Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast cooks so much faster than the oven making this classic comfort food dish doable even on a weeknight. Everything – including the roast, carrots, and potatoes – is cooked in the pressure cooker for an easy clean-up meal that doesn’t take forever to make.
It used to be that pot roast was a special occasion dinner we only made once in a while and always during a weekend. It can take several hours when you cook pot roast in the oven, which isn’t exactly an easy meal.
Instant Pot Roast Recipe
Then we got our Instant Pot, and we make pot roast a lot more often. How long to cook pot roast in an Instant pot will depend on the size, but for a 2-to-3-pound roast, it only takes just over an hour. Just like an oven, you can also cook the vegetables in the IP, so you don’t need several pots and pans.
We love ours simple with just some carrots and potatoes, but you can add your favorite side dishes and use this recipe to make a holiday or special occasion dinner. Mashed potatoes, salad, and dinner rolls are a great way to dress it up.
We’re making an Instant Pot chuck roast for this recipe, which is tender and delicious once it’s cooked. It’s first browned and then cooked on high pressures – both steps can be done in the IP, making it really easy.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Beef Chuck Roast – I like one that is 2 ½ to 3 pounds.
- Chopped yellow onion
- Red potatoes – halved or quartered.
- Carrots – sliced into 2” pieces.
- Low sodium beef broth
- Smashed garlic
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Olive oil
- Bay leaves
- Chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
How to Cook a Roast in an Instant Pot
Use paper towels or a kitchen towel to pat the roast dry this will make it easier to brown it. Once it’s dry, season it all over with salt and pepper.
Choose the sauté feature on your instant pot and allow it to preheat. Once it’s hot, add the oil and then place the roast in the pot.
Brown the pot roast on both sides. It will take about four to five minutes on each side. Once it’s browned, take it out of the pot and set it on a plate or cutting board.
Mix the broth, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste in a bowl. Add the chopped onion to the IP and cook it for about three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and then pour in the broth mixture.
Add the roast back to the pot and drop the bay leaves in. Turn off the sauté feature and secure the lid. Be sure to close the steam vent.
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Choose the high-pressure option and set the timer for 70 minutes. Once the time is up, let the steam naturally release for 10 to 15 minutes and then (carefully) open the steam vent and release the rest of the steam.
Open the lid and take the pot roast out and set it on a cutting board. Tent it with foil to keep it warm.
While the roast rests, you can cook the vegetables. Place the potatoes and carrots in the IP, secure the lid, close the vent, and cook them on high pressure for four minutes.
When the time is up, do a quick release and remove the lid once the steam has released. The vegetables should be fork-tender.
Slice the pot roast and serve it with potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle some parsley over the top for garnish.
Recipe Tips
For the carrots and potatoes, it’s important to cut them into equal-sized pieces, so they cook evenly. I like bigger chunks (2”) pieces of carrots because they are tender but not mushy once they are cooked. You should quarter the large potatoes and halve the smaller ones, so you have approximately the same size pieces for the potatoes.
After you brown the roast and add the liquid to the IP, scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. This will give the cooking liquid even more flavor.
Once you pressure cook the potatoes and carrots, they should be fork-tender. Be sure to check them. If they are not tender, you can use the sauté feature to finish cooking them before you serve them.
For extra flavor, serve the pot roast with your favorite gravy or try my homemade brown gravy.
This is a great make-ahead recipe, too. You can cook the instant pot roast ahead of time and then divide it into easy meals that you can warm up. Or use the leftovers to make pot roast sandwiches. If you’re craving a classic meat and potatoes dinner, you can’t go wrong with the Instant Pot pot roast. Tender, juicy beef with delicious vegetables is so much easier to make with your electric pressure cooker. I hope you give it a try!
More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 – 3.0 pound Beef Chuck Roast about 2-2.5 inches thick
- ½ medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 pound medium red potatoes cut into halves or quarters depending on potato size.
- 3 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- Parsley chopped for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pat dry the roast with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Season both sides with salt and pepper. On the instant pot select the sauté or browning button to pre-heat. Add oil and then set the roast in the bottom. Brown the roast on both sides (4-5 minutes per side). Remove the roast and set to the side on a plate or cutting board.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Add onion to the instant pot and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic in for one minute. Pour the beef broth mixture in the instant pot and stir in with onions and garlic. Add the roast back in and add in bay leaves. Put lid on the pot and lock it. Press the high-pressure button and cook for 70 minutes.
- Once the roast has cooked 70 minutes, let pressure release slowly for 10-15 minutes. Then do a quick pressure release. Once pressure is fully released, remove lid (it is hot, be careful). Set roast on a cutting board, cover with foil and let sit.
- Add in potatoes and carrots to instant pot. Close lid and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Do a quick pressure release and remove lid. Check if they are fork tender. If not, cook carrots and potatoes on the sauté/browning setting until tender.
- Slice the roast and plate with potatoes, carrots and parsley for garnish. Add your favorite gravy for more flavor.
Recipe Nutrition
This Instant Pot Pot Roast is cooked in the pressure cooker for an easy clean-up meal that doesn’t take forever to make.