Instant Pot Pot Roast-- A Sunday dinner-worthy meal made in about an hour thanks to the Instant Pot and just a handful of ingredients.
Instant Pot Pot Roast is one of my favorite things to make in my Instant Pot. I am admittedly unorganized when it comes to meal planning and traditional pot roast is something that just NEEDS planning.
With the Instant Pot, I can make an amazing fall-apart tender roast in just over an hour. Sure, I have to remember to pull it out of the freezer with ample time to thaw but it's a huge improvement over the 8 hours it takes to cook in the slow cooker!
I named this Instant Pot Pot Roast "Tavern Style" because this recipe calls for cooking the roast in beer. I personally don't drink, but I LOVE to cook with alcohol because of the amazing flavor it can give. In this case, the beer lends a deep, rich flavor to the beef that you just can't get with other ingredients.
And the gravy? It get's made with the cooking liquids right in the Instant Pot after the roast is done, thanks to a short-cut ingredient and is rich and so, so flavorful.
Tips for Instant Pot Pot Roast:
- About choosing a roast-- My two favorites for pot roast are the Chuck Roast (sometimes called Chuck Roll) and Bottom Round (sometimes called Rump Roast). Both have good marbling, making for a flavorful roast, and are reasonably priced.
- If you're short on time you can cut the roast into small chunks, making the overall cooking time shorter. Refer to your Pressure Cooker manual for exact cooking times.
- Alternative cooking liquids-- If you're on the fence about using beer I urge you to give it a try as it's just too good to pass up. But if you'd rather not or don't have any on hand, beef broth can be used in substitution as can red wine. Both broth and wine will give the finished recipe its own taste but will work well with the other ingredients.
More Tips For Making Instant Pot Pot Roast:
- Adding Vegetables-- I like to serve this over mashed potatoes so I don't typically add potatoes to this roast but if you'd like to, potatoes, parsnips, and celery all work well in this recipe. Just cut them into pieces and add to the pot with the carrots.
- Don't have an Instant Pot? No Problem! This recipe can easily be made in the slow cooker. Follow the recipe as written, except heat the oil in a large pan and brown the roast on the stovetop, adding the onions and flour to the pan as written. Transfer the browned roast and onions to the slow cooker, making sure to scrape the pan for all the flour and juices. Pour the beer, beef broth and carrots over the roast and cook on low until roast is tender. Continue to follow the recipe as written, using the slow cooker to make the gravy. If needed you can cover the slow cooker to bring it back up to a simmer before stirring in the cream and gravy mix.
Want More Instant Pot Recipes?
- BBQ Ribs made in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
- Lentil Soup made in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup
Tools used for this Instant Pot Pot Roast:
- Instant Pot: This is the model that I have and LOVE. It’s been with me for over a year and I’ve definitely put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
- Better Than Boullion: I use a lot of chicken/beef/vegetable broth in my recipes because it adds such nice flavor but I don’t love keeping cans or cartons of it in my pantry. For this reason (and more) I use this broth base anytime I call for broth in my recipes. It only takes 1 teaspoon of the base to make 1 cup of flavorful broth and can be stored for quite a while in the refrigerator.
- Creamy Mash: I'm all about quick and easy, and these mashed potatoes are our favorite when I don't have the time to make them homemade.
- OXO Mini Whisk: Sometimes you just need more than a fork to mix up small amounts! I love this whisk because it's the perfect size to mix in small bowls, cups or even saucepans. It's perfect for making gravy!
Instant Pot Pot Roast (Tavern Style)
A Sunday dinner-worthy meal made in about an hour thanks to the Instant Pot and just a handful of ingredients.
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Servings: 4 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil canola or vegetable
- 3 pound beef roast chuck or rump are my favorites
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 whole large onion thinly sliced
- 24 ounces beer your favorite
- 1 cup beef broth
- 4 carrots peeled and cut into chunks
- ¼ cup or 1 packet brown gravy mix I like McCormick brand
- ¼ cup cream
- french fried onions and parsley to serve
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot on "Saute" mode and allow to heat until the display reads "HOT".
- Meanwhile, combine flour salt and pepper in a large bowl and place beef into the seasoned flour, coating the entire roast. Reserve remaining flour.
