BEST Crock Pot Roast Recipe (Your Family Will Thank You!)

This Crock Pot Roast (without Cream soup) recipe is absolutely delicious. Try this best ever pot roast recipe – your family will thank you!

Best Crock Pot Roast Recipe

This is my all-time-absolute-best-slow-cooker-pot-roast-on-the-planet recipe, and if you haven't tried it yet you've got to add it to your menu plan this week!   

I've tried way too many pot roast recipes to count. . . fairly unsuccessfully. (At least according to my not-always-impressed-with-my-penny-pinched-meals hubby.) But when I saw shoulder roasts on sale at Publix this week, I was determined to get it right, and I think I finally did!

🍽  This recipe is from Week 12 of the Slow Cooker Menu Plan – SO many good recipes with this set! 

I realized that the biggest problem with the slow cooker pot roasts that I've tried in the past has probably been the cut of meat ~ I thought that because everyone said to use a chuck roast, that was what I needed.  But I don't think think I'll ever use another chuck roast again!

I've also tried the ever famous cream-of-mushroom & Lipton soup trick over and over again, but to me the roast always tasted like a soupy cream of mushroom mess. (I know some of you may just love it, but it wasn't a favorite at our house!)  This however, was perfect.  It has that thick gravy that makes everything taste super yummy….

I started with a basic recipe from A Year Of Slow Cooking, but adapted with what I had in the pantry.  Here was my secret ingredient ~

The original crock pot recipe called for 3 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce, but when I couldn't find it in the pantry I decided this Beefy Mushroom soup might just work.

It worked, and was really, really good.  In fact, my son said it was the best recipe I've ever made and decided that we needed to pack up our slow cooker for our next family vacation.

Yup, this is my new Crock Pot Roast Winner!  I'd love to hear what you think if you try it out.

How To Cook a Roast In a Crockpot

Cooking a roast in a crock pot just takes a few steps and once you have them down you'll probably never even need to look up the recipe again!

1. Coat your roast in flour and seasonings and sear for a few minutes on each side.
2. Place in the crockpot and layer in onions, carrots and potatoes.  (Yukon gold are best if you don't want them to turn into mashed potatoes too quickly!)
3. Pour broth and soup on top
4. Cook low and slow!

Here's step by step how to make this crock pot roast recipe from start to finish:

Start by trimming the fat from your roast.  We used a shoulder roast and it turned out SO GOOD!

Mix together your flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large bag, then add your roast pieces and coat.

Brown all sides of your meat using olive oil in a large skillet.  While you are searing the meat on each side, you can go ahead and add onions into your slow cooker (browning the roast helps enhance the flavor – just a few minutes per side).

Then place the roast on top of the onions, then your broth, then your soup.  If you're adding in carrots and potatoes, you can place those on top of the roast before the liquids.

Cook for about 9 hours on low heat and serve with some fresh veggies, mashed potatoes, and (of course!) gravy.  The low heat will help the meat be super tender – a perfect home cooking comfort food meal!

Print Recipe

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients

• For the Roast:
• 2-3.5 pound roast I used a shoulder roast I'll never try any other kind because this one was so good!
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion sliced in rings
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 can Beefy Mushroom Soup *NOT* cream of mushroom
• For the Gravy:
• 2 cups broth from slow cooker
• 1/2 tbsp. beef bouillion
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp. corn starch

Instructions

• Trim all fat from roast.
• Mix together flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in large plastic bag.
• Put the roast in the bag and shake it until completely coated in flour, then brown all sides in large skillet in olive oil.
• While the meat is browning, add your onion slices to the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Put roast on top of onions, then pour beef broth and soup over top. (If you want to add carrots or potatoes, you could also put those on top.)
• Cook 9 hours on low heat in slow cooker. Serve with mashed potatoes, veggies, and (of course!) gravy.
• Gravy Directions:
• Remove 2 cups of the broth and place in saucepan over medium heat.
• Add bouillon and stir until it's completely mixed in to the broth.
• Mix together 2 tbsp. corn starch and 1/4 cup water.
• Slowly add corn starch mixture into broth, stirring constantly.
• Simmer over medium heat for one minute. Season if needed. (Ours didn't need any extra seasoning!)

How Long to Cook a Pot Roast?

When making a crock pot roast – you're usually starting with a tougher cut of meat that benefits from cooking low and slow.  Cooking times vary based on how hot your crockpot cooks – but 8-10 hours is a good time frame.  If you don't have the kind of time you need to cook low and slow – you might want to purchase a more tender cut of beef or pork like a tenderloin.

A Chuck Roast works (although like I've said it's not my favorite) – but I prefer a shoulder roast.  Cuts of meat that work well for pot roast are:

• Shoulder Roast
• Round Roast
• Brisket
• Rump Roast
• Chuck Roast

Pot Roast Vegetables

When choosing veggies to put in your crock pot with the roast – keep in mind that cooking for 9 hours will make just about anything mushy!  We love the combination of potatoes and carrots together with a roast, but you can really do any combination your family enjoys. Here are my suggestions:

Carrots – Cut them into big chunks so they won't disintegrate

Baby Carrots – You can use baby carrots but choose the thickest ones they have (not the little sticks)

Potatoes – Yukon Golds are great because they stand up better to the long cooking time.  Russet potatoes work too but consider just cutting them in half (or even leaving them whole!) if you're not planning to turn them into mashed potatoes and want more of a bite

Onions – Layer these under the roast or over top – cut them into quarters or slice into rings.  Either way they'll give the roast lots of rich flavor.

Mushrooms – You can add in mushrooms for even more yummy mushroom flavor – but I would definitely add them to the hot pan when you're searing the roast at the beginning.

I'd love to hear if you have other ways to cook your roast, but this one is our family's favorite.

Looking for more slow ways to cook a shoulder roast? Here are a few of my favorites. . .

Open Faced Roast Beef Sandwich

Slow Cooked Italian Beef Sliders