You’ve got two options for this pot roast: throw it in the oven for 3–4 hours, or let the slow cooker babysit it for 6–8. Either way, you’re free to pretend you worked really hard on dinner.
The sauce? Oh, it’s a saucy little number—tomato-rich, beef-juicy, and with just enough vinegar to make your taste buds sit up straight.
Once the pot’s doing its thing, you’re basically off duty. Meat, veggies, and gravy all cook together like one big happy family. The only thing left is thickening the gravy, which is basically stirring with purpose. Boom—dinner’s served.
Bonus: your house is going to smell so good that neighbors might “accidentally” stop by.
Ingredients
Vegetables:
- 4-5 medium yellow-fleshed potatoes, cut into chunks, peeled or unpeeled (or mini potatoes halved)
- 4-5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks (halved if thick)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
For the beef:
- 3 – 3 1/2 lb. boneless beef roast, inside or outside round, blade or cross-rib works well
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Tomato Sauce:
- 2 cups passata , or canned crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2-3 fresh thyme sprigs, or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
- Freshly ground pepper
To thicken:
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon water
To serve:
- Fresh parsley or thyme sprigs
Instructions
For both the slow cooker and oven method:
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Prepare the potatoes and carrots and have ready. Stir together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
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Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or pan over medium-high heat. *For oven method, use an Dutch oven with a lid or a similar oven-safe roasting pan.
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If the beef roast has a string around it, don't remove the string. Pat the roast dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Place into the pan with the hot oil. Sear the beef roast on booth sides until well browned, about 3 minutes per side.
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Remove the beef roast to a plate.
For the oven method:
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Preheat oven to 325F / 165C (not fan assisted)
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Scatter the prepared potatoes, carrots and onions on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Return the beef roast to the pan, placing it on top of the vegetables. Pour the tomato sauce over the beef. Scatter a few thyme sprigs over the vegetables. Cover the pot and place into the preheat oven.
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Cook the pot roast covered in the oven for 3-4 hours, or until the beef easily pulls apart with a fork is inserted or until the beef reaches about 200F (93F) when tested with an instant read thermometer. Tip! It can be difficult to pull the beef apart when it is tied up. It's fine to snip the string now, if that helps.
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When the beef is tender, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the beef to a large plate and set aside. Tip! This is the point I try to remove some of the fat from the pan. Use a spoon to move the vegetables and liquid to one end of the pan, then lift the end with the vegetables up a bit. The fat should flow to the low and empty end, where you can spoon it off and discard. *Careful, the pot is hot!
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With the fat spooned off, mix together the cornstarch and water and drizzle over the vegetables and gravy in the pot. Stir until the gravy thickens.
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Cut, remove and discard the string from the beef roast. Use two forks to pull the beef apart into chunks. Return the chunks to the pot with the vegetables and gravy and stir to coat and re-warm (you can turn a bit of heat under the pan if needed). Taste the gravy and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
For the slow cooker method:
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Scatter the prepared potatoes, carrots, and onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the seared beef roast on top of the vegetables, then pour the tomato sauce over-top. Scatter a couple of fresh thyme sprigs over the vegetables.
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Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook covered on LOW for about 6-8 hours, or until beef is fall-apart tender.
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When the beef is tender, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the beef to a large plate and set aside. Tip! This is the point I try to remove some of the fat from the pan. Use a spoon to move the vegetables and liquid to one end of the pan, then lift the end with the vegetables up a bit. The fat should flow to the low and empty end, where you can spoon it off and discard.
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With the fat spooned off, mix together the cornstarch and water and drizzle over the vegetables and gravy in the slow cooker. Stir until the gravy thickens.
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Cut, remove and discard the string from the beef roast. Use two forks to pull the beef apart into chunks. Return the chunks to the slow cooker with the vegetables and gravy and stir to coat and re-warm. Taste the gravy and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
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Serve immediately with a salad, a nice green vegetables and/or crusty bread or roll.
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Refrigerate left-overs well covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or freeze up to 3 months.
