This Dutch Oven Pot Roast is everything you need to keep you warm and cozy this winter! It’s so tender it falls apart beautifully, and it’s packed with lots of rich flavors.
I love that this pot roast is the perfect one pot meal. The beef, carrots, and potatoes all cook in the same Dutch oven, so clean-up is always easy and convenient.
I promise you will love this comforting Dutch oven pot roast. It’s a great family dinner option that will keep everyone coming back for seconds!
It’s that time of year when I pull out my large 8-quart Dutch oven to make cozy one pot meals. I recently made a Dutch oven roast chicken and I’ve also been making this hearty beef stew a lot. Every meal around here is so delicious!
Today I am sharing an amazing Dutch oven pot roast recipe. I’ve tested it over and over again until I got the flavors and consistency just right. I promise you will absolutely love it.
The meat is so tender and just falls apart beautifully. It’s also full of so many deep and rich flavors – it’s unreal. You’ll also love that it’s the perfect one pot meal that makes clean-up super easy!
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Why Use a Dutch Oven
Dutch ovens are great for searing and browning. They do a great job creating brown bits from searing the meat, onions and garlic. When deglazed, these brown bits release tons of flavor to the dish. Dutch ovens are also good at creating a great meat sear.
Additionally, Dutch ovens are GREAT for proper heat retention, which results in tender, moist, and juicy meat.
Searing and Browning: The Most Important Steps
If there are two things I can say to make this Dutch oven pot roast the best ever, it’s these: 1) Get a good sear on the meat and 2) don’t rush the browning process on the onions.
This is because searing and browning produces what’s called “brown bits,” which are pretty much those golden brown spots that get stuck to the pot. Those are PACKED with a ton of flavor, and when deglazed, they get released and truly enhance flavors.
Additionally, searing the meat on all sides also helps to lock in all the flavors. Whenever you sear meat, make sure it browns undisturbed on each side until it forms a golden brown crust, just like a good sear on a steak.
Bottom line: Get a GOOD sear on the meat, don’t rush the browning process on the onions and garlic, and remember to deglaze (aka scrape the brown bits with some liquid, such as broth or wine).
Ingredient Notes
Each ingredient that goes into this Dutch oven pot roast builds flavor upon flavor. That’s how you know this dish is going to be absolutely fantastic.
My favorite flavor boosters are the tomato paste, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and fresh rosemary and thyme.
- Beef chuck roast: A 3-pound chuck roast should be good. Remove any big chunks of fat around the edges.
- Salt and pepper: To season the meat prior to searing.
- Olive oil: For cooking and searing.
- Yellow onions: You’ll need 2 large onions, peeled and cut into thick slices.
- Garlic: Minced garlic, about 6 cloves.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste is packed with deep flavors. It’s definitely a must-have ingredient in this pot roast.
- Red wine: To help deglaze the onions and build flavor.
- Beef broth: For the liquid component.
- Worcestershire sauce: Did anyone say more flavor?!
- Fresh thyme and rosemary: Fresh herbs add complexity and flavor.
- Bay leaves: Adds aromatic tones.
- Baby carrots: Very convenient, no need to peel or chop.
- Baby yellow potatoes: Very convenient, no need to peel or chop.
- Italian parsley: For garnish and totally optional.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Season meat generously
First of all, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Then, season the beef chuck roast generously with Kosher salt and pepper on all sides.
Why use chuck roast: Beef chuck on its own is tough, but when cooked for hours, it falls apart beautifully. Because it’s well-marbled with fat, it turns out tender and juicy, which is perfect for stews and roasts.
2. Sear meat
Heat some olive oil in a large 7-8 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the pot is hot, sear the meat and both sides until it develops a crust and it’s golden brown. It takes about 5 minutes per side. To get a better sear, let it sear undisturbed. Remove from the pot and set aside.
Tip: Do NOT wipe the pot clean after you’re done searing the meat. What’s left behind are brown bits packed with tons of flavor.
3. Sauté onions and garlic
Add sliced onions to the pot and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. As the onions sweat, they should release some moisture enough to deglaze the brown bits, but if not (and if the brown bits are burning too fast), add a few splashes of broth and scrape those brown bits to deglaze.
