Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Pot Roast
Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Pot Roast with Gravy & Vegetables is the best pot roast I’ve ever made. This easy, one-pot dinner is a family favorite!
Have you ever cooked with a pressure cooker? I bought an Instant Pot last year on Black Friday and I’ve only used it a couple of times in the past year. That was then, this is now.
After making this pot roast I can’t believe I waited this long to really dive into pressure cooking. It was SO great being able to make this comfort food recipe in one pot and I never had to turn on the oven! While this pot roast recipe has a few stages of cooking, it’s 100% worth the effort!!
This recipe for Old-Fashioned Pot Roast with Gravy and Vegetables is from my friend Barbara’s new cookbook, The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook.
I met Barbara back in September while on a trip to Iowa. Barbara is just about the sweetest lady ever. Her blogs Barbara Bakes and Pressure Cooking Today are must-read sites.
During the trip, we chatted a few times about using an Instant Pot and how versatile it really is. Use it as a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, a rice cooker, saute, make soup, this list goes on and on.
Barbara even started to teach us about how to turn slow cooker recipes into pressure cooker recipes so they could be made quickly in the evening versus cooking all day. She knows all the tricks. So, when her pressure cooker cookbook came out I had to get my hands on it.
As expected, Barbara did not disappoint. This instant pot chuck roast is tender, comforting, and packed with flavor. The potatoes and carrots are cooked perfectly and the gravy brings it all together. I couldn’t stop taking bites of the beef. I’m addicted!
How to Make Instant Pot Pot Roast
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Remove roast from package and pat dry with a paper towel. Season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.
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Turn your Instant Pot on to saute. Once hot, add the vegetable oil to the vessel. Place the roast in the hot pan and sear on each side for 5 minutes until browned. Remove the roast to a plate and set aside.
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Add onions to the vessel. Cook for 3 minutes until softened. Stir occasionally, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
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Add the beef broth, tomato paste, and bay leaves to the onions. Stir until the tomato paste is incorporated. Add the roast back to the pan. Cover and lock the lid in place. With the valve on sealing, use the manual option to set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 75 minutes.
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Once the cooking is done. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Then do a quick release of the remaining pressure. (I use a kitchen towel when moving the valve to prevent steam burns.) Take the roast out of the pan and place it on a plate or cutting board. Cover with foil and set aside.
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Remove the bay leaves and add the carrots and potatoes to the vessel. Cover and lock the lid in place. With the valve on sealing, use the manual option to set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 3 minutes. After the cooking has finished, do a quick release of the pressure. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and gently toss.
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In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and water until smooth. Then, pour the liquid from the Instant Pot vessel through a strainer. Discard any solids. Pour the cooking liquid into a fat separator. Pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into the flour mixture and the rest into the vessel. DO NOT pour the fat back in. Stir the flour mixture until it forms a slurry and is well combined. Pour the slurry into the vessel.
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Turn the Instant Pot to saute and bring the gravy to a boil, whisking often. Cook until boiling and thickened. Turn off the pressure cooker. Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat.
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Uncover the pot roast and cut into large serving pieces. (I discarded any big pieces of fat that were on their own.) Plate the pot roast on a serving platter. If desired, plate the carrots and potatoes around the edge of the serving platter around the pot roast, or serving the vegetables in their own serving bowl. Pour some of the gravy over the pot roast and reserve the rest for diners. Serve immediately.
There’s also a video down below the recipe to walk you through this meal step-by-step.
I made this old-fashioned pot roast recipe while my husband was at a car show and when he got home he couldn’t stop talking about how awesome the house smelled. Which of course led to “When’s dinner?” “Can we eat yet?” “Did you already take pictures?” He knows me.
My family raved about this dinner! I can’t wait to cook my way through Barbara’s book and rock out my Instant Pot. You can pick up a copy from Amazon. I also highly recommend these Instant Pot Al Pastor Tacos. They’re not from Barbara, but OMG they are amazing and will make you feel like an Instant Pot pro.
Love pot roast, but don’t have an Instant Pot? Try this slow cooker Mississippi Pot Roast. It’s crazy easy to prep, then you set it and forget it. Perfect for busy weeknights!
