Tender Pot Roast and Veggies
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Have you ever sat back and thought of what you would do differently if you ever came into some serious money? Mama used to do that a lot when we were little. She’d talk about how, if she ever won the lottery, she’d buy us all a house and a new car for each person. She never talked about anything for herself, she just wanted to be able to do more for us.
I’m not sure when I started thinking of what I’d do differently if I ever came into money, but it was never quite as grand as Mama’s vision – I think “coming into money” meant far different amounts for both of us. But I have said for some time now that if I ever got rich, I’d have pot roast once every week.
You see roast and potatoes has always been one of my very favorite meals and I have vivid memories of having it at home as a child, of my Grandmama and Grandaddy cooking it for me when I went to visit them, and of eating it at my Papa Reed’s farm. Folks always knew how much I loved it and the moment I walked in the door I knew by the smell what was for dinner. Adding in the carrots was just a wonderful treat too.
I know most people don’t see pot roast as a meal of luxury but having that much meat in one meal was always a treat for us. When we were little, it seemed like the roast just went on and on like Jesus with the fish and loaves.
Now, as the one doing the cooking, I can’t believe how incredibly simple it is to make the roast I loved so much as a child. I’ve been awfully busy lately with all of the wonderful opportunities in my life and I’ve relied more and more heavily on my slow cooker to help out with supper. Add to this that the grocery store down the road from my house always has the most lovely roasts each time I shop there and you know where I’m going with this!
I told my husband a few weeks back “Do you realize we’ve had roast each week here lately?”. He nodded and shrugged, clearly not understanding what this meant to me. I just smiled in return, knowing that I had achieved my own benchmark for living the life of the rich and famous.
For my roast, I keep it simple because I like simple.
Roast, potatoes, carrots, and beef gravy.
An onion would be an excellent addition and I’d gladly add that if everyone in my family except me hadn’t been dropped on their head as a child.
The KEY to having a moist and fall apart tender roast is not to cook it in water. The gravy helps tenderize the meat and makes it sooooo good when allowed to slow cook all day long.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have Gravy Handy?
Cream soup (such as cream of mushroom)
Brown gravy made from a powdered mix
Now this big old honkin’ jar of gravy is WAY too much.
You see that can of gravy on the left? That is the size I normally use but I mistakenly got chicken gravy instead of beef – which would have worked every bit as well but I wanted beef and I tend to be a bit stubborn when I set my mind to something (shocking, I know) so I sent my husband after some beef gravy. He came back with this big old king kong sized jar of it. I only need ten ounces though so I’m not going to use it all.
When you go to buy your beef gravy, get one can of the cheap stuff and your roast will be delicious.
Place your roast in the bottom of a slow cooker. Peel and cut up your potatoes and add them as well.
I leave mine in pretty big chunks but you can do whatever cranks yer tractor here.
Peel and cut up your carrots and toss those in.
I usually add more but used what I had on hand.
Note: There is no specific quantity to this. Use five potatoes or ten potatoes, three carrots or seven carrots, it really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t even matter how big your roast is so long as it all fits in your slow cooker. You still only need one can of gravy because everything is going to produce it’s own juices as it cooks to go along with the gravy.
Pour in your gravy
(I’m only using half of that king kong jar)
Cook according to the following chart:
Low – 7-8 hours
or
High 3-4 hours
I like to cook mine the longest amount of time (four hours on high or eight on low) but you don’t have to.
It will be done and tender after the above times. Any longer you cook it will just make it even more tender.
See how much juice this made? This is after cooking on high for four hours.
Serve it up and wait on Robin Leach to show up at your door.
To read a little about these plates, click here.
What Kind Of Roast Should I Look For?
*Look for a roast that has a bit of marbling in it (the white parts, this is fat but marbling sounds so much nicer, doesn’t it?). The fat breaks down during slow cooking and helps to tenderize the meat even more, making for a yummmmy roast from an inexpensive cut of meat.
