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One bite of my fall-apart tender Dutch Oven Pot Roast and you will be hooked. You'll want to make this easy roast beef recipe all of the time! This is a family-friendly, shred-with-a-fork, delicious Dutch Oven recipe.
Soft carrots, onions, and a delectable beef gravy cook all in a dutch oven with the most beautiful, budget-friendly cut of beef. Try it—I know you will love it!
Pot Roast in the Dutch Oven
By far, this oven-roast pot roast recipe is one of my family's favorites. It's a gorgeous pot roast that packs so much flavor into every bite. And, it's fall-apart tender: you can shred it using a fork!
This is why this is the absolute best pot roast recipe:
- It's so easy. This simple pot roast recipe is so simple to prep. Just a few easy steps, and then you set it and forget it until it's ready to enjoy. It is truly one of those recipes you can't possibly mess up.
- It's budget-friendly. We use a budget-friendly cut of beef and common ingredients.
- It's truly delicious. My Dutch Oven roast is fall-apart tender and unbelievably flavorful.
This is one of my most popular recipes! Our readers love it too!
I usually don’t like roast, but I thought my husband would enjoy this. It was SO GOOD. 10/10, will make again.
Katie on Pinterest
Dutch Oven Pot Roast Recipe Ingredients
- Chuck roast, rump roast, or eye round roast
- Sliced onion
- Olive oil
- Garlic powder
- Carrots or baby carrots
- Beef stock or chicken stock
- Red wine
- Fresh or dried rosemary
- Salt and pepper
How to Cook Pot Roast
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat a Dutch Oven greased with olive oil over medium-high on the stove. Add roast and brown on each side, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add onions to the pan and cook for 3 minutes before adding garlic. Stir.
- Pour red wine in the pan with the onions and garlic to deglaze it. Use a wooden spoon to gently scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in beef stock, carrots, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and stir.
- Place the roast back in the Dutch Oven and submerge it in the liquid.
- Roast in the oven for 4 hours or until the beef is tender enough to shred with a fork. Remove when done, and let it rest for 10 minutes. At this point, you can make the beef gravy. See below for beef gravy instructions.
- Shred the roast with two forks after resting. Serve over mashed potatoes with gravy, and enjoy!
Pot Roast in a Dutch Oven Tips
- At 350°F, cook your roast for 1 hour per pound of beef. However, if you want, you can cook your roast for longer to develop the flavors even further and make it even more tender.
- I like it to fall apart so we cook our 3 lb. roast for 4 hours or until the beef is well done.
- Sear your beef first over high heat so it browns on both sides. This guarantees a juicy pot roast with so much flavor!
- Always follow my Pot Roast Temperature Chart.
This recipe is easy and so good!
Kitty on Pinterest
Pot Roast Recipe Substitutions
- I use red wine with this recipe, but if you don't have any on hand or would prefer, you can also use extra beef stock or red wine vinegar in place of wine.
- If you're out of beef stock, the chicken stock also works for making this Dutch Oven pot roast.
How to Make Pot Roast Gravy
While the roast is resting, you can prepare the beef gravy from drippings using the following instructions:
- Immediately after removing the roast to let it rest, place the Dutch Oven back on the stove and bring the liquid in it to a boil. Leave it uncovered so it reduces and reaches the thickness you desire.
- Either use as-is or add a mixture of ½ Tbsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. beef stock to the pot and mix it in, then simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. This will give you a thicker gravy.
Dutch Oven Pot Roast Recipes FAQs
A Dutch Oven is a heavy cooking pot with a lid that can be used on the stove-top and in the oven. You can easily transfer it between the oven and the stove, making it perfect for cooking one pot meals like this tender chuck roast recipe.
Many Dutch Ovens are made with coated cast iron and are ideal for slow cooking and braising. We use ours constantly to make pot roast, beef tips, stew, and more.
A tough pot roast needs to be cooked longer. If you're a bigger cut of beef you will need to increase the cooking time. This will give the fibers time to break down and become tender and juicy.
Chuck roast, rump roast, and eye round roast are all economical cuts of beef perfect for cooking dinner on a budget. You can choose any kind you prefer. After a few hours of braising and with the perfect pot roast seasoning, any one of these roasts will come out mouth-wateringly tender.
Best Dutch Oven Recipes
Try more of the best beef cuts according to your needs and budget by following my guide on the Best Cuts of Beef and our Popular Beef Dishes!
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📋 Recipe
Dutch Oven Pot Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck roast rump roast, or eye round roast
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 4 carrots cut longways, or 2 cups of baby carrots
- 3 cups beef stock or chicken stock
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or ½ tsp. dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat a Dutch Oven greased with olive oil over medium-high on the stove. Add roast and brown on each side, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add onions to the pan and cook for 3 minutes before adding garlic. Stir.
- Pour red wine in the pan with the onions and garlic to deglaze it. Use a wooden spoon to gently scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in beef stock, carrots, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and stir.
- Place the roast back in the Dutch Oven and submerge it in the liquid.
- Roast in the oven for 4 hours or until the beef is tender enough to shred with a fork. Remove when done, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Shred the roast with two forks after resting. Serve over mashed potatoes with gravy, and enjoy!
- To make thick beef gravy, place the Dutch Oven back on the stove after removing the cooked pot roast and bring the liquid to a boil. Leave it uncovered and add a mixture of ½ Tbsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. beef stock to the pot and mix it in, then simmer for 5 minutes to thicken.
