Easy slow cooker pot roast needs just 15 minutes of hands-on time before it practically cooks itself. Use 5-minute homemade cream of mushroom soup and serve with a simple salad with homemade Italian dressing and dinner is DONE!
This DELICIOUS slow cooker pot roast recipe keeps showing up on our weekly menu.
Here’s why:
- Hands-off. You dump everything in the pot and cook it.
- Cheap. Chuck roasts, potatoes and carrots are some of the cheapest real foods at the store.
- Great as leftovers.
- 15 minutes of hands-on (i.e. dumping everything in the pot).
- Really, really good.
- Tastes like Mom’s cooking.
- Comfort food, made easy.
- Freezer-friendly (both for a future freezer meal, or as leftovers)
Here’s What You Need
- Beef. Chuck roast works the best, but a round roast will work as well. (See note below on beef – brisket is a tougher cut and not ideal for this recipe.)
- Carrots. You can use baby carrots, or you can make this with large carrots cut into 1” pieces.
- Potatoes. Use baby red potatoes or russet potatoes, quartered. (Yukon gold potatoes are also good.)
- Cream of Mushroom Soup. I highly recommend homemade cream of mushroom soup, which takes LITERALLY 5 MINUTES and tastes a million times better than any canned soup ever will. If you’re pressed for time, make it the night before.
- Dry Onion Soup Mix. Again, I highly recommend making dry onion soup mix yourself. It takes 2 minutes and WAY healthier than the store-bought packets.
Psst! Want to kick this up a notch? Try finishing this recipe with a pinch of finishing salt! Ava Jane’s Kitchen is offering a bag of salt for ONE PENNY! Add a pinch before serving, or incorporate it into your dry spice mix to bring out the drool-worthy savory flavor of your roast! (Get your penny bag of salt on this page.)
Notes on Ingredients
- Don’t like carrots? Try different veggies like parsnips, turnips, daikon radish, rutabaga, yams and/or sweet potatoes.
- Don’t like cream of mushroom soup? Make cream of celery soup instead OR make cream of beef (substituting beef stock for chicken stock). If you’re going store-bought, you need one can.
- Don’t want to make dry onion soup mix? Store-bought is fine, you need one packet.
Notice that you DON’T need beef broth, pepper, or garlic cloves (or garlic powder). All three of these ingredients are already in the dry onion soup mix and the mushroom soup!
Quick Note On The Beef
Grass-fed beef is very important to my family, so we joined Butcher Box a few years ago and LOVE having quality meat shipped to our front door every month.
They offer subscriptions to grass-fed beef, organic chicken, heritage-breed pork and wild-caught seafood, and you can choose what cuts you want AND how often you want your box delivered. Obviously you’ll want to choose beef for this slow cooker pot roast! If you’re never heard of Butcher Box, read my honest review here.
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Step by Step Instructions for the Crockpot
Step 1. Place half the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker. (If you’re in the market for a slow cooker, this one is highly recommended.)
Step 2. Next, place the chuck roast on top of the vegetables. (There is no need to sear the meat first!)
Step 3. Place remaining vegetables on top and around the chuck roast.
Step 4. Pour dry onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup over the top. (There’s no need to add any water to the slow cooker.)
Step 5. Cover with a lid and cook on low for at least 8 hours, preferably 10.
Note: I strongly recommend NOT reducing the cooking time. In my testing, I made this both ways – high temp for less hours, and low temp for more hours – and the longer cooking time was significantly more fall-apart tender and flavorful.
Step 6. Shred meat slightly with two forks, serve hot.
Recipe Tips
- If you cut the recipe in half, keep the SAME cooking time.
- If you want to use a larger, 6 lb roast, make sure your slow cooker slow cooker is large enough to handle that size roast (like this 8.5 qt slow cooker, or an 8 qt Instant Pot with a slow cooker function). Double everything else and cook for 10 hours!
- Don’t add any milk or water – it’s not needed.
- Make this crock pot pot roast in the Instant Pot using my slow cooker to Instant Pot conversion guide.
- How to Thicken the Gravy: You can take the liquid in the slow cooker and turn it into a gravy on the stove top:
- Pour the gravy into a sauce pan or Dutch oven and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat.
- Combine 3 Tbsp of corn starch and 3 Tbsp water in a mug and stir together.
- Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
- The sauce will thicken to a gravy to pour over your slow cooker pot roast.
- (Optional, but you can sub red wine for some of the water if you want a richer gravy.)
- If you don’t want to make cream of mushroom soup or dry onion soup mix, store-bought is fine. You need one can of soup, and one packet of seasoning.
FAQs
No need to brown the roast before putting it in the crockpot.
You do NOT need to add any water to this recipe!
Instant Pot roast is YUMMY…. But it turns out to be less tender when compared to the Crock Pot version.
Any large piece of meat that you use in the crock pot will get more tender the longer it is cooked.
To Serve Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- This recipe feeds my family of 4 and makes at least 2 lunches with the leftovers!
- Use your Instant Pot for steamed broccoli on the side and dinner practically cooked itself! (I know you love your slow cooker, but curious if the Instant Pot is right for you? Read my review.)
- If you don’t have an Instant Pot, sautéed green beans would go great with this pot roast!
- Try my easy dinner rolls, or serve with a loaf of simple sourdough bread to pair with this dish. What a feast!
- If you happen to have two crockpots, I definitely recommend slow cooker peach cobbler for dessert.
- Try garnishing with fresh herbs like fresh thyme sprigs or fresh rosemary.
More Easy Crockpot Recipes
- The Best Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
- White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Mexican Potato Soup
- Easy Slow Cooker Brisket
30 Minute Dinners Sample Meal Plan
Sign up to get instant access to my 30 Minute Dinners Sample Meal Plan, complete with recipes and step-by-step instructions!Watch How to Make Classic Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Classic Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Pot Roast is such an easy crock pot recipe. Dump the ingredients in the pot and go! It’s healthy, freezer-friendly, and makes great leftovers!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 hours
- Total Time: 10 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
- Category: Main meals
- Method: Slow cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 chuck roast (3–4 lbs)
- 1 lb baby carrots (or carrots, cut to about 1″ pieces)
- 1 1/2 lbs potatoes (any variety, cut into about 1″ pieces if necessary)
- 4 Tbsp homemade dry onion soup mix
- 1 batch homemade cream of mushroom soup
Instructions
- Place half the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Next, place the chuck roast on top of the vegetables.
- Place remaining vegetables on top and around the chuck roast.
- Pour homemade dry onion soup mix and homemade cream of mushroom soup over the top.
- Cover with a lid and cook on low for at least 8 hours, preferably 10.
- Shred meat slightly with two forks, serve hot.
Notes
- Don’t add any additional liquid – it’s not needed.
- A longer cooking time is best – aim for 10 hours on low.
- Chuck roast tastes best for this recipe, but a shoulder roast will work in a pinch.
- If you don’t have time to make dry onion soup mix or cream of mushroom soup, you need one packet of dry onion soup mix and one can of cream of mushroom soup.
Nutrition
- Calories: 1137
Keywords: slow cooker pot roast
Hello. This recipe looks delicious. I only have a 3.5 quart slow cooker but only feeding 2 to 3 people. Can i use a smaller roast? Or do you have any other suggestions? Thanks a lot!
A smaller roast would work just fine Annie!
Ca I add green beans to this recipe?
Sure! If they’re canned, add them at the very end for about 5-10 minutes to warm through. If they’re fresh, add them halfway through!
Hi Tiffany!
Making this right now, I know this is not a newer recipe so I don’t expect a reply.
I’m wondering if I should thicken the sauce at the end or just leave it as is… I will likely take the roast out to shred on a cutting board and then mix up the juices to see what the consistency is like. Do you normally leave it as is or do you take some out to make a gravy to serve on the side?
Thanks so much! Smells so amazing in my house, the boyfriend and his brother were overjoyed when they got in from work!
★★★★★
Hi Crystal! I usually leave it as-is. I made a gravy one time, but it was almost too thick. Do let us know which you picked and how the roast turned out!
Hi! I am making this right now! I made the cream of celery soup with gluten free flour and it thickened up A LOT. It is more of a paste that is sitting on top of the other ingredients. Is this ok? Or was it supposed to be actual liquid soup consistency?
Hi Celine! It’s fine if it’s thick – it will thin out with the juices of the pot roast!
