This savory, easy recipe for Instant Pot pot roast is perfect for a big dinner for the whole family. With just a few simple ingredients and steps, your Instant Pot will make the perfect, inexpensive family meal that everyone will love!
Classic Pot Roast in a Fraction of the Time
Pot roast is one of the perfect recipes for an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Loaded with hearty chuck roast beef, fresh carrots, red potatoes and a gravy that is absolutely perfect, this is one of my favorite meals to make. And the whole thing is done in just over an hour. No need to do a ton of prep in the morning and then wait all day for the slow cooker, the Instant Pot will make fall-apart beef that is loaded with flavor in a fraction of the time!
Use Steak Seasoning
The seasoning blend I love for pot roast is Montreal steak seasoning. You can use any steak seasoning blend but the Montreal blend is my favorite by far. It’s available in almost any supermarket in the seasonings and spices section. Montreal steak seasoning is actually a simple blend of course salt, pepper, coriander, garlic powder, dill seed and a little cayenne. If you don’t have already made Montreal steak seasoning, see the recipe notes below to make your own.
Simple Ingredients and Simple Steps
The ingredient list for this pot roast recipe is as simple as it gets. Aside from the seasoning mix, all we need is the chuck roast, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, red potatoes, onion and carrots. For the potatoes I use small-medium whole red potatoes. Everything will cook together so leaving the potatoes whole will cook them perfectly. Carrots are another standard ingredient for pot roast and I always like to find the largest carrots possible and cut them in to big chunks. Standard sized carrots will work fine too. You will want to cut standard sized carrots into chunks of about 3 inches each since they will cook with everything else and we don’t want them to get too mushy. The onion can be sliced in half first and then a few slices for each half.
No Browning Necessary
Let’s skip the browning. Here’s the thing, we will get a ton of flavor from the seasoning mix, the broth and the Worcestershire sauce. I’ve made this recipe with browning the meat first and without browning first. And honestly, it’s a messy step we don’t need at all. The meat is going to be fall apart tender, moist and full of flavor. You won’t miss the browning at all.
Cut the Meat into Chunks First
We’ll be cooking everything together so we don’t want a very extended cooking time. To achieve this, we’ll cut our chuck roast into fist-sized chunks. A chuck roast of about 2.5 lbs. – 3 lbs. is the common size and is perfect for this recipe. You can start by trimming away any excess fat, then cutting into 4-6 chunks. After you’ve cut the meat, rub the seasoning mix into all sides of the chunks. Do this step first and then set aside while you prepare the carrots and onions. Then we place 2 cups of beef broth into the Instant pot and mix in 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Set the chunks of meat right into the liquid. Then add the onions, potatoes and carrots all right on top. Secure the lid and pressure cook for 40 minutes. After the 40 minutes are up, let the pressure release for 15 minutes, then quick release the rest.
Make an Awesome Gravy!
At this point, everything is done and ready to serve. Use the juices in the pot to pour over everything as desired. It will be delicious as-is. But, if we want to make it into a thick gravy, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing about ¼ cup of cold water with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. With everything except the liquid removed from the pot, press the saute button and slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry. Mix it in well and saute for just a few minutes to thicken. Press cancel when done and you’ve now got the most awesome gravy to pour over everything. And believe me, it’s truly awesome sauce!
Best Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 40 min (+15min NPR)
- Total Time: About 1 hour 15 min
- Yield: 4-6 servings
Description
A savory, hearty Instant Pot pot roast recipe that’s as easy as it gets. Loaded with seasoned beef and fresh vegetables, this is the pot roast recipe you’ll make again and again.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb. – 3 lb. Chuck Roast
- 1.5 lb Red Potatoes, small (about 10-12)
- 1.5 lb carrots (about 6 carrots)
- 1 Medium Onion
- 2 tbs Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 cups Beef Broth
Instructions
- Trim chuck roast of excess fat and cut into fist-sized chunks, about 4-6. Season on all sides with the seasoning rub.
- Scrub potatoes clean, leave whole. Cut carrots into large chunks (about 3″ each), peel and slice onion into large chunks.
- Pour beef broth into Instant Pot and add the Worcestershire Sauce. Place meat into liquid, followed by onions, potatoes and carrots. Secure lid.
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 40 minutes followed by a 15 minutes natural release (quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes).
- Remove all ingredients and serve. Use liquid in pot to pour over dish, thickening with cornstarch if desired (see notes below).
Notes
- To make an awesome gravy from the liquid, create a slurry by adding 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to ¼ cup of cold water. With meat, potatoes and carrots removed from the pot, slowly pour slurry into the liquid and whisk together. Press saute on Instant Pot and heat liquid for just a few minutes until desired consistency.
- If you don’t have Montreal steak seasoning you can use another dry steak seasoning blend. For a very simple Montreal seasoning, use this: ½ tbs kosher salt, ½ tbs course ground black pepper, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp ground coriander, ¼ tsp dill weed, ⅛ tsp cayenne
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Pot Roast, Instant Pot, Easy Recipe
Lori
Made this tonight and it was delicious however I had no juices left over. Had a good taste some of it was kinda charred.