Then, stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Deglaze, add liquid and more flavor
The browning process of the onions and garlic will leave even more brown bits behind. At this point, add the red wine and quickly deglaze the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pot for just a few seconds (don’t let the wine evaporate completely). Add beef broth and continue scraping the brown bits.
Then add the tomato paste, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring to a low boil.
Flavor boosters: Tomato paste is packed with a lot of flavor, which builds depth. The fresh herbs and bay leaves will add another layer of flavor. Don’t skip these!
5. Return meat and cook in the oven
Return the seated chuck roast to the pot and nestle it in. The liquid should cover about half of the beef. Cover securely with the lid and cook in the oven for 1.5 hours at 300 degrees F.
6. Add vegetables and finish cooking
After 1.5 hours have passed, remove from the oven and add the carrots and potatoes. The meat will not fall apart at this point yet. If desired, at this point you can add more salt and pepper to taste, but I didn’t find it necessary.
Cover with the lid again, and return to the oven for another 2 hours. And there you have it…a delicious and tender Dutch oven pot roast!
Tip: If you want the meat to be even more tender, cook for another 15-30 minutes in the oven.
Pairing and Serving Ideas
To serve, transfer the vegetables around a large platter and the meat in the center. As you pull it out, it will fall apart a bit, which is what you want. Spoon all the juice over the meat and vegetables. Or you can do what I did and serve it straight from the Dutch oven pot!
This Dutch oven pot roast is already a full meal on its own because it’s got plenty of potatoes and carrots. However, I like to make extra side dishes to go with it, especially when I am hosting.
Here are a few side dishes I love:
Recipe FAQs
A 7 to 8 quart Dutch oven should be good. It doesn’t matter if it’s round or oval shaped, but I like the oval-shaped one a lot more.
Sear over medium-high heat and let it sear undisturbed on each side, until a beautiful thin golden brown crust forms. About 5 minutes per side.
Add a few splashes of broth and scrape those brown bits with a wooden spoon.
300 degrees F for a total of 3.5-4 hours, slow and low. This will ensure the meat is tender and fall-apart delicious!
You can just use more beef broth if you prefer not to use wine.
So that they don’t turn too soft and mushy.
More comforting dinner ideas:
Tips for Success
- Get a good sear on the meat by letting it sear undisturbed on each side until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side over medium-high heat.
- As they cook, the onions will release some moisture, which you can use to deglaze some of those brown bits left behind from searing the meat. However, if the brown bits are burning a bit too fast, add a few splashes of beef broth to deglaze.
- Take your time browning the meat and the onions, and don’t forget to deglaze. This way, flavors will develop fully and make a delicious pot roast.
Dutch Oven Pot Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast - boneless
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine - substitute with beef broth if desired
- 2 to 3 cups beef broth, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 1 ½ pounds baby yellow potatoes
- Chopped Italian parsley for garnish - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Generously season the meat with about 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper on all sides.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large 7-8 quart Dutch oven pot over medium-high heat. Sear on each side until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes per side. Remove from the pot and set aside. Do not wipe the Dutch oven clean. Tip: Let the meat sear undisturbed on both sides, and only flip once a nice golden brown crust has developed. There’s no need to sear the edges, but you can.
- Reduce to medium heat. Add the onions and saute until they start to brown, about 3 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot to deglaze with the moisture from the onions. If the brown bits are burning too fast, add a few splashes of broth and deglaze. Stir minced garlic cook for another 1 minute until fragrant. Tip: use a wooden spoon to avoid scratching the cast iron surface.
- Add the red wine (or substitute with beef broth), and quickly deglaze the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pot for a few seconds. Then, add 2 cups of the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, fresh thyme sprigs, fresh rosemary rosemary sprigs, and bay leaves. Stir until evenly combined and bring to a low boil.
- Return the seared meat back to the pot, along with its juices. The liquid should cover about half of the meat – if not, add more beef broth as needed. Cover securely with the lid and bake for 1.5 hours at 300 degrees F.
