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Make this tender, flavorful Instant Pot Pot Roast with potatoes & carrots in under 2 hours! Quick and delicious comfort food perfect for Sunday dinners.
Quick and Delicious Sunday Comfort Food
Pot roast has always been a favorite Sunday dinner in our family. It’s the ultimate comfort food. Sometimes we serve it with creamy mashed potatoes on the side, other times we add carrots and potatoes right in with the roast (like with this recipe). Either way, it’s always a hit. The only problem? I’m notorious for forgetting to put the roast in the oven or slow cooker early enough. More often than I care to admit, I’ve walked in the door from church and thought, “NOO! I forgot the roast!” If you have been there too, this Instant Pot version is for you!
If you haven’t joined the Instant Pot crowd yet, now’s the time! It’s one of the most convenient tools in my kitchen. I love that I can sear the roast, sauté the onions, and pressure cook everything in the same pot. No pile of dirty pans and cleanup is a breeze. Best of all, it’s quick: from start to finish, you can have a tender, flavorful pot roast on the table in about two hours, a fraction of the usual time. The meat turns out perfectly juicy and shreds super easily. It’s every bit as good (maybe even better!) than most slow-cooker versions I’ve tried.
🩷Erica
Table of Contents
- Quick and Delicious Sunday Comfort Food
- Key Ingredients and Supplies for Instant Pot Chuck Roast
- What Cut of Beef is Best for Pot Roast?
- What Potatoes are Best?
- How to Make Pot Roast in the Instant Pot
- How Long Do I Cook a Pot Roast in an Instant Pot?
- Make it in the Crock Pot
- Instant Pot Roast Gravy
- Tips For Making the Best Pot Roast
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Roast Recipes
- Instant Pot Chuck Roast Recipe
- Pot Roast Side Dishes
Key Ingredients and Supplies for Instant Pot Chuck Roast
- Beef chuck roast: I usually do a beef chuck or a bottom round roast but any kind of roast will work. I will go into more detail on this below.
- Seasonings: For this recipe I usually keep it pretty simple with a little salt, beef broth, and some dry onion soup mix. Depending on my mood and if I want an added flavor boost, I will often add some fresh garlic, a splash of red cooking wine, a little Worcestershire sauce, or some fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme.
- Veggies: You don’t have to add vegetables to this recipe at all, but I feel like the veggies give it more of a rounded out, Sunday dinner feel. I always use onion, baby potatoes, and baby carrots or large pieces of carrot because they are all just so easy to throw in with the roast.
- Additional optional ingredients (for more flavor): For extra flavor, try adding thyme, onion pearls, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic cloves, celery stalks, fresh rosemary, or a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Instant Pot (or pressure cooker): This recipe isn’t limited to the “Instant Pot” brand. It works with any pressure cooker. Just follow the steps below using your cooker’s settings for a tender, flavorful roast.
What Cut of Beef is Best for Pot Roast?
For this recipe, we use a boneless chuck roast, but there are several different cuts of meat you can use. Choose a well-marbled cut of beef for optimal tenderness and flavor. These cuts are ideal for slow cooking and will result in a melt-in-your-mouth pot roast. Here is a list of the best cuts of meat to use for pot roast:
- Chuck roast
- Ribeye or Eye of round roast
- Brisket
- Top sirloin petite roast
- Bottom round rump roast
- Top round roast
What Potatoes are Best?
A quick note about adding potatoes – using baby potatoes is totally the way to go. They are the perfect size and they don’t get mushy. Potatoes that are peeled and cut tend to get mushy in the Instant Pot when they cook for a longer amount of time. By keeping the skin on and not cutting them, the potatoes cook thoroughly while remaining firm. If you would rather use diced potatoes, go with a waxy potato like Yukon gold potatoes, or even red potatoes. Russets will get too soggy and are better for mashing.
How to Make Pot Roast in the Instant Pot
- Pat the roast dry with paper towels and rub generously with salt; set aside.
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté, add a little oil, and sear the roast for 4–5 minutes per side until browned.
- In a large zip-top bag, toss the vegetables with olive oil and onion soup mix until evenly coated. For very soft veggies, add them now. For crisp-tender veggies, wait to add them later.