★★★★★
Juju
Followed recipe exactly but used a beef seasoning I already added. This was perfect and absolutely delicious. Beef was fall apart tender and vegetables were just right. Will definitely be making again. I actually made it yesterday, refrigerated overnight and reheated today. I had the broth separate and skimmed all the fat off the top before I added the cornstarch tonight to half of it (because it was more than I needed for our gravy). I am freezing the other half of the broth to use in something else later.
★★★★★
Barbara Sheppard
I followed the recipe precisely and there was plenty of seasoning on the meat. Perfect reallty!.
★★★★★
Barbara Sheppard
This was delicious. It was so simple, easy, and tasted amazing.
★★★★★
Jennifer duncan
Looking forward to making this today. But, can you use regular potatoes rather than red potatoes?
RecipeTeacher
You can, just make sure they’re cut large.
Julie
Though this came out nice and tender, as instant pot pot roasts generally do, I’m really surprised that I’m the first person to comment that this is WAY too salty. IF I make it again, I will use low sodium broth, and far less of the Montreal Steak seasoning, and sub 2/3 of the seasoning with some sort of herb instead. It was so salty that it actually made my mouth feel weird in a really bad way.
★★
Rae
Super easy and it was amazing. Thank you for sharing…
★★★★★
Donna Sharp
I am making this tonight, or at least following the method in my 8qt Duo. I made one a while back where you had to cut the meat into chunks and brown them and I couldn’t remember how long to cook it for. I made my own rub because we don’t have nor like Montreal Steak seasoning and I am letting it marinade on the counter. Already have my onions, potatoes and onion prepped and ready to go, but I think that I am going to add the veggies and place the meat on top because I want the seasoning to mostly stay on the meat and not in the broth, personal preference. I appreciate the help and I will be saving this to my new Instant Meals board. So thanks for the help!
★★★★★
Margaret
Great recipe, and so easy!
★★★★★
Carrie
Absolutely easy, amazing flavor and this is a great recipe!!
★★★★★
Susan
After years of making different variations of Beef Stew, THIS will now be the only recipe I use. It was incredibly easy, incredibly affordable, didn’t call for 1 million ingredients, and we devoured it! I’ve sent it to all my friends and told them they have to make it!
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
Thanks so much, Susan!
Stephanie
This pot roast was the best I have ever tasted! Simply amazing! The meat was so tender and fell apart. Vegetables came out perfect too! A huge hit for the whole family! Will definitely make it again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kathy W
Do the carrots and potatoes get mushy if you cook them as long as the meat?
The
RecipeTeacher
I use very large cuts of carrots, as per the recipe instructions, and they come out great each time.
Candice
Did you cook on hi or low in the instant pot?
RecipeTeacher
High pressure
Sandra
Could you use a beef shoulder roast and get the same results?
RecipeTeacher
Hi Sandra, yes indeed you can.
Lisa Lauenberg
Spot on! This was the first recipe I made in the new house, and it was a hit! Because we’re still moving in, a simple recipe that didn’t require a lot of ingredients or tools was exactly what I needed.
I used Santa Maria Tri-Tip Seasoning (since it’s what I had unpacked). I only had a 2 pound roast, so I cut it into 6 pieces. I think in the future, I’ll cut the broth down. I could probably have gotten away with a cup, instead of two. I ended up with TONS of gravy – way more than needed.
Oh, and a side note – I have never been able to make a good gravy before, so you’re tip about making a slurry first & then sautéing it for consistency was the key ingredient that I’d been missing in my culinary education.
I’ll be having the leftovers for lunch today
★★★★★
Wanda
I fell in love with this recipe the first time I used it. I have used it several times and will be using it again tomorrow. My family absolutely loves it as do I. I had tried 3 other recipes for pot roast before I used this one. I can tell you this one will be the only one I ever use. Just fantastic!! It is not just easy, It is the best damn pot roast I have ever eaten. My only regret is that my Grandmother is not still here for me to make it for her. I know she would love it and be amazed that it is not a hours long process to make. Thank you and I will absolutely be trying more of your recipes. Keep up the good work.
Elizabeth Vecchio
I made this and it is FANTASTIC! The meat was so tender it fell apart.
Emily
This was delicious! Even my husband who swears he hates pot roast enjoyed it! We will be using this recipe again!
★★★★★
Linda Chapel
I made this today and it was so good. I will be making this again .
Heather
My family absolutely loved this recipe
★★★★★
Charlotte
Made this amazing pot roast today. Hubby loved it and loved the flavors. I did make the gravy too. Perfect dinner for a cool first day of Fall. Will make again.
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
Thanks so much, Charlotte! I’m so glad you and hubby enjoyed it. I can’t believe it’s fall already!
PattiAnn
Question? Did you use baby red potatoes or regular size?
Thank you, Teacher
RecipeTeacher
Hi Patti. I generally select smaller size red potatoes, but haven’t used the baby reds.
Vicki Maschino
Omgosh!!! This was the bomb! Will definitely do this again!
★★★★★
Heather Szeder
Out of this world delicious! We have tried to spice things up a bit during the quarantine and decided that we would try a few recipes from this website. Started with the pot roast and we can not say enough about the flavor coming from this dish. Another thing I would like to mention is that most of the ingredients I already had, so that made is super appealing as well. This was a WIN for our family and will not be a regular dish made here in Savanah, GA! Next on the list is RecipeTeacher Brussel sprouts. They look so yummy!
★★★★★