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Instant Pot Pot Roast

Pot roast and carrots with mashed potatoes

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4.9 from 39 reviews

Moist, juicy, tender pot roast that will have your grandma asking you for your secrets!  Instant Pot Pot Roast for the win!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Roast

  • 46 pound beef roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into about 2 pound chunks (see notes about which cut to use: rump, chuck, or sirloin)
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 15 oz can beef broth

For the Gravy

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons cold water
  • big splash of Worcestershire sauce (a tablespoon or 2)

Instructions

  1. Place roast on a large piece of foil for easy clean up.  Combine salt, basil, rosemary, onion powder, black pepper, oregano, and garlic powder in a small bowl.  Press the seasonings into all sides of the roast. 
  2. Select saute or brown on the pressure cooker.  When it says “HOT” add oil.  
  3. Add meat and brown each side for about 4 minutes.  This process will take 15 – 20 minutes.  May need to be done in batches if you’re cooking more than 4 pounds of meat.
  4. Turn the pressure cooker off.
  5. Remove beef from the pot and set on a plate.  
  6. Pour beef broth into the pot and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom.  Return beef to the pot.
  7. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 90 minutes.
  8. When cooking is complete, use a natural release.  
  9. Set beef on a cutting board to rest.  Pour drippings from the pot into a fat separator then pour it back into the pot, discarding the fat.  If you don’t have a fat separator, you can skim the top of the liquid with a spoon to remove some of the fat, or just skip this step.
  10. Combine cornstarch and water in a small cup.  Using the saute function, bring the drippings to a simmer and whisk vigorously as you pour in the cornstarch slurry.  
  11. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes as it thickens.  Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.  If the gravy is too salty, you can adjust by mixing up more cornstarch slurry to dilute it.
  12. Slice, shred, or chunk the roast and serve with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy.

Freezer Meal Instructions:

  1. Prepare beef according to step 1.  Cover a sheet pan with non stick foil and place the meat on the pan, making sure meat chunks don’t touch.  Once frozen, place the meat in a freezer safe gallon size ziplock. Label the bag with the recipe, date, and contents.
  2. When ready to cook, continue with step 2.  
  3. Cook at high pressure for 2 hours, proceed with the rest of the above directions.

Notes

  • The amount of salt written in the spice rub is perfect for the roast, but can result in a very salty gravy.  If your roast is small or you are sensitive to salt, only add 1 tablespoon instead of 2.
  • If the gravy is too salty or flavorful, add water to balance it out.
  • For meat that shreds or chunks easily, use a rump or chuck roast.  Rump roast is leaner and sometimes not as tender.  Chuck roast is more fatty and quite tender.  Sirloin roast is tender but best for slicing
  • The browning step is essential for maximum flavor and to really seal on the seasonings.  However, the meat is still delicious and tender if you choose to skip this step
  • Leftover meat freezes well in a freezer safe ziplock bag for up to 3 months.