The secret behind what makes this beef pot roast so incredibly tender is low ‘n’ slow braising it in half apple cider and half beef broth.—coziest hands-off dinner EVER!
There’s just something about a good beef pot roast that just always screams WINTER IS HERE.
Oh make no mistake about it, winter has alive and well in Wisconsin for over a month now. Alive and well in the sense that the cold air hurts my face when I’m walking to an early-morning class. And that I feel the need to consume hot coffee on an hourly basis. And the fact that my oven’s currently almost always has gotta have a pot roast in it.
So I might have just made you the best beef pot roast of your life, guys. I mean it, ALL other recipes I’ve tried pale in comparison to this cozy food masterpiece. I feel the need to consume this for dinner every.dang. night.
P.S. no hating on my other collection of pot roast recipes whom I love dearly and you guys seem to enjoy too. This one today is just a little different.
Different in a really freaking good way, y’all. Here’s how. —>>
- This beef pot roast is braised in freaking APPLE CIDER and yes, it’s as amazing as appearances would suggest. I use a combo of half beef broth and half apple cider to slowly braise the beef and veggies in and the flavors are insane.
- It’s cooked SUPER SLOW for over 3 hours and don’t even try to speed up the cooking process because you won’t get good results. The secret to the most fall-apart juicy pot roast with juicy meat and soft veggies is cooking it extremely slowly so that intense flavors are formed and everything gets tender.
Really just gaze at all that tender beef goodness up there. ^^^ Like my wildest dinner dreams. ??
Don’t be afraid to heap your bowl high with this cozy dinner goodness because we waited a LONG time for this and we definitely deserve it. Still squealing over all that juicy tender-ness. ^^^ (!!!!)
Also. Leftovers would reheat fantastically in the rare astounding event that you would actually have any. But since we’ve probably accepted the fact that we won’t…shall we get this pot roast party started??
Apple Cider-Braised Beef Pot Roast
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef chuck roast, fat trimmed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup red wine or additional beef broth
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 lb peeled and 1-in cut carrots
- 1/2 lb peeled and quartered russet potatoes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large onion peeled and quartered, layers pulled apart
Instructions
- Pat chuck roast dry and season all over with salt and pepper to taste. Heat butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmery. Add roast to pan and sear 2-3 minutes on both sides until golden. Reduce heat to medium and pour beef broth, red wine, and apple cider into pot. Bring to a low simmer then remove from heat and arrange thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf next to roast. Cover roast with a lid and bake at 300F 2 hours.
- Remove roast from oven and add carrots, potatoes, garlic, and onion to pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover roast with lid and bake an additional 1 to 1-1/2 hours until veggies and pot roast is tender.
- Remove pot roast from pot and cut into large serving pieces. Serve pot roast with veggies and additional sauce from the pan. Enjoy!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
I totally agree! Pot roast is one of my favorite comfort foods and a must for when the weather gets colder. This looks fantastic, Sarah! I love that you braised this in apple cider and beef broth. I bet this has so much flavor!
Danielle says
I absolutely love pot roast! My mom used to make it all the time when we were growing up! Such a great idea to use apple cider in with it, I so need to give this a try!
ASHLEY - THE RECIPE REBEL says
I LOVE winter comfort food! It has been pretty mild here lately but this pot roast looks incredible and sounds so flavorful Sarah! Definitely a must make!
Mary says
Can this be made in a crock pot or would it lose some of the flavor?
Sarah says
Hi Mary! Yes, this could be made easily in a crockpot. Follow all the steps through searing the meat on both sides and then add the rest of your ingredients (including the veggies) to your crockpot and cook on low 4-6 hours.
Dea says
Is that supposed to be 1, two pound roast or a 12 pound roast?!
And if it is a 12 pound roast, it should feed a LOT more than 6-8 – that’s like 2 pounds of roast per person!
Sarah says
It is two pounds, Dea. Sorry for that typo!
Wendy says
Can you make in slow cooker
Sarah says
Yes! I would recommend cooking it on low 5-6 hours.
sean says
When you say cider do you mean of the alcoholic variety or not?
Jory says
Shoot – I misread the recipe and got cubed chuck roast… will I need to adjust the cooking time do you think?
Sarah says
Cubed chuck roast should work fine! I would recommend you cook the beef 1 hour (rather than 2) then add the vegetables and cook an additional 1-1.5 hours per the recipe instructions. You’ll know it’s ready when the meat falls apart easily with a fork and the vegetables are tender.
Tika says
I made this on the slow cooker setting in my instant pot. It’s DELICIOUS!! Cooked it for 6 hours. Thank you for the recipe!
Sarah says
So so happy to hear, Tika! Happy Holidays. 🙂
Sara Schultz says
Do you think this could be cooked in an instant pot with the pressure cooker setting?
Sarah says
Yes, it sure could! I would recommend first browning the roast in the butter and olive oil using the BROWN/SAUTE function of instant pot. Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook it on high pressure for about 60 minutes and allow to release steam naturally for 10 minutes.