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The perfect warming pot roast recipe for the chilly months! My French onion pot roast is a mashup of winter favorites. It’s seriously full of flavor and you can even make it in the slow cooker for a stress-free dinner!
I’ve got a crazy simple french onion pot roast recipe to share with you today.
It really sounds a lot more difficult than it is. And the best part? You can make it in the slow cooker or the stovetop. Melt-in-your-mouth tender beef drizzled with a caramelized onion sauce over a bed of cheddar mashed potatoes – have mercyyy!
It’s family-friendly. Simple but fancy enough for entertaining.
I made this simple french onion pot roast for dinner one rainy evening. And it was a huge hit! It also doesn’t hurt that there aren’t many dishes to wash afterwards.
Plus this pot roast recipe definitely makes tons of leftovers. Just think about that for a second: french onion pot roast over buttered egg noodles, warm sandwiches with melty roast beef, gooey gruyere cheese on hot rolls.
Also, this is one of those dinners where the leftovers actually taste even better. So don’t be afraid of ’em.
This was fantastic!!! I’m not a huge lover of traditional roast flavor but love the pull apart meat. Now I can have both delicious flavor and perfect pull apart meat when I cook roast! Definitely a keeper 🙂
Ingredients for French onion pot roast:
- Beef Chuck roast: Use a two pound roast for a family of 4-6 people. Keep in mind that the roast will shrink a bit and it cooks so you’ll need more meat than you would think.
- Butter and oil: we’ll sear the meat in the butter and oil before adding everything to our slow cooker.
- Minced garlic: how can you make any good recipe without garlic?
- Onions, onions, onions: I like to use two large yellow onions for this recipe. Thinly slice the onions so that the become fall-apart tender in the crock pot while they slow cook.
- Beef broth: we’ll let the meat become fall apart tender in the slow cooker in the liquid as it simmers.
- Sauces: you’ll need Worcestershire sauce and apple cider the vinegar. The Worcestershire sauce adds umami to the dish and the vinegar helps tenderize the meat.
- Seasonings and Herbs: you’ll need onion powder, fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme, a bay leaf, celery seeds, some cornstarch and if you’re thinking that all of these ingredients sound like the content of a French onion soup mix, you would be correct. We’ll use cornstarch to make a slurry to thicken the au jus at the end.
Instructions for the best french onion pot roast:
- Sear the meat. pat down the chuck roast, then season generously with kosher salt and black pepper. Heat a skillet or a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add butter and oil and allow the butter to melt and start to cracker. Sear the roast on each side for a few minutes or until it develops nice crust on the outside. Remove the roast to a plate.
- Slice your onions really thin. The onions release all that natural flavor which then tenderizes the meat as it slow cooks. You can also sauté the onions for a few minutes in a tablespoon of butter over medium heat if you want to really build your flavors even more because they’ll pick up all the brown bits left behind by the meat. Do much depth of flavor there.
- Let it slow cook. Add half of the onions to the slow cooker, followed by the garlic, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, onion powder, dried thyme, bay leaf, celery seeds, sugar and the chuck roast. Top with the remaining onions. Cover the slow cooker with a lid and let it go low and slow. Test the meat for doneness using two forks. It should shred easily.
- Make a gravy. Remove the meat from the slow cooker. Cover and keep warm. Combine the cornstarch with water in a small bowl to make a slurry. You can pull out the aromatics, like the bay leaves. Pour this into the slow cooker and whisk to combine. Let it cook for several minutes. if the gravy is still thin, you can use additional cornstarch and water to thicken it to your liking.
- Storage. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the leftovers. Just allow to defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Tips for the best onion pot roast:
Make sure to pat down the surface of your chuck roast and sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper.
Also, use the right size. Don’t overcrowd your pan. I like to use a stainless steel pan or a cast iron skillet or dutch oven because both of these retain the heat really well.
The milk solids will burn with the high heat that we need to sear the roast. So always, always use a little oil to prevent this from happening.
Make sure to allow the meat to sear for at least 3-4 minutes/side without trying to lift it. It’s hard but avoid it. Step away for a minute or two if you have to. Once it’s seared you’re ready to transfer everything into an oven-safe pot or a slow cooker and continue with the recipe.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- French Onion Chicken Meatballs
- Jammy Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Gruyere
- Braised Cider Pot Roast with Onions
- Gruyere Mac and Cheese with French Onion Crust
- Best Ever Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes
Soul Warming French Onion Pot Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chuck roast see notes for larger
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 3 garlic cloves pressed or minced
- 2 yellow onions thinly sliced
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ teaspoon celery seeds crushed between fingers
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
- SEAR: Pat down your chuck roast and season generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. If you're making the pot roast in the oven, you can do this directly in the dutch oven. Add the butter and a splash of oil. When the butter melts and starts to crackle, add the chuck roast to the skillet and sear on all sides for about 2-3 minutes per side. You want the meat to brown as this will make a more tender and flavorful roast. Remove to a plate.
- OPTIONAL: Add a little more oil to the pan and sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes or until they sweat down just a tad bit.
