Tender Pot Roast and Veggies
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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 roast and potatoes 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. Adding in the carrots was just a wonderful treat too.
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.
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.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have Gravy Handy?
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.
What Kind Of Roast Should I Look For?
*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.
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.
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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Ok Christy here is how Mom always did her roast and how I do mine.
Just put your roast in the slow cooker (or a black granite roasting pan if you want to do it in the oven) add your potatoes, onions, celery, two cloves of minced garlic or a teaspoon of garlic powder and a can of golden mushroom soup. Just let it go on low for 8 hours or low on 4, or if ya do it in the oven set it on 350, cover the roaster with some aluminum foil and let that cook for three and a half hours. Make a green salad and some buttered corn and there is my favorite Sunday supper.
Christy, I just want you to know how happy your blog always makes me feel! Bless you for all you do and all that you share! Your a good woman and I appreciate you today! Thanks for sharing all of these tried and true recipes with all of us! You are a blessing to many! 🙂
You hit the nail on the head, Deanie. We love you Christy!
My pot roast is similar but instead of beef gravy I use 1 pkt of Ranch Dip, 1 pkt of Italian Dressing, 1 pkt of Beef Gravy mix and I mix all those with 1 cup of water and pour over the roast and vegetables. It makes an unbelievably tasty gravy.
I can smell it from here! It will be on my menu for this week! mmmmmmmm yummy 🙂
I am going to make this Sunday but I will use sweet potatoes and white potatoes both, instead of the carrots. You see, I have a DH who apparently was dropped on his head as a baby too, and won’t eat carrots.
My fav way is to take about a three or four lb roast, put in crock pot and add a whole jar of Peppercinni Peppers, juice and all, over the roast and cook four hours high, eight hrs or less, on low…depends on the size of the roast. That’s it. Makes lucious gravy and you can take the leftovers, pull it apart and make sandwiches, and don’t forget to put the peppers on the bread.
I have also added cream of mushroom soup and French onion soup mix to a roast and it is wonderful.
This sounds like a great recipe for some great sandwiches … adding it to my “must try” list.
I’m definitely going to have to try this recipe!
My favorite way of making pot roast in the slow cooker is to use carrots, potatoes, and pearl onions…also a parsnip if I can get them. Chunk up the veggies (except the onions of course). The viggies go on the bottom, before the roast. (Or on the bottom and along the sides of the roast.) Add some water and an envelope of onion soup mix, and cook. The onion soup mix along with all the rest makes a great gravy…you can even thicken it up just before everything is done, if you want to.
Also good in the slow cooker…corned beef, cabbage, and carrots for St. Patrick’s Day! My favorite…my mom used to make hers that way too. YUM!
Diane in PA
Hi Christy!
Tonight, just reading this post zoooomed me back in time, to when I was a scrawny little girl and Mama was still alive and Sundays were a special day for a lovely meal after church in our little Southern town near Atlanta. Fried Chicken or Sunday Pot Roast are the two that I seem to remember most vividly. At my home, we were blessed in so many ways like your family and the budget for groceries was tight even though I was not aware of it. Sunday Pot Roast was, and still is, the food fit for kings (you too, Mr. Trump). Please tell your Mama that I think she is the queen bee for fixing roast for her family all those years.
Whenever I make this for my family, the potatoes and carrots, steeped in the robust beef juices and big tender bites of roast always bring a song to my heart to connect to the past. I am always happy when I serve it to guests at our dinner table and thrilled that my honey-pie hubby often asks me to make it for his Chinese and Taiwan business guests. I guess that makes this Pot Roast an “international” dish
now, doesn’t it? Thanks Christy for the crock pot/very simple version so everyone can live “rich”.
It was the same way in our house. Mom would make more expensive meals on Sunday because she always said that Sunday’s were a special day because it was the Lord’s day and so we got to eat special things. There were 5 kids and my dad was a mailman so there definitely wasn’t a lot of money but to this day, Pot Roast is still my favorite meal. Anytime my husband and I come home and especially for my birthday, everyone knows what we’ll be eating for family dinner without even asking because they know how much I love it.
The funny thing is that no matter how hard I try, I can never make it like momma does. It doesn’t matter if I do it in the crockpot or the oven, my meat is always dry and tough. The part I can’t figure out is that I don’t overcook it either! I only cook it like 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low but it always comes out tough. I use cream of mushroom and onion soup mix, just like mom, but it never turns out well. I guess this will just keep this meal even more special because I can’t reproduce it!
WoW lots of Vickie’s on here today!
Roast looks soooo yummy! I had this on Sunday afternoon, but I use cream of mushroom, but I believe next time I’ll try the canned gravy! Thanks for the recipe!
God Bless,
Vickie