This Crock Pot Balsamic Pot Roast leaves you with tender fall-apart meat and cooked vegetables. Carrots and potatoes are cooked with the roast for an easy one and done meal!
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Our recipe for Crock Pot Balsamic Pot Roast is an all-in-one dinner for your busy weeknight. We love to fix this meal at least once a month and enjoy leftovers within the week. The tender fall-apart meat with the carrots and potatoes are smothered in a simple balsamic glaze for a delicious meal!
Love balsamic glaze? Try our Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken or Balsamic Strawberry & Chicken Pizza recipes, too.
Crock Pot Balsamic Pot Roast Recipe
For this recipe, everything is dumped into the crock pot and cooked together for an easy dinner. Here's what you need:
- Chuck roast: The best meat for a slow cooker roast, in my opinion. Pick a nicely marbled one.
- Onion: I prefer yellow or Vidalia (sweet) over white.
- Garlic cloves: Minced. From a jar is fine.
- Beef broth: In a pinch, you can sub chicken broth.
- Balsamic vinegar: Use a good brand because this is the star of the show!
- Worcestershire: If you're on Whole30, sub with coconut aminos.
- Baby round potatoes: You can dumb these in whole if they're small, or slice them in half.
- Baby carrots: Or, regular carrots peeled cut into pieces. I like using baby carrots to skip the peeling and chopping step, but I'll admit whole carrots do taste better. Just not enough to spend more time on it.
- Salt and pepper: To flavor it up some more!
Crock Pot Pot Roast FAQ
Do you have to brown a roast before putting it in the crockpot? The answer is no. Many crock pot roast recipes instruct you to sear the meat first, which can be advantage to lock in moisture and flavor. But, for the sake of convenience and time, I do not find it necessary.
Why is my crock pot roast tough? If your crock pot roast is tough and not shredding, then it is under-cooked. Simply place the lid back on and let it cook longer until it shreds. If you cooked it for the amount of time given in the recipe, you might have a faulty crock pot.
Do you add water when cooking a roast in the crock pot? It is not necessary to add any liquid when cooking a roast in the crock pot, as the juices from the meat will lock in moisture and keep it tender. However, for this recipe, I add broth in order to add more flavor to the meat and resulting gravy.
Should meat or vegetables go in crock pot first? Through the years, I've learned it is all about preference whether you add the meat or vegetables to the crock pot first. There is no right or wrong answer. This recipe tells you to place the onions in the crock pot first, which allows sort of a venting system for the meat. The carrots and potatoes are added to the top in order to avoid mushing them from the juices and the weight of the meat.
Variations of Balsamic Crock Pot Roast
Serve over mashed potatoes. If you prefer to serve your pot roast over/with mashed potatoes, just leave out the baby potatoes and make a quick batch of mashed potatoes right before you're ready to eat.
Thicken the glaze. This recipe results in a thinner, runnier glaze when served straight from the crock pot in its simplest form. If you like a thicker glaze, transfer the juices to a saucepan and allow to simmer over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. Alternatively, you can whisk together ½ cup of juices with 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl and stir it back into the crock pot.
Whole30 compliant. To make this recipe Whole30 compliant, all you need to do is switch out the Worcestershire sauce with coconut aminos and do not use cornstarch to thicken the glaze.
Delicious bread recipes to serve with Crock Pot Roast
Print the recipe to save for later. Come back and leave a comment or star rating to let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Recipe Card
Crock Pot Balsamic Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless chuck roast
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 6 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup beef broth , or chicken broth
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 lb baby round potatoes , cut in half
- 1 lb baby carrots
- Salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Place chopped onions in slow cooker bowl. Rub all sides of the roast evenly with salt and pepper and place on top of the onions.
- Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or high for 3 to 5 hours. Remove meat from slow cooker to a serving platter and shred. Transfer potatoes and carrots to separate serving bowls. Serve with the balsamic sauce.
- OPTIONAL: To thicken the balsamic glaze, stir ½ cup of sauce with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk back into the pot. Or, transfer glaze into a saucepan and heat on low until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.
Notes
- For Whole30 compliance, substitute Worcestershire with coconut aminos.
- Can use golden potatoes cut into smaller pieces if you cannot find baby potatoes.
- Instead of baby carrots, try whole carrots cut into smaller pieces.
- For additional flavor, try adding 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. (This is not Whole 30 compliant.)
Nutrition
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