When you’re craving comfort food, it doesn’t get any better than Instant Pot Pot Roast. This easy recipe has fall apart tender beef, potatoes and carrots in a flavorful gravy. It’s the perfect family-friendly meal for Sunday dinner.
Pot roast used to be reserved just for days when you had hours to slow cook a roast in the oven. As it has done for so many other classic recipes, the Instant Pot makes cooking a pot roast faster than using the stove or oven. What’s even better is that the pressure cooking process intensifies the flavors of the ingredients and makes the meat unbelievably tender. This truly is the best pot roast recipe I’ve tried!
I would still consider Instant Pot pot roast to be a weekend meal, as it takes just over two hours of total time to make. Most of that time is inactive, so don’t worry that you will spend all afternoon in the kitchen. I don’t have time for that, and I know you don’t either. If you want to make pot roast on a weekday, try my Slow Cooker Pot Roast, which you can prep in the morning and then cook all day in your crock pot. And if you’re looking for a slightly faster Instant Pot beef recipe, try my easy Instant Pot Beef Stew.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Cooking a chuck roast in the Instant Pot makes the most unbelievably tender and flavorful pot roast in a fraction of the time.
- You’ll only need one pot – your Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker) to make this meal.
- The leftovers reheat wonderfully. Read more about how to reheat pot roast below.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
In this pot roast recipe, simple ingredients come together to make a meal that’s flavorful and satisfying.
- Beef Chuck Roast: The best kind of roast to use for pot roast is a boneless beef chuck roast. The marbling in a chuck roast will make your pot roast extra tender and juicy.
- Salt & Pepper: To season the beef roast.
- Olive Oil: For browning the meat and sautéing the onion.
- Onion & Garlic: A yellow onion and fresh garlic bring delicious flavor to the pot roast.
- Tomato Paste: Adds savory flavor and thickens the gravy up just a bit.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds umami flavor and brings out the beef flavor. You can substitute balsamic vinegar if you prefer.
- Beef Broth: The broth provides the liquid needed to help the pot come to pressure. It also forms the base for the gravy. I recommend using low sodium beef broth so that you can better control the amount of salt in the finished dish.
- Thyme: I season this pot roast with thyme because it complements the beef flavor. You can use fresh thyme or dried thyme.
- Carrots & Potatoes: The classic vegetables for pot roast, carrots and baby potatoes make this meal hearty and comforting.
- Cornstarch & Water: To make a cornstarch slurry, which is used to thicken the gravy after the roast cooks.
Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.
How to Make Instant Pot Pot Roast
Here is an overview of the recipe steps. If you are new to using an Instant Pot, you might find my guide on How to Use an Instant Pot helpful.
- Season and Sear the Beef: To make this Instant Pot pot roast, you’ll start by cutting the chuck roast in half. Season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. Be generous with the seasonings, as they will also flavor the gravy. Then sear the beef in olive oil using the Instant Pot sauté setting. Browning the meat adds so much flavor.
- Sauté the Onion and Garlic: Once you have browned the roast on both sides, transfer it to a clean plate and set it aside for a few minutes. Add the chopped onion to the pot and sauté until the onion softens and begins to brown. You can use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the minced garlic and then turn off the Instant Pot.
- Deglaze the Pot: Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth to the pot. Stir everything together well and make sure that there are no browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. This step of deglazing the pot will ensure that you do not get an Instant Pot burn message during the pressure cooking process.
- Pressure Cook the Roast: Add the beef back to the pot, along with the thyme. Close the Instant Pot lid and move the steam release valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook for 60 minutes at high pressure. Then, once the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.
- Add the Potatoes and Carrots: Add the vegetables on top of the beef in the Instant Pot. Pressure cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural release.
- Thicken the Gravy: Thickening the gravy is optional in this recipe. You can serve your pot roast with the juices in the pot as is, or you can make a quick cornstarch slurry to thicken the gravy. It takes about 5 minutes. To make the gravy, you’ll first need to remove the meat, potatoes and carrots from the Instant Pot. Turn on the Instant Pot sauté function. Stir together a mixture of cornstarch and water and stir that into the juices in the pressure cooker. Simmer for a few minutes, until the gravy has thickened.
