This is the best Instant Pot Pot Roast recipe! The meat is so tender and falling apart, soaked in delicious gravy, you’ll want another helping! Made with flavorful dry rub, then seared, and cooked with potatoes and carrots in Pressure Cooker, this will be your new favorite Sunday dinner meal!
Pot Roast is a classic comfort food. I think we all grew up with memories of our moms or grandmas making this dish on weekends or holidays. It’s a perfectly tender roast cooked for a few hours in a pot with carrots and potatoes, and served with delicious gravy.
Previously, I was always hesitant to make this dish myself, just because it takes too long to cook. However, when I got my Pressure Cooker, I found out that you can make this classic dish in just a fraction of the time, without compromising on flavor!
There are many classic recipes you can make in less time, like Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup, Instant Pot Turkey Chili, Instant Pot Chicken Wings, Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs, Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Recipe, Instant Pot Beef Stew, Instant Pot Taco Soup, and many more!
Also, if you want more dinner ideas made in a pressure cooker, check out my post for Instant Pot Recipes for Beginners.
Table of contents
How to make Dry Rub?
This dry rub makes the whole meal so special, bringing out delicious sweet, smoky, and spicy flavors.
For this recipe, I use the same dry rub as for my Instant Pot Pulled Pork but in different proportions.
Ingredients:
- Smoked paprika
- Salt
- Cayenne
- Onion flakes
- Garlic powder
Mix all the Dry Rub ingredient together (Photos 1-6).
Add the seasoning to the beef roast and mix well, until evenly coated (Photos 7-10).
How to make it
Set your Pressure Cooker to “Sauté” function.
Add olive oil and let it preheat.
When the oil is hot, place the meat in the pot and let it sear for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until it gets a golden/brown crust. Then remove the meat from the pot (Photos 11-13).
Now, we can add chopped onion and sauté it for about 5 minutes, or until it gets golden in color. Then add garlic and cook for another minute (Photos 14-17).
Add beef broth and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping off the burnt bits. Then add tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix everything, cook for another minute, then turn off the “sauté” function.
Put the roast back in the pot, place baby potatoes and carrots on top. Cover with the lid and make sure your venting knob is turned to “sealing” (Photos 18-23).
Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes. When done, do 10 minutes natural pressure release.
How long to cook
The cooking time depends on the amount of meat you are using and its size. In this recipe, I use a 3-4 pounds beef roast. I like to cut it in 4 pieces, to reduce the cooking time.
I found that 40 minutes of cooking time is perfect for this recipe. After that, we can do 10 minutes natural release the pressure.
How to make gravy
After the meat and vegetables are done, take the meat and veggies out. You can put them on a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Turn on the “Sauté” function again and let the liquid get to boil. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then mix cornstarch (or tapioca flour) with water and add it to the pot. Stir and cook another 5 minutes, until the gravy gets thicker to the desired consistency.
How to serve
While the gravy is cooking, take two forks and shred the meat.
I like to serve it on a large serving plate with meat on one side and vegetables on the other side. Pour some gravy over the dish before serving.
Tips for Best Results
- If your Beef Roast is more than 3-4 pounds, just cut it in 6 pieces instead of 4. This way each piece will be small enough to cook and get tender.
- Don’t skip the searing part. That char will provide the most flavor!
- Because we cook vegetables with the roast, they will be soft (but not mushy). If you don’t like soft carrots, use large carrots instead of baby carrots, so they will better keep their texture.
Storage and Reheating
How to store. You can refrigerate it in an air-tight container for about 3-4 days.
How to reheat. You can reheat it in a pot or a deep skillet over a medium heat.
How to freeze. If you decide to freeze this recipe, I would suggest to freeze only the meat with the gravy, without vegetables. You can transfer the meat with gravy to an air-tight container and freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, just leave it in the fridge overnight, then reheat and mentioned above.
