This Mississippi style slow cooker pot roast is easy to prepare for a busy weeknight, when you want something that feels like home cooking but doesn't require too much effort.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
A slow cooker pot roast is an easy way to make a hearty, filling meal. The meat simmers slowly in the Crock Pot with pot roast seasoning, becoming incredibly tender and infused with delicious flavor.
This Mississippi style pot roast recipe is simple and easy to follow, making it the perfect weeknight meal. Serve with our Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or pasta for a hearty and satisfying dinner.
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Ingredients
Look for a chuck roast in the 3 to 5 lb weight range. A 3 lb roast will give you about 6 servings, the 5 about 8 servings.
You can use any beer, or none at all. The alcohol cooks off adding to the pot roast seasoning blend of onion soup mix, vegetables, and herbs.
Here's what you need to make a slow cooker pot roast:
- Chuck Roast, get whatever is on sale.
- Onion, diced
- Garlic, minced (or you can use garlic powder)
- Celery, diced
- Carrots, cut into chunks
- Beer - you can just use more broth, water, or even a little wine.
- Lipton Onion Soup mix - it's the base for the pot roast seasoning.
- Beef broth
- Black Peppercorns
- Fresh or dry Thyme
- Potatoes, cubed if not serving the shredded pot roast over mashed potatoes.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Gather your ingredients. Trim off any damaged areas off the vegetables. If your chuck roast has lots of fat, trim some of it off, so you have less to skim off after the pot roast is finished cooking.
Prepare the Vegetables
- Start by dicing the onion and celery. Mince the garlic and chop the carrots in thick slices. Add the vegetables to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Next, open the two Lipton Onion soup packets and dump them on top of the vegetables. To add to the pot roast seasoning drop the bay leaf, peppercorns, and Thyme in also.
Pour In Beer And Broth
- Before adding the roast, add the beer and broth on top of the pot roast seasoning. The, put the roast on top. Press down to cover as much as possible. You can add more broth if needed.
Slow Cook the Roast
- Cover the slow cooker. Set the time for either 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. If you are not serving on top of mashed potatoes, you can add cubed potatoes during the last 2 hours of the slow cook.
Shred the Pot Roast
Since this is a Mississippi style pot roast, it gets shredded instead of served in chunks. You don't have to shred it, but it soaks up more of the pot roast seasoning if you do!
- Skim off any excess fat floating on the surface of the slow cooker pot roast.
- Using a Mix & Chop tool (the sell them at Dollar Tree), or two forks, shred the pot roast. Optionally, you can cut it into serving size chunks.
- Set the slow cooker on warm to keep hot. If you decided to add cubed potatoes, continue to cook if they are not fork tender yet.
Serving Suggestions
This slow cooker pot roast is one of those meals that has everything in it to make a complete meal - meat, broth, potatoes, and carrots. It's the perfect dish to make for a crowd.
The chuck roast can be cooked low and slow until it's fork-tender, and the resulting sauce is packed with flavor.
If you are serving your slow cooker pot roast on mashed potatoes, try our Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes recipe. It uses an Instant Pot, and they are ready in less than 20 minutes!
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
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Substitutions
Many cuts of meat get cooked up and called 'pot roast'. The tough cuts make the best pot roasts as the the connective tissues cook down during the moist, slow cook to make them succulent and tender. Look for what is on sale, but a few other beef choice are:
- Bottom Round
- Beef Brisket
- Chuck shoulder pot roast
- Beef chuck arm
- Shoulder steak
- Chuck seven-bone pot roast
Variations
You may have grown up with your pot roast not shredded and the pot roast served intact on a platter. Use tongs or a pancake turner to lift out the large sections of your pot roast if you prefer this serving presentation.
I also grew up with the potatoes IN the pot roast, but you need to add them part way through the slow cook so that they don't break down too much. Then, simply arrange them around your platter of pot roast chunks!
Equipment
You will want a slow cooker or Crockpot for this recipe. They allow you to set the meal up before leaving for work. You come home to a scrumptious smelling home and a meal ready to serve!
- Slow Cooker 6 quart
Storage
Store any leftover pot roast in a covered container in your refrigerator. This meal also freezes wonderfully. I portion out into one person servings so I can easily microwave it after a long day of work. That is, if you even have any leftovers!
Tips for Success
- Don't add potatoes at the start of the slow cook as they will break down and get mushy.
- Either serve your pot roast shredded Mississippi pot roast style or in chunks.
- If you want potatoes in the pot roast, add them during the last two hours of cook time so that they don't fall apart.
- You can substitute the beer for wine, or if you prefer, simply more beef stock or water.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, absolutely not. It just adds to the pot roast seasoning. You can use more beef stock, or simply water.
They often use the same cuts of beef, similar vegetables, and similar seasoning. Beef stew though is made by cooking small chunks of meat with selected vegetables, while pot roast is made by cooking a big piece of meat with larger pieces of vegetables.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 lb chuck roast whatever is on sale
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut
- 4 large stalks of Celery trimmed and diced
- 2 packets Lipton Onion Soup mix
- 16 oz beer any type
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon dried Thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh, minced Thyme
- 2 large Russet potatoes cubed and OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Place your celery, onions, garlic, and carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker.1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 4 large carrots, 4 large stalks of Celery
- Open the two packets of the Lipton Onion soup mix and dump on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker.2 packets Lipton Onion Soup mix
- Add Bay leaf, peppercorns, and Thyme. Pour the beer and beef broth on top of the vegetables and pot roast seasoning.16 oz beer, 1 cup beef broth, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, ½ teaspoon dried Thyme
- Place the chuck roast on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker and cover. Press down so that the liquid covers the vegetables and meat. You can add more broth or water if needed.5 lb chuck roast
- Set your slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Check to see that the roast is cooked through and tender.
- Using two forks or a Mix & Chop kitchen tool, shred the meat.
- Serve over mashed potatoes. Optionally you can add two cubed Russet Potatoes during the last 2 hours of the cook time.2 large Russet potatoes
Video
Notes
- Don't add potatoes at the start of the slow cook as they will break down and get mushy.
- Either serve your pot roast shredded or in chunks.
- If you want potatoes in the pot roast, add them during the last two hours of cook time so that they don't fall apart.
- You can substitute the beer for wine, or if you prefer, simply more beef stock or water.
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