Crockpot pot roast with potatoes and carrots
A browned chuck roast slow cooks with potatoes, carrots and herbs until it falls apart, then the juices become a silky gravy.
- 600 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $5.12 a serving
- 610 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 3 lb chuck roast
- 1½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 4 carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
From your pantry
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
Each serving has about 610 calories, 47 g protein, 32 g carbs and 33 g fat, and costs about $5.12 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the roast dry and it all over with the salt and pepper.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . the roast 4 to 5 minutes a side, until deep brown all over.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Sear. Searing means cooking the outside of meat or fish in a hot pan, without moving it, until a deep brown crust forms. The crust is packed with flavor, and it only forms on a dry surface.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the moment it goes in, and it lets go of the pan on its own when the crust is ready.
Medium-high heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: This browning is where most of the flavor comes from, so give it the full time on every side.Put the potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in the slow cooker and set the roast on top.
Turn the heat to medium, pour the broth into the hot skillet with the tomato paste and vinegar, and . Pour it over the roast and add the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Medium heat
Cover and cook on low 8 to 9 hours, until the roast is and the vegetables are soft.
Fork-tender. Fork-tender means cooked until a fork slides in with almost no push. It’s how you know potatoes, carrots or slow-cooked meat are soft all the way through.
How you’ll know: The fork slides in and out easily, and meat pulls apart with very little effort.
Timer: 480 min
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Move the roast and vegetables to a platter, throw away the bay leaves, and cover with foil.
the cornstarch and water until smooth, stir it into the juices, cover, and cook on high 15 minutes, until into gravy.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Timer: 15 min
Pull the roast into big chunks and serve with the vegetables and the gravy poured over.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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