Tender Roast and Veggies – We’re Movin’ On Up!
Have you ever sat back and thought of what you would do differently if you ever came into some serious money? Mama used to do that a lot when we were little. She’d talk about how, if she ever won the lottery, she’d buy us all a house and a new car for each person. She never talked about anything for herself, she just wanted to be able to do more for us.
I’m not sure when I started thinking of what I’d do differently if I ever came into money, but it was never quite as grand as Mama’s vision – I think “coming into money” meant far different amounts for both of us. But I have said for some time now that if I ever got rich, I’d have pot roast once every week.
You see, it has always been one of my very favorite meals and I have vivid memories of having it at home as a child, of my Grandmama and Grandaddy cooking it for me when I went to visit them, and of eating it at my Papa Reed’s farm. Folks always knew how much I loved it and the moment I walked in the door I knew by the smell what was for dinner.
I know most people don’t see pot roast as a meal of luxury but having that much meat in one meal was always a treat for us. When we were little, it seemed like the roast just went on and on like Jesus with the fish and loaves.
Now, as the one doing the cooking, I can’t believe how incredibly simple it is to make the roast I loved so much as a child. I’ve been awfully busy lately with all of the wonderful opportunities in my life and I’ve relied more and more heavily on my slow cooker to help out with supper. Add to this that the grocery store down the road from my house always has the most lovely roasts each time I shop there and you know where I’m going with this!
I told my husband a few weeks back “Do you realize we’ve had roast each week here lately?”. He nodded and shrugged, clearly not understanding what this meant to me. I just smiled in return, knowing that I had achieved my own benchmark for living the life of the rich and famous.
Eat your heart out, Donald Trump.
For my roast, I keep it simple because I like simple.
Roast, potatoes, carrots, and beef gravy.
An onion would be an excellent addition and I’d gladly add that if everyone in my family except me hadn’t been dropped on their head as a child.
The KEY to having a moist and fall apart tender roast is not to cook it in water. The gravy helps tenderize the meat and makes it sooooo good when allowed to slow cook all day long.
If you’d don’t have canned beef gravy you can use:
- Cream soup (such as cream of mushroom)
- Brown gravy made from a powdered mix
Now this big old honkin’ jar of gravy is WAY too much.
You see that can of gravy on the left? That is the size I normally use but I mistakenly got chicken gravy instead of beef – which would have worked every bit as well but I wanted beef and I tend to be a bit stubborn when I set my mind to something (shocking, I know) so I sent my husband after some beef gravy. He came back with this big old king kong sized jar of it. I only need ten ounces though so I’m not going to use it all.
When you go to buy your beef gravy, get one can of the cheap stuff and your roast will be delicious.
Place your roast in the bottom of a slow cooker. Peel and cut up your potatoes and add them as well.
I leave mine in pretty big chunks but you can do whatever cranks yer tractor here.
Peel and cut up your carrots and toss those in.
I usually add more but used what I had on hand.
Note: There is no specific quantity to this. Use five potatoes or ten potatoes, three carrots or seven carrots, it really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t even matter how big your roast is so long as it all fits in your slow cooker. You still only need one can of gravy because everything is going to produce it’s own juices as it cooks to go along with the gravy.
Pour in your gravy
(I’m only using half of that king kong jar)
Cook according to the following chart:
Low – 7-8 hours
or
High 3-4 hours
I like to cook mine the longest amount of time (four hours on high or eight on low) but you don’t have to.
It will be done and tender after the above times. Any longer you cook it will just make it even more tender.
See how much juice this made? This is after cooking on high for four hours.
Serve it up and wait on Robin Leach to show up at your door.
To read a little about these plates, click here.
Ingredients
- 1 beef roast *
- potatoes
- Carrots
- Beef Gravy (10 ounce can)
Instructions
- Place roast in bottom of slow cooker. Peel and cut up carrots and potatoes, place on top of Roast. Pour gravy over all and cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Try not to open the lid because it takes about twenty minutes to recover the heat if you do! Note: It doesn't matter how many potatoes or carrots you use, long as it all fits in your crock pot!
- I let my guests decide if they want to salt and pepper theirs.
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Ingredients
- 1 beef roast *
- potatoes
- Carrots
- Beef Gravy (10 ounce can)
Instructions
- Place roast in bottom of slow cooker. Peel and cut up carrots and potatoes, place on top of Roast. Pour gravy over all and cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Try not to open the lid because it takes about twenty minutes to recover the heat if you do! Note: It doesn't matter how many potatoes or carrots you use, long as it all fits in your crock pot!
- I let my guests decide if they want to salt and pepper theirs.
Serve with iced tea and confidence that life is good!
