This recipe for Pressure Cooker Pot Roast & Gravy is one of the simplest ones I’ve made in a while.
That is, once I figured it out. Until then, it was a whole bunch of questions in my brain.
I know, I know, pot roast isn’t exactly rocket science, but I was faced with a problem while hashing this one out:
Meat of the pot roast variety takes a long time to cook (less time in a pressure cooker), and vegetables take a short time to cook (even shorter in a pressure cooker)
If the veggies that need less than 10 minutes to cook get thrown in with the meat that needs 60, they’ll be very, very overcooked. There are three solutions to this:
- Cook the meat first, add the vegetables at the end, and cook longer. This solution is a great one, except for the fact that it adds more than one step when you factor in releasing and building up pressure- that all takes some time, sort of defeating the purpose of a pressure cooker meal.
- Roast the vegetables separately, and serve them with the pot roast. An excellent solution, but again, another step and another appliance turned on, and we’re trying to keep this simple, dammit!
- Just throw the veggies in with the meat. But wait! We’ve discussed this- they’ll get super mushy. Yup. They will, but it doesn’t matter, ’cause those veggies are destined for gravy anyway.
You see, the other issue with pot roast (you didn’t know pot roast had so many issues, did you?) is that the liquid it braises in doesn’t get thick in the pressure cooker, and this type of meat is just better with gravy. We could thicken it with a roux, but it’s January, and I bet just about everyone reading this is doing some kind of Whole 30 or 21 Day Sugar Detox, or if you’re me: #OperationStopBeingGross. (Follow me on Instagram for more about that!) I wanted this recipe to be Whole 30 and 21 DSD compliant, which is why it is also free from wine.
So the veggie problem turns into the solution. Fingers crossed that all of our problems in 2016 tidy themselves up this nicely.
My pressure cooker of choice is the Instant Pot, which you can purchase HERE.
Pressure Cooker Pot Roast & Gravy
prep time: 5 minutes | cook time: 60 minutes (+20 or so to come up to pressure) | serves: 4-6
4 pounds chuck roast, cut into 4 pieces
a good pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fish sauce (optional, add more salt if omitting)
1 three inch sprig rosemary
4 three inch sprigs thyme
2 parsnips, peeled
4 carrots, peeled or scrubbed
6 cloves garlic, peeled
chopped parsley and/or chives for serving, optional
- Season the beef with salt and pepper and place in the pressure cooker.
- Place all of the remaining ingredients in the pressure cooker. Lock on the lid and set it for 60 minutes on high pressure.
- After the 60 minutes are up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes.
- Remove the meat to a plate, and the veggies to a blender. (I love my fancy Blendtec and loved my basic Oster before it if you’d rather not drop that kind of cash)
- Discard the rosemary and thyme stems. Pour the cooking liquid into a large jar or measuring cup. Once the fat rises to the top (this will happen quickly), remove and discard it with a large spoon or small ladle. Pour the remaining liquid into the blender with the veggies and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (you may or not need any, depending on the seasoning of the broth you used)
- Roughly shred the meat using two forks. You can either stir some of the gravy into the meat or just pour it on top. Or both!
- Serve with your favorite roasted or mashed potatoes, cauliflower mash, or any root veggie, mashed or roasted.
*You’ll have way more gravy than you need, but it freezes nicely, and goes wonderfully with just about any chicken, pork or beef recipe.
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Elizabeth says
Love this recipe! Looks awesome! However, my family is going off beef and veal for a while (until our children’s guts are healed) and I’m wondering if you can make this recipe with any other meats. Would you have suggestions please?
zenbellyblog says
You could probably do something similar with a chicken, but it would only need to cook for about 25 minutes. You could swap the beef broth for chicken. Or if you’re eating lamb, it would be great with a lamb roast!
Debra Gluskin says
Fantastic and inspired to try! Would you be so kind to let us know how to follow this in a regular old crock pot? 🙂 Thanks !
zenbellyblog says
I don’t have a slow cooker, but googled it and it looks like 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low. Everything else should be the same, I’m thinking!
pmturnbull says
Is an instapot or normal pressure cooker?
zenbellyblog says
Are you asking if an instant pot IS a normal pressure cooker? I can’t figure out how to reply… I used an IP, but you could use any pressure cooker. I like the IP because my other option is a giant stove top one and it takes forever to get up to pressure for smaller batched of stuff. Does that answer your question?
Betty says
Thank you for posting a good recipe for the Instant Pot. I have been debating to get one as I have a very small kitchen. I do love pot roast though and my slow cooker does take up a lot of space and time.
classygeek says
Good idea using a pressure cooker, but really balsamic (or any) vinegar in pot roast? yuck …… A good, moist pot roast does not need gravy, in fact, gravy = yuck …. unnecessary calories. Any good meat does not need it at all. I prefer my pot roast au jous. And I love my veggies cooked with my pot roast for the flavor. So I will stick with my nesco cooker and two steps ……
zenbellyblog says
Yuck? Are you 5? If you prefer your pot roast without gravy, don’t make it with gravy!
* au jus
Stephanie Turney says
Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes! My family has loved every one that I have made. I made the brisket recipe a few weeks ago and used the onions and other veggies the same way – pureed into gravy. My husband LOVED it and it was gone in no time. Making this one tomorrow! You are awesome!
zenbellyblog says
That’s so great to hear, thanks so much Stephanie! 🙂
tessadomesticdiva says
this is delicious!! We made a spice rub of onion powder, parsley, garlic powder, and salt and rubbed that on the chunks of roast first, then followed your recipe. Super flavorful and delicious! Thanks!
zenbellyblog says
Love your additions! Glad it came out great ☺️
Sarah says
What shape pieces do you cut the roast into? Like large cubes or flat pieces?
Also, would there be a time difference if you just did a whole roast? I’m assuming so but I don’t know how much longer to cook it for?
Any info would be helpful, thanks!
zenbellyblog says
I just put it in whole.
Sarah says
The recipe says “4 lb Chuck roast, cut into four pieces” . So do you not cut it then? You put the 4lb roast in whole? Maybe you should update the recipe so it’s not confusing then 🙂
zenbellyblog says
Sorry, I do cut it, the recipe is correct, I was on my phone and I wasn’t looking at the recipe when I answered your question. I just cut it into 4 pieces, the shape doesn’t really matter and will depend on the shape of your roast. Just 4 relatively even pieces.
KJ says
If I freeze this recipe and cook it later, how do you think the cook time would change? Thank you!
zenbellyblog says
You mean if the meat is frozen? Or prep the whole thing? I would always thaw before cooking, so the cook time would be the same. Do you want to throw it all in the pressure cooker frozen?
dchurchill28 says
Made this last night and it was fantastic! Loved the parsnip flavor in the gravy. We made it with some oven roasted baby red potatoes. True comfort food.
zenbellyblog says
So glad you loved it! Potatoes sound like a great addition.
Michal Tuttle says
I can’t wait to try this recipe!! I just received an Instant Pot from my mother-in-law and am timid to use it as I have never even used a pressure cooker. You make it look very easy. I did not see where you said anything about searing the meat first. I just wanted to confirm that step was not needed. 🙂
zenbellyblog says
I know, I stared at mine for a while before even taking it out of the box! 😉 You don’t have to sear it. Some recipes are improved by searing but I didn’t find this to be one of them so figured it was worth skipping to save time and effort. I hope you love the recipe!
jerry says
Thanks for your information.
Alex says
Thanks
Flappy Bird says
Good idea