Slow Cooker Perfect Pot Roast and Homemade Gravy

Our Slow Cooker Perfect Pot Roast Recipe and Homemade Gravy is full of flavor and tastes amazing – it turns out perfect every time! With only simple pantry ingredients and a few fresh vegetables, you can have the best Sunday Dinner or special occasion dinner that everyone will rave about.

What You’ll Love About This Recipe:

With a little bit of extra effort with this ultimate comfort food recipe, you will have the most tender dish cooking on low and making your house smell amazing, until you are ready to serve this hearty meal. 

We have found through trial and error that giving a chuck roast a nice sear before cooking in the crock pot, you can get most of the flavor and moisture to trap into the meat, creating the best flavor and texture imaginable. Not to mention the amazing gravy recipe you can make from the cooking liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker.

“I saw this on Pinterest and thought it looked good. The instructions were easy to follow and it turned out awesome! The whole family loved it and this will probably be one of my go-to pot roast recipes.” –Tanya

We love to pair this roast with sides like our potato casserole, candied slow cooker sweet potatoes, and our simple 30-minute dinner rolls.

Key Ingredients and Flavors:

For a classic pot roast, you will need a fresh chuck roast to get the best, melt-in-your-mouth, tender roast. You can use a rump roast or a bottom round roast as well. 

A mixture of baby carrots, onions, and garlic will provide amazing flavor for many aspects of this crockpot recipe. 

Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar are also a few of the powerhouse ingredients needed to flavor this tender roast.

Choosing the Best Cut for Pot Roast

To get the best slow cooker pot roast, a chuck roast is the best way to go. When it comes to the best cut of meat, the chuck roast is made from the shoulder of the cow, providing plenty of marbling of connective tissues, which makes for a very tender meat in this roast beef recipe.

Ingredient Notes for a Rich Pot Roast Gravy

The secret to this amazing gravy is the flavor that develops in the slow cooker. Ingredients like Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar add a lot of flavor that a simple gravy packet cannot make. The drippings from the roast are the star ingredient, capturing all the rich flavor of the slow-cooked meat.

Do you have to sear this roast?

You don’t HAVE to, but I highly recommend it and our preferred method to make crock pot roast. The reason you sear it before cooking it is to amplify the flavor (some say that it locks in moisture, but my roasts have turned out just as moist without searing).

When you sear a roast, you are caramelizing the surface of the meat, which just really enhances the flavor. Searing really is the difference between a mediocre roast and an AMAZINGLY flavorful roast.

How to make Slow Cooker Perfect Pot Roast:

1. In a large skillet on the stove top and heat over medium-high heat, add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure the oil gets to hot actually be able to actually sear the meat.
2. Generously sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic salt on all sides of the beef chuck roast.
3. Place the roast in a hot pan and let it sear with the oil on that side for 2 minutes. Flip the roast over and sear the other side for 2 minutes. Depending on the shape of your pot roast, you can sear the other sides if you choose.
4. Spray the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and place your seared pot roast in the crockpot.
5. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the hot skillet and cook the vegetables and onion in the skillet. Sseason with more salt and pepper, if desired. 
6. Using a spatula, scrape the “brown bits” (aka the burnt bits) off the bottom of the skillet as you cook the vegetables (don’t worry, these bits add so much flavor!). Cooking everything until the vegetables start to soften.
7. Add garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 another minute.
8. Place the tender vegetables in the slow cooker, spreading the vegetables all around the roast. The vegetables will add flavor to the roast and to the gravy recipe. Plus, they make for a great side dish.
9. Carefully pour in the beef broth, trying to pour the beef broth on the sides as much as possible to avoid removing the flavor added to the beef and veggies.
10. Pour the Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce directly on the roast and sprinkle thyme and rosemary over top.
11. Place the lid on top of the slow cooker and set the timer for 8-10 hours on low heat (it will vary based on your slow cooker – mine is done in 8 hours, but some will take longer) or 4-5 hours on high heat.
12. Remove roast from slow cooker and slice into pieces (it should basically fall apart by this point).
13. Serve with mashed potatoes and the cooked carrots on the side.

To make the homemade gravy:

1. When the roast is done cooking, use a baster (or whatever method you want) to remove the liquid from the slow cooker.
2. Place a small saucepan on the stovetop and heat it over medium heat, adding the butter to the saucepan and letting it melt.
3. Add flour and whisk the flour and melted butter together until it makes a paste (be sure to stir consistently so it doesn’t burn).
4. Carefully pour in the drippings from the slow cooker, while whisking the entire time.
5. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the gravy reaches the thickness you prefer. If it is not thick enough, you could make up a quick cornstarch slurry to thicken up the gravy.

Pro Tips: 

• I highly recommend cooking this roast on low – I have never had it turn out as well when I have cooked it on high. Also, you want your house to smell good alllllll day long.
•  To make gravy, you will want to get at least 3 cups of drippings from the slow cooker.
• If you don’t have quite enough drippings, you can supplement with a can of beef broth or beef stock (I like to use beef stock for gravy because it’s a little more flavorful).

FAQ for Pot Roast

More beef dishes:

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast Recipe is similar to this recipe, but without the added gravy (but you can always use the gravy recipe with this one too!)

Either version, whether you want to make our Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast or the Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast recipe, will give you amazing flavor.

Slow Cooker Three Envelope Pot Roast Sliders Recipe are a fun twist on the classic slow cooker pot roast.