Instant Pot Pot Roast
Pot roast used to mean the whole afternoon: the big enamel pot in by one o'clock if you wanted supper by six. The electric pressure cooker does the same job in about two hours, and it does it properly — beef you can pull apart with a spoon, gravy that tastes like it took all day. Your granny would have eyed the hissing valve with deep suspicion, then claimed the machine as her own within the week.
The trick nobody tells you: cut the chuck in two. A whole roast cooks unevenly under pressure — ragged on the outside, stubborn in the middle. Two pieces of about 700 g each cook evenly in 65 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural release so the meat settles instead of seizing. And after browning, scrape the pot bottom clean as a whistle, or the machine will sulk and flash its burn warning at you.
The vegetables get their own short turn under pressure once the beef comes out — 4 minutes, not 65. They cook in the beefy gravy and arrive at the table tender but still recognisably potatoes and carrots, which is more than can be said for most pressure cooker pot roasts.
Instant Pot Pot Roast
Fall-apart chuck with proper gravy from the electric pressure cooker — Sunday pot roast in about two hours.
Tap + or − to scale every ingredient
Ingredients
Tick each one off as you go.
- 1.5 kg beef chuck roast (about 3 lb 5 oz), cut into two even pieces
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, cut into thick wedges
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 tbsp tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 400 ml beef stock (about 1 2/3 cups)
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 900 g potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 450 g carrots, peeled and cut into 5 cm (2 in) lengths
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Method
- Brown. Pat the beef dry and season it well all over with salt and pepper. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté and let it get properly hot before the oil goes in. Brown the two pieces of chuck hard on every side, about 4 minutes a side, working one piece at a time. Lift them out onto a plate. This is where the flavour comes from — do not rush it.
- Deglaze. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and soften for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomato puree. Pour in the stock and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon until every last stuck-on brown bit lifts off. Be thorough — anything left behind will trigger the burn warning once the lid is on.
- Pressure cook. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves, then settle the beef back into the pot with any juices from the plate. Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing and cook on high pressure for 65 minutes. When it beeps, leave it be for a 15-minute natural release before opening the valve — a quick release makes the meat seize.
- Cook veg. Lift the beef onto a warm platter and cover it loosely with foil. Add the potatoes and carrots to the cooking liquid, lock the lid again and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, then quick release. Scoop the vegetables out and tuck them around the beef.
- Thicken. Fish out the bay leaves and set the pot to Sauté. Once the liquid bubbles, stir in the cornflour slurry and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns into a glossy gravy. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Pull the beef apart with two forks or slice it thickly against the grain — it should give without argument. If a fork meets any resistance, it needs longer, not less. Pour a good ladle of gravy over the meat and vegetables and take the rest to the table in a jug.
If the beef puts up any fight against a fork when the lid comes off, it simply is not done. Lock the lid back on and give it 10 more minutes at high pressure — tough chuck is undercooked chuck, every time.
Tips for fall-apart pot roast
Cut the roast in two
A whole 1.5 kg roast cooks unevenly under pressure — the outside falls apart while the centre holds out. Two chunky pieces cook through at the same rate, and you get more browned crust into the bargain.
Deglaze like you mean it
After browning, scrape the pot bