Easy Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Here’s how to cook the most flavourful, melt in your mouth Crock Pot Chuck Roast dinner with minimal effort. This garlic and herb flavoured beef chuck roast is comfort food slow cooked to perfection with carrots and onions. It is delicious served over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes… gravy included!

Don’t have a chuck roast? A pound of ground beef goes a long way in a slow cooker. Make this Saucy Crock Pot Taco Meat and have a taco night on Tuesday or any night of the week! Or, if you’re craving noodles, stir up some Beef Ramen Noodles in your slow cooker. I guarantee your family will lick their plates clean!

Why You’ll Love this Easy Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Crock pots make cooking dinner enjoyable and give you a sense of accomplishment. Once you smash that cook button there’s nothing left to do but enjoy the aroma of your dinner as it cooks. I can’t emphasize enough how much of a lifesaver this handy kitchen appliance is!

With the price of groceries rising, everyone (including me) is more mindful of food costs and food waste. If you have a family, making delicious and nutritious low-cost dinners that everyone loves is so easy when you have a slow cooker.

This slow cooker beef recipe is one of those classic pot roast recipes you’ll want to make over and over again. It’s a ‘dump and forget’ slow cooker recipe that begins with a large, but inexpensive beef roast. Slow cooking transforms this chuck roast into a fork tender meaty main with a rich beefy flavour.

While the beef chuck roast is the main event, carrots and onions play an excellent supporting role in this family dinner. Simply, add them to the crock pot and they cook along with the roast! Furthermore, you can add cubed potatoes to complete the meal.

Crock Pot Chuck Roast Ingredients

Honestly, this chuck roast recipe couldn’t be any easier and when it comes to ingredients, less is more. It all starts with an inexpensive cut of beef flavoured with a bit of tomato paste and a lot of garlic and herbs. Carrots and onions are the only vegetables in this recipe, but you can add any root vegetable including potatoes.

• Beef Chuck Roast
• Tomato Paste
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Onion
• Beef Broth
• Parsley
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Salt
• Pepper

As always, when a recipe contains few ingredients, I recommend using the freshest ingredients for the best tasting result. Fresh carrots, real garlic (not garlic powder or soup mix), fresh herbs (or newly opened dried herbs) all make a difference in the final flavour of this dish.

Feel free to use white or yellow onions and add diced red or yukon gold potatoes to complete your roast beef dinner. 

Additionally, I recommend using homemade or high-quality beef broth or beef stock in this recipe. Using quality ingredients will help that rich beef flavour shine through. A splash of red wine makes another delicious addition so feel free to add it if you have any leftover wine available.

However, the star of the show is a big beefy chuck roast…

What is a Chuck Roast?

A chuck roast is any large primal cut of beef from the shoulder area. Other cuts that are either the same (under a different name) or come from the same area are the chuck eye, blade roast, shoulder roast, shoulder steak, arm steak, arm roast, cross-rib roast, or seven-bone roast. Beef chuck roast is also sometimes sold generically labeled as “pot roast.”

This flavourful cut of beef contains a good amount of fat and connective tissue and is best when braised over long periods of time or cooked under high pressure. Both cooking methods allow the connective tissue to break down, resulting in melt in your mouth flavourful beef.

How to Make Crock Pot Chuck Roast

To make the most delicious Crock Pot Chuck Roast, place the beef roast on the bottom of an 6 or 7 quart slow cooker. Make a paste with the tomato paste, minced garlic, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Rub the paste all over the roast.

Next, evenly distribute the carrots and onions (and diced potatoes if using) around the roast then pour beef broth and apple juice over the vegetables only. If using fresh herbs, add them in with the vegetables. Cover and cook on high setting for 6 hours or on low setting for 7-8 hours cook time, until the roast is fork tender.

Remove roast from the crock pot and use two forks to or shredding claws to shred the meat. Locate and remove any herb stalks if you used fresh herbs.

How to Thicken Crock Pot Roast Gravy

The beef stock and apple juice absorb extra flavour from the beef and vegetables, creating a delicious ‘au jus’ sauce. However, if you prefer to thicken it into a rich brown gravy, here’s how to do it:

To make this beef au jus into gravy, drain the liquid from slow cooker into a measuring cup. You should have about 3 cups of liquid. Have a helper hold the vegetables back while it transfers or use a strainer.

To make gravy, melt 1/4 cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup all purpose flour and allow the roux to cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

Next, whisk in 1/2 cup strained beef liquid until the mixture becomes smooth. Repeat with another half cup. Continue whisking in beef drippings in half cup increments until all drippings are used.

Bring mixture to a boil, then allow the gravy to simmer and thicken over low heat for a minute or two. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Feel free to strain the gravy to remove any lumps.

What To Serve with Slow Cooker Beef Roast

Place shredded beef and veggies back in the jus or gravy. Serve this slow cooker chuck roast dinner over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. It is also delicious over hot buttered egg noodles. For gluten free options, serve over steamed rice, parsnip or cauliflower purée.

Storing Leftover Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The leftovers are even more delicious the next day!

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I’ve been the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen for the past eleven years. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

If you make this Easy Crock Pot Chuck Roast recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in the ratings. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!