Stovetop Beef Pot Roast

Name: Stovetop Beef Pot Roast
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 210 min
Total time: 225 min
Ingredients: 3 to 4 lbs beef chuck roast *see note 1; 12 ounce bag of baby carrots; 1½ lbs Yukon gold potatoes (quartered); 6 to 8 celery stalks; 1 large onion; 4 garlic cloves (sliced); 4 sprigs of herbs (rosemary, oregano, or thyme); 1 bay leaf; 5 cups beef broth (or stock); salt and pepper to taste; 1 cup red wine (optional); 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

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This stovetop pot roast is a fork-tender, moist beef roast made with baby carrots, celery, gold potatoes, garlic, onion, and fresh herbs. The tender roast slow-simmers on the stove top for 3.5 hours creating the most delicious infused vegetables! This one-pot meal only takes 15 minutes to assemble.

And if you like roasts with vegetables, try this Mediterranean Pot Roast or this Slow-Roasted Boneless Lamb Leg.

What I Love About This Recipe

This juicy pot roast is pretty hard to mess up, so it's perfect for anyone with cooking anxiety. It's an easy pot roast recipe for Sunday dinner or on a rainy day. I love how the meat is pull apart tender and the vegetables are infused with herbs and meat juices. This is the best pot roast I've made!

Ingredient Notes

beef roast, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion in bowls

Beef roast: Use beef chuck roast, beef shoulder roast, round roast, or even beef brisket. The best roast for pot roast is beef chuck roast, in my opinion.
Vegetables: I recommend baby carrots (from the bag), celery, and sliced onion. Use either gold potatoes or red potatoes. You can leave the skin or peel the skin off of the potatoes.
Liquid: Use water, beef stock, or beef broth as the liquid to cook the roast. The roast does not need to be covered in liquid.

bay leaf, sliced garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and rosemary on a counter

Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves if possible.
Herbs: Any combination of dried herbs or fresh herbs works well for this recipe. Some of the herbs I like to use are oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
Olive oil: Substitute any other type of fat to sear the roast: butter, coconut oil, ghee, or vegetable oil.
Other flavor makers: Red wine is an optional ingredient that adds some depth to the roast. It's optional to add a bit of tomato paste as well.

See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.

How To Make Stovetop Pot Roast

Peel and quarter the potatoes. Wash and chop the celery. Peel and slice the garlic and onion. Set the vegetables aside.

Salt and pepper the roast. In a dutch oven on high heat, sear the roast on both sides in olive oil until the meat caramelizes.

deglaze the pot by adding the carrots, potatoes, onion, celery, and garlic

Remove the roast from the pan. Turn the stove to medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and stir for about 1 minute.

add the liquid, bay leaves, and herbs to the beef chuck roast

Add the beef broth (or water), bay leaf, salt, and fresh herbs. Pour in the red wine if using. Bring the roast to a low simmer, then turn it down to low heat. Cover the pot.

stovetop pot roast after slow simmering for 3.5 hours

The cooking time should be about 3.5 hours or when you can easily shred the beef with a fork.

Serve this stovetop pot roast as-is, or add a side of rice or green bean casserole to go along with it. The vegetables are fragile, so straining the juice from the meat may be more hassle than it's worth.

Tips and Tricks

Use a 3 to 4 pound roast for the best results. This meal reheats well for leftovers. It's also great to feed a crowd.
Use four sprigs of fresh herbs. Add any combination of fresh thyme, fresh oregano, and fresh rosemary. For this exact recipe, I used two sprigs of oregano and two sprigs of rosemary.
The roast is finished cooking when you can shred the beef easily with two forks.
Do not add extra liquid to cover the roast. It's not necessary to add a lot of liquid to the pot. The roast will cook fine even if it's not submerged in liquid because it cooks from the steam.

Variations and Substitutions

This easy recipe can be prepared in a slow cooker or pressure cooker. For a slow cooker, sear the meat in a separate pot, then add everything to the slow cooker pot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. For a pressure cooker, prepare the pot roast, liquid, and vegetables. Add everything to the pressure cooker and cook on high for 1.5 hours.
Substitute vegetables. The best vegetables for pot roast are root vegetables that hold up during the long cook time. That would include any kind of potato, carrot, parsnips, onion, and celery.
Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and half a cup of red wine to deepen the sauce.

FAQs

How long does it take for a pot roast to get tender?

It takes between 3 to 4 hours for a pot roast to get tender.

Do you cook a stovetop pot roast covered or uncovered?

Cook stovetop pot roasts covered, so they stay moist and cook quicker.

Do you put vegetables on top or bottom of the pot roast?

Put the vegetables on the bottom of the pot roast.

How do I make my pot roast tender?

If the roast is tough, the meat should cook longer. Make sure the meat is cooking on a low simmer covered for 3 to 4 hours on the stovetop.

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