More family-style meals to love!
Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup brown or yellow onion diced
- 14.5 ounces low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 6 red potatoes cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Remove roast from package and pat dry with a paper towel. Season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Turn your Instant Pot on to saute. Once hot, add the vegetable oil to the vessel. Place the roast in the hot pan and sear on each side for 5 minutes until browned. Remove the roast to a plate and set aside.
- Add onions to the vessel. Cook for 3 minutes until softened. Stir occasionally, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the beef broth, tomato paste, and bay leaves to the onions. Stir until the tomato paste is incorporated. Add the roast back to the pan. Cover and lock the lid in place. With the valve on sealing, use the manual option to set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 75 minutes.
- Once the cooking is done. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Then do a quick release of the remaining pressure. (I use a kitchen towel when moving the valve to prevent steam burns.) Take the roast out of the pan and place it on a plate or cutting board. Cover with foil and set aside.
- Remove the bay leaves and add the carrots and potatoes to the vessel. Cover and lock the lid in place. With the valve on sealing, use the manual option to set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 3 minutes. After the cooking has finished, do a quick release of the pressure. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and gently toss.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and water until smooth. Then, pour the liquid from the Instant Pot vessel through a strainer. Discard any solids. Pour the cooking liquid into a fat separator. Pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into the flour mixture and the rest into the vessel. DO NOT pour the fat back in. Stir the flour mixture until it form a slurry and is well combined. Pour the slurry into the vessel.
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute and bring the gravy to a boil, whisking often. Cook until boiling and thickened. Turn off the pressure cooker. Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat.
- Uncover the pot roast and cut into large serving pieces. (I discarded any big pieces of fat that were on their own.) Plate the pot roast on a serving platter. If desired, plate the carrots and potatoes around the edge of the serving platter around the pot roast, or serving the vegetables in their own serving bowl. Pour some of the gravy over the pot roast and reserve the rest for diners. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
It looks so delicious! So glad you loved the book. Thanks for all the sweet things you said <3 Glad you're rocking the Instant Pot now.
I’ve been eating the leftovers cold out of the fridge. I can’t stop! I think I’m going to make baked pot roast sandwiches (meat & gravy all mixed together topped with cheese) next time.
Barbara how do we get your book
Sharon, you can get her book here>> http://amzn.to/2ivo5yM
I made this tonight with a few slight modifications. I cooked the roast for 60 minutes, then removed it and added the vegetables. I cut my potatoes large and used whole baby carrots, so I went with 5 minutes on the vegetable step, the veggies were perfect!. I made the broth with beef base paste and my gravy was incredible! The roast was fork tender. I’ll be making this again and again! I’ve only had my Instant pot a week today and I’ve used it four times and it was a success each time! I don’t know how I lived without this kitchen helper!
I love my Instant Pot more are more every time I use it! Barbara’s cookbook is helping me get past my initial hesitation. 🙂 So glad you liked the pot roast. It’s become my husband’s #1 dinner request.
I am confused in the recipe about the gravy. Is the liquid you talk about the flour and water or the beef broth?
Hi Lindsay! The “liquid” is what’s in the Instant Pot after you cook the roast and veggies. It is the beef broth with tomato paste, juices from the roast, and other flavors added during cooking. When making the gravy, after using the fat separator, you’ll pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid (beef broth mixture) into the flour & water slurry you mixed already and stir it together. Then you’ll put the rest of the cooking liquid AND the slurry back into the Instant Pot to make the gravy. Hope this helps!
Does the roast need to be thawed before cooking it?
Hi Becky! I make this recipe with a non-frozen roast, but I checked with Barbara and here’s what she said:
“You can cook a frozen roast – add about 5 minutes per pound. I don’t love cooking large cuts of meat from frozen because the outside gets cook so much faster than the inside and it’s harder to judge how long it will take, but you can do it and the results will be good not just as good I don’t think.”
Hope this helps!!
Do you put the roast into the liquid or on a trivet?
Hi Christine! The roast goes into the liquid.