Cooking a Roast from Frozen in an Instant Pot
I recommend thawing your chuck roast if possible, since you won’t be able to brown a frozen roast and will miss out on the flavor that searing adds to the pot roast. If you don’t have time to thaw, you can cook a frozen roast in your pressure cooker. You will just have to increase the pressure cooking time and skip the step of browning the meat.
Pressure cook a frozen 3 pound beef chuck roast for 90 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. Then add your potatoes and carrots and pressure cook for 5 minutes more. If your roast is larger than 3 pounds, add 10 minutes per pound to the pressure cooking time.
Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip the natural release time. Allowing the pressure to naturally release makes the meat more tender.
- Be sure to follow the recipe directions to pressure cook the chuck roast on its own first before adding the potatoes and carrots. While it may be tempting to add the vegetables at the very beginning to save a step, don’t. If you pressure cook your potatoes and carrots for an hour they are going to be overcooked and mushy.
- A fresh (not frozen) 3 pound roast will need to pressure cook for 60 minutes at high pressure before adding the vegetables. If your roast is larger, add 10 minutes per pound to the cook time.
- If you prefer to serve your pot roast with mashed potatoes, you can omit the baby potatoes from this recipe. Try my Mashed Potatoes or Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipes.
- If you’d like to substitute baby carrots for the chopped whole carrots just know that they will turn out very soft, since they cook more quickly than regular carrots.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Pot Roast
With the gravy and vegetables, this pot roast is a hearty meal that doesn’t need much in the way of side dishes. I like to serve some crusty bread or dinner rolls on the side for soaking up extra gravy. A green salad is a nice, fresh addition to this one pot meal.
Storage & Reheating Tips
Leftover pot roast is a meal to look forward to, and can be even more flavorful on the second and third day. To store in the fridge or freezer and reheat:
- Refrigerator: Store leftover pot roast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Cool completely, and then store pot roast in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to freeze the roast, vegetables and gravy in individual portions for quick meals later on. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To Reheat: The best way to reheat leftover pot roast is to heat it in a pot on the stove, covered, over medium heat, adding a little broth or water as needed to thin the gravy. Stir it often to help it heat evenly. You can also reheat pot roast in your pressure cooker using the sauté setting, or in the microwave.
More Favorite Instant Pot Recipes
If you love cooking in the Instant Pot, try one of these Instant Pot recipes next:
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Meatloaf
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Instant Pot Chili
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Pork Chops
Instant Pot Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3 pound boneless beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ cups low sodium beef broth
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1.5 pounds whole baby potatoes
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional, for thickening gravy
- 2 tablespoons water, optional, for thickening gravy
Instructions
- Cut the beef chuck roast in half.
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper on all sides of the beef.
- Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot using the saute setting until hot.
- Place the seasoned beef in the pot and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Do not move the beef until you are ready to turn it; once it has seared it should easily release from the bottom of the pot. After browning the beef on both sides transfer it to a clean plate.
- With the Instant Pot still on saute mode, add the onion to the pot. Cook until softened and lightly browned, stirring often and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and press cancel to turn off the Instant Pot.
- Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Stir well and scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Place the beef back in the pot. Add the fresh thyme sprigs or dried thyme.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and move the steam release valve to the sealing position. Cook on Manual/Pressure Cook, high pressure, for 60 minutes. When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release any remaining pressure by moving the valve to the venting position.
- Open the Instant Pot and add the carrots and potatoes on top of the beef. Close the lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes more on high pressure using the Manual/Pressure Cook function. When the cook time ends allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Then quick release any remaining pressure by moving the steam release valve to the venting position.
- Remove the beef and vegetables from the Instant Pot, leaving the juices in the pot. Discard the thyme stems (if you used fresh thyme). Use two forks to shred the roast into chunks.
- Thicken the juices in the Instant Pot (optional): Turn the Instant Pot on saute mode. Stir together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl and pour into the liquid in the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until gravy has thickened slightly.
- Serve pot roast with the gravy.
Notes
- Recipe has been updated to reduce the cook time for the vegetables to 5 minutes, after reader feedback that the vegetables were overdone in 10 minutes.
- If your roast is larger than 3 pounds, add 10 minutes per pound to the pressure cook time.
- To cook pot roast from frozen, skip the step of browning the meat. Pressure cook a frozen 3 pound beef chuck roast for 90 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. Then add your potatoes and carrots and pressure cook for 5 minutes more, plus 10 minutes natural release. If your roast is larger than 3 pounds, add 10 minutes per pound to the first pressure cooking time.
