One of my favorite recipes for busy days when I don’t have time to cook in the afternoon is chuck roast. These roasts have a good fat profile and awesome flavor. Roast served with salad and broccoli is a regular meal around here and the kids love it.
Why a Chuck Roast?
With five kids, a business to run and a house to clean, I don’t always have hours to spend in the kitchen each day. Crock pot meals are my solution to this. A simple roast can be thrown in the slow cooker while I’m making breakfast and be ready for dinner so I don’t have to spend time cooking it.
I often make recipes like this on days when we have gymnastics or jujutsu in the afternoon and I need to have food ready when we get home.
Easy Chuck Roast Recipe
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 +
An easy and delicious slow-cooker roast recipe.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Marinate in spices at least 10 minutes, though several hours is better.
- Brown meat on all sides in a skillet on medium-high heat to lock in juices. (optional step that enhances flavor)
- Place roast along with sliced onions and 1-1.5 cups of water or beef broth in a crock pot or roasting pan. Cover tightly.
- After two hours, rough chop carrots and sweet potatoes and add to crock pot. They can be added at the beginning but they will be much softer at the end.
- Cook for 5-7 hours in crock pot or 3-4 hours in the oven.
- Let sit 10 minutes before cutting. Slice against the grain.
Courses Slow-Cooker
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What’s your favorite way to cook roast? Share below!
Hi Katie,
I have a few grass-fed chuck roasts in my freezer but am hesitant to use them because I am still fairly new to grass-fed meats and how to prepare them. Do you have any tips? I’d love to whip one out and put it in my crockpot and was very comfortable doing this before we started trying to buy more grass fed beef. Thanks!
Megan
Hi Megan,
You should still be able to do the same thing you always have preparing it in the crockpot. I usually give it an extra hour or so if it is grassfed though. You can also marinate overnight, which also helps with the tenderness, and tenderize with a sharp knife before cooking.
I made this and it was amazing! Thanks for the great recipe!
I always crock my grass fed beef because that method of cooking over-comes the lean-ness. (Have you ever had a grilled grass fed steak? not so good). I don’t even bother browning it ahead – just throw it in the pot with some salt, pepper, and onions (sometimes not the onions). 10-12 hours on low and Oh! My! it comes out soooo good! HTH
Hi, I was wondering about other veggies to cook with the meat in the oven. I was going to use little new potatoes and carrots, could you tell me when I would add them to the roaster pan? Also what temp would I put the oven on? I am going to make this tomorrow! Thank you!
My favorite is adding sweet potatoes, onions, carrots and celery. I either add them at the beginning of cooking (for very soft) or in the oven, 2 hours before taking it out. Depending on how hot your oven is, 300 degrees is usually good. Hope you enjoy it!
Hello, I so appreciate you getting back with me so quickly and I will be making it like you do today! Thanks again! Hugs and Happy Holidays! 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that hubby and I SO enjoyed this! Thanks again! Hugs!
I recently did this with a chuck roast and had it in the oven for a little over three hours and it came out stringy and dry. I’ve had others come out really great so I don’t know what the problem was with this one…although it’s happened before. Usually they come out great so I’m not sure what I didn’t wrong.
How long in the oven, and at what temperature?
I buy grass fed sides of beef, and always make roasts, but have recently become paleo. So I brown the roast all sides in large dutch oven using bacon fat or oil. Then put it in the dutch oven with chopped onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and beef or chicken broth. Add salt and pepper along with spices (rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, bay leaf, parsley, garlic salt or what ever your favorite spices are). Put the dutch oven lid on tight (can even cover with aluminum foil and then put the cast iron lid on top of that), put in the oven, and slow cook at 300 degrees for 3 hours. Check it periodically to make sure the liquids don’t run dry and it is done when the meat falls apart. Haven’t experimented with cooking a roast in my crock pot, probably because I don’t think I can improve on the Dutch oven. Even cooked a roast for the kids on an open fire during a camping trip, and they loved it! Anyhow, hope that helps.
Hey Katie,
My wife was hurt very bad in a horse riding competition that left her with very, very little use of her left leg not much use of her left arm. She has, and will continue having seizures. Thank God they are not real strong. She’s a trooper. She has bounced back as best as she can and loves to cook. I found this recipe for her. Very easy and she made the other night. She has double vision so she can’t use a computer. Anyhow. Fantastic!!. She said, ” it was so easy”!
Just wanted you to know. Thank you!
Pam & Keith
Do you set the crockpot on High or Low? Sounds like a great recipe.
Some how i have lost my crockpot and need to cook a chuck roast for tonight. I have done them in the bag and season but was wondering if i can cook it in large pot on stove or an easy way in oven with veggies?
Making this today – thanks Katie!!
Should the crockpot be on high or low? Thank you!
Hello,
I am also wondering if the crock pot should be on low or high.
Thank you
Hi after many times forgetting to put my slow cooker on high, I’m putting it in the comments!! Haha, so cool on high 🙂
Hi.. Trying this tomorrow. Can you tell me if my crockpot should be high or low. Thanks ?
Hi there’s no temp for the oven nor for crockpot…so do you start it out on high for the crockpot? I don’t usually use the oven for roast, I use the crockpot, but am curious what temp to use for the oven.
Thanks,
Jillian ??
Cook on Low, everybody.