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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.

a grey plate with shredded Instant Pot chuck roast, cut carrots, potatoes, and a bowl of horseradish.
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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.

a chuck roast, broth, vegetables, and spices on a white board.

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.

a white bowl of chunks of chuck roast.
3 showing different stages of prepping pot roast for cooking.
2 bowls showing pot roast being shredded.

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. 
a palte of shredded pot roast with a pitcher of gravy being poured onto it.
5 from 18 ratings

Instant Pot Chuck Roast

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 3 minutes
Pressurizing/depressurizing: 42 minutes
Total: 1 hour 55 minutes
a grey plate with shredded whole30 pot roast, cut carrots, potatoes, and a bowl of horseradish,
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 a pressure cooker.

Equipment

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}

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

  1. 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.
  2. Cut vegetables into large pieces to avoid them becoming too mushy during the cooking process.
  3. 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.
  4. Do not skip the 15-minute natural release time. A quick release will result in tough meat.
Slow cooker instructions – cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
Oven baking instructions – place in a dutch oven casserole dish and bake covered at 275 degrees F for 4-5 hours.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 547kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 49gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 456mgPotassium: 1630mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 14364IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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40 Comments

    1. Take my advice with a grain of salt because I had to google what a tender roast is. 🙂

      It looks like it is a cut that is great for grilling which would make it a “short cooking” cut of meat. Pot roast tends to use chuck or rump roasts which are tougher cuts that need to be cooked slowly to make them tender.

      So, hypothetically, yes you could use a tender roast. But it may be a more expensive cut than you want to use for a pot roast. Clear as mud?

      1. I would cook it just like the instructions in the post. At 3 lbs x 21 min per roast, it would be 63 minutes. After cooking, wait at least 15 minutes for a natural release before doing a quick release.

    1. To me they are the same texture as if you cooked them in a slow cooker all day.

      I have seen some people add them at the end and pressure cook them for 2 minutes after removing the roast. It’s all preference at that point. 🙂

  1. Delicious, simple, and so easy to customize! We loved this Pot Roast in the Instant Pot. I ladled out some of the liquid to steam veggies as an additional side item. Oh. My. Word. My husband now wants all broccoli cooked in with pot roast juices. I move that we now call broth by “juice”. All in favor?5 stars

  2. Despite being a long time reader, this was my first time making this pot roast. Ohemgeeeeee this was beyond perfect. I had a 2.5 pound roast so I cooked it for 51 mins (my not so scientific time adjustment). The meat was tender and juicy. I took one of the chunks and shredded it for two people. I fried the veggies in an actual ton of butter after they cooked to make them super crispy.  I’m off to my food coma, after I bookmark this recipe. 5 stars

    1. I think you get to claim “OG reader” status. 🙂

      So glad you and the family liked it! The veggie part sounds fantastic and something I need to try.

  3. I am so excited to make this! My chuck roast is about half the weight of what the recipe calls for (1.65lbs). Any idea if I should decrease the cooking time in the instant pot? 

  4. I have cooked pot roast in the instant pot for less time than recommend it in this recipe and the veggies were all mushy and coming apart. I now use a YouTube recipe that explain how to do a pot roast in the IP.

    1. My veggies never got mushy because I used the tips in this post – put them on top of the meat and not in the broth. They’re perfectly cooked every time.

      1. I’m used to waiting hours and hours for pot roast. I’m so happy I found this instant pot recipe. Fastest I’ve ever made it and was so tender and flavorful. Veggies and potatoes turned out perfectly, too! 5 stars

  5. This is the tastiest, fastest Pot Roast recipe ever and making it in the Instant Pot was toooo easy!
    The meat was tasty and tender and the veggies were perfect!5 stars