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.
Ashley says
My husband died and went to heaven when I served this. This is by far the best recipe I’ve ever tried for a chuck roast. I’ve used instant pots and slow cookers; they were insufficient at making the meat super tender & lacked in-depth, complex flavors which put me off from making pot roast for awhile. This was like butter, fell apart instantly and the flavors were absolutely incredible. Bonus, I made the drippings into gravy. This is the only recipe I’ll use from now on. Thank you so much!
SK says
My husband enjoyed this very much. My change included using alder smoked flake salt (Sitka, AK) with fresh ground pepper. There seemed to be too much liquid so I removed about 1 cup before cooking. Cooked for the recommended 30 extra minutes. Used a bag of tiny potatoes cutting any larger ones in half, the majority went in whole. Also, at the end, removed meat and veggies into separate dishes and on the stovetop, mixed in a slurry of corn starch to the hot liquid, brought to a boil to thicken the gravy with the onions to serve over the meat. However, if I were to make this again, I would use dried herbs or add the fresh herbs to a mesh bag to make it easy to remove from the stock. Also, I would add garlic granules, paprika, and idk, something else to the rub before searing (I agree with another comment that the meat itself is bland). Reducing the wine by half and cooking longer before adding the 2 cups beef broth might have helped with my liquid ratio. The onion gravy over the meat was a good flavor. For me, I feel like it was a lot of work for a Sunday dinner.
David says
I used a bag thawed pearl oions and merlot red wine but is great recipe like it more then recipe I’ve been using
Mary Lee says
Delicious! Thanks for the detailed directions! Highly recommend.
Shari says
Perfection ! I can never make a fall apart tender roast but this was fantastic! Thanks for a great recipe that even I didn’t mess up!
paul vernon says
The recipe was great. I followed it to a T in my dutch oven. The meat just fell apart. Maybe it was just me but I thought it was a little bland for my taste. I tried to add some things to spice it up but it didn’t really work. Maybe next time i will marinate the meat in something with a little more kick!
Pablo
Nancy Jean says
First dish I cooked in new Dutch Oven. Delicious!
Tim A says
I made this yesterday. I improvised a bit, per below, but the core recipe is a home run! As per the tips provided in the instructions, the additional half hour of cooking time makes a nice difference in the tenderness of the finished product, but I would add the extra half hour of cooking time before adding the veggies, not after. I added the veggies before the extra half hour and they were a bit overcooked.
My improvisations:
Seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic granules and onion granules.
Seared the meat in two tablespoons of bacon fat.
Added a dollop of Dijon, some red chili flakes, a sprinkling of chipotle flakes, oregano, and a squeeze of gojuchang to the cooking broth in addition to the herbs called for in the recipe.
Added a minced shallot to the onions and garlic.
So good!
Steve says
Yummm. Worked extremely well for our Christmas Eve family dinner (8 adults), cooked in my Great Grandma’s cast iron Dutch Oven. As the guest list grew from 4 to 8, we supplemented with slow-cooked short ribs in the crock pot; good thing we did as everyone came back for seconds on both; always the best compliment! We added a dozen cocktail onions to the pot for the last half-hour and included ice cold chunky apple sauce and oven-sauteed asparagus as side dishes. Was awesome!!
Kendra Wilson says
Merry Christmas everyone! I’m making Made this for Christmas dinner this year! It’s so delicious. This’ll be the 4th time I’ve made this since discovering it!!
joe says
Great simple recipe. The only change I would recommend is putting the vegetables in later, about 1 hour before the beef is done; otherwise, they will get overdone.
Karla says
Best pot roast I’ve made!!! Making it again today for our Christmas feast!!!! My son now loves roast as a result of this recipe!!! Thank you!!!!
Mike says
This is easily one of the easiest and most delicious roast beef recipes I’ve tried. Every single bite was pure bliss. I’m definitely saving this and making a regular part of my winter meal rotation!
Nancy says
Since I’ve tried this recipe, there is no turning back to the way I used to make pot roast. You won’t regret trying it this way, I promise you!
Sooooooooo delicious!!!!
Sam says
I’ve never left a review for a recipe before but I had to take the time and rate this 5 stars. I’d rate it 10 if I could. This is probably the best thing I’ve ever made in my life.
Natasa says
This recipe was fantastic!! I haven’t used the red wine, just replaced it with additional broth but I followed all instructions to the T and it came out perfect the fist time I was making this! Love it!