*Look for a roast that has a bit of marbling in it (the white parts, this is fat but marbling sounds so much nicer, doesn’t it?). The fat breaks down during slow cooking and helps to tenderize the meat even more, making for a yummmmy roast from an inexpensive cut of meat.
There are a GAZILLION Ways to make roast in the slow cooker. I’ve tried many and love them all but this is my fallback standard.
I’d love to hear your favorite recipe in the comments section below!
I’ve decided that the stuff falling through the cracks is confetti
and I’m having a party!
-Betsy Cañas Garmon
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Feb 17 2010. Filed under Crock Pot, Main Course, Quick&Easy.
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I love to take the left overs from my crock-pot roast and make Shepherd’s pie.
Shred the roast, put in casserole, add veggies, EXCEPT the potatoes, put in extra gravy, mash taters and put on top with dabs of butter. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes, till hot
Yum Yum! Adding some Merlot wine makes the gracy really delicious.
I do fancy a pork roast more than beef. I like to add mushroom gravy and onions and some garlic…and celery (along with potatoes and carrots). My DH doesn’t like pork or onions…so I usually use beef – but I let him pick out the onions if he wants – the roast NEEDS those onions.
Christy, I love pot roast and vegetables! Nothing is better, and don’t you just love the way it makes your kitchen smell?
By the way, was this another of your son’s choices for the week?
I never thought about it, but it is true. I do feel like I am living large when we have pot roast. Thank you for a good reminder of what to be thankful for.
I will have to try the can gravy. I have been using the slow cooker pot raost mix with mine.
Seeing those dishes reminds me of my grandmother. She has them too. I can rememeber as a kid eating off of them. Maybe the next time we have dinner over there I will have to ask her to pull them out instead of her new fancier ones.
Now I am adding roast to my grocery list for this weekend! LOL!!! This reminds me that I haven’t had roast in a while! Thanks Christy!
Cream of mushroom soup is my standard gravy base for pot roast and I pour/mix in a bit of Kitchen Bouquet to add some color. Hasn’t failed me yet. I have 2 pot roasts in my freezer. I know what I will be making REAL soon.
You are such an inspiration.
Well, I saw this and had to get the stuff at Publix to make it. I asked the meat guy what cut I needed he gave me a package and I went on my way. AFTER I checked out I realized the was $31 for 2 pounds! I about died! I thought pot roast was cheap cuts of meat. What kind of cut did you get?
Wow, Allie! I don’t think you bought pot roast at that price. I would say something to the manager of that store, especially if you asked for a pot roast. Sounds like you got a tenderloin (filet mignon is cut from it) which you would not be cooking like a pot roast. You can usually buy pot roasts in this neck of the woods (IL) for $1.99 – 2.49/lb. on sale.
I forgot to add, next time ask or look for a chuck roast and make sure there aren’t a lot of large sections of fat.
It is labeled rib eye roast. When I asked the meat guy I was asking about the chuck 7 bone roast as it was on sale. He then handed me the rib eye and said it would be tender and good as a pot roast. I really just started cooking this year and I ask the managers because they are supposed to know this stuff. We don’t have butcher shops around here so Publix wins. I will go and get a chuck roast in the morning and use the rib roast for something fancy and just food saver it. Thank you for the suggestion- $2/lb is more what I was looking to spend!
Hi Allie, if you have not cooked that rib eye roast yet, I would be taking it right back. You were way over charged on it. Please make sure the manager knows about it. They may refund you and give you a gift card or something. It is worth letting them know about it.
I agree fully w/ Tracy’s idea about returning it and telling the mgr. That is a lot of money for a roast!
Allie, I agree with the others. That price is still a little high for what you got. Take it back to Publix, stop at the service desk and ask for the store manager. Explain and he or she will make it right. If not, contact the home office. I’ve only had one problem with Publix, and that’s the only store I shop in besides Sam’s, and I contacted the home office. (It also helps that I live in the town the home office is in). Publix prides itself on customer service, and they will make it right.
Hello Everyone! Guess it’s time to introduce myself. My name is Lori and I live in Ky. I have been lurking around for about a week now. I could hardly tear myself away from the computer after stumbling on this site! I immediately fell in love with the site, Christy’s stories and the recipes….and I love reading all the comment and input recipes from everyone else. There are wonderful suggestions shared here.
Mmmmm…mmm…mmmm!!! Roast and potatoes sounds SO good!!! It has always been one of my favorite meals. Most of the time, my roast just gets thrown in the crockpot with a little water and some onion soup mix, or cut up onion and celery and seasoning, but the recipe below is my very most favorite that my mom and grandmother fixed when I was growing up. It is kind of an “in general” recipe, but I believe most people can make it work for them.
