This Instant Pot Pot Roast recipe cooks to melt-in-your-mouth tender perfection in a jiffy in your instant pot! And best of all? In addition to the pot roast, you also cook carrots, mashed potatoes, AND gravy – all right in your pressure cooker!
Let me get right to the details about this promotion. Then, I’ll talk about this awesome pot roast.
From now until the end of November, I’m partnering with ButcherBox to offer Bowl of Delicious readers an awesome deal!
What is ButcherBox, you ask? Oh, right. I got ahead of myself there :-)
ButcherBox is a subscription service that delivers high-quality meats right to your door. They provide100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef, free range organic chicken, and heritage breed pork, raised free from antibiotics and hormones. And their bacon doesn’t have any added sugar or nitrates/nitrites. They have tons of cuts to choose from- everything from whole chickens to filet mignons to pork chops to chuck roasts.
If you’ve tasted both conventional meat and grass-fed/antibiotic-free meats, you know how different the taste is. But did you know that there’s a difference in nutritional value as well?
Grass-fed beef is lower in the bad kinds of fat (saturated) and higher in good kinds (Omega-3s). It also has more vitamins and minerals, due to the cattle being able to exercise more and eat grass, which is what nature intended.
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A ButcherBox subscription takes the thinking out of it.
I made this Instant Pot Pot Roast with a bottom round roast from my very first ButcherBox. You can watch this super dorky video of me (and baby Ella) opening up the box right after it got delivered to see what’s inside and how it was packed.
The pot roast was SO flavorful, and so easy to cook up in the pressure cooker! And best of all, I cooked up the potatoes in the Instant Pot at the same time, and made gravy from the drippings in the pot after everything was done. So this was a really easy one-pot meal.
One of the best features of the Instant Pot is that you can sear the meat right in the pot before cooking it, rather than getting another pot dirty doing it on the stovetop.
After seasoning the beef roast VERY generously with salt and pepper, I seared it on all sides in some olive oil right in the pressure cooker. After, I sautéed some onions and then deglazed with red wine, loosening up all the browned bits that accumulated from the beef and onions, which added SO much flavor to the base.
A pot roast cooked in the oven could take about 4 hours, but this Instant Pot version requires only 60 minutes of cooking time! With the prep time and the time it takes for your Instant Pot to come up to pressure and release, the whole thing took about two hours to make, which cut the time in half.
I did something a little different with the mashed potatoes. Instead of using milk and butter (like in these classic homemade mashed potatoes), I just thinned them out with some of the drippings from the bottom of the pan after everything cooked, and used olive oil instead of butter.
Then, I added a cornstarch slurry to the drippings to thicken them up and make a gravy. Yum!
If you like this Instant Pot Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, you’ll love this Instant Pot Pulled Pork, this Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Herbs, this Instant Pot Corned Beef with Cabbage and Buttered Potatoes, and this Irish Lamb and Potato Stew.
And by the way, you can make this pot roast using a chuck roast or a brisket, as well.
Don’t forget to check out ButcherBox to see if a home delivery of super high quality (yet affordable) meats is a good fit for you!
Here’s the printable recipe for Instant Pot Pot Roast :-)
Instant Pot Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs. bottom round roast see notes for other cuts
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil divided (8 tablespoons)
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 2 onions halved and thickly sliced
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 carrots cut into 3″ pieces
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cups beef broth or chicken stock
- 1.5 lbs. baby red or gold potatoes
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the “sauté” setting and wait for it to heat up.
- Pat the beef roast as dry as you can with a paper towel. Season generously with kosher salt (about 1 tablespoon) and black pepper (about 1/2 tablespoon).
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown the beef roast on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate or shallow bowl (make sure it has enough depth to catch any runaway juices).
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the instant pot and add the onions. Sauté until softened and starting to brown (about 5 minutes).
- Add the red wine to deglaze, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Continue cooking on the “sauté” function until almost all liquid has evaporated from the wine (about 5 minutes).
- Turn the sauté function off. Add the carrots, rosemary sprigs, and thyme sprigs to the instant pot and stir. Place the beef roast on top, along with any juices from the plate. Pour the beef broth on top.
- Place the wire rack insert that came with your instant pot on top of the beef, and place the potatoes on top of it.
- Cover the instant pot and make sure the sealing valve is set to “sealed.” Set the instant pot to manual on high for 60 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then use a wooden spoon to turn the sealing valve to “venting” to release the rest of the pressure.
- Remove the potatoes to a large bowl and the beef to a platter or rimmed baking sheet (something that will catch the juices). Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and place with the beef, and discard the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Shred the beef into large chunks with two forks.
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher and add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil to them. Add 1 cup of the drippings from the bottom of the instant pot and continue mashing until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Mix the corn starch with 1/4 cup of water to create a smooth slurry. Turn the Instant Pot to the “sauté” setting again. Once the drippings are boiling, stir in the corn starch slurry until thickened (about 2 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the mashed potatoes topped with the pot roast and carrots/onions, topped with the gravy.
Notes
- You can read more about Bottom Round Roast, and other cuts of beef, on the ButcherBox website.
- More commonly, chuck roast is used for pot roast. You can feel free to use this cut, or brisket as well. Here’s a great primer on the best cuts of beef for pot roast.
- This recipe is 100% paleo/whole30 compliant except for the cornstarch. Omit it and serve with drippings rather than making a gravy (or use arrowroot powder) to make it compliant.
- I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Erin Daily
This was excellent. I put the potatoes and carrots on top, of the trivet on top of the roast 30 minutes into the cooking. I will make this again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Laura
Question, do you brown the meat in the IP?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yes, see recipe step #3: Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown the beef roast on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate or shallow bowl (make sure it has enough depth to catch any runaway juices).
Doris S.
Made this last night. I had a very poor cut of a bottom round roast just over 2 pounds. I dry brined it the night before, and followed your directions, omitting the salt, and also the wine. I did add a few heavy dashes of Worcestershire Sauce and a few cloves of minced garlic.
I was amazed how tender it came out. Thank you. I will make it again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Rena
Made this at least 10 plus times, had my parents over and made it. They loved it! It’s my favorite thing to make!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Shawna
Hands down best recipe for a bottom round! Followed directions to a T added some extra seasonings and WOW! Delicious!
Thank you
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jacqueline DeRouin
I carefully followed directions and this is awful. The carrots are complete mush, and the potatoes do not taste like potatoes at all.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Interestingly, hours after this comment was posted, someone else posted with a 5-star review that they also “followed directions to a T” and the results came out great, to add on to the many other rave reviews! I’m not sure how “potatoes don’t taste like potatoes,” and I can’t really help troubleshoot without more details about why it was “awful.” For the carrots, they do come out soft, and I’d recommend cutting larger pieces for next time. I’ll also say: different versions of the IP, brands of pressure cooker, quality of meat, and other factors such as user error (quite common, for myself when I make a recipe as well!) can have a result on recipe outcome.
Kelly
Why so harsh? Opinions are like noses, everyone has one.
I have not made this yet, but I do know that cooking carrots or potatoes in an Insta pot for 60 minutes would never be recommended. I suggest one adds it 3/4 of the way through. Just a suggestion tho.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I didn’t think my response was harsh – but it’s OK that you have a different opinion! I agree, everyone is entitled to an opinion. My comment philosophy is that sharing opinions are fine – both positive and negative – but it’s difficult to surmise what went wrong with the recipe or help troubleshoot when people aren’t specific. The original comment I replied to was pretty much all complaint and no substance, and my response was an attempt to provide some context around what may have gone wrong in order to provide a helpful experience for people reading the comments who may be concerned about the outcome of this recipe. After 10 years of going through comments on my blog, I’ve had to learn how to be discerning in order to best serve my readers with accurate and helpful information – this is one of the ways I do it!
As for the potatoes and carrots – feel free to adjust the time for how you want! That timing worked for me, but you may prefer a more crisp-tender texture for both of these vegetables, and that’s fine. You can add the veggies in at a later time. Hope that helps!
Carolyn Meier
Got it in the IP now. Can’t wait to taste it.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hope it turned out well for you!