- Pour in beef broth, lock the lid, and cook on High Pressure — about 60 minutes for a 3 lb roast or 80 minutes for a 5 lb roast (see below for more sizes). Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick-release.
- For crisp-tender vegetables, quick-release 20 minutes before cook time ends, add veggies, then cook the remaining time. Allow a 10 minute natural release before venting.
- Remove the roast, shred, and serve with vegetables. For gravy, strain broth if desired, set pot to Sauté, whisk in a cornstarch slurry, and simmer 2-3 minutes until thickened.
How Long Do I Cook a Pot Roast in an Instant Pot?
Cooking time depends on the size and thickness of your roast, but a good rule of thumb is 20–25 minutes per pound on high pressure. Here is a quick guide:
- 2-pound roast: 45–50 minutes
- 3-pound roast: about 70 minutes
- 4-pound roast: 80–100 minutes
- 5-pound roast: 90 minutes to 2 hours
Always let the pressure release naturally (meaning wait to open the lid until it naturally unlocks instead of switching the venting tab to quickly release steam) for the most tender results. Don’t forget that times can vary slightly based on the shape of the meat and your Instant Pot model.
Make it in the Crock Pot
Due to convenience and saving time, I am hooked on whipping up a pot roast quickly in the Instant Pot. However, sometimes I like to take it slow and just let it cook all day. If this is the way you want to go, we have a great Crock Pot Roast recipe too – see our Slow Cooker Roast Beef and Vegetables Recipe. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you will definitely want to give the slow cooker version a try!
Instant Pot Roast Gravy
Making gravy in the Instant Pot is a breeze. The easiest method is to remove the pot roast and vegetables when they are done cooking, then switch the cook setting to “sauté”. If there aren’t enough beef drippings to make a gravy, add some beef broth. Combine a little cold water and a couple tablespoons cornstarch in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl to form a cornstarch slurry. When the drippings and broth start to simmer, whisk in the cornstarch mixture a little at a time until it becomes a gravy consistency. Simmer about three minutes, adding more beef broth to thin if needed. Add salt, black pepper, and a little garlic powder to taste.
Tips For Making the Best Pot Roast
- No Instant Pot? No Problem: Pot roasts can be made using many different cooking methods. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can try our recipes for making pot roast in the slow cooker or in the oven.
- Sear the Meat: Before pressure cooking, sear the meat on all sides in the Instant Pot using the saute function. This step adds a rich caramelized flavor to the roast and helps to lock in the juices.
- Easy Freezing: If you have leftovers, roast can easily be shredded and frozen to eat at a later date. Just remove any vegetables (potatoes and carrots don’t freeze well) and place leftover pot roast in a Ziplock bag or a freezer-safe, airtight container to freeze. When ready to reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat or add to your favorite shredded beef recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
A general guideline for Instant Pot Pot Roast is to pressure cook for 20-25 minutes per pound of meat. Here’s a quick reference:
2-pound roast: 45–50 minutes
3-pound roast: about 70 minutes
4-pound roast: 80–100 minutes
5-pound roast: 90 minutes to 2 hours
First, set the Instant Pot to sauté and add olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the pot roast to the Instant pot and sear for 4-5 minutes on each side.
It probably wasn’t cooked long enough. It is always ok to put the meat back in the Instant Pot and continue cooking. You can cook for 20 minutes at a time until it reaches your desired tenderness.
Yes, but skip the sear and add extra time. Usually 30-40 minutes more than a thawed roast of the same size.
Read Next: 27 BEST Instant Pot Recipes
More Roast Recipes
Have you tried this Instant Pot Pot Roast? I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and let me know how you liked it. And don’t forget to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸🍴
Instant Pot Chuck Roast
Video
Ingredients
- 3-5 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon salt, (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups beef broth, *can use gluten-free beef broth
- 1 packet dry onion soup mix, *can use gluten-free onion soup mix
- 1 onion, white or yellow, quartered
- 1 pound baby potatoes, (see notes above)
- 1 cup cut carrots, (baby carrots work too)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Pat roast dry using paper towels. Generously rub roast with salt and set aside.
- Add 2 Tablespoons of oil to Instant Pot and set to "Sauté". When oil becomes hot and shimmery, add pot roast and sear for 4-5 minutes on each side.