The way I add up your times it is 2 hours start to finish. Not 90 minutes, so unfortunately we will be getting takeout and eating it tomorrow as leftovers. ?
Hi Barb. I apologize. Apparently, my recipe plugin isn’t showing the 25 minutes of inactive recipe time I listed in the recipe. The entire recipe does take about 2 hours. I’ve moved the inactive time to “prep time” to remedy this. I’m sorry dinner wasn’t timed right, but I hope you enjoyed the leftovers! Thank you for bringing this to my attention so I can make edits.
Are there any adjustments to be made if using the 8 quart IP? Thanks
Hi Jean! I have an 8-quart Instant Pot and that’s what I make this recipe in. You should be good to go. 🙂
Hi! Using a regular slow cooker I throw everything in at once using a slow cooker seasoning pack. Can I still do it that way without all the extra steps and cook it all together just faster?
Hi Jen. I haven’t made this recipe in the slow cooker. Thank being said you could probably get away with cooking the potatoes, carrots, and roast together. You’d still need to finish the gravy on the stove top to get it to thicken up though. I’d love to know how things go in the slow cooker!!
Please recommend a cook time for roast per lb. My roast is bigger than the one in your recipe.
Hi Lorrie! According to the Instant Pot website, you need 15 minutes per pound. This recipe cooks the roast 25 minutes per pound, so I’d go 20 to be on the safe side. 🙂 Hope this helps!
I’m in the process of cooking and don’t have a fat separator…any tips?
After you strain the cooking liquid, leave it in the bowl to rest. The fat will naturally float to the top and you can skim it off with a spoon or ladle. Just get as much as you can. 🙂
I don’t have a separator, either.
Pour all the liquid into a one gallon zip lock baggie. The fat will rise to the top. Hold the baggie over a container and snip a hole in one bottom corner. Let the liquid pour out of the baggie into a container. When the fat gets down to the bottom of the baggie, pinch off the corner, keeping the fat in the baggie.
Simple!
Love this Ken! Thank you for sharing!! I’ll have to keep this in mind when I’m at my mom’s house.
This is the only way I make a roast now. Melt in your mouth tender every time and seasoned perfectly.
Thanks!!
Bought an IP months ago and it’s collecting dust. Bringing this to my daughter’s for Sunday dinner ??. If all goes well I’ll be buying Barbara’s book. Thanks so much for getting it out of the box!
Yay Diane! I have the utmost confidence in you! Barbara’s book is like the Instant Pot bible to me now. 😉 I’d love to hear what you thought of the roast!
I made this today for lunch and it was sooo good. My husband loves it. I used venison roast instead and it turned out delicious. The gravy was amazing. I did add a little bit more flour after adding the gravy into instant pot for saute and boiling so I could get the gravy a little thicker. Thanks for the recipe. It will definitely be a staple in our house from now on.
Oh my gosh! I made this tonight and I will never make a roast any other way!! It was so tender, and the gravy had so much flavor. I’ve had an instant pot fo a year and I use it several times a week, but I’ve never tackled a roast. I came across this recipe today and had a roast in my fridge for dinner so I decided to give it a try. So glad a did! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Deirdre! IT’s our favorite pot roast recipe too. 🙂
Wow, this one took me to a new level of pot roast enjoyment. I did make a small detour from the instructions: Need to be gluten free so I used sweet rice flour and the gravy was perfect. Used a tube of italian tomato paste from Trader Joes instead of opening a can. Didn’t worry about the fat seperating, though I did trim the roast to start with (they always seem to hide a big slab of fat under the meat). Trying it with parsnips today. Thanks again.
Oooooo! I love parsnips. That sounds like a great idea!
I received my IP just after Christmas. I’m a new mom, at the time my son is only a month old. As I loved cooking also I love to spend more time with my baby. Most of the time I got frustrated if I can’t finish preparing the food before my husband arrive. But thanks to the IP, no more frustration I can set the timer in my IP and it will do the job for me while I can spend more time with my baby and serve delicious meal. With the IP is like I hired a helper and the good part is I don’t have to pay.