Chuck roast has been in the slow cooker for 8 hours, continue to 10 hours? Seems like a lot of liquid in the crock pot. When I have reached the 10 hours do I shred the roast in the crock pot with a fork in the liquid?
★★★★★
Yes, continue cooking! You can shred in the slow cooker, or you can take the pieces out and shred, and then put them back. Whichever is easier. 🙂
Delicious. Just made this. Only change was searing the roast 5 minutes each side. Not sure how much of a difference it made. Overall easy and excellent recipe. thanj you for sharing.
★★★★★
You’re very welcome Colleen!! (And for what it’s worth, I tested searing first and not searing, and didn’t notice any difference in flavor. So I went with the easy route. 😉 )
Easy to follow, made exactly as instructed and made the cream of mushroom soup to go in it, the best crock pot roast ever!!!
I’m so glad you liked it Alicia!!
I want to make the pot roast for my family on Sunday. There will be 10 adults. What size roast should I buy and can I cook in oven, since I don’t have a crock pot large enough to accommodate such a large roast! Tx
Hi Joyanne! You can certainly cook it in the oven, but I’ve always done it in the slow cooker so I don’t have a recipe to direct you to. As for the size roast, I’d go for 6 pounds personally, with LOTS of veggies – potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, peppers… even halved tomatoes!
Do you have to add salt
No – there’s salt in the onion seasoning.
Hi, can I use a chuck roast already cut into chunks? Would I have to adjust the cooking time?
Yes you can, and no you don’t!
I think my crockpot may be too full??? The soup is supposed to sit on top of the roast?? Am i supposed to mix it in at any point?? I used prolly a 4.25 pound chuck pot roast. Added onions and celery to the original recipe. I have a 6 qt crockpot. Did I mess up by not using a larger crockpot? It’s been cooking for 3 hours so far. Should I expect it to need to cook longer than 10 hours with the larger roast and additional vegetables? I wish I could ass a picture to show how full my pot is.
As long as the lid touches the slow cooker Janell, you should be fine with the larger roast. You’ll still need 8-10 hours (preferably 10), but you don’t need to add any additional time. Yes, the soup sits on top. Just wait – it all comes together at the end!
I am using a 3lb bottom round roast and want to know if I should keep it standing upright or lay it on its side while cooking in the crockpot Thanks
The general rule of thumb Anne is to cook it with the fat on top. Other than that, however you can get it in will work!
Hello Tiffany making this tonight for tomorrow but im curious what you would serve this with… do you think rice would be good? 🤗
Yes! Rice is good, potatoes, egg noodles… you can’t go wrong!
I did everything per recipe, cooked to 10 hours, 3 ibs chuck roast, and it didn’t turn out 🙁 the roast didn’t seperate easily with a work, some of the potatoes and carrots weren’t fully cooked yet. Overall it didn’t seem to be done even after a while 10 hours.
★★★
That’s so strange Kristina… I’ve made this numerous times since first publishing the recipe, and I know it’s turned out very well for others. Perhaps your slow cooker runs on the cool side? The fact that your veggies weren’t cooked leads me to believe something is wrong with the appliance, not the recipe.
Me and my hubby made this recipe with a 2 lb roast and it was absolutely a home run! We have found our recipe for a great pot roast , thank you!
★★★★★
So glad you liked this recipe Sarah!
No one in my house likes cream of anything soup, so what could I substitute that for?
Would beef broth work?
Homemade cream of soup is actually made with beef broth. 😉 To be honest, your family won’t notice. *IF* however, you don’t feel comfortable using the creamed soup, you can use beef broth with all the veggies and seasonings.
Hi Tiffany! I’m looking forward to making this for dinner tomorrow 🙂
One question! Did you sear your roast before putting it in the slow cooker?
Nope – just toss it right in!! I hope you enjoy it!
Is the roast frozen or thawed?
It’s thawed Lindsey.
What if the roast is frozen? Can you still make it work or does it have to be thawed?
I’ve done a partially frozen roast before, but not a completely frozen one, and it turned out fine. Honestly, I’d recommend thawing it first. There’s no way to guarantee that the roast will be done in the cook time.
This sounds great! If I were to use canned soup how may cans should I use and should I add water?
Just one can Pam, and no water!
Do u have the nutrition facts on this recipe?
I don’t Marybeth, but you’re welcome to plug the ingredients into an online nutrition calculator!