- In a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, add vegetables, 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, and onion soup mix. Shake until vegetables become evenly coated with mix. For Soft Vegetables: Add the veggies at this point. They will become very soft after cooking for such a long time in the instant pot. They will mash very easily.For Crisp-Tender Vegetables: Wait to add vegetables until instructed below.
- Add beef broth and place lid on Instant pot with steam valve closed.
- Switch Instant Pot setting to "manual" and set for 60 minutes for a 3 pound roast and 80 minutes for a 5 pound roast on "high" pressure (see more sizes and times above). Do a natural release for at least 10 minutes, then quick release by turning the tab to vent.For Crisp-Tender Vegetables: Do a quick release 20 minutes before the cook time is over. Remove lid and add vegetables. Set time for the remaining 20 minutes, do a natural release for at least 10 minutes, then quick release by turning the tab to vent.
- Remove roast from Instant Pot, shred, and serve with vegetables.
- Use a strainer to remove any left over pieces of onion and bits from the broth in the pot (optional). Set instant pot to “saute” setting. Whisk together water and corn starch in a small bowl making a slurry. Once broth is at a simmer, whisk in corn starch mixture and bring to a boil. Boil for 2-3 minutes as the gravy thickens. Pour over the pot roast or serve on the side.
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Pot Roast Side Dishes
Because this pot roast includes potatoes and carrots, you have a full meal in just one pot! You can even serve it all on one big serving platter. You can never go wrong with a simple green salad, but if you are looking to add more side dishes, here are some great ideas:
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Sweet Sauteed Asparagus
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Nuts about Berries Salad
Cheesy Cauliflower
Honey Glazed Carrots
Haven’t made it yet but how do you make the gravy sauce that goes on top of the roast and potatoes in the video?
Thank you!
The easiest method is to remove the pot roast and vegetables when they are done cooking then switch the cook setting to “saute”. If there aren’t enough beef drippings to make a gravy, add some beef broth. Combine a little water and some corn starch in a liquid measuring cup to form a slurry. When the drippings and broth start to simmer, whisk in the cornstarch mixture a little at a time until it becomes a gravy consistency. Simmer about 3 minutes adding more beef broth to thin if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Great recipe! I substitute 1/2 or 1 cup of beef broth with red wine. About to make it for the 3rd time. I was so surprised the baby potatoes were perfect. I cook it for 40 minutes (meat setting).
Delicious! And super easy!!! Thank you for making me look like an amazing cook!
Can I just say what a gracious soul you are? You have handled some of these posts with such grace.
Thank you for taking the time to share a family recipe. I am planning to try it tonight just the way you have posted it. I look forward to trying it this evening.
Thank you so much! You are so kind! I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
I LOVED IT! Thank you so much! The meat turned out so tender, just like your picture! And thanks for the tip about adding the veggies 10 min before the meat finishes cooking!!! I was looking for the perfect roast recipe and I found it. I noticed you had tons of comments on your Pinterest post, that’s how I find the best recipes (: Praise Jesus for you.
We have made this once a week for three weeks now…absolutely love it…so easy, so good, so tender and makes the entire house smell like Sunday at Grandma’s house.
This was very good good. I don’t see the need for any changes to it. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your web site. I will be making many more of your recipes.
Thank you 🙂
Has anyone tried this with Venison?? My husband is a hunter and we have tons of venison roast. If so, was the cook time about the same?
I have cooked venison like a roast plenty of times in a pressure cooker. It turns out super tender and fantastic just like a chuck roast only with a different flavor.
We only use venison for red meat. I’ve cooked many roasts and they are tender as can be. Flavors are yours to control with spices if you’re choosing. This recite would be perfect.
U can take some of the roasts and grind them up for hamburger meat if you are overloaded with roasts. We always have tons of venison and ground a bunch of it.
Made this pretty much exactly at the recipe says. Only changes I made were, slightly larger roast(about 3 1/2 lbs) so I cooked it for 80min. I added celery for flavor and cut up bigger potatoes and whole carrots. It was delicious. The ONLY negative for us was that the carrots were a bit too mushy. Will make again for sure. Thank you
Will it be possible to use beef cut into cubes for this recipe? Ill just sear each and every cube on all sides?