Frequently Asked Questions
The most popular cut of meat for this recipe is Beef Chuck Roast. It has beautiful marbling, which makes the braised beef juicy and tender. This type of meat comes from the front shoulder. In different stores you might find it under different names, like shoulder roast, blade roast, or chuck eye, but they all come from the same area.
Most likely, you didn’t cook it long enough. If your meat is bigger in size than stated in the recipe, you might need to add additional cooking time or cut the roast in smaller pieces.
If the meat has some extra fat around it, I prefer to trim it, so the gravy won’t be too greasy.
Instant Pot Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
Ingredients
Ingredients for Dry Rub:
- ½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon onion flakes
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Ingredients for Instant Pot Pot Roast:
- 3-4 pounds beef roast cut in 4 pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound baby potatoes
- 1 pound baby carrots or 4 medium carrots
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca flour
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, mix dry rub ingredients together (½ tbsp smoked paprika, ½ tbsp salt, ½ tsp onion flakes, ½ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp cayenne) and set aside.
- Rinse the chunk of meat, pat dry, and cut in four equal pieces. Add dry rub ingredients and rub it into the meat, coating evenly.
- Set the Pressure Cooker to “Sauté” function.
- Add 3 tbsp olive oil and let it preheat.
- When the oil is hot, place the meat in the Pressure Cooker and let it sear for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until it gets a golden/brown crust. Then remove the meat from the pot.
- Add chopped onion and sauté it for about 5 minutes, or until it gets golden in color. Then add minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add 2 cups beef broth and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping off the burnt bits. Then add 2 tbsp tomato paste, and 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Mix everything, cook for another minute, then turn off the “sauté” function off.
- Put the meat back in the pot, place 1 pound baby potatoes and 1 pound carrots on top. Cover with the lid and make sure your venting knob is turned to “sealing”.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes. When done, do 10 minutes natural pressure release.
- After the meat and vegetables are done, take the roast and veggies out. You can put then on a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Turn on the “Sauté” function again and let the liquid get to boil. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then mix 2 tbsp cornstarch (or tapioca flour) with water and gradually add it to the pot. Stir and cook another 5 minutes, until the gravy gets thicker to the desired consistency.
- While the gravy is cooking, take two forks and shred the meat.
- I like to serve it on a large serving plate with meat on one side and vegetables on the other side. Pour some grave over the dish before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in 2019, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, tips, and FAQs in Feb of 2020.
What if my 3.5 lb cut of meat is frozen? But I still want to make it tonight? Any suggestions?
Hi Belinda! I would suggest to defrost the meat first to get the best result. To get the most flavor, we need to cover the meat with dry rub first and sear on all sides, and you won’t be able to do that with frozen meat.
I made this tonight and it was Amazing!! For me the veggies were too soft but that is easily adjusted as a personal preference. The gravy and seasoning were “Spot on!” It is only my husband and I so I used about 1.5 lbs of chuck roast and the roast was fall apart tender. I also did the rub ahead (it was a timing thing) and wrapped in plastic wrap for about 30 minutes in the fridge. Definitely will make again. This is my new go too. Easy and delicious
Thank you, Stacey! I’m so happy you and your husband loved this recipe!
Hi Veronika, Like Stacey, it’s just me and my husband so the 1.5 lb. roast is the perfect size. But Stacey didn’t mention the timing for the roast. With the smaller roast, is the cook time still 40 mins.?
Came out excellent! First time using my Instant Pot. It was flashing food burn so we stopped it… but it came out perfect! Wasn’t able to make the gravy because of the burnt food in the pot but it was still excellent!
Hi Jackie! I’m glad you liked this recipe! Was is not enough liquid? 2 cups of broth should be plenty and it shouldn’t burn….
Did you forget to deglaze the pot after the meat sauté process?
This recipe was perfect for the moose meat roasts we have in the freezer. We are finding moose meat cooks differently than beef and hadn’t found a roast recipe that turned out well. Thanks for this delicious one! We’ll be doing this many times!
Thank you, Nicole! I never tried moose meat before but it sounds so tasty! Glad you liked the recipe!
