Easy Recipes

How to Make Slow Cooker Pot Roast from Scratch (No Canned Soups)

My parents came into town for a visit this past weekend. It’s always a blast getting together and catching up with them — especially because my dad always insists on cooking all of the meals over the weekend. He’s easily the best cook I’ve ever known, and whenever he asks me what I would like him to make, I always answer the same thing — his famous pot roast recipe. Today I’m actually going to be sharing that very recipe with you guys. It will show you how to make a slow cooker pot roast from scratch using all-natural ingredients. You won’t find any canned soups in this recipe! It’s incredibly easy to make this pot roast as well. You’ll simply be slow cooking a juicy beef chuck roast along with a hearty mix of vegetables and savory herbs and then coating it with a delectable homemade gravy. The end result is a pot roast dinner that can only be described as out of this world good.

Few things in life are as satisfying as coming home from a long day of work to the smell of a delicious slow cooked pot roast. The best part of this easy recipe is that it’s made with nothing but all-natural whole food ingredients -- there are no canned soups or other processed foods at all, and the kids absolutely love it.

A Delicious Pot Roast Meal with a Gravy That’s to Die For

The very first thing you’ll want to do is season your chuck roast with a savory mixture of salt, black pepper, and thyme. Next, heat up two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet and throw the beef in, browning it for 4-5 minutes per side. Make sure that you’re using olive oil when making this recipe and never vegetable oil — it’s a much healthier option. It’s also a great option for lowering your risk of heart disease by adding more heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids into your diet. (1) After browning your roast, remove it from the heat and set it to the side.

Next, add your carrots, celery, potatoes, and minced garlic into the slow cooker. This varied mix of vegetables works wonderfully in this recipe, as ingredients like celery are particularly good for providing an abundance of essential vitamins and minerals, dietary fiber, disease-fighting antioxidants and phytonutrients to your meal. (2) Garlic is another particularly great choice to add to the mix, as it’s been found to have some rather incredible anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties. (3)

slow cooker pot roast

Toss all of your veggies until they’re well combined, and then lay the beef roast over top of them. Add in two cups of beef broth and then cover the slow cooker with a lid and leave it to cook for eight hours. Once the time is up, remove the beef and veggies from the slow cooker and then drain the leftover liquid into a saucepan.

slow cooker pot roast
slow cooker pot roast

In a separate small bowl, mix together equal parts cornstarch and cold water. Add the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and cook it on high, constantly stirring the mixture until the liquid thickens into a gravy. From here, it’s a simple matter of adding a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning before pouring your gravy over your beef and veggies. Add a bit of chopped parsley as a garnishment and you’ll be all set to enjoy an incredibly tasty pot roast dinner.

slow cooker pot roast

As a final note, if you liked this pot roast recipe, then you might be interested in checking out a few of the other great recipes we’ve recently shared for making a healthy dinner with your family. Here are a few of the most recent ones:

Instant Pot Bone Broth Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids with a Cold
Must-try Low Carb Keto Meatloaf for the Easiest Family Dinner Ever
Kid-Friendly One Sheet Paleo Chicken Dinner (Easy Recipe)

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slow cooker pot roast

Slow Cooker Pot Roast from Scratch

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours
  • Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8-10 1x
Scale

Ingredients

4 pounds chuck roast

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried thyme

5 carrots, peeled and cut into ½” pieces

3 celery stalks, cut into ½” pieces

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 cloves garlic minced

2 cups beef broth

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp cold water

salt and black pepper to taste

minced parsley optional, to garnish

Instructions

Season the roast with salt, black pepper and thyme.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat.

Add the roast and brown 4-5 minutes per side.

Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a slow cooker add the carrots, celery, potatoes and minced garlic.

Toss to combine.

Lay the roast on the top.

Add in the beef broth.

Cover with a lid and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the beef and vegetables from the slow cooker.

Transfer the leftover liquid to a saucepan.

In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and cold water.

Add the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and cook on high, stirring constantly,  until the liquid is thickened into a gravy.

Season to taste with salt.

Pour the gravy over the meat, garnish with parsley and serve.

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