We haven’t tried it that way, so I’m not sure how it will affect the outcome of the recipe. You definitely need to cook it for less time since the pieces are smaller. Let us know how it turns out if you do try it!
Can’t find answer on internet for my question. Can I cook roast in ip for about hour than natural release and switch to slow cook for awhile? That is when I will add the carrots.
I haven’t tried it that way before, so I can’t say. If you try it though, let us know!
My family loved this. I wish I had stopped at 60 minutes for my 3 pound roast but it was still good at 70 minutes. When it was done I dropped some butter on top of the potatoes and carrots. I added two cups of carrots for my family of 5 and they ate them all.
Has anyone done a complete natural release?
Yes I released mine naturally all the time love it 😀
Oh my! Sooo good!!! The whole family loves it! Will make this again for sure! Recipe was perfect!
Very easy an good
Oh, and meant to give my original post 5 stars!
Love this recipe thos was my firstinstantpot meal and still my favorite, the only thing I do differently now is saute the onions, add celery and 2 tablespoon of flour to my my liquid thicker.
My very first Instant Pot meal… After reading through the comments I made a few adjustments that I felt would resolve the difference in size of my roast, salt preference, and veggie doneness.
I lightly seasoned the roast with Himalayan pink salt before searing, added 7 large cloves of garlic to the pot along with the roast and I added 2 TBL of dry red wine in with the beef broth. Cooked the roast for 60 minutes, then did the natural release and added the veggies and soup mix, then cooked for an additional 18 minutes. It came out perfectly done, and the flavor was great!
My husband used Weber Roasted Herbs and Garlic to heavily season the carrots and potatoes. He cooked a 2.5lb chuck roast for 45 minutes with 15 minute natural release before venting. 10 minutes prep, an hour in the pot, and 2 minutes to make gravy from the drippings as directed above. It was by far the best roast we have ever had, hands down.
I recently purchased an Instant Pot and wanted to try it out for the first time this weekend. I tried this recipe for Instant Pot Sunday Pot Roast, and it was wonderful! I made the recipe as printed, and we loved it. I had a 2.5# chuck roast and cooked it and the vegetables for 60 minutes after sauteing the roast, and everything came out perfect for our tastes. I know some reviewers were complaining that the carrots were too mushy. Mine were very soft, but we like them that way. And making the gravy was super easy. The onion soup mix really appeals to my taste. Thanks for a great recipe! I will be making this meal often.
Hi Darcy- thank you so much for this nice comment! So glad you enjoyed this recipe enough to want to make it often. Thanks for the 5 stars!
YUMMY 😋!!!!
Since I have made this many times and enjoyed it.. I figured I should leave a thank you..
Thanks for the simple recipe… 2 1/2 pound Chuck Roast in the IP Mini at 65 minutes, 15 min to let the steam settle….. makes it perfect everytime… Although the IP mini is not that big I still fit plenty of potatoes and carrots for the Two of us.. then I add more potatoes and carrots to the juice still in the pot afterwards for 20 min Pressure cook.. works perfectly for the second go around.. 🙂
You are welcome! I’m so glad you like the recipe and thanks for sharing your tips for the Mini!
Made a very simple pot raost tonight in my instant pot, my first time using it. I actually did things a bit different than most folks do. just plunked in a 3lb. chuck roast, added 1 tbsp lawry’s seasoning salt, 1 tbsp onion powder, 2 tsp garlic powder. Also added 5 large skinned potatoes, 2 large skinned carrots, and 3/4 cup of water(so it has liquid to pressurize with). Set it to stew/meat for 35 mins, then quick release and remove veggies. Roast was done, but not tender, so it went back in for another 20 mins. Turned out tender enough that when you went at it with a fork you could pull the meat off in strings, delicious.
This was wonderful. I used the meat button and set it for an hour and 10 minutes. Left it alone until it released the pressure on it’s own. SUPER tender and moist. I was going to use it for pulled beef sandwiches but may use it just as a roast. I was a bit nervous after reading some of the reviews but it was awesome. I used Better than Bullion and a spoonful of horseradish as the cooking juice. I have never done a beef roast in the IP before.
Hi Virginia- So glad you liked this recipe! I love the idea of adding some horseradish. YUM! Thanks for sharing!