- Add oil to the Instant Pot, heat until it shimmers, and add roast to the pan, cooking until it's browned on all sides. Add remaining flour to the pot, followed by the onions. Stir to combine and cook until onions start to become tender and flour starts to brown.
- Pour the beer and beef broth over the meat and onions, followed by the carrots. Stir to combine and place lid on the Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant Pot to cook for 65 minutes (for a 3 lb roast) more or less depending on how large your roast is. Follow the cooking time recommendations in your manual for best results. Allow the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally or wait at least 10 minutes before doing a manual release.
- Remove roast from the post and place on a cutting board. Set aside.
- Combine gravy mix with cream and whisk until combined. Slowly whisk gravy mixture into the juices in the pot and bring to a simmer to thicken.
- Cut meat into smaller portions and place back into the gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes, pasta or rice and top with french fried onions and chopped fresh parsley.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 922 kcal | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Protein: 69 g | Fat: 55 g | Saturated Fat: 21 g | Cholesterol: 255 mg | Sodium: 1508 mg | Potassium: 1430 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 3 g | Vitamin A: 10455 IU | Vitamin C: 3.6 mg | Calcium: 98 mg | Iron: 8.1 mg
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Jess R says
Recipe doesn’t say what settings for pressure cooking portion, what should it be set at?
Michelle says
This recipe came out perfect. Roast was melt in your mouth and the gravy plentiful. I used IPA that i had in the frig which made it a bit bitter although when i added salt it was fine. Next think I'll use a porter.
Robert says
Absolutely fantastic recipe! Worked just fine for me! I used Guinness for the beer because I absolutely love the Guinness gravy from the Irish pubs! Meat was very tender, carrots soft, everything came out wonderful!
Lee B-D says
Should the pressure be set to low?
Amanda says
What a nightmare - I wish I had read the reviews before I made this. BURN notice twice. Had to resort to dumping everything into a pan on the stove.
Omit the flour.
Clayton says
I was just curious how to do the bit with adding the onions and flour. I ended up taking out my roast, adding in the onions and flour, saute-ing for a bit, then adding back the roast and other stuffs. I wasn't sure how they would get tender sitting on top of the roast unless the roast is like sideways.
Jenny says
Wow what a disaster! I’m with Jessica’s review. The flour was a horrible addition. I had to deglaze the bottom of the pot three times because I kept getting a burn message each time I tried to pressure cook my meat. I finally ended up adding an additional cup of water to try and thin out the sauce and that did allowed the instant pot to do it’s thing. In the end the meat and sauce were not very flavorful and the headache of the having to stop and reset the pot 3 times was not worth it. I think the addition of the extra flour is what really caused the chaos because the sauce was just too thick to cook properly. Would not cook again.
Robyn says
What kind of “cream” is used in this recipe? Heavy cream or sour cream? Thanks
Heather Cheney says
Heavy Cream
Jessica True says
DO NOT use an INSTANT POT with this recipe!! The meat didn't cook at all and I cooked it TWICE!! I later read in the manual, "Do not try to thicken the sauce before cooking. Corn starch, flour or arrow-root may deposit on the bottom of the inner pot and block heat dissipation. As a result, the pressure cooker may overheat." Wow. Please don't put recipes on the internet that you haven't tried yourself. Bummed.
Heather Cheney says
Hi Jessica, I'm so sorry it didn't work for you. I've personally made this recipe several times in my Instant pot without any problems and had it turn out fabulous. It sounds like your pot didn't come to pressure. Did you get the "BURN" or "ovHT" error as that's what happens when it's overheating and I've never had that problem.
Stacy says
Jessica this recipe works fine. Today I’m making it for the 8th time this year. My Instant Pot and the subsequent stew are great.
I used Black & Tan Porter because it was on sale and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Guinness is to bitter for my palate. The only addition I made was 1.5 T. of Brown Sugar mixed into the gravy mix and cream because the Porter is still just a touch harsh, but that’s just me, I like my beer like water, Miller Lite, etc.
Fantastic with Mashed Potatoes or Egg Noodles. Peace
Misty says
I was wondering what type of beer I should be looking for? I typically have Belgium white beer.
Cynthia Rau says
Is the recipe correct with 2 beers and broth? Sounds like a lot of liquid I plan to try it this week, just want to be sure! Thanks
Heather Cheney says
Yep, that's right! The extra liquid makes plenty of gravy. 🙂