Sally Russell
Absolute best ever!!! The roast was so tender it just fell apart, I followed your directions exactly. My family ate every bite :)Thank you for this delicious recipe!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Gisella
I’m not even going to rate this just yet because I made it last night and although the flavors seem there, it was EXTREMELY OVERCOOKED. I even brought down the instapot manual time to 48 as someone else suggested and it probably needed more like 35/40? Needless to say but I was so disappointed… I’ve never overcooked a steak that bad! haha I will be attempting this again but definitely lessening the cook time. Any suggestions on where I went wrong? Also, I browned the meat on each side even less than suggested in recipe. The only thing I did differently was browning my onions a bit longer. It was set to high when sautéing the steak. Maybe it needs med? When I cook a chuck roast in the instapot (cut in cubes) I do 26/28 minutes and it typically comes out tender and that’s even after browning the pieces.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hm. By overcooked, do you mean the meat is a bit tough? In that case, I would say it’s actually probably undercooked. Like pork shoulder and other tough cuts of meat, chuck roast gets more tender the more it cooks, and if it’s tough, it probable just needs more time to become tender. It’s really hard to “overcook” this cut of meat. Next time this happens, I recommend giving it more time, until it starts falling apart and tender! The timing for this recipe may vary based on brand or model of pressure cooker used, the thickness of the meat, or other factors. Hope that helps!
Eileen
Thank you very much for sharing your recipe. It was so easy to make and so delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Stephania
Yummmm!!!! Made this for my Christmas dinner. It turned out perfect!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Auntie M
Dear E,
Super excited to pull up a recipe with your name on it! Out of all the recipes out there, yours came up first! Love you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Woo hoo! :-) (though from this name and email address I’m not sure who this is… would love to know!).
Robin
This came out SOOOOO good. I didn’t have potatoes & carrots, & cut cook time to 48 minutes. Delish! Meat super tender!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Shanda
Tender and Yummy!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Teresa Parmely
Everyone loves an easy meal, but with healthy and delicious on top of it, I’m on the top of the world!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jean
This is a very good pot roast recipe. It took me considerably longer to assemble the recipe before I got to actually cooking it. It turned out very tender, maintaining its shape while carving and very easy to chew. The potatoes were a bit too soft & the carrots fell apart as I removed them from the pot. Next time, I shall not put carrots on the bottom,but on top of potatoes. Overall, this is a very tasty dish! Made a great Sunday dinner.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Great idea about putting the carrots with the potatoes! Glad you liked it :-)
Patricia Sirwaitis
This recipe took a typically tough cut of meat and turned it into a mouthwatering Sunday dinner. Thank you. Liked the idea of cooking the potatoes on their own on top of the roast. Will definitely be adding this recipe to our list of favorites.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy this worked well for you!
Janice M
My round roast was 2.2 pounds and the 60 min of cook time was too long. It got dried out. I think if I did it again I would cut it down to maybe 50 min.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Good to know, thanks for this feedback! Cooking time will vary depending on the kind of meat (if it’s leaner or fattier, grass fed or not, etc.) and variations in pressure cookers (even generations of instant pots) as well. That said, if anyone else reading this ends up with meat that’s a little on the dry side… my recommendation is to load up on the gravy! :-)
Sylvia
It needed a little more salt, but it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it!
Jean Dunsmoor
I’m looking for a instant pot recipe for 1.5 lb. /2.0 lb. roast. basically only need the cook time, so its not dried out. Seems all the recipes are for larger cuts. Just me I’m cooking for. Can anyone help me out?? Thanks in advance.
Elizabeth Lindemann
This table of cooking times for the instant pot might be handy for you to bookmark! I reference it all the time. For a beef roast, it’s 20-25 minutes per lb. Hope that helps! https://instantpot.com/instantpot-cooking-time
Will
Came out great. I read all the comments before I made this and then followed the recipe with a couple lil add ons, came out delicious
The comments that were negative had to be from people who don’t know what Pot Roast is and probably thought this was a roast beef or something.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I agree, often times if there is a very negative result it is a simple user error, but it’s hard to know sometimes! You might be on the right track with the wrong cut of beef or something.