Video
Notes
- At 350°F, cook your roast for 1 hour per pound of beef. However, if you want, you can cook your roast for longer to develop the flavors even further and make it even more tender. We cook our 3 lb. roast for 4 hours.
- Sear your beef first over high heat so it browns on both sides. This guarantees a juicy pot roast with so much flavor!
- Use a high quality beef stock and check on the level of liquid in the Dutch Oven every hour. If it reduces too much, add ½ cup of water so it doesn’t dry out.
Alex says
Thanks! Came out nice and juicy.
Em Beitel says
So glad you enjoyed it, Alex!
Jerry says
Perfect using 7 bone chuck roast. Juicy, tender, came out falling apart and tasty. Will cook this again, my family loved it.
Em Beitel says
Jerry, that's awesome! Thanks for your comment and we're so glad you enjoyed it!
Lauren says
How long do I have to cook 8lb roast?
Em Beitel says
Hi Lauren! I would recommend cooking for 8 hours, but start checking it at the 7 hour mark. You're looking for it to shred easily with a fork. Thank you for your question!
Chris Thomas says
Loved this recipe it came out perfect... Edit.. I put one whole onion in pot from start. Waited two and a half hours to add potatoes carrots and additional onions. Total cook time 4 hours on a 3 lb roast.
Em Beitel says
Thanks so much, Chris! We're so glad you enjoyed it!
Katherine B says
This was was a great starting point. I'm not great at following directions as I like to do my own thing based on what I have available. I used 2 cups pickle juice instead of red wine and I love the flavor it added. I also added like 5-6 cloves of garlic. Making for a second time and adding a bunch more carrots to my pot just because. Thank you for this basic, not over the top recipe.
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much, Katherine! We're so glad you enjoyed it!
Sophia says
I’m going to make this tomorrow. Do I cook this with the lid on my Dutch oven or off? I’ve read conflicting arguments for lid on or off. Help please!
Thanks,
Sophua
Em Beitel says
Hi Sophia! This is a great question. We roasted ours with the lid on. Thank you for asking for clarification!
D says
I roasted with the lid on, it was perfectly delicious!
Anna says
Hi in the picture it looks like you may have used chopped garlic but the recipe calls for garlic powder. Can you clarify how much garlic if using chopped? Thanks!!
Em Beitel says
Hi Anna! I would use about 2 crushed garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. Thank you so much for your question!
Ricardo says
Do you every need to flip it during the 4hour cook?
Em Beitel says
Hi Ricardo! No, no need to flip. Thank you for your question!
Courtney M says
Hi there, does the meat need to be fully submerged in the liquid when I go to place it in the oven?
Em Beitel says
Hi Courtney! Not entirely. It should be mostly submerged, but it will most likely stick out just a little at the top (you can see ours does the same in our photos!). That's just fine. Enjoy!
chrissie says
lid on or off in oven?
Em Beitel says
Hi Chrissie! We roasted ours with the lid on. Thank you for your question!
Aga says
Question: I’m planning on making this tomorrow but I have 2lb roast and I’m not going to use red wine.
Anything to substitute the wine and do I follow everything else since my meat is one pound smaller?
Thanks!
Em Beitel says
Hi Aga! A good substitute for red wine would be using additional beef stock; use equal parts beef stock. You can also use cooking wine or red wine vinegar. I would lower the cooking time by 30 minutes.
Dana says
Hi! Would I change anything if my chuck roast has a bone?
About to start making it now!
Thanks!
Em Beitel says
Hi Dana! No need to change anything, but if you want the meat to shred easily, you may have to cook it for longer if it has a bone. Thank you for your question!
Christine says
I’ve tried to make a good pot roast for years and never succeeded until now. This is hands down the best pot roast recipe, thank you!!!!!!!!!
Em Beitel says
That is so awesome, Christine! Thank you so much for sharing with us - we're so glad you enjoyed it!
Claudine says
This was very easy and turned out perfect. My whole house smelled amazing. Thank you for you recipe.
Em Beitel says
That is so awesome to hear, Claudine! Thank you so much for sharing!
Judy Miller says
can you use white wine?
Em Beitel says
Hi Judy! Definitely. The taste might be a little different, but it should be delicious.
Tina says
Did you use cooking red wine or drinking red wine? Not familiar....lol.
Em Beitel says
Hi Tina! I would recommend a good drinking wine for the best flavor, but you could use either. Use whichever you prefer. Enjoy!
Amy says
Trying this receipe tomorrow
There’s is a layer of fat
Do I just place fat side up after I sear all sides in the Dutch oven
Or trim the fat ?
Em Beitel says
Hi Amy! I would not trim the fat, but just place fat side-up as you suggested after you sear all sides. The fat should melt down into the meat as it cooks which will add flavor.
Cathy says
I used a bottom round roast and added carrots, potato, celery and onions. It turned out delicious. I’ve made lots of pot roast but never one in the oven. It made it so easy. Thank you!
Em Beitel says
We're so glad to hear that, Cathy! Thank you so much!
Nanette says
So good!!! Used a 2 lb chuck eye. The only thing I changed was using celery in half circles, no carrots. Cooked in an oval dutch oven for 3 1/2 hours and is was amazing!! Incredibly tender. Thank you!
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much for your comment, Nanette! We're so glad you enjoyed it!