Ingredients
- 1 beef roast *
- potatoes
- Carrots
- Beef Gravy 10 ounce can
Instructions
- Place roast in bottom of slow cooker. Peel and cut up carrots and potatoes, place on top of Roast. Pour gravy over all and cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Try not to open the lid because it takes about twenty minutes to recover the heat if you do! Note: It doesn't matter how many potatoes or carrots you use, long as it all fits in your crock pot!
- I let my guests decide if they want to salt and pepper theirs.
There are a GAZILLION Ways to make roast in the slow cooker. I’ve tried many and love them all but this is my fallback standard.
I’d love to hear your favorite recipe in the comments section below!
I’ve decided that the stuff falling through the cracks is confetti
and I’m having a party!
-Betsy Cañas Garmon
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You are a saint! Even though I was dropped on my head as a child (I have pictures to prove it, a big ol, bruise on my forehead where my mom dropped me!), I still love onions in my roast and can’t imagine cooking/eating one without it! I make mine just like you do with the addition of cut up onions AND a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix sprinkled all over everything before the lid goes on. Mmmmmmmm, that’s good eatin’!
Oh my goodness, what a story!!! I bet your Mom cringes every time it is told and those pictures come out!
Christy – whoever dropped your family on their head, must have been related to my family. Not only do mine not like onion, they don’t like gravy … so my question … beef broth instead of water. I normally cook my roast on the stove in water VERY low all day long and it is very tender and good, but I have had a few instances where I wasn’t pleased. I thought maybe it was the beef, now I’m thinking maybe it was the water????
I would say it was the water Brenda.
I’ve always cooked roast with a little beef broth for flavor. I usually end up making the broth with with dry beef granules added to water. LOL.
Just was wondering if I still cook it the same time length if I’m using 2 roasts instead of 1? Thank you
I have never cooked two at once, but in theory the answer would be yes. Make sure to cook it for at least 4 on low and 8 on high though. And it certainly won’t hurt if it cooks a little longer just to make certain.
Bet U meant 4 on high 8 on low??
I thought it was 4 on high and 8 on low.
Christy, your Pot Roast and Veggies look delicious. I love a good Pot Roast but I never used a crockpot to cook it in. We raised our own beef so I always had a good cut of beef. I used my Miracle Maid waterless cookware to cook my roast. I would put a little butter or oil in the cookware and get it hot, the brown all sides of the beef. I would put the lid on and bring the heat up until the lid would dance, then turn the heat down to seal. My veggies would go in after roast had cooked for an hour and I would make gravy after I dished all meat and veggies into serving bowl. No boughten gravy was used, for it would make it’s own juice, for me to make gravy by just using a little water and cornstarch to thicken. If there were any left overs, it was a small amount so after all was cool, this mixture was put in a container in the freezer and when the container was full of left overs (pork, beef, gravy and veggies) I would make “Must Go Soup”. Everything went into a big soup pot with just water and simmered to blend the flavors. It was so good with cornbread. I always raised a huge garden so the veggies were home grown, for I stayed away from the store canned items as much as I could. Love your stories and your recipes.
I bet that was the best soup ever with all those flavors!!
Toss in a ranch dressing packet! De-lish!!!!!
I am going to give pot roast one more try. What is the best cut of meat for this recipe? I have tried pressure cooker, oven and crock pot and the neat is always tough.
Try a chuck roast Mary, I hope you have better luck!!
Is it OK to use cream mushroom and gravy in the recipe? Tender roast with veggie
absolutely!
Keep recipes come i like try new things if there something don’t like I can substitute it. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I use chuck roast which has more flavor and doesn’t come out stringy and dried out.
Add lots of celery onion and carrot and a couple of bay leaves, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar , or a couple of pepperincini. pickled peppers. ( enhances flavor) you won’t taste any vinegar . Low and slow ..Remove the bay leaves when serving. Add 1 32 pounce box of beef bone broth half way thru cooking if beef is fork tender and pile the potatoes in at that time . Cover tightly and cook until potatoes are tender and broth will be ready to thicken , you can use potato starch, corn starch , or flour and water slurry to thicken.. cook on low boil for 5 minutes after adding thickening agent ,
Oh my gosh this was sooooo good. I’m making it for the second time in a week and having my grandparents to dinner. Thanks for such an easy great recipe!!!!