OMG OMG OMG!
Ya, this is a great recipe! I made beef noodles with leftovers. Egg noodles, gravy, roast and carrots. Heavenly!
It’s a great way to use leftover meat and gravy.
That’s a great idea to make this roast with egg noodles! Glad you enjoyed it!
We loved this recipe. It was easy to follow and delicious.
Thanks!
Thank you, Jane! I’m so glad you liked it!
This was fabulous!!
Yaay! So happy to hear that!
I used the baby carrots.I think it ruined the dish.
My husband absolutely loves this! I cooked it 10 minutes longer than stated. The coating makes this dish
Hi Veronika,
I’m planning on making this recipe for tomorrow and reviewed your directions and wanted to clarify one of the steps with you. When place the meat back after searing into the instant pot along with the potatoes and carrots and cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes, doesn’t this makes the potatoes and carrots all mush?
Hi Raffi! Yes, the vegetables will be softer but I wouldn’t say mushy. If you don’t like soft carrots, use large carrots instead of baby carrots and just chop them in 3-4 pieces. 95% of all the feedback for this recipe was positive and people loved the vegetables. Let me know how it comes out!
This was tasty but my meat was tougher than I thought it would be. Followed the recipe to a T. Thoughts? Is there a reason we quick release? I heard that can make meat tough. Thanks for suggestions! 🙂
Hi Jessi! Not sure why it came out tough…. It’s one on my most popular recipes and everyone says the meat comes out tender and juicy. What cut of meat did you use? Quick release doesn’t really make the meat tough if you cook it long enough.
My meat was tender but I could not totally pull it apart with forks. I think it could have been cooked just a little bit longer. However, the family LOVED this dish. I don’t care for pot roast and even I liked the flavor. Thank you Veronika. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Jessi, typically with meat its best to natural release to keep it tender, however when you have veggies in with it, they need the quick release so they don’t turn to mush. i’ve tried this recipe w\o veggies and a natural release and it worked out very nice… tonight i’m trying it by quick release so now I’m curios …
I came across this on Instagram and it was great!! I am super slow prepping and gravy doesn’t always work for me, but the flavors were great and my need for healthy meals was met. Looking forward to trying another recipe soon!
Thank you, Cathy! So glad you liked it!
Hi Veronika! I’ve tried beef in the Instant Pot many times with various recipes and they’ve usually failed, making the meat tough and rubbery. It’s made me quite nervous to try new recipes for fear I’ll ruin and waste the beef. This looks delicious, and I am looking forward to trying this recipe next week after so many positive reviews. QUESTION though, I have a 2 lb pot roast rather than 3-4 lb; should I reduce the cooking time? By half? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Kat! Thanks for your comment. So far, I didn’t have any feedback that the meat came out tough or rubbery… Because we cook it in liquid, it comes out juicy and tender.
If you have only 2 pounds of meat, i would cut it only in 3 pieces (instead of 4), but keep the cooking time the same.
Let me know if that helps! And would love to hear from you again!)
Came out great! Didn’t have the tight cut of beef but used what I had. Also didn’t have the tomato paste. The flavors were wonderful and it just fell apart but because the carrots and potatoes were at the top of the pot they weren’t mushy but were cooked completely. Loved it!
Yaay! Thank you, Jeanine! I’m so happy to hear that!
Will this be ok on the keep warm setting after cooking in the instant pot for 6ish hours or less? Or should I take it out and heat it up later?
Hi Megan! I never tried to keep it on the warm setting for so long…. I would think that the meat will be ok, but the veggies might be too mushy…. I probably would just refrigerate it and then reheat when needed.
This was my 1st dish with my new instant pot. Was perfect and very moist. My daughter just got her lower braces on and hasn’t been able to eat anything solid. She had a big helping of meat and was able to eat it. Super moist and super delicious…
Thank you, Rick, for sharing! The meat really comes out super tender and juicy, and just melts in your mouth!)