So excited to explore more on InstaPot. 🙂
Fantastic roast! Better than I have ever done in a slow cooker. I skipped the straining of fat, my meat had little fat and it stayed on the meat for easy removal. I cooked the veggies for 5 minutes and everything turned out perfect and tender. The 2 year old loved it! Thanks
I used this recipe as a guideline for my first IP roast. My roast was a little smaller so I cooked for 45 minutes. That was the only real change. The roast was excellent and hubby stuffed himself!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience!!!
So glad you loved it Jurhee!
The acid in tomatoes makes me sick. Can I skip the tomato paste?
Hi Marcia. You could skip the tomato paste, but you’re going to lose some depth of flavor in the roast and gravy. You could absolutely give it a try and see how things go though. 🙂
Looking forward to trying this for Easter this Sunday! I have a 3 lb roast that I cut in half to freeze & I would like thaw that to use it for this recipe. Should I adjust the cooking time any since its not a whole 3 lb roast?
Hi Shannon! How close to 3 pounds is the roast? If it’s both halves I would go with 50 minutes and check it. If it’s not tender enough add another 15 minutes. With the cooking liquid in the pot if will become more fall apart and not tough as the roast cooks.
I’ve made this before exactly as the recipe shows and it was the best roast I’ve ever had! I’m planning on doubnling the recipe for Easter dinner. Any tips to make sure it turns out just as delicious?
New to the instant pot, why can’t I just put the potatoes and carrots in when I cook the roast for 70 min.. like I would in a crock pot?
Hi Bobbi! The potatoes and carrots don’t need to cook as long as the roast does and you don’t want to lose the pressure that’s cooking the meat by adding them in part of the way through cooking. Hope this helps!
Hello; can you cook the meat one day and finish the gravy and veggies the next day?
Hi Frederique! You could, but you’ll want to reserve the cooking liquid and keep it in the fridge in the meantime for food safety reasons.
This was my first try with an instant pot last night and we loved it! I was wondering if you have any ideas what to make so we can use the left over gravy! Gravy was so good!!??
So glad you loved it, Jennifer! I love using the gravy to make shepherd’s pie (Add sound cooked ground beef & frozen peas & carrots, mix together and put in a baking dish. Then top with mashed potatoes and cheese and bake.) or cook some meatballs, add a touch of cream to the gravy, and top them with the gravy over mashed potatoes or egg noodles for sort of Swedish meatballs. 🙂 Hope this helps!
I’m just starting this pot roast recipe. Fingers crossed! I scrolled thru the comments and noticed ur last name is Espy. My maiden name is Espo. So I’m more commenting on that at this point and hope this doesn’t auto post. Are you of Finnish descent? It’s rare to come across someone w a last name so similar. Just curious.
Hi Heather! I’m actually Scottish descent on my father’s side – Espy from Gillespie. I don’t really come across too many similar last names either! How fun!!
Curious why you separate out the fat before making gravy? I’ve always left the fat in for making gravy. So I was curious if this was for health reasons or if it changes something with the gravy consistency.
Hi Charissa! Removing the fat gives a better gravy flavor, in my opinion. You could leave the fat if that’s how you like your gravy, but I find I like gravy better with the fat from the pan drippings removed. I think it gives a more intense meat flavor that isn’t diluted by the fat.
Made this roast for dinner tonite. Followed recipe except for the tomato paste which I did not have. Didn’t miss it. The roast and veggies turned out great. Will make it again. Thanks for recipe. Lots better than other recipes I’ve tried.
That’s so great Bobbie! I’m glad you loved it!
I am on a low sodium diet due to CHF and I would like to try the pot roast if it’s possible to reduce the sodium content per serving by 75 percent. Any suggestions?
Hi J.W. The majority of the sodium in this recipe comes from the meat itself and the beef broth – followed by the potatoes and carrots. You could use a homemade beef broth to cut back on the sodium a bit, but outside of that, I don’t know enough about low-sodium diets or nutrition to recommend anything else. Maybe lower sodium vegetables in place of the carrots and potatoes?!
Are the nutrition facts right? 900 calories per serving?