Mom’s Beer Roast
Salt both sides of roast and place in an electric skillet. Add chopped onion, 2 slices of bacon and chopped celery. Brown meat on both sides before adding remaining ingredients. Pour 1 can of beer over roast. Cover and cook at 350 degrees. Water or another beer can be added if more liquid is needed. Cook until meat is tender. Potatoes and carrots can be added for last hour of cooking.
LORI’s here ya’ll!! Lori’s here!!! Yipppppeeee.
This Southern GA girl is sure glad you found this food/family/fun kind of place called Southern Plate. Welcome to SP! So many of us SP folks are good friends and some of us chat daily on FB. Christy’s posts pulled me in immediately too just 2 1/2 months after she started the website. Having lost my mother in my teens, my confidence in my cooking ability was sorely lacking. Her Southern recipes, comical and simple how-to’s plus stories of traditions filled up my cup and it ran over. She is now a treasured friend too. (Thanks Christy for all you do!)
My family and I went to Harlan KY a couple of years ago for a week-long Youth Group mission trip and the mountains & countryside were stunning. Please let us know what recipes you try and which ones are your fav’s, KY gal. Buh-bye.
pssst, we all hope you will sign up for Southern Plate’s facebook. See ya there.
I think we all use similar recipes based on what I’ve seen here so far. Mine is 1 pkt of onion soup mix, one can cream of celery soup, 1 cup of beef broth, and (THE ULTIMATE *SECRET* INGREDIENT). . . 1/2 C. steak sauce. It adds SO. MUCH. flavor!!! I also do the veggies on the bottom (no reason why, just how my Mom did it) and do pearl onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. And now I am going to have to make it, because I almost always have a roast in the freezer and it sounds good for tomorrow night’s dinner!
Your mom & I cook alot alike, I am a southern lady too, from Louisiana. All of you Northern, Eastern and Western people need to try this recipe. IT IS DELICIOUS!!!!
P.S. Christy, I love your cookbook. I ordered it before it hit the book stores. It is one of my favorite cookbooks (and I have around 100 different cookbooks). As you can tell, I Love to cook!
BEEF … it’s what’s for dinner!!!
I read this yesterday, and put everything in the crock pot last night. It cooked overnight … my commute and day are so long that I don’t like to crock going for that length of time. Overnight is just right.
My DH will heat it up tonight … All I have to do is walk in the door and enjoy! Hope you guys do too … Luv ya Christie!
Pot roast is one of my favorite things in the world to eat. If it’s cooked right and yours is cooked right. I do believe I know what we’re having for supper tomorrow as I happen to have two roasts in my freezer at the moment.
Movin on up, to the eastside!
I’m loving this recipe Christy. It reminds me of your pot beef roast, which I made and it was fantastic.
This will be great when it’s cooler. I just find it hard to eat ‘heavier’ meals in this heat and you know it’s still summer here!
Hi! I just made this tonight for dinner and it was a huge hit! The meat was so yummy and fall-apart tender.
I’ll be adding this one to my FAVORITES! Thanks so much!
I stumbled across this website last week, and I have been having a time reading through the stories, recipes, and comments! Thank you for having such a fun website and for making this all seem so easy! I have been married for almost 7 years, and hadn’t done any cooking before that time. I still have a LONG way to go in the cooking department, so once again, I am so thankful for such a great site. I am from way out in the California bay area! Love how many of have accents, evidenced even in your writing!
I hope you don’t mind me not posting a recipe, but I haven’t done anything new that is not already listed here.
I just put my pot roast in this morning, following your recipe. Thanks for the daily emails, it keeps me coming back for more.
Good Sunday morning all!!! I an not new to this site but I have never posted. I have tried sevral of your recipes Christie and all have been great!!! Drug myself out of bed at 6:45am just to put my pot roast in the crock pot you so inspire me. I used an envelope of the Lipton beefy onion soup so we will see how this turns out. I plan on adding carrots after 6 hours and cooking an additional 2 hours on low. Now I would put some potatoes in there also but if my family came to the dinner table on Sunday and there was no mashed potatoes they would think that the world was coming to an end!!! Eberyone enjoy your last day of the weekend think I am donna curl up on the sofa and catch a nap before they all get up.
I add a can of French Onion soup, a half soup can of water, an envelope of pot roast seasoning, quartered red potatoes & a small bag of peeled mini carrots to my roast. I serve it over white rice. I know…..rice AND potatoes?? It’s always a hit with guests.
