Fall-apart tender, this Instant Pot Chuck Roast is the ultimate comfort food. You can get an “it cooked all day flavor” in a fraction of the time thanks to using an Instant Pot.
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This Instant Pot pot beef roast is filled with all the classic flavors of your mom’s recipe, but it’s ready in a fraction of the time. If you could put a hug on a plate, it would be this dinner.
And because not everyone has a pressure cooker (yet!), I’ve also included slow cooking and oven-baking instructions.
What Type of Meat is Best For Instant Pot Chuck Roast?
I used chuck from Butcher Box, but you can also use brisket, rump, or round roast. Rump can be a tougher meat to cook compared with the others, but it will still be amazing.
Choose a cut that has decent fat marbling as it will add more flavor to the dish. You will be trimming some of the fat prior to cooking to keep the gravy/broth from being greasy.
How Long Do You Cook a Chuck Roast in a Pressure Cooker?
I have found the sweet spot is 21 minutes per pound of meat. This was a 3 lb cut, so I cooked it for a total of 63 minutes. That does not take into account the amount of time it took getting up to pressure or the natural release time after it was done cooking.
I used an 8-quart Instant Pot and it took 27 minutes for this to get up to pressure. This recipe calls for a 15-minute natural release and then a quick release. If you prefer a 100% natural release, my Instant Pot took 34 minutes to fully depressurize.
What To Serve With Pot Roast
We love these dishes to go along with the main dish:
Do You Have to Sear Pot Roast?
Nope! It does help lock in the juices for a deeper flavor, but it’s not necessary. In fact, I don’t include that step in this recipe because I feel that it intimidates people from making these kinds of meals. It’s those kinds of extra step that is a barrier for some home cooks.
Just like this Instant Pot Beef Tips and Gravy recipe, we’re not searing and still getting great results! Instead, follow the instructions for the cooking and release times and your roast is going to be amazingly tender. Cross my heart.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- If you’re pressed for time and perform a “quick release”, the meat will likely become tough. The quick-release option increases the temperature inside the Instant Pot to above boiling. As it can take ~12 minutes to depressurize the pot manually, you’re essentially boiling the meat for that time. Boiling = tough meat.
- Cut vegetables into large pieces to avoid them becoming too mushy during the cooking process. I used baby potatoes and left them whole. We were able to easily cut them in half with just our forks when serving.
- If you prefer veggies al dente, cook the roast without the carrots and potatoes. Remove the meat when the Instant Pot has depressurized and set it aside to rest. Add veggies, lock the lid, press manual>high pressure>4 minutes, and then do a quick release after it has finished cooking.
- You can use arrowroot in place of the cornstarch. You may also want to replace 1/3 cup of the beef stock with red wine.
- Use whatever veggies you prefer (mushrooms, etc.) but anything that is small (ex: green beans) will probably get mushy if cooked with the meat for the full amount of time.
Instant Pot Chuck Roast
Ingredients
- 3 lb chuck roast {or: rump, round, brisket}
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 lb baby potatoes {whole}
- 4 cups carrots {peeled and cut into very large pieces}
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup onion {chopped or sliced}
- 4 cloves garlic {minced}
- 2 tbsp marinara sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp thyme {dried}
Gravy {optional}
- 3 tbsp cornstarch {or arrowroot powder}
- 1/4 cup broth {taken from the Instant Pot after the meat has cooked}
Equipment
Instructions
- Cut the meat into 4-6 pieces, somewhat uniform in size. Trim most of the fat (about 75%). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the smoked paprika.3 lb chuck roast, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- Add stock, onions, minced garlic, thyme, and marinara to the Instant Pot.3 cups beef stock, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp marinara sauce, 1 tsp thyme, 1 cup onion
- Place the meat into the pot and then top with any veggies you want to cook along with the roast. Add sprigs of rosemary on top.1 lb baby potatoes, 4 cups carrots, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”. Press Manual>High Pressure>63 minutes.
- When it has finished cooking, allow the pressure cooker to sit for 15 minutes. Then, carefully flip the steam release handle to "venting" and allow any additional pressure to be released.
- Remove the lid. If you'd like to make the optional gravy for this recipe, carefully remove the meat, carrots, and potatoes and set aside to rest in a baking dish.
- Shred the meat with two forks after it has rested for ~10 minutes.
Optional Gravy
- Combine 3 tbsp of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of broth from the instant pot in a small bowl. Whisk really well.3 tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 cup broth
- Make sure you have removed the meat and vegetables and press "Saute".
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the broth and gently whisk it in. Allow the mixture to cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- You can place the meat and veggies back into the pot or serve the gravy separately.
Notes
- If you want to sear the meat, use the Saute function on the Instant Pot. Add 2-3 tbsp of oil to the inner pot and add the seasoned meat. Allow it to sear for ~2 minutes before flipping the pieces.
- Cut vegetables into large pieces to avoid them becoming too mushy during the cooking process.
- If you prefer veggies al dente, cook the roast without the carrots and potatoes. Remove the meat when the Instant Pot has depressurized and set it aside to rest. Add veggies, lock the lid, press manual>high pressure>4 minutes, and then do a quick release after it has finished cooking.
- Do not skip the 15-minute natural release time. A quick release will result in tough meat.
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This was delicious! Followed recipe except subbed tomato paste with a pinch dried basil for marinara, and did not put any veg except onion in the instant pot. I’ve never been a fan of carrots and potatoes cooked with roast. Made mashed potatoes and green beans as sides. Thanks for sharing a great and easy recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
And the no veggies makes me laugh because I could take or leave the meat and I only want the veggies. We’d make a good dining partner pair! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Does it reheat well?
Yes, especially if you reserve some of the sauce/gravy to reheat with it.