- Remove from oven and add the baby carrots and potatoes. At this point, you can also adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Return to oven (with the lid on), and cook for 2 hours more or until the meat is fork tender and falls apart, and until the vegetables are tender. If you want it to be even more tender, cook for another 15-30 minutes.
- If desired, garnish with parsley. To serve, you can transfer to a large platter to serve it straight from the Dutch oven. Enjoy!
Notes
- Meat: I’d recommend a boneless 3-4 pound beef chuck roast. If it has excess fat around the edges, you can trim that out.
- Don’t rush the searing and browning process of the meat and onions. As they brown, brown bits will form. These brown bits, when deglazed, release a lot of great flavors.
- Sear on the meat: The best way to develop a good sear on the meat is to let it sear undisturbed over medium-high heat until it’s golden brown and a sear crust forms, about 5 minutes per side.
- Red wine recommendations: Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.
- Storing: Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container.
- Freezing: Freeze in individual freezer-friendly containers for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the microwave oven or over the stovetop.
- Potatoes: Normal-sized Yukon gold potatoes.
- Carrots: Regular carrots, peeled and cut into chunks.
- Fresh rosemary and thyme: You can use dried herbs. Add ½ teaspoon of each at a time, and adjust with more to taste.
- Red wine: Substitute with beef broth if needed.
Connie Volkman says
I’ve been cooking a very long time (I’m ruening 80. I always like to cruise the recipe sites to see if anything has changed or improved. This is an excellent Chuck Roast recipe. I guess I’ve been fixing it the right way for at least 60+ years but I cheated as I cooked along with my mother as a child in Beef country – Western Kansas.
I always talk my son into coming over so he can cut my carrots for me and share the goodness. When I purchase my beef, I buy 5-6 lbs. at a time and then just cut them to the size I want, save money, and use the smaller pieces for stews. Your recipe is perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Gail Stuart says
I am quite an accomplished cook. But I have never made a pot roast as good as this one. I blew myself away and my family loved it. Congratulations you have taught this old lady some new tricks.
Cole Filler says
Amazing. I use this recipe every single time I make a roast. My fiancés favorite meal.
Larine Kwolek says
OMG. This was the best pot roast I ever had. I only had half a cup of wine so I substituted beef broth for the other half. Used Better than Bouillon low sodium beef base for the beef broth, added a bit extra to boost the flavor. I also added some extra salt and pepper before adding vegetables. Also used dried herbs (about 3/4 t of each). Followed all other directions as written. A definite keeper!
Anton Smirnov says
Amazing flavor
Harry says
What should the internal temperature of the roast be?
Kirstie says
Delicious
How long do I cook if double recipe
Is it better to half meet and sear the two pieces
Sharon says
Very flavorful and easy to follow recipe.
A.L. says
I’ve made pot roast many times (stove top and crockpot). This was my first time using the Dutch oven. And wow, this recipe/method is the best! I halved the recipe and it was perfect for two people. For those who are asking, cooking time for 1.5 lbs roast was the same. I like mine super tender, so I did 2 hrs for roast then another 2 hrs for vegetables. I used russet potatoes cut in thick chunks, and regular carrots also thickly cut. Didn’t have fresh herbs, so I used 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning. Didn’t use wine. Doubled Worcestershire sauce. Hope this helps someone.
Stephanie says
This was amazing!! So much flavor and really easy! I did make a couple additions to sweeten the flavors. First I added cremini mushrooms along with the onions – caramelizing them together and then added the tomato paste same time as the garlic to really heighten the tomatoes flavor. With the liquids I added 2 TBS of molasses – this provided a sweeter flavor and opted for beef broth and no red wine. Instead of white potatoes I used diced sweet potatoes. I also included more carrots. My husband loved all the vegetables. It was incredibly tender! Thanks for such a great recipe. I look forward to trying others!!
Jessica says
Hello!
I only have a 4.5 qt pot so I had to cut the recipe in half.
When doing this, does the cook time go down by half as well?
Tania says
Hi! You can cook for the same amount of time so it’s extra tender, but if you need to reduce the time, maybe reduce by 20 min for your roast size.