Old Fashioned Pot Roast

The best classic Sunday dinner, this old fashioned pot roast recipe is fall apart tender when cooked in a dutch oven.

Tender and juicy this simple, easy recipe is a weekly tradition in our home. A family favorite, this hearty, cozy recipe makes the perfect meal.

Old Fashioned Pot Roast in Dutch Oven

Passed from generation to generation, this old fashioned pot roast recipe brings back memories of Sunday dinners.

Nothing compared to walking through the front door from church and smelling the aroma of our pot roast dinner that filled the home.

Growing up, Sundays were special. Our family gathered around the large dining room table and enjoyed the most delicious meal of the week.

Fork tender, succulent beef, flavorful, fresh vegetables, and homemade gravy made from the browned bits on the bottom of the pot was the perfect Sunday dinner.

Made from scratch, this flavor-filled old-fashioned pot roast recipe is unbeatable. Hearty and filling, gather your family around the table and enjoy the best tender beef roast for an easy dinner.

It is down-home country-style cooking that will become a favorite family meal.

What is a Pot Roast?

A pot roast is a beef roast that starts with a tougher cut of beef. Cooking it at a low temperature for a long time in a dutch oven breaks down the tough connective tissues resulting in deliciously fork-tender meat with a flavorful gravy.

Slow cooking tenderizes the meat as the liquid exchanges some of its flavors with the beef.

The beef roast is generally cooked in a dutch oven with carrots, potatoes, and onions simmered in beef broth or red wine.

The result is a tender roast with juicy meat with a rich liquid that makes a delicious brown gravy.

If you are looking for a different way to cook an easy pot roast recipe with vegetables, be sure to get the recipe for my Pot Roast made with Cream of Mushroom and Homemade Onion Soup Mix!

What is the Best Meat to use for Pot Roast

• Beef Chuck Roast: Cut from the shoulder of the cow and is often the most affordable option. Beef chuck roast has outstanding marbling, making the roast tender and juicy when cooked.
• Brisket: Generally thought of for barbecue recipes, beef brisket has abundant fat that works well for cooking a roast.
• Bottom Round Roast: leaner than brisket or chuck, bottom round roast may need additional fat to prevent your pot roast from drying out.

Kitchen Essentials You May Need

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You can find my favorite kitchen essentials can be located in my Amazon storefront. While I often try to link to the exact products you see in my photos and videos, my pieces are usually vintage and often thrifted. However, I try to find and connect replicas as much as possible, made in the USA or by other small shops, as I believe in supporting hardworking American families.

• Cast Iron Dutch Oven: creating a steamy environment inside the pot is the key to keeping moisture in and resulting in tender meat. A dutch oven is a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, and the even and consistent heat conduction and retention of cast iron make it ideal for making the best roast!
• Cutting Board: new or vintage cutting boards are used for slicing and dicing vegetables.
• Small Pairing Knife: A sharp paring knife is essential kitchen. A thin blade, perfect for peeling fruits and vegetables and doing delicate prep work on the board. 
• Vegetable Peeler: this vegetable peeler is highly rated and USA-made!

Easy Dutch Oven Pot Roast Ingredients

• 3-5 lb Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
• 2-3 Tablespoons of fat (I use Lard)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoon Flour
• 1 Medium Onion, peeled and sliced
• New Potatoes (Yellow or Red Potatoes are delicious as well)
• Whole Carrots, sliced into 2-inch pieces
• 3-4 cups of Beef Broth
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Sprigs Fresh Herbs Thyme
• 2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
• 2 Bay Leaves

How to Make an Old Fashioned Pot Roast in the Dutch Oven

While you need to allow plenty of time for the cooking process, this easy, tender, old fashioned pot roast recipe takes very little prep time.

Prepare this one-pot meal in the late morning; by evening, the whole family will be anxious for the juiciest pot roast at dinnertime!

Step 1: Brown the Pot Roast

Heat fat in a dutch oven on top of the stove. Combine flour, salt, and pepper; rub flour mixture on the surface of the meat.

Brown meat well on the sides and edges of the meat for a couple of minutes until it is a deep, rich color. Browning the meat helps to render out some of the fat.

Step 2: Deglaze the Skillet

After browning the roast, you will see brown bits of food stuck to the bottom of the pan. These bits are loaded with flavor. To deglaze, transfer beef to a separate plate.

Then, add a cup of beef broth to the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan, loosening the food with a wooden spoon until it mixes with the liquid.

Step 3: Add Roast and Remaining Ingredients

Add onions to the bottom of the dutch oven. Then, return the browned roast to the dutch oven, placing it on top of vegetables.

Add garlic clove, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves over the top of the roast. Add enough beef broth to cover at least halfway up the side of the roast.

Step 4: Bake Pot Roast

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place a dutch oven in a 275-degree oven to cook for 2 hours. After 2 hours, add the potatoes and 2-inch slices of carrots to the dutch oven, mixing them into the cooking liquid.

Check the amount of liquid surrounding the roast and if needed, add enough beef broth to cover the top of the vegetables.

Cover and return it to the oven to continue baking for an additional cooking time of 1 -2 hours or until the roast is fall-apart tender and the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender.

Step 5: Serve Old Fashioned Pot Roast

When the roast is tender, remove the bay leaf and place the roast on a serving platter along with whole vegetables.

To make a complete meal, serve this juicy pot roast alongside homemade Sourdough Dinner Rolls and mashed potatoes.

How Long to Cook a Pot Roast

The exact cook time will be different every time because every roast is different. Old-fashioned pot roast is best cooked at a lower temperature for several hours in the oven to break down any tough tissue.

• Cook a 3lb roast for 3-3.5 hrs
• Cook a 4lb roast for 3.5-4 hrs
• Cook a 5lb roast for 4.5-5 hrs

Check the chuck roast with a fork; if the meat is tough, it needs more time to cook. Place the lid back on the dutch oven and let it continue baking in the oven; the roast is ready when it is fall-apart fork tender.

Tips for Cooking Vegetables in a Pot Roast

• Don’t Slice your Carrots Thin. They have a tendency to turn to mush if they are too small. I find that baby carrots work the best.
• Peel and Cut Potatoes: Yukon and red potatoes are great options to use if garden fresh new potatoes are unavailable. Peel and dice potatoes into about 2-inch pieces.

What to do With Leftover Pot Roast

Leftover pot roast is a great problem to have, and I store leftovers in a glass storage container that is oven-safe. The next day, I remove the lid, place the pot roast in the oven and reheat it.

Another great option is to shred the pot roast, place it in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add some BBQ sauce and make a BBQ roasted sandwich.

Printable Recipe Card: Dutch Oven Pot Roast Recipe

More Delicious Dutch Oven Dinner Meal Ideas

• Dutch Oven Meatloaf Recipe
• Dutch Oven Pulled Pork
• Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
• Oven Baked Chuck Roast Recipe
• Dutch Oven Lasagna
• How To Make Homemade Dutch Oven Vegetable Soup
• Old Fashioned Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe

this post was originally posted on June 29, 2020, and updated on August 01, 2021