This Instant Pot pot roast is unbelievably delicious. It has melt-in-your-mouth tender beef and a gravy that’s out of this world. I cannot wait for you to try this easy recipe!
I’ve fallen hard for this Instant Pot pot roast recipe. I use my 6-quart Instant Pot, but any electric pressure cooker works for this recipe.
The beef in this pot roast ends up so tender. I love shredding it and serving it over mashed potatoes (which I make with potatoes cooked in the Instant Pot with the beef). Delicious!
Key Ingredients
- Chuck roast: I use beef chuck for this Instant Pot pot roast. You really want to use a tough cut of meat like chuck, rump roast, or brisket.
- Beef broth and bouillon: I use good-quality beef broth and add more flavor with beef bouillon cubes or mix. This makes the gravy extra rich and beefy.
- Herbs and spices: We pack in lots of flavor with onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, fresh garlic, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and a bay leaf.
- Veggies: We keep things classic with onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes. The onions melt into the gravy, which I love. I use baby potatoes, which you can serve whole or mash before serving. Since they are cooked with beef, they taste amazing.
- Cornstarch and cream: These are optional, but I love using them to thicken and finish the gravy to serve over our tender beef.
How to Make Instant Pot Pot Roast
I’m so excited for you to make this Instant Pot pot roast! You’ll do everything in your pressure cooker for this recipe. Start by using the sauté function and sear your seasoned beef on all sides until golden brown then transfer to a plate.
There will be some rendered beef fat left from searing the beef, so that’s what we will use to cook the vegetables (hello flavor!).
You’ll notice a bunch of browned stuck bits at the bottom of the Instant Pot, so we want to scrape them up before adding back our beef. Remove the veggies, then pour in beef broth, bouillon, and apple cider vinegar and simmer with a wooden spoon to scrape everything off the bottom of the pot. This step is building even more flavor!
It’s time to return the beef and veggies to the pot. Then add the fresh herbs and potatoes. Seal the Instant Pot and cook at high pressure.
The cooking time depends on how much beef you have. I like to assume 20 minutes for every pound of meat. So, for my 3-pound beef chuck, I will need to cook at high pressure for 1 hour. After the hour, I release the pressure and shred the tender beef.
When the beef is done, you can make our optional gravy. You’ll remove the beef, veggies, and herbs from the pot and use the sauté function to simmer the liquid until it reduces a bit. Then, you’ll whisk in a simple mixture of cornstarch and water and a splash of cream.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Easiest Bone Broth
- Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
- Ultimate Pulled Pork – slow cooker recipe, but Instant Pot instructions provided
- Instant Pot Eggs
- Homemade Applesauce
Best Instant Pot Pot Roast
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This easy Instant Pot pot roast recipe creates incredibly tender, flavorful beef. It’s perfect for the whole family. I use my Instant Pot, but this recipe works with any pressure cooker.
For this recipe, use tougher cuts of beef, such as chuck, brisket, or round. In the pressure cooker, these become melt-in-your-mouth tender. I love adding baby potatoes. They become very soft, so I mash them to serve with the pot roast. We also add carrots, celery, and garlic for extra flavor. Since they get soft during cooking, we consider them flavor additions rather than side dishes. If you’d like to serve this with carrots, I highly recommend these roasted carrots.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
3 pounds beef chuck, brisket, or round
Salt
1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large onion
5 medium carrots (12 ounces)
4 celery stalks
5 to 6 garlic cloves
1 ½ tablespoons high heat cooking oil
3 cups beef broth, try homemade beef broth
1 to 2 bouillon cubes or use bouillon mix, optional
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 rosemary sprigs
4 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
12 ounces baby potatoes, optional
2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional for gravy
2 tablespoons cream, optional for gravy
Directions
- Cook Pot Roast
1Season beef with salt (I use 2 to 3 teaspoons). Then, let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
2Meanwhile, stir the onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper together.
3Peel and cut the onion into large chunks. Peel the carrots and remove the ends. Slice the carrots and celery into thick, long sticks. Smash garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and peel away the skins.
4Pat the beef dry the beef with paper towels, then rub all over with the spice mixture.
5Heat the oil in your Instant Pot with the Sauté setting on high heat. Brown the beef on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove beef to a plate.
6Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic cloves to the pot. Cook until softened and lightly browned in spots, about 6 minutes. Remove to a plate.
7Add the beef broth, bouillon, and cider vinegar, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. (This adds flavor and prevents an error from the Instant Pot while cooking at pressure).
8Turn the Sauté function off. Return the beef and vegetables to the pot. Add rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and potatoes (optional). It’s okay if the liquid does not cover all of the beef and vegetables.
9Cook at High Pressure for 60 minutes (adjust time for your meat’s weight, assuming 20 minutes for every pound).
10Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick-release the rest (be careful to keep your hands and face away from the venting steam).
11Remove the beef and shred it to your desired size on a cutting board. Then serve with the potatoes (whole or mashed). I find the carrots and celery too soft, but you can serve them if you’d like.
- Optional Quick Gravy
1Remove vegetables and herbs from the cooking liquid. Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté (high heat). Boil until the liquid reduces by about a quarter.
2Whisk the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl. Slowly whisk this into the reduced liquid, simmering until thickened.
3Turn off the heat. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or other spices. If desired, add a splash of cream for extra richness.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Our pressure cooker: We have the 6-quart Instant Pot.
- Cooking time: When cooking a pot roast in an Instant Pot, allow 20 minutes for every pound of meat. For example, cook a 2-pound pot roast at high pressure for 40 minutes and a 3-pound pot roast for 60 minutes.
- Frozen beef: I highly recommend thawing your beef for this recipe, since you cannot sear the frozen beef. If you must use frozen beef, assume 30 minutes per pound.
- What to do if your pot roast is tough: Your pot roast should be incredibly tender and fall apart easily with a fork. If it’s still tough, you will need to cook it longer. The pressure cooking process breaks down tough meat, making it tender. Put the lid back on, seal the pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for another 10 to 20 minutes.
- The provided nutrition facts are estimates. Sodium content will vary based on the ingredients you use.
10/10 this was so delicious!! I will definitely be making again.
Yay! So glad you loved it 🙂
We made this roast for Dinner tonight and it was fork tender and delicious. The aromatics while cooking and when taking the lid off the Instant Pot piqued our appetites.
This was disappointing. The cooking time for 3 lb of meat was right for the meat but the potatoes and carrots became mush. Unedible. Also way too much liquid. I cut back to 2 cups of stock and it still looked like soup. Probably should recommend foil-packing the veggies and placing them on top of the meat instead of adding them to the pot. Also, the rosemary overwhelmed the other flavors.
Hi Larry, We address the veggies becoming soft above. We add them primarily for flavor and recommend that if you do not want soft carrots for serving to roast some in the oven. Also, for the potatoes, I like mashing them (as pictured above), which gets around them being soft.
Delicious! Thank you for the recipe!!