Cook Beef in Slow Cooker With Water
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Juicy, tender Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast with seasoned vegetables is the perfect Sunday night meal for all groups — big or small. Top it off with a simple and easy-to-make gravy for one winner of a dinner!
This is it, everyone: My mother's famous Sunday dinner in a nutshell. This is basically what we had to eat almost every single Sunday growing up. Beef roast with potatoes and carrots. And salad. And rolls. And Jello. My mother constantly felt the need to cook as though she was feeding an army. Then again, she did have nine children…that's almost an army. Or a baseball team.
I always wonder why she chose this meal for Sundays over and over again. She could have thrown in the towel and ordered up a bunch of pizzas. She could have had some simple spaghetti or even hot dogs for that matter. I think the reasons she chose to do this slow cooker beef pot roast beef were because she knew it was a well-rounded meal, it was easy to put together, and it fed a crowd.
Why This Recipe Works
Easy – I love a good slow cooker recipe and this one is no exception. The instructions are pretty much to throw everything in a slow cooker and go do something fun for about 9 hours, then come back to a fully cooked, delicious, nutritious meal.
Filling – 11 people total in our house. Zero leftovers. Also? Zero complaints. No one was still hungry, no one was reaching for the chips at 8 pm before bed. We all had plenty of this beef pot roast and sides and we were all completely satisfied.
Simple – No fancy ingredients needed here for this beef pot roast. In fact, you probably have everything you need in your fridge and spice drawer. It's really as simple as it gets.
Great for leftovers – Now, while I grew up with a huge family, my current family is only the five of us. I still make this moist beef roast quite often though, and I don't change the quantities listed because we LOVE the leftovers! This meal will easily feed all of us for 2-3 dinners (or next-day lunches). Gotta love that!
Here's How You Make It
I love cooking roast in the slow cooker. It's incredibly simple and yields perfectly tender and juicy roast (and has never once been dried out – hallelujah!) every single time. The best part is that you can throw all of the veggies in with the roast so it's a wham-bam all-in-one dinner right there in your slow cooker.
- Mix together the steak and Italian seasonings, then rub that seasoning all over the roast. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray or grease it in another way that you see fit. Add the spice rubbed roast, the broth, potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery to the slow cooker. Put the lid on and cook on low for 9 hours or on high for 6.
- Make the gravy when the beef pot roast is done in the slow cooker. Drain the liquid from the bottom of the slow cooker into a sauce pan. Add to that the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and let it come to a boil.
- Next, in a small dish, whisk together the cornstarch and cold water. Add that slurry to the saucepan and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let it cook and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens. That will only take about 3-5 minutes.
- Time to eat! Plate the dish by putting the slow cooker beef roast on a large serving platter and pull it apart with forks. Pour the gravy over the roast and add the veggies around the side.
Instant Pot Instructions
To make this pot roast with gravy in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you're going to still follow all the instructions in step 1. Except, when it comes time to cook the beef, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 90 minutes. Let the Instant Pot release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick-release the rest of the pressure. Remove the roast with a slotted spoon, then switch to the Soup setting and add in your cornstarch slurry.
Ideas for Sides to Serve with This Recipe
- Salad. All the salad. My mom would also make up a big bowl of tossed greens because everyone generally liked it and if they didn't, they could pick out the parts that they did.
- Rolls. Now, this category is a little nebulous, as there are so many different kinds of rolls she would make. Generally, though, she made a dinner roll. But don't stop yourself if you want something savory or sweet. There are plenty of roll recipes to go around.
- Jello. Ha. So I know this is kind of out of style I guess but I'm still a big fan of Jello ! Don't be afraid to play around with how you make it. There are so many options.
- Mashed potatoes. In my most perfect world, roast beef would always be served with (or right on top of) a heap of mashed potatoes. Again, how they make them is up to you. There are so many ways to make delicious mashed potatoes . Try them all!
Expert Tips
- Although the ingredients listed for the gravy make enough for a roast to feed up to 8, you can always double the recipe if you're feeding a larger crowd.
- Feel free to play around with the veggies you put in with the slow cooker beef pot roast. Any potato, root veggie, or other hearty veggie you have will work.
More Recipes You'll Enjoy
Looking for more slow cooker recipes like this Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast? You'll love Slow Cooker Creamy Beef Stroganoff , Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken , and Slow Cooker Honey Beef Brisket . Try these ones next:
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
- French Onion Chicken
- Chicken and Potatoes with Dijon Cream Sauce
Did you make this crockpot pot roast recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!
Servings: 8 servings
- 3 pounds chuck or rump roast - (see note)
- 2 tablespoons steak seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 2 pounds potatoes - (I useded red), chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 1 large white or yellow onion - cut into chunks
- 1 stalk celery - chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt - (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper - (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
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Whisk together steak seasoning and Italian seasoning. Rub seasoning mix all over the roast. Grease a slow cooker. Add roast, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery. Cover and cook on low for 9 hours or on high for 6 hours.
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Minutes before serving, prepare the gravy. Drain liquid from sow cooker into a medium sauce pan. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil.
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Whisk together corn starch and cold water. Add to sauce pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to thicken for 3-5 minutes.
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Place roast on a large plate or serving platter. Use a fork to gently pull apart the roast. Pour gravy over roast (and veggies if desired) and serve. Enjoy!
*This method also works well with larger roasts up to 8 pounds. Simply adjust the amount of carrots and potatoes to feed however many are in your group. Follow instructions as written. For roasts over 8 pounds, double the entire recipe.
Calories: 378 kcal , Carbohydrates: 31 g , Protein: 42 g , Fat: 9 g , Saturated Fat: 3 g , Cholesterol: 105 mg , Sodium: 957 mg , Potassium: 1294 mg , Fiber: 5 g , Sugar: 5 g , Vitamin A: 7882 IU , Vitamin C: 26 mg , Calcium: 97 mg , Iron: 6 mg
Source: https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/slow-cooker-beef-roast/