My mom used to be the queen of perfect Sunday roasts. But for some reason, it’s taken me over 20 years to figure out how to get my roast to fall apart and taste delicious. Today I’ll share what I’ve learned about making beef roast in the Instant Pot. Aha! Now we’re on to something.
After years of trial and error, I finally learned to make a Melt–in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast in the Crock Pot. This is all well and good except for the days I don’t have 12 hours to wait for my beef roast to cook to perfection. A recent Sunday morning, “What can I make for lunch before we leave for church in ten minutes?!” panic led me to investigate how to make a beef roast in my Instant Pot.
Wait. You don’t have an Instant Pot? Trust me. I understand. It took me years of hearing about them to get on the Insta-Train. Now that I’m on board, I’m declaring it to be one of my favorite appliances. Is an Instant Pot worth your investment? I give an emphatic, “Absolutely!” (I have this one.)
So anyway, back to my pot roast. I discovered that there are many Instant Pot roast-making instructions out there. But I have to admit what you already know about me: I really do not like recipes that instruct me to take several steps before walking away from my food to let it cook. After all, what good is using a Crock Pot or Instant Pot if I have to spend 30 or more minutes prepping the food?
Therefore, while most recipes I found instructed that I sear both sides of the roast and sing it a lullaby before allowing the Instant Pot to work its magic, I decided to do what I do best: Throw the food into the pot, turn it on, and walk away. After all, I don’t have time to sear meat on a Sunday morning, nor am I interested in going to church smelling like caramelized onion. And all my fellow worshipers said amen.
I figured the worst that might happen if I took a few shortcuts is that my roast would be mediocre, something my family has dealt with for most of my roast-making life. This is why God invented gravy.
So into the Instant Pot went the roast. I dumped on some sea salt, worchestershire sauce, water, onion, and carrots. We went to church and came home to this:
The meat fell apart. The flavor was incredible. Continue to sear your roast if you must, but as for me and my house, I will continue to throw in the food and let the appliances do the work.
The Easiest Way to Make Beef Roast in the Instant Pot
- 3 pound beef roast
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 medium-sized onion
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 5-8 medium-sized carrots
- 1 cup water
- Place roast on the metal trivet in your Instant Pot.
- Pour 1 cup water into the bottom of the pot.
- Cut onion into fourths and place in the pot.
- Peel carrots, cut them in half, then place them on the roast.
- Salt liberally, pepper as you like.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and seal it.
- Cook it at High Pressure, Manual Setting, for 70 minutes.
- I do natural release as I'm usually still at church during this time.
- Shred meat and serve!
Add 3ish pounds of scrubbed and cut potatoes to the pot if you like. :)
Be on the lookout for a tutorial on making Roast Gravy.
Am I the only one who has struggled to make a good pot roast? Here’s hoping this recipe solves all your roast-making issues!
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How long would you cook it if your roast is frozen?
Same question here. I never have thawed meat when needed ;)
I’d add an additional 20 minutes to the cook time, so 1.5 hours (90 minutes) total.
I’d add an additional 20 minutes to the cook time, so 1.5 hours (90 minutes) total. :)
I need to make this! Yum.
Do you just pour the Worcestershire sauce on top of the roast before cooking?
The cut of meat must make a difference, too. What cut did you use? Anxious to give it a try sans searing :-)
I have a variety of cuts in my freezer because we buy 1/2 cow at a time. But I think for what’s shown in the picture here is a chuck roast. :)
Yep, just dump it on! :)
You are not alone!!! I have struggled with this for over 20 years as well! Every once in a while I’ll have success. But I always thought it was just the actual cut of meat. I just bought 2 Chuck tender roasts today. I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!