by Texas Homesteader ~ 

I use a 6-quart electric pressure cooker to easily make the ultimate comfort food. Moist, tender pot roast. 

This savory roast and plentiful brown gravy is made simple using the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Fast, delicious, perfect! 

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Pot Roast Is A Simple Instant Pot Meal

It’s easy to make a pot roast with lots of gravy in an electric pressure cooker. I like to serve garden-fresh green beans and cheesy mashed potatoes as sides.

What Type of Roast To Use For Pressure Cooking?

Chuck roast is typically the most popular pot roast choice. We used a 3-lb arm roast for our pot roast meal.

I often use roasts from the wild hogs RancherMan hunts. But any marbled roast is preferred for the most tender, flavorful result.

How Do You Season A Pot Roast?

The savory herbs & spices I like to use for pot roast are:

• • • Rosemary 

    • Thyme 

    • Salt & black pepper

    • Onion powder

    • Garlic powder

I combine everything and season the meat by rubbing the mixture onto all surfaces of the meat.

How Do You Sear A Roast?

It’s recommended to sear the roast to help seal in the juices. You’ll use a bit of oil and high heat to brown each surface of the meat.

I add a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease into the Instant Pot and hit ‘sauté’ on high heat. After the fat melts I place the roast inside.

Using heavy tongs I hold each surface of the meat to the hot surface. I turn the roast after about 2-3 minutes on each side until all surfaces are seared.

Then I remove the roast and set it aside.  

Deglazing the Pressure Cooker Pan & Sautéing Onions

The seared roast will leave some bits of seasoning stuck to the bottom of the pot so you need to deglaze the pot. Set the pot to ‘saute‘ and add another tablespoon of bacon grease. When it melts add the chopped onion.

With a wooden spatula scrape the bottom of the pot to dislodge any stuck on bits. Add the minced garlic &  Worcestershire sauce & continue deglazing. Then turn off the IP.

Cooking Roast In A Pressure Cooker

Place the seared roast on a long-handled wire rack and lower it into the pot on top of the onions.

Pour broth and red wine over the meat, place the lid on top of the pressure cooker & flip the lever to ‘sealing’.

Then ‘Pressure Cook’ on high pressure according to the size of your roast:

60 minutes for a 3-lb roast.

70 minutes for a 4-lb roast

80 minutes for a 5-lb roast.

The USDA Recommends an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F. (Medium pink center) for a roast. I prefer to cook it to 160 (well done, no pink) for my roast. The USDA reference link is at the bottom of this post.

When the timer goes off allow the roast to sit undisturbed for 15 minutes. Then do a quick release to finish dropping the pressure.

Move the roast to a cutting board and allow it to rest. (The USDA suggests a 3 minute rest time) 

How To Thicken Pot Roast Juice To Make Gravy

To thicken the juices into gravy I combine equal parts of cornstarch and water, add it to the IP & press sauté on high heat. 

Then I add a small packet of brown gravy mix and give it all a stir. It thickens up nicely!

Carving A Tender Pressure-Cooked Roast

Our roast was fall-apart tender. RancherMan carved it in 1″- 2″ chunks. But most of the roast actually ended up being shredded from the sheer tenderness of it!

When the roast was carved he added the meat back into the thickened gravy.

Be sure to scrape all the small bits from the cutting board into the gravy – it’s all good! 

What To Serve With Pot Roast?

Here are a few options of sides to serve with your pot roast:

Rosemary Rice – Especially if you have fresh rosemary

Roasted Vegetable Medley – Caramelized to perfection

Mashed Potatoes or Potato Cakes – Hard to go wrong with potatoes & roast!

Sauteed Garden Vegetables – Healthy goodness from the garden

Green Bean Casserole – Comfort food at its finest

Okra Fritters – Minced okra & onions mixed in a cornmeal batter & lightly fried 

You can see all our favorite sides by clicking the button below:

Did you make this Instant Pot Roast? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!

5 from 1 vote

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Instant Pot Roast With Onion Gravy

This recipe uses a 6-quart Instant Pot & 3-5 lb roast. Make sure the cut of meat is adequately marbled to assure a juicy, tender result. Depending upon the size of the roast, it may take almost 2 hours start to finish when you factor in the instant pot coming to pressure, the cook time and the cool down time & finish, but only a fraction of that is hand-on time. #TexasHomesteader

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword gravy, instant pot, onions, pot roast, pressure cooker

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Natural Release Time 15 minutes

Servings 5 people

Author TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 3-5 lb Roast, either Beef Chuck or Arm Roast (I often use pork roast instead)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp bacon grease, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into thick cubes (about 2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup Unsalted broth
• ½ cup dry red wine I had Merlot so that's what I used
• ¼ cup cornstarch + 1/4 cup water mixed into a slurry
• 1 1-oz pkt beef gravy mix

Instructions

Instructions:

1. Rub all surfaces of the roast with a mixture of 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon each salt, thyme, rosemary, onion powder and garlic powder

2. Add 2 Tablespoons bacon grease to 6-qt Instant Pot and hit “Sauté” on high heat. Allow the grease to melt, then sear the seasoned roast in the grease for about 3-4 mins on each side. Remove the roast when seared and set aside.

3. To deglaze the bottom of the pot, add 1 tablespoon bacon grease & scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden utensil. Add 2 cups chopped onions, continuing to deglaze the pot as they sauté. Cook for 2 minutes, then add 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Cook and stir for another 2-3 minutes while deglazing.

4. Place the roast fat-side up on a handled trivet and lower it into the pot on top of the onions with the handles facing up. Pour ½ cup red wine and 1 cup of broth over the meat.

5. Secure the lid and then press “Pressure Cook” on high pressure for 60 minutes for 3 lb roast, or 70 minutes minutes for a 4 lb roast, or 80 minutes for a 5 lb roast. When the time is up, allow the roast to sit undisturbed for 15 minutes. Then finish reducing pressure using the quick release method.

6. Remove the lid carefully and check temperature of meat. Internal temperature should be between 145 degrees F. (medium, warm pink center) to 160 degrees F. (well done, little or no pink)

   Remove the roast, placing it on a cutting board and allowing it to rest while you make the gravy

7. Press “Sauté” on high heat and allow the juice to a bubble. Add the cornstarch slurry while stirring. Finally add the packet of gravy mix and stir. Allow to simmer for one minute and then turn the pot off.

8. Slice the pot roast against the grain in chunks of about 1" - 2". Add the meat to the gravy and allow it rest for a few moments to soak it in.

Recipe Notes

Note: This makes lots of gravy. So plan the meal around using every delicious drop! I like to make garlic/cheesy mashed potatoes so we can add gravy liberally and enjoy that gravy fully.

~TxH~

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