Sunday Dinner doesn’t get much better than my Tender Pot Roast! This classic Pot Roast is jam—packed with flavour and yields fall apart tender, juicy and mouthwatering beef, that melts in your mouth. This dish is really comfort food at it’s finest. A plate of this Pot Roast is bound to put a smile on your face and give you the comfy and cozy feeling you crave, when the weather gets that much colder! What could be more comforting and satisfying then this?!
People always say good things take time and this Pot Roast is no different. My recipe calls for Chuck roast - this wallet friendly cut of beef is perfectly marbled and really benefits and shines with a longer cook time. It’s braised in a bold, rich, fragrant and flavourful sauce alongside your favourite vegetables - potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and garlic, to create the most perfect and satisfying one-pot meal! This dish really takes the guess work out of dinner prep.
This dish is often referred to as a go-to or classic Sunday dinner meal, but, it’s perfect for just about any day of the week. My Tender Pot Roast recipe requires minimal prep and let’s the oven do all the heavy lifting. What more could you ask for? Did I mention that this recipe yields quite a few servings?! Hooray - dinner is covered for the next few days! Leaving you with some much needed time to rest and relax and savour the fruits of your labour.
If you’re looking to simplify your Sunday dinner routine or just want a delicious meal, then you’ll have to give this recipe a try! So, let me show you how it’s done. Grab a spoon and come and cook with me!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours and 34 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours and 44 minutes
Serves: 8 - 10
Ingredients:
4.5 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp avocado oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (See Notes below)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup red wine (such as Merlot) (See Notes below)
4 carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 celery stalks, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 cups beef stock
2 fresh bay leaves (See Notes below)
6 thyme sprigs
1 rosemary sprig
1 lb baby potatoes
Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped, as garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the chuck roast from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperate for at least 30 minutes. Pat it dry and season it liberally with salt, garlic and onion powder and pepper.
Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the avocado oil. Once hot, add the beef and sear it for 4 minutes per side for a total of 24 minutes. Remove the beef from the skillet and transfer it to a plate. Set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and, to the same skillet, add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and red wine to deglaze the skillet. Give it a good mix and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 4 minutes or until the wine has slightly reduced in volume. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Transfer the beef to a large roaster (at least a 4L capacity) along with the carrots and celery. Pour in the beef stock and onion and wine sauce. Top with bay leaves and rosemary and thyme sprigs. Cover and transfer the pot roast into the oven to cook for 2 1/2 hours.
Carefully remove the roaster from the oven and add the potatoes. Cover and return to the oven for an additional 1 1/2 hours of cook time or until the beef is fall apart tender and the potatoes are cooked through.
Remove the pot roast from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes. Garnish with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and serve and enjoy!
Notes:
Using a Dutch Oven: To keep the dishes to a minimum, replace the skillet and roaster in this recipe with a large Dutch oven (at least a 4L capacity). Do all your searing, sautéing and roasting in a single pot.
Building the Flavour: You want to get the skillet or Dutch oven nice and hot for this step. Searing the beef for 4 minutes per side will add maximum flavour to this dish. As the beef sears, you’re building incremental flavour, caramelizing the meat and forming a beautiful crust. This will amplify the deep flavour profile of your pot roast.
Making It Gluten-Free: To make this dish gluten-free, simply substitute the Worcestershire sauce with gluten-free Tamari on a 1:1 basis.
It’s Wine O’Clock: The wine and beef stock combine to create the braising liquid of the Pot Roast. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to select a red wine that you enjoy drinking, as the wine will heavily influence the flavour of this dish. I love using a full-bodied Merlot in this recipe but you can substitute it on a 1:1 basis with your favourite Cabernet Sauvignon.
Fresh Versus Dry: If you don’t have fresh Bay leaves handy, don’t fret. You can substitute fresh bay leaves for dried with a simple modification. Dried Bay leaves are more potent and stronger in flavour, so when substituting for fresh, stick with a single dried Bay leaf.