Hi Mama Dukes. The nutritional information listed is based on a service I use, and since I’m not a dietitian/nutritionist I can’t promise it’s 100% right. That being said, part of the high-calorie count is in part due to the chuck roast and potatoes and in part to the fact that the recipe factors in the entire boat of gravy since the ingredients are part of the recipe…even though we’re not using all the gravy that’s made. Depending on how much everyone eats, you could get up to 6 servings from this recipe which would take the calorie count down closer to 600+ calories. I hope this helps. 🙂
This was absolutely wonderful! I added fresh mushrooms at the onion sautéing phase as well as it took it to the next level 🙂
This was my first meal in my instapot. Venison roast potatoes carrota and onion. Absolutely amazing. My family loved it.
This was a very good dish, the family loved it.
This was my second meal in the instant pot and I’m happy to say it was a rousing success. Thank you for your carefully written instructions and clear video. ???
Hi, I love my instant pot. I have made this recipe 2 times now. Both times. I have had problems with my veggies cooking. Before putting my meat in to cook, i deglazed the bottom of my instant pot with the beef broth. Figuring this was the problem for the veggies not cooking. So then, after meat is cooked and taken out. I put the veggies in…..did not cook, did it for another 8 min….also did not cook. Why am I having problems with stuff sticking on the bottom of my instant pot. I now have scraped the bottom to get reminants off of it and am now trying for the third time to cook my veggies. Any ideas of what i am doing qrong. By the way…once it is all finished, it is one of my favorite meals.
There are many good pressure cookers on the market. Addressing all recipes to only the “Insta-pot” turns away many people looking for just pressure cooker recipes. I recommend one of your recipes to a friend with the new 8 quart insignia pressure cooker. They didn’t even try it as each recipe only speaks to the inta pot.
Holy crap! I’m 52 years old and have made a few pot roasts in my time, but have never made the “perfect one”. This one is IT!! Wow. Phenomenal flavor, FALL APART tender, excellent gravy. I was a little worried the potatoes and carrots would be underdone with only 3 minutes, but NOPE! They were perfection as well. Not a single thing I would change with this recipe. Not a single thing. My entire family thought this was the BEST pot roast ever. EVER!
Been using this recipe for years and I figured I should show the love and give it a review. So easy and it turns out fantastic. Thanks for posting!
Note: I don’t personally separste the fat in the gravy, but that obviously can be an optional so, depending on preference!
Also I’ve added other veggies (think mushrooms, red peppers, parsnips, etc.) which works also!
This is my go-to Pot Roast recipe for the InstaPot and I have it bookmarked. I found your recipe a few years back and have made it many times. Thank you!!
The only thing I really do differently is add a bit more liquid and additional carrots – and sometimes peeled, medium chunks of sweet potato (these will get very soft but my family likes sweet potatoes).
The fat separator is crucial for a good gravy- I bought one after my first attempt at the recipe. It’s worth the effort and extra steps. It always comes out great and my family loves it, especially in the colder months.
This past year, with ordering groceries online to pick up, I don’t get to choose the specific roast, so sizes have varied. For cuts larger than 3lbs, I add on to the 75 minutes about 12.5 minutes per additional half pound.
Also, when it comes to searing each side – I find that 5 minutes is often too much. About 4 minutes per each broad side and 2-3 minutes for edges is good. Otherwise the bottom of the pot gets too scorched – and no amount of deglazing/ scraping helps. If it doesn’t break up and you just leave it, the pot will not reach pressure and you may see an error code about a burn. This happened to me once and I’ve learned my lesson! Still, a couple times I’ve been distracted and I’ve seared a bit too long. To fix it, after I remove the roast to the plate, (before adding onions/tomato paste), I wash and scrub the pot and start anew on sauté mode with some oil – then continue with adding onions and go from there.
This is my go-to recipe for making a roast and veggies in the InstaPot. I’ve made this probably a dozen times over the last few years. It’s a great winter meal and everyone loves it. I use a bit more onion than listed, but otherwise stick to the recipe as written.
When making a larger cut of beef, I’d add about 15-20 minutes per pound.
I bought a fat separator and it makes a huge difference in making the gravy, too!
About to cook this now – a great snow day dinner.