- Leftover pot roast can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen pot roast overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheat leftover pot roast in a pot on the stove, covered, over medium heat, adding a little broth or water as needed to thin the gravy. You can also reheat pot roast in your pressure cooker using the sauté setting, or in the microwave.
This was my first recipe in my instapot! Wow family loved it and was simple enough to cook on a week night! Growing my moms roast always had celery do you think adding celery would change the cooking time?
You can add celery without changing the cooking time. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is a PHENOMENAL recipe!! I (24f) am still pretty fresh to cooking elaborate meals for my fiance and I. I make this pot roast in my 3 qt. Instant Pot and it comes out *amazing*! A few changes I did:
• Montreal Steak Seasoning on the beef.
• Chicken broth instead of beef broth
• ½ white onion instead of whole yellow onion
• No carrots… We’re not big fans of roasted carrots.
• Splash of Basil & Garlic Infused Oil on the potatoes.
• Shredded the pot roast after cooking. Served on top of the potatoes 🙂 on a serving tray for dinner.
I dont understand people changing the recipe
Completely and then giving it 5 stars. This is perfect as is. I have made this for me but also for friends with new babies. Its delish!!!!
Should I adjust cooking time if only using 2lb of roast?
Hi Erin,
I’d suggest keeping the cook time the same, but skip step 1 of the recipe (don’t cut the roast in half). Enjoy!
I have cooked this numerous times and it’s my go to when I don’t have time to go the slow cooker route. I highly recommend this particular recipe for any one that is short on time and would like a nice tender and flavorful meal! I wouldn’t change a step!
This recipe worked very well with the American Wagu chuck roast that I bought today. The only change I made was adding 1/2 dry red wine. The flavor is outstanding. I highly recommend this recipe.
I would like to make this but have all ingredients except tomato paste. Can I use marinara or pizza sauceinstead?
Yes, you can, or you can substitute ketchup or even leave it out. The tomato paste adds depth of flavor but the pot roast should still be good without it.
Great recipe. Even the gravy worked and being gluten free I often find that difficult to accomplish.
This recipe is the second thing that I have cooked in my new Instant Pot and I am here to tell you the results were excellent. The flavors seem to be much more infused in the meat and vegetables. Excellent recipe. Easy and quick to make.
Thanks.
Best roast I have ever made by far!
Soooo delicous, and I have made several times. The only thing I do differently is add the potatoes and carrots with the beef the whole time. If you buy the slightly larger yellow potatoes and keep your carrots in chunks they, my personal opinion, have so much more flavor being in the liquid the whole time. And they don’t get all mushy. Thank you for a fantastic recipe!
Thanks! I was wondering if I could do this all together
I add in everything at the same time also. I just cut large russet potatoes in thirds and large carrots in half. They come out great!
This pot roast was absolutely amazing. The recipe worked perfectly. Only difference was I only had about 22 oz. of beef broth so I added some red cooking wine. Everything was delicious.
5 stars!
This recipe is absolutely fabulous! Very easy to put together and is always a hit. I’ve made both the thawed and frozen versions. Both turn out tender and juicy. (I recommend adjusting broth amounts according to the way the meat is stacked in the pot for best results but the 1&1/2 cup in recipe has always worked adequately for me.) Pot roast has always been a family favorite, since I was a child. This recipe is my go-to now. The ingredients work very well together! A must try! Thanks for this and all the wonderful recipes!
WOW!! I have struggled to find a crockpot roast recipe that I love, so I decided to switch it up this Sunday and try this instant pot recipe instead. This will be my go-to from now on. The meat with the gravy is exactly what I’ve been wanting to make – literally melts in your mouth. I followed everything exactly as written and served with homemade dinner rolls. 100/10!
This was AWESOME!!!! I thought it would be too much garlic, but not so! All the flavors married to make a VERY delicious meal. The meat just fell apart and the veggies were perfect at 5 minutes. Thanks so much for this recipe.
I am excited to make this for tonight. I want to halve the recipe so I need to make any adjustments on the cooking time?
The cook time will stay the same for a half recipe. For a half recipe, I would recommend using 1 cup of beef broth to make sure you have enough liquid for the pot to pressurize.
