Crock Pot Roast Beef & Brown Gravy (without Lipton soup) is comfort food at its finest! Our tender roast will literally melt-in-your-mouth. It is fast enough that it makes the perfect weeknight meal but sophisticated enough for Sunday dinner.
The best part about making this on a weeknight is that it only takes about 5 minutes of prep work in the morning. Perfect if you are trying to get out the door to work. It is so nice to come home after a long day and whip this meal up.
Ingredient List
Our slow cooker pot roast does not require beef broth or onion soup mix. We create our own beef stock right there in the crock pot.
Chuck Pot Roast – we usually find a 2 1/4 to 3 pound chuck roast.
Salt & Pepper
Flour
How to Make the Perfect Pot Roast
Season the roast on both sides with salt and pepper. Place roast and a cup of water into the crock pot; cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
Transfer roast to a platter, cover with foil and keep warm in a 200° oven.
How to Make Pot Roast Gravy
Carefully pour the juice into a measuring cup and let the fat rise to the top. Skim the fat off the top and add it to a frying pan. You will be adding the rest of the juice so it doesn’t have to be exact.
Over medium to medium-high heat add flour and whisk while it cooks for about a minute. It will be sort of like a paste. Pour the rest of the liquid in slowly while whisking it and continue to whisk it until all of the lumps come out. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
How to Pick the Perfect Roast
One of the most important elements of this dish is to pick the right roast. This is something I struggled with when I first started cooking. There are many different types of roast and the best cut of meat to buy for this meal is Chuck Pot Roast. This particular cut has the right marbling of fat.
When you are selecting beef roast, fat is flavor! This beautiful marbling also makes the meat so tender.
Can You Use a Frozen Roast?
Yes you can! I have used a frozen roast too, and it came out just as good as the thawed roast. Just let it cook for about an hour longer.
How fabulous it that? You can still make this if you forget to take the roast out of the freezer!
Do You Need to Braise the Roast First?
You can but… I have browned the roast in a skillet before putting it in the slow cooker and I discovered that braising this meat is not necessary. It comes out just as good either way. There is no need to dirty a skillet! It also saves valuable time in the morning when I am trying to get out the door to go to work, or when I was trying to get the kids off to school.
If you want to braise it then heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil and brown each side of the roast before placing it in the crock pot.
Can You Add More Than Salt & Pepper?
Absolutely! We like the flavor of the meat so we just add salt and pepper. You could add fresh herbs, garlic powder, steak seasoning, worcestershire sauce, or red wine if you want to add extra flavor.
Tips & Tricks
- You need about a half pound of roast per person. More for larger appetites and less for smaller appetites and young kids.
- You can certainly double this and cook two roasts in one crock pot if you have the oval crock pot. I make this for Christmas dinner and I put the roasts one on top of the other and you DO NOT have to increase the cook time.
- I use a fat separating measuring cup. You do not have to have one of these, I made this dish for many years without one. You just skim the fat off the top of the liquid. And you will be using most if not all of the liquid, so you don’t have to spend too much time making it perfect. You could strain the liquid, but I do not. I love the flavor that I get in the gravy when I don’t strain it. I will take out large chunks of meat or fat if there are any.
- It does not matter if you cook it on low for a longer amount of time or high for a shorter amount of time, it comes out pretty much the same either way. The amount of time we have dictates whether we cook on low or high. I have also cooked this for over 9 hours (because that is how long my work day is) and it came out great.
What to Make With Leftover Roast Beef
Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches – warm beef in the microwave or wrapped in aluminum foil in a 350° oven. Warm leftover gravy in the microwave or in a small skillet or saucepan. Serve with bread and mashed potatoes.
Shredded Beef Tacos – we warm the beef up in a saucepan with a little water, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. We serve it on corn tortillas and we top them with cheese, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
Beef & Cheese Quesadillas – place a flour tortilla in a skillet, put a layer of cheese, beef, more cheese and top with another tortilla. Cook until cheese melts, beef is warm and tortilla browns, then flip over and brown the other side. If using a skillet that isn’t non-stick then spray with cooking spray first. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.