I couldn’t resist making this after looking at your picture of the finished product!I made this for dinner last week and I am making it again tonight! So easy and sooo good. As always, thanks for all your wonderful recipes and stories. They are very much enjoyed!
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I love pot roast but I have never liked the veggies with it. I would much rather just cook up the meat and serve it with mashed potatoes. I like cooked carrots but not ones cooked with meat. (Weird, I know.)Do you think it would cook up ok without the veggies? I’m thinking in terms of liquid. I’ve never cooked a pot roast so I don’t know if the veggies really add much liquid or not. I’ll definitely have to try this!
Hey Michelle, it will cook just fine! No worries at all, just leave the veggies out and cook as usual. Hope you enjoy it!
Gratefully,
Christy
I just made this yesterday and OMG!!! the meat was fallin apart. It was soooo darn good that I almost had to slap myself. Very easy and very tasty!!!!!
This sounds and looks delicious. My version is very similar but I use two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup and 1/2 – 1 packet of Dry Onion Soup (to taste). I mix the soups and dilute with a little water and pour over the roast and let it cook all day. Sometimes I add only carrots towards the last few hours of cooking (so they don’t get mushy) because we like a big bowl of good old fashioned creamy mashed potatoes with the roast. It comes out so tender you don’t even need teeth to “chew” the roast. One of my favorite comfort foods! I’ll bet this would be an even bigger winner served with your Jordan Rolls!!!! Can’t wait to make those!! YUMMM
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Pot roast is also my favorite meal! My mom made one last night and invited me and the hubby over for dinner. It was wonderful! Her “secret ingredient” is Coca-Cola. Add 1 cup with onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. Yummy!!!
I’ve made it like that before too and you are SO RIGHT it is great! I love just about anything with coca cola. I don’t think anything in this world beats an ice cold coke drank from an old fashioned bottle!
Love this Christy-when my son was little and in everything I used my slowcooker during the week. It was great to come home and open the door and know dinner would be on the table in just a few minutes.
With everyone stretching pennies here is something we do with the leftover roast:
cook onions till golden in a mixture of oil and butter-shred beef and put in with onions and brown a little bit. Then put flour and keep stirring and add broth from roast(works better if heated) and then add a little milk to make a light brown color and keep stirring. Is great over your southern hoe cake or biscuits or can be served over egg noodles.
I have ruined so many roasts cooking them in water…This recipe is simple and it came out so tender!! Thank you!!!
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Made this tonight and it came out great! Only changes I made were I added chopped onion and a little worcestershire in with the gravy. The onion definitely set it off. Thank you for another recipe that will be going in the regular ‘rotation’!
Hi – Just wanted to say I’m checking in all the way from Northern Ireland and I made this recipe yesterday for Sunday lunch and WOW!!! Thanks for the simplicity!!
It was delicious – I will probably make it on a regular basis now. Looking forward to trying the cheesy chicken this week!
Do you have a link with all your slow cooker recipes on it?
Made this tonight and it was delicious. This will be my go to roast recipe. Thanks for sharing
I made this roast yesterday and it was supposed to last for 2 nights….my boys ate it all up! Thanks for such a great idea using the gravy!!
Picked up some gravy mix last night at the grocery. This is in my crock pot as I type this:)
I mixed it up a bit and added the onion and get this I didn’t use beef but Venison! being a hunting family (hubs and now my 8yr old son who just the other day shot his 3rd deer) all the red meat in this house is deer. Although there is the occasional big fat juicy beef steak grilled during the summer
I can’t wait to see how it turns out tonight after we get home from son’s baseball lessons. I also used home grown potatoes
do you have any ideas on how to make this with ingredients made from scratch?
I used to always use cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix with some beef broth which turned out great, but there’s so much extra junk in that stuff we’re trying to steer clear of.
great site!
Christy,
I can not thank you enough for this wonderfully simple and yummy dish. I love my crockpot but no matter what recipe I used I could never get my roast to turn out moist and tender. Your recipe does both! I’ve loved it so much I’ve made it once a week for the last 3 weeks (thanks to some great meat sales!)
THANKS AGAIN!!
Vicki S
Thanks, and for anyone that is having difficulty chopping onions without the tears, here’s an incredibly simple tip – put them in the fridge for a few hours, then chop them straight away after taking them out! No more tears! I found some more onion soup recipes here if anyone wants to try some more recipes.
I am excited now! Again! Hee hee! i always pour water on my roast when i cook in the crock! I can’t wait to try it with this recipe now! I KNOW it’s going to be great! I haven’t been let down a single time when using these recipes, and neither has my husband! Call me old fashion, but there is something so rewarding about feeding a man after he’s worked all day! I love it when I say, “I tried cooking (this or that) a little differently this time. I hope you like it…” followed by,”Wow! My Baby can cook! This is delicious!” Life is good! I want a shirt that says, ” Got Southern Plate?”