Great flavor, but my roast was tough. No idea why, because it should have fell apart. I purchased the roast from Whole Foods. What a waste of money. 😐
I’m sorry to hear that, I know how disappointing it is when a recipe doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped! The cook time in this recipe always leads to a fall-apart tender roast for me. Double check that you used the correct type of meat and the correct cook time. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, and the easy to follow instructions.
I had rosemary on-hand, so I used 3 sprigs, and found that 2 will do, and was surprised to find that the leaves fall off during cooking which is a-ok for me. It added a nice flavor, but if others might not like the leaves in the mix, a cheesecloth or some type of wrap for the sprigs might be a good idea.
Following the directions left the meat and vegetables cooked perfectly.
Thanks again.
Enjoyed it but it needs pepper added as well. I added 10oz of quartered mushrooms and an addl teaspoon of salt for the last pressure cooking step.
Hi Jamie,
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe! The meat is seasoned with pepper before searing (see recipe step 2). Mushrooms sound like a delicious addition!
Hi, I would like to make this for Easter dinner this Sunday and will need 6-8 pounds of Chuck roast. If for instance I use 6 lbs, would I just cut it into 4 pieces and keep the cooking time the same? I assume I will need to double all of the other ingredients as well?
Yes, that’s what I would do, since you want to make each smaller piece of meat about 1.5 pounds in size, and yes, keep the cook time the same. You should also double the other ingredients. A double recipe may fit in a 6 quart pot, but I am not sure since I haven’t tested it. If you have an 8 quart pot you should have no problem fitting a double recipe. Enjoy!
Apparently I am the only one who is a bit confused. When I am to add the veggies, I am to wait ’til it goes back up to pressure again and then cook it 5 mins?
Hi Lisa,
Yes, you add the vegetables, seal the pot, and then you set the pot to pressure cook for 5 minutes. It will take a few minutes to pressurize again and will then cook for 5 minutes. Then do a 10 minute natural release before manually releasing the remaining pressure.
So tasty! So simple!! Lots o flavor!! Love this recipe!!! I sometimes add mushrooms and a half cup red wine and serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
I am about to make this but accidentally cut the meat into like 5 pieces instead of in half, would that change the cooking time any? I dont want it to cook too fast.
I’d go ahead and use the cook time given in the recipe. I think it will turn out great!
So easy and came out perfect! Entire family loved it! Will make again!
So glad I found this recipe it makes the best tasting pot roast ever. Especially like the order the recipe has to and the tip about cutting the roast in half really makes browning easy. Looking forward to making it again.
This is a quick and easy way to make pot roast. Very tastey
Excellent flavour and a perfect one pot meal. Adding the vegetable later made them edible and not a mushy mess. Really great recipe.
Great recipe I really enjoyed making this dish in my instapot.
Thank you! I’ve made this several times – a real favorite! Added red wine and a can of chopped tomatoes to the recipe tonight. We’ll see!
I followed your basic guidelines with a few tweeks using what I had on hand. It turned out well and my family loved it. Thanks so much. I am still learning how to use my Instapot so your recipes are most welcome. God bless.
Followed the recipe exactly and was disappointed. Very bland.
This is my go-to recipe for weekly pot roast & it never disappoints! One hack I do for the tomato paste (since I’ve never found those cute squeeze tubes you see on cooking shows in my area stores) is I open a small can, use one tablespoon, then spoon out the rest in one tablespoon measures, freeze on a plate separated, then keep in a baggie for the next week. Works great!
I do that too with tomato paste! It’s such a great way to minimize waste. I’m so glad you are enjoying this pot roast recipe!
Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it. I have a 4.5 lb roast that I’ll cut into three 1.5 lb pieces. Should I keep the cook time the same but increase the amount of broth? First time IP user here 🙂 Wondering what the best approach is. Appreciate your help!
Hi Janet! Keep the cook time the same. You should have enough broth as is, but if you want extra gravy you can add 1/2 cup more broth. I hope you enjoy!
It was delicious! My cut was a bit smaller but it was so good with cornbread. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
This was such a great recipe! Thank you so much! Loved it! Used the step 4 roast from Whole Foods, 3lbs, so tender and flavorful with this recipe! Will definitely make again!
Amazing, and very easy. I used baby carrots for an extra shortcut.
