venison roasting joint, transform it into a classic pot roast alongside onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. 

The key to making this gamey meat moreish is to create a rich red wine and beef broth sauce full of strong dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. It's ready to eat in a little over two hours and is a full meal. Down it with a dark ale like a porter or stout.

Recipe: Simple Venison Pot Roast

Since it has very little fat to keep it tender, turning eye of round into a slow-roasted pot roast is one of the best things you can do for this cut of meat. Start with an herb-infused rub made of olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and roast it for a couple of hours until tender. Slice and serve it alongside a baked potato and a side salad.

Recipe: Slow-Roasted Eye of Round Roast

If you can't decide between turning pork shoulder into pulled pork or pot roast, you can have the best of both worlds with a little Instant Pot magic. 

The pork shoulder is rubbed with a sweet-and-salty seasoning before being roasted with aromatics and veggies. Serving it with a side salad juxtaposes fresh and comforting flavors.

Recipe: Instant Pot Pork Shoulder Roast

This is a copycat version of Chipotle's smoky, chipotle-infused barbacoa. It's far easier to make than you might imagine and is the only one on our list that can braise either on the stovetop or in the oven. 

The seared chuck roast simmers in a mixture of spices, including garlic, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cloves, and bay leaves. Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce provide its smoky flavor. Once done, the barbacoa pairs well with rice and beans, fresh tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.

Recipe: Chipotle Copycat Barbacoa

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