My favorite cut is chuck roast. It’s what I grew up on at least one Sunday out of the month! I brown my salt and pepper seasoned roast in a screaming hot cast iron skillet, in a little canola oil. Once all sides are browned, I place it in the crock pot, and add chopped onions to the skillet, and saute for just a couple of minutes. Then I add a little water (wine or beef broth would be awesome if you have it on hand) to de-glaze the skillet, and pour it over the meat. Then I add veggies, and salt them before putting the lid on. In a separate medium pot, I thicken the broth with either corn starch or flour after the roast is done. I taste to see if it needs salt and pepper, and add it if it needs it. I also darken the gravy a little with kitchen bouquet And..sometimes I pressure cook my roast!
Christy
What about roast in red gravy -how would use the tomato paste and sauce in the slow cooker so that the gravy isn’t too watery ?
I have always made my crock pot OOOPPPSS!! Slow cooker roasts with Golden Mushroom soup, my family loves it so much better than reg. mushroom. But, I’m going to have to try it with the gravy!!!
I also make a pork xhop dish with Golden Mushroom soup. Delicious!!!
I am cooking this as I type and I have to tell you, the whole house is filled with the most wonderful aromas!!! YUM!!! I wish my puter had a “smell cam” on it! LoL! Thanks Christy for such an easy take on one of my Moms best dishes I remember growing up with. It’s 9 degrees up here in CT and it just felt like a pot roast day!!
I absolutely love to cook a roast while the family is at church….when you walk in the house and smell that roast! Wow! Nothing better….my mom did that and I’m following right behind her…………
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I have my roast cooking in the crock pot now
My husband usually makes it, so i’m hoping he will love this (he has loved all the recipes from here that I have tried). His eyes light up when he sees me on this website, and I just discovered it last week. I thought he was going to cry when I came home from the grocery store Friday and he was helping un load and I was describing all the things I wanted to cook. I digress, he makes his roast in a cast iron dutch oven in the oven, he uses Dawn Fresh gravy (didn’t know what this was until I met my lovely mother-in-law). I was going to try to do 1/2 gravy and 1/2 Dawn Fresh gravy, but didn’t want to change it the first time making it. I think the official name is Dawn Fresh steak sauce, it comes in little cans by all the gravies in the grocery store. My mother-in-law used it in most of her “signature” dishes. I’m still trying to incorporate it into things as my husband describes his favorites from his mamma kitchen. Sorry for the ramble, I guess this is a question asking if anyone else uses Dawn Fresh gravy and how.
Alrighty then, you all have convinced me at least to try this roast. I am warning you though , I do win the prize of “Worlds WORST cook” I try each & everyday & I have been with my husband for 30 years but he is just a nice guy & gags down what I cook. Literally but in truth our dog gets MOST of my food. No kidding!! Now the groceries are just like buying Gold I just cringe at my waste , it is not right to do this! Anyway, I have my roast in the crock pot as I speak. I did everything exactly, But somehow it just never EVER works for me. I love this site and the recipes and pictures make me drool. I love your stories , in a time where news is so so so sad , your site is a beautiful diversion. Please wish me good thoughts because I am so so tired of cooking horrible food.
Oh, this looks good. I made an old fashioned pot roast on the stove top last week. It was heavenly. The next day I chunked up the leftover meat, added a can of mushroom soup, and a cup of beef broth to my crockpot. I put it on low while we were at church, then added a little sour cream and kept cooking it while I made some egg noodles. This made the best beef stroganoff . I like using my crockpot but always thought roast tasted better on the stove top. BUT,now that I know about the gravy I will try it again in the crockpot.. I love Southern Plate- thanks for all you do!
Oh Christy, my house smells so good. I have had the crock pot/slow cooker going now since 9 AM PST and I can’t stand it. At least one more hour to go. I made it with Beef Eye Of Round Roast Half, potatoes, carrots, onions and fresh green beans. I put in one can of beef gravy (All I had on hand) and so one can of beef broth so I would have plenty of sauce for now and later dishes. The pot is full of beef and veggies. Can’t wait! Thank you so much for this recipe.
I have two packages of frozen short ribs that I think I am going to try this on (since the spousal unit will not eat mushrooms OR short ribs, I’m going to have me some wonderful lunches next week).
And Christy? I’d rather be you than Donald Trump. I don’t know why, but I suspect strongly that he doesn’t enjoy anything in the world half as much as you do a pot roast.
I also suspect strongly that he’d be a much happier and nicer person if he did.