Southern Pot Roast Recipe

a bowl of southern pot roast with mushrooms over mashed potatoes

5 from 7 votes

My southern pot roast recipe is easy to make comfort food. Chuck roast slow cooked to perfection in a dutch oven with red wine, fresh herbs, and carrots in a savory gravy makes the best fall and winter meal!

Prep Time10

Cook Time2 30

Total Time2 40

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 731kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Equipment

Dutch Oven, 6-Quart
Tongs to flip the beef while searing
Spider Spoon to scoop up the meat and veggies before making the gravy

Ingredients

2 tablespoon vegetable oil for searing
3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
½ tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup pinot noir or favorite dry red wine
2 medium yellow onions sliced
5 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon tomato paste
4 medium carrots peeled and chopped
3 celery ribs washed and chopped
8 ounces cremini mushrooms cleaned and large mushrooms quartered
2 cups low sodium beef broth
4 tablespoon salted butter softened (optional)
4 tablespoon all purpose flour optional
Mashed potatoes for serving

Instructions

Heat the vegetable oil in your dutch oven on the stovetop over medium high heat. Preheat your oven to 325ºF.
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Dry your roast on both sides with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper generously on both sides. Once the oil is shimmering hot, carefully place the chuck roast into the oil and sear for 3-4 minutes, or until the roast has a good, brown crust. Flip with the tongs and repeat on the other side, then remove the roast onto a plate.
3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, ½ tablespoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Add the red wine to the pot, using a wooden spoon to scrape the brown fond from the bottom of the pot. Add in the tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and stir it in well before adding the garlic, thyme, and half of the onions at the bottom. This will be our gravy later.
½ cup pinot noir, 2 medium yellow onions, 5 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, 2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoon tomato paste
Add the roast back to the pot and cover it in the rest of the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and beef broth. Put the lid on the pot and place it into the preheated oven for 2.5 hours or until the pot roast is fork tender (or a meat thermometer
4 medium carrots, 3 celery ribs, 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, 2 cups low sodium beef broth
Take the pot out of the oven, place it onto your stove, and remove the roast and veggies with a spider and place on a serving platter.
The next steps are optional, to make the jus into a gravy. You can serve from this step.
Turn the heat to medium and begin to simmer the jus left in the pot. While it's coming to a simmer, make your beurre manie. Use a fork to mash the softened butter and flour together in a small mixing bowl until very well combined with no flour showing at all.
4 tablespoon salted butter, 4 tablespoon all purpose flour
When the jus turns into a simmer, use a whisk to mix the beurre manie into the hot liquid. Whisk until it's fully dissolved and the jus becomes glossy.
Let the gravy simmer for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing on the bottom sticks. Serve the gravy over the pot roast and mashed potatoes, or whatever you serve your southern pot roast with!
Mashed potatoes

Notes

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Leftover Pot Roast

Store: Pot roast is excellent the next day, y'all! Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Reheat: this recipe can be warmed up in a crock pot on high for about an hour or keep it in a baking dish, cover in foil, and put it back in the oven at 325 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until the meat is heated through!

Recipe Notes + Tips

If you notice your beurre manie is making clumps in the liquid don't worry, keep whisking until they disappear! It just means you gotta do a little more 'kneading' of the flour into the butter but I have never had them make a lumpy gravy.
Get a really dark sear on your chuck roast before putting it in the oven. It really makes a difference in the flavor your pot roast has! Make sure that pot is hot, that oil is shimmering hot, and your roast is dried with a paper towel before searing.
Use wine you actually like to drink! I learned the hard way when I first got married: if you aren't a red wine drinker, just swap it for more beef broth and keep it pushing, honey.
Prep your ingredients ahead of time. I like getting my mise en place together the night before: slice the onions, chop the carrots and the celery, press the garlic, etc. and have them all in the fridge ready to go.

Nutrition