Balsamic vinegar, caramelized onions, and plenty of other veggies make this tender pot roast unbelievably flavorful and the ultimate easiest weeknight winter dinner!
The coziest of the comfort food is officially here.
Can you even blame me? Guys, it’s COLD outside and literally all I want to do is curl up under 55 fleece blankets with my vanilla latte and a bowl of this cozy pot roast close nearby.
Oh, wait. It’s finals week. Scratch everything about those awesome plans, except the XL latte and the XL bowl of pot roast until next week I guess…
I don’t know about you guys, but the weeks leading up to the end of the year are absolutely nuts for me, mostly because of said finals. So easy dinners do their duty HEAVY right now.
And I’m obviously very sad about that over here. ??
Okay, we’re talking best-ever, coziest-ever pot roast now, guys! I don’t know about you, but when I need an easy, throw-together-WAY-ahead-of-time-and-then-forget-about dinner, I almost always turn to pot roast.
I’ve tried lots of different pot roast recipes over the course of the MANY Wisconsin winters I’ve endured, and this one is by far my fav. It’s not complicated or super-gourmet.—just your homey, basic, cozy pot roast that we all grew up eating.
This pot roast is easily one of the most deeply flavored ones I’ve ever had. I bump up the flavor into overdrive by letting the beef roast, potatoes, and carrots cook nice and slow in an ultra-flavorful balsamic sauce along with a few sprigs of fresh herbs
Pssssssst…in a pinch if you don’t have any balsamic vinegar you can use red wine instead and this pot roast will come out awesome. <<< I’ve tried it both ways and they’re both amazing.
Our job isn’t done yet! The culmination of cozy flavors is a big ‘ol onion all caramelized into perfection.
A little bit of flour goes into the juices collected in your crockpot to make everything thick and creamy, then nestle those pretty onions right into all the cozy food glory.
I’m hardly even breathing right now, FYI…???
I’m also 100% certain as to what YOU’RE making for dinner tonight. ^^^
Balsamic Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions + Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 2 lbs beef chuck roast
- 1 lb russet potatoes quartered
- 1 lb carrots cut into 2-in cubes
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Place chuck roast, potatoes, and carrots in a 4-qt slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, broth, Dijon, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over beef roast and arrange garlic cloves, thyme, and rosemary on top.
- Cook pot roast on low 7-8 hours until beef is fall-apart tender and vegetables are tender. Remove 1 cup liquid and whisk flour into liquid. Return all to crockpot and keep warm.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, caramelize onion in vegetable oil, stirring occasionally until onions are a deep golden brown. Spoon over pot roast and serve pot roast warm. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Make sure you try this Italian-style pot roast next!!
Kathryn Mader says
Looks like you aced this one! I have made pot roast with balsamic vinegar before and it was out of this world. Your pictures are ultra appealing. Good luck on finals! How many more semesters do you have? And thank you for sharing this recipe. Merry Christmas!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
I’m all about cold weather food right now, and a big bowl of this looks like comfort food perfection! I definitely want to dig into this, Sarah! So delish.
Manali@CookWithManali says
This is the perfect cozy dinner!! sounds so comforting! love the potatoes, yum!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Pot roast has always been my favorite comfort food, it reminds me of my Grandma! This balsamic version looks amazing, Sarah! Love those caramelized onions in here!
Mary says
This looks delicious! Great winter dish
Kelly says
It’s been SO cold here and we got our first big snowfall so comfort food is definitely in order! This gorgeous roast looks perfectly juicy and flavorful!! Loving the balsamic vinegar!
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado says
This is comfort food to the max! I just want a big bowl of this incredible pot roast and watch all the Christmas movies!
Amanda says
This is just what I crave when it gets cold! Those potatoes look perfect.
Kathryn Mader says
Hi Sarah, I’m about to make this pot roast. How did you get your meat to look so browned and crusty? Did you brown it before you put it in the slow cooker? I don’t own a slow cooker so am not familiar with how things brown in one. Thanks!
Sarah says
Hey Kathryn! No, there’s no need to brown the meat beforehand. The crockpot does it all for you!
Kathryn Mader says
Thanks, Sarah. I did mine in a Le Creuset pot. It’s so good. But my meat and vegetables didn’t brown. I wound up broiling the potatoes and carrots just to get the browned stuff. Hmm, wonder what I could do differently. I did cook it in a very slow oven.
Sarah says
I think the difference is that it wasn’t cooked in a crockpot for long enough—that’s what makes the meat and veggies brown nicely. 🙂
Kathryn Mader says
I cooked it for a loooong time, like 10 hours. The meat was succulent and the carrots were especially delish. What brand crockpot do you have?
Lance Nord says
Great pot roast recipe. You may want to consider adding some soy sauce to your onions when the onions are close to being finished. It adds a complex salty taste that can’t be beat.
Rachael says
If I am running short on time, do you think this would be okay cooked on high for 4 hours in the crock pot instead of 8 on low?
Sarah says
Hi Rachael! The beef might be a little less tender than it would if it cooked longer, but yes! 4 hours would work fine.
Denise Franken says
HEllo, Any reason you don’t put the onions in with the roast? I feel like it would be nice to have the dinner completely done after work rather than carmelizing the onions separately?
Sarah says
Hi Denise. I found that it’s difficult to get proper caramelization on the onions by cooking them with the roast so that’s why I chose to cook them separately. You can certainly add them in with the roast, but I can’t promise they’ll turn out like the original recipe.