This Dutch Oven Pot Roast is a favorite in our house and is easy to make with classic Sunday dinner flavors. It’s based on the beef roasts my mom made on Sundays growing up. Meltingly tender chuck roast is simply flavored with fresh herbs and red wine. It cooks low and slow for hours in the oven, and the potatoes and carrots are added halfway through for the perfect roast dinner.
When I was growing up, my mom often made either a beef or pork roast for Sunday dinner. She always made hers in the oven, which gives them the best flavor.
Watch How To Make Dutch Oven Pot Roast
She didn’t have a slow cooker when I was growing up. However, you’ll find my slow cooker pot roast and slow cooker pork roast if you want to go that route. Both of those recipes are also based on how she always made a roast dinner.
If you are going to be home, cooking your roast in a large Dutch oven is the ultimate for flavor. The roast slowly cooks for hours in the oven and is incredibly tender. Your house will smell absolutely wonderful, and your roast dinner will taste even better!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Beef roast – a chuck roast is my go-to for the best cut of meat for a pot roast meal because it has just the right amount of marbling to produce super tender cooked roast.
- Olive oil – is what I use to sear the roast, but you can use your favorite cooking oil.
- Onion & garlic – adds so much flavor here, especially after they get a quick sauté in the pan you seared the roast in.
- Potatoes, carrots, & celery – both potatoes and carrots are classics with pot roast, but I also like to add thinly sliced celery. It simply melts into the broth as it cooks and adds flavor. I prefer the nice texture of Yukon golds or red potatoes with pot roast, but the slightly drier Russet potatoes also work.
- Dijon mustard – adds some depth of flavor to this roast but can be omitted.
- Beef broth & optional red wine – we like to add red wine for a ‘fancy’ roast, but you can also use broth for a very tasty more down-home flavor. You’ll also find a balsamic vinegar option in the recipe notes.
- Herbs – I like to add sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, or just one if I don’t have much around. I also have used Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence if I don’t have anything fresh in the house. And for a plain old-fashioned flavor, you can omit them altogether for classic ‘meat and potatoes’.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: Start by preheating the oven. Next, preheat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it is hot but not smoking.
Add the oil and sear the chuck roast well on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, for a well-browned roast.
Step 2: Set the roast aside and lower the heat to medium to cook the onions and garlic until partially softened.
Step 3: Add the chopped fresh herbs, Dijon, red wine, broth, salt and pepper to the pan. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen up all the brown bits.
Add the roast to the liquid mixture, submerge, cover with the lid, and bake for about 2 hours.
Step 4: When the 2 hours is up, cut up the celery, carrots, and potatoes.
Step 5: Add the celery to the pot, submerging it in the liquid. Then, top the roast with the carrots and finally the potatoes. The vegetables don’t need to be submerged in the liquid, the steam in the Dutch oven will fully cook them.
Cover and return the Dutch oven to the oven to bake for another 2 hours or until the roast is completely tender.
Remove it from the oven when the roast is done (fork tender). Carefully scoop the vegetables onto a platter, then the roast, and set it aside.
Step 6: For traditional gravy, follow my recipe for Gluten-Gree Gravy. You can also mix 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with water until smooth to form a slurry.
Bring the juices in the pan to a boil, then add the cornstarch mixture in a drizzle, whisking constantly until it’s thickened to your liking.
Season with sea salt and pepper and serve with the plated roast and vegetables.
Ways to serve this
- Serve this one-pot meal with an extra veggie like Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Broccoli, or Roasted Asparagus.
- For an easy stovetop veggie, try my Sautéed Green Beans.
- Add something fresh with my Apple Spinach Salad or Pear Spinach Salad.
- Make Paleo Gravy or my Gluten-Free Gravy to pour over top.
- Serve my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting or my Death by Chocolate for dessert.
FAQ’s
Hands down, pot roast is better in the Dutch oven because of evaporation and a few other things that produce better overall flavor. However, the crockpot pot roast is really good, and that is the way I make it most of the time because it’s what’s most convenient. Dutch oven pot roast takes at least 4 hours in the oven, which is more time than I usually have available on the weekend. But I don’t mind leaving my crockpot running all day to cook my pot roast to tender perfection. Choose what works best for you, depending on the time you have available!
Your pot roast might be tough in a Dutch oven for 2 main reason, first, it hasn’t cooked long enough, and second, you might not be using the right cut of meat. A chuck roast is best for Dutch oven pot roast, and an average 4-pound roast takes 4 hours in the oven with adequate liquid to become meltingly tender.
Yes, at least the first half of the cooking time, a pot roast should be submerged in liquid while it cooks to produce tender results.
Storing leftovers
- To store – place any leftovers into a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Reheat – add any leftovers you want to heat to a skillet or small pot. Cover and heat over a low simmer until heated through, adding a bit of water as necessary. You can also reheat it in the microwave.
- Freeze – I don’t recommend freezing the potatoes because they thaw mushy/grainy, but the beef and carrots can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. The carrots will be a bit softer when thawed. To thaw, place the container in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Tips & Tricks
- You can use either fresh or dried herbs; both are very tasty. You can also use just rosemary rather than rosemary + thyme.
- Don’t skip searing the roast before adding it to the slow cooker because it adds so much flavor. Also, a chuck roast is really the best choice of meat for a pot roast. And when you’re investing the time to cook it, it’s worth not skipping out on the right cut and cooking techniques!
- Try this recipe using a pork shoulder roast in place of the beef chuck roast, for the Dutch oven version of my popular Slow Cooker Pork Roast.
More Sunday Dinner Recipe Inspiration
I really hope you enjoy this Dutch Oven Pot Roast recipe! If you do get a chance to make it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Dutch Oven Pot Roast
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp olive oil - avocado oil, or cooking oil of choice
- 4 pound chuck roast - see notes
- 3 cups onion - 1/4" dice, 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 tbsp rosemary and thyme - stems removed & minced, see notes
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 cup dry red wine - or 1 cup beef broth, see notes
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tsp sea salt - more to taste for gravy
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 stalks celery - thinly sliced
- 1.5 pounds carrots - peeled and cut into 2" pieces, about 4
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes - cut into 2"x3" pieces, see notes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by preheating the oven to 325ºF. Next, preheat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it is hot, but not smoking.
- Add the oil and sear the chuck roast well on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side for a well-browned roast.
- Set the roast aside. Lower the heat to medium to cook the onions and garlic together until partially softened.
- Add the chopped fresh herbs, Dijon mustard, red wine, broth, and salt and pepper to the pan.
- Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to make sure you get all the brown bits loosened up, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the roast to the liquid mixture, submerge, cover with the lid, and bake for about 2 hours.
- When the 2 hours is up, cut up the celery, carrots, and potatoes.
- Add the celery to the pot first, submerging it in the liquid. Then top the roast with the carrots and finally the potatoes. Cover and return the Dutch oven to the oven to bake for another 2 hours or until the roast is completely tender.
- Remove it from the oven when the roast is done (fork tender). Carefully scoop the vegetables out onto a platter, then the roast, and set it aside.
- Trim away any tough bits/fat from the roast. Cover the platter(s) and place it in the oven to keep warm while you make the gravy.
- For traditional gravy, follow my recipe for Gluten-Gree Gravy. You can also mix 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with water until smooth to form a slurry. Bring the juices in the pan to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly until it's thickened to your liking.
- Season with sea salt and pepper and serve with the plated roast and vegetables.