Slow Cooker:
- Add half the onions to the slow cooker, followed by all the garlic, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, dried thyme, bay leaf, celery seeds, sugar, and the chuck roast. Top with the other half of the onions. Allow the roast to cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours. I let mine go for 8 and it was fall-apart tender.
- Remove the meat from the slow cooker. Cover, keep warm. Combine 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch and water in a small bowl or mason jar. Add to the slow cooker, stir and let cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. If the gravy is still thin, use the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water, let cook an additional 5 minutes.
Oven Directions:
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 275ºF. Once you sauté the onions (step 2), add the chuck roast back in to the dutch oven along with the garlic, 2 cups of beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, dried thyme, bay leaf, celery seeds, and sugar. The liquid should come half way up the chuck roast, if it doesn't add additional broth until half of the chuck roast is submerged. Stir to combine.
- Cover the dutch oven with a lid and let braise in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven, check for doneness and continue braising for an additional 1 to 1 ½ hours. Your roast it done when it easily pierces with a fork.
- Remove the meat from the dutch oven. Cover, keep warm. Combine 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch and water in a small bowl or mason jar. Heat the dutch oven over the stove on medium-high heat on the stove until the liquid reaches a simmer.
- Add the cornstarch mixture to the pot while stirring. Let the gravy regain a simmer. If the gravy is still thin, use the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water, let cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
Serving:
- Serve the pot roast over a bed of fluffy cheddar mashed potatoes or even with some no knead crusty bread on the side with a house salad!
Notes
- If you double or triple the recipe, you’ll need 6-8 quart slow cooker.
- Here’s the 3 quart slow cooker I have and love for a 2 pound roast.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I’ve made this a half dozen times using the oven method and following the directions and ingredients exactly as written. It has been amazing every single time! You know it’s good when your guests ask for the recipe 🙂 Thanks for this!
Excellent twist on traditional pot roast, we absolutely love it and make it is one of our regular favorites!
Today will be the third time I’ve made this incredible recipe. We’re about to get the coldest weather of the year here in North Texas, and having this dish to warm my soul over the next few days? Can’t imagine anything better. Beef is so expensive (ha everything is) but for just one person, I get a solid 6 meals out of this recipe! 🙂 It does get better over a couple of days, too!
Do I put the meat back into the pot after adding the corn starch and making the gravy? Or do I keep them separate?
I do like to let it sit in the gravy if time permits. The gravy clings to the meat and makes it more flavorful! However, this is completely optional 🙂
Wonderful and so easy!!
Made this. Added a cup of red whine from another recipe. Super!
I NEVER liked roast before I found this recipe, and oh my, my it’s so delicious! I’ve been making it for several years now and will not go to any other recipe. My family requests it and I’m actually preparing one now before church. So flavorful and TENDER!
Thank you for sharing!!
I’m making this tomorrow. If I’m doing the crockpot am I still cooking the onions first ?
Can I do 1 cup white wine and one cup beef broth? Have left over white wine!
Spectacular! I’ve made a half dozen or so recipes from your site and have yet to be disappointed. It’s become my go-to recipe site. Thank you!
Can I use a ceramic dutch oven?
I made this recipe for dinner the other night. Delicious!! I had a fair amount of the broth left over. I put in the refrigerator thinking I would probably just toss it later. But, tonight we needed a fast dinner, so I took that leftover broth, added beef stock to it for a soup consistency and added cheese (somewhat like French onion soup). It was delicious too! I added a nice size dinner roll and made a perfect fast dinner.
I made this for our dinner tonight. The prep was easy. The roast was delicious! Perfectly seasoned and I will definitely be making it again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Okay, I have never enjoyed roasts until I started making this recipe! It is so incredibly tender and the flavors are amazing!! I cook ours in a cast iron Dutch oven and usually serve with cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes and broccoli. And am actually getting ready to make this now!! Can’t wait for dinner!
I make 2 roasts at a time and make vegetable soup with the beef that’s left, it’s all so delicious.
I would rate this a 4.5. I added more garlic because we love it. For the beef broth I used some left over frozen Italian beef juice because that is what I had on hand. I think that upped the flavor profile. (Sorry…I omitted the sugar…who needs more sugar?) When I make this again, I will up the seasonings. Since I didn’t start early enough, I used my Instapot. I browned the meat on the saute setting. When done browning I removed it and added the onion and let that cook a bit, then added the rest of the ingredients. Returned the meat to the pot, covered with some of the onions and turned it on high for one hour. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then did a quick release. Removed meat and put on saute setting and continued to follow the directions for the gravy. Delicious!
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe? It looks delicious!
I used the crock pot method for this absolutely delicious recipe. This pot roast wowed my dinner guests.
For the oven instructions, not too sure what to do at the step where it says continue braising for an additional 1 to 1 1/2hours: “Cover the dutch oven with a lid and let braise in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven, check for doneness and continue braising for an additional 1 to 1 ½ hours.”
Am I putting it back in the oven to continue braising it, do I braise it on the stove top and if so how high should the heat be? First time using my dutch oven and this recipe sounds delicious so I don’t want to mess it up!
Hi there! You would let it braise, then check for doneness. Depending on how done the beef is, you would allow it to continue braising in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Hope that clarifies it 🙂