Beef & Noodles – this is Lee’s most favorite way to eat our leftover slow cooker roast beef.
More Slow Cooker Recipes:
For a complete meal serve Crock Pot Roast Beef & Brown Gravy with mashed potatoes and my easy pan fried green beans.
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Crock Pot Roast Beef & Brown Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 chuck pot roast 2 1/2 – 3 pounds
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons flour for the gravy
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Instructions
How to make the roast beef:
- Season the roast on both sides with salt and pepper. Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of the crock pot and then put the roast in, cover and cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
- Transfer roast to a platter. cover with foil and keep warm in the oven at 200°.
How to make the brown gravy:
- Pour the juice into a measuring cup and let the fat rise to the top. Skim the fat off the top and add it to a skillet, you will be adding the rest of the juice, so it doesn't have to be exact. Over medium-heat add flour and whisk while it cooks, for about a minute. It will be sort of like a paste. Pour the rest of the liquid in and whisk until all of the lumps come out. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Thank you for a delicious recipe and for confirming that it makes no difference whether you sear or not. I also have tried it both ways and it didn’t make it any better to sear, but if somebody wants to, then sear away!
Thanks for commenting, I am so glad you liked it!
I do sear my meat first in skillet and add onion and a couple beef buollion cubes, cook my roast in oven and only add water, plus carrots and cut up potatoes with skin on them, sear roast in olive oil, do not have dutch over so use a deep baking dish.
I like mashed potatoes and brown gravy, and we usually make these green beans (https://www.mindyscookingobsession.com/super-easy-pan-fried-fresh-green-beans/) with ours. Your sounds good, but very different. Thanks for stopping by!
I am going to try this recipe on Sunday. If I double the meat, do I also double the water? So 2 cups instead of 1?! Advice would be so appreciated!!!
If you want double the gravy then doubling the water is a good idea. You can still add water to the juice if you don’t end up with 4 cups of meat juice to make the double batch of gravy. Occasionally I have had to do this and it still comes out silky and flavorful. I hope this helps.
Thank you! I accidentally posted the same question twice, I’m sorry! Thanks for the quick response!
That’s okay, I just deleted it. You are welcome!
Why don’t you seer the beed before putting it into the crockpot?
I have tried it both ways and find that seering it doesn’t add any flavor. I have even put my roast in the crockpot frozen and it came out great. I like to save time and the space in my dishwasher. I try to make cooking as quick and easy as possible most of the time. Thanks!
Wow. So easy so very good. Have to find a fat separating measuring cup. Love my crock pot and your recipe. Thanks
I am so glad you liked it, it is one of our favorites. The fat separating measuring cup is a good investment. Thanks for commenting!
I want to add potatoes and carrots. What do you suggest?
You could just add them in on top of the roast, and then take them out with a slotted spoon when it is done. The cooking time should still be the same. You can still make the gravy, it will just have a little of the potato and carrot flavor (I am guessing). I think it will still be yummy!
What about adding a onion in with the roast? And if I do will this be a problem with making the gravy?
I have not done that, you could give it a try. It probably will just be a subtle onion flavor, and I think that would give the gravy good flavor. Let me know if you do it and how it turns out.
Put the onion in whole with a toothpick or 2 to hold it together. When ready to make the gravy just lift the onion out.
Beef it’s what’s for dinner! There are few things in this world that we care for as much as slow cooked meats. Happy Thanksgiving!
Right? We love beef at our house. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ooh my hubby loves beef, he would love this meal. Thanks for sharing
This is very meaty too, since you don’t add anything to take away from the taste of the roast.
Gravy and mashed potatoes. You are speaking to my soul!
Mashed potatoes are my favorite, I would literally eat them every night!
This is one of my all time favorites. I have such good memories of going to my grandma’s house for Sunday dinner when I was a kid. This is one of our family favorites too. Thank you so much for you so much for posting this.
Your welcome! It is one of my favorites as well. Oddly, one of my kids doesn’t really like it and one loves it! Thanks for stopping by!