Second go with this recipe and I expect excellence! This recipe is simple, elegant, and what your family expects when you say “pot roast for dinner”. Highly recommend! The variations I take are a) cube the meat which means more s&p, b) use more garlic (5-6 cloves bc I love fresh garlic) and more fresh thyme, and c) more carrots as there is room in the pot and hubby loves carrots! The recipe still comes out fantastic, BRAVO and thanks Kristine!
I’m not one to follow a recipe as written but I did with this one and glad I did. By far, the best fall apart, melt in your mouth pot roast I’ve ever eaten. If I could give this 10 stars I would! DELICIOUS
I am on my 3rd iteration of making this roast with this recipe.
I appreciate the comments indicating that the original time for the vegetables was too long, and I agree. I tried 5 minutes this time and would like to suggest moving down one more minute to 4 minutes as an experiment, or maybe less than 10 minutes natural decompression.
Anyway, thanks for the recipe. It warms my heart, and my stomach 🙂
This turned out great! My family loved it.
I made this for 10 and it was wonderful!! So I had to adapt, I have a 6qt Instanpot, I was able to put 6lbs (barely) and added some red wine, everything else to recipe, put it on high pressure for 90 min. Then I took out some of the meat and then put in the potatoes, removed them and then put in the carrots.
It worked and everyone cleaned their plate!! Went well with a few bottles of Bordeaux 🙂
Delicious! Roast was savory and tender, while vegetables were cooked to perfection.
I tried this recipe yesterday. I made a couple additions because I like the Mississippi pot roast flavours too. I added a packet of ranch seasoning, pepperoncinis with some juice and a stick of butter. The meat came out the best ever! I had a smaller roast and sorted 20 minutes per pound for cooking time. Yum!
Best roast ever. Have made three times so far and it was awesome every time!
This is our family’s favorite Instant Pot recipe. We made it again tonight. It’s delicious!
This recipe is so flavorful. The meat is falling apart tender and the veggies were perfect. It reminds me of my mom’s pot roast! Thank you as this will be a treasured recipe to pass along to my family!
Followed recipe to the T. Kept getting a burn error. Gave up and used my Air Fryer instead.
I’m sorry that was your experience. There are many things that can cause the burn message when using an Instant Pot. It can be anything from not scraping up browned bits on the bottom of the pot, using too little liquid (the 1.5 cups of broth in this recipe is plenty), not having the steam release valve set to the sealing position, or not having the sealing ring fitted in properly.
Good recipe! Didn’t have thyme, so I used Italian seasoning. Also, had to cut the meat in quarters and had to sauté in two sessions, then stacked them and used 2 cups of broth. Still nice flavor and just the right tenderness.
Made this tonight for dinner, with minor adjustments to make it keto. Basically we just omitted the carrots and potatoes step. The flavors are excellent and we’ll definitely be making this again. I think it would be great served with mashed cauliflower.
Also, since there’s only 2 of us, I only had a 2 lb chuck roast, but still used the same amount of ingredients, which left us with lots of sauce, which is awesome. Tomorrow, I’ll turn the leftovers into vegetable beef soup. So excited for that.
I’ve tried this twice now and the pot roast has come out so tough both times!
I’m really surprised to hear that and sorry that has been your experience. If you’re using a beef chuck roast, following the cook times in the recipe, and letting the pressure naturally release after both cook times the meat shouldn’t be tough.
I followed the recipe exactly and it’s perfect!
Turned out great! Meat just fell apart and the taste was wonderful… This is now my go to recipe for pot roast. 😋
Great recipe and a huge crowd pleaser on those cold winter days. I added a half cup of fresh horseradish with the meat cook for a subtle kick. Yummy!
This was awesome. I haven’t used my instant pot in so long that I decided to tackle this recipe, and it was so delicious. Wonderful flavors and the meat was so tender. This will be a regular on my monthly dinner menu.
I have made this recipe many times now since I found your site and it always turns out perfect. Thanks for sharing with us.
For a 1.5 lbs roast.. should I just cut the time to 30 minutes or the time should stay for 60 mins?
Btw: we love this recipe!! I make this weekly as per my kids request!
Thank you!!
If using a 1.5 pound roast, I would skip the first recipe step of cutting it in half and then keep the pressure cook time at 60 minutes. I’m so glad you are enjoying this recipe!
My hungry teens asks for this recipe time and time again. It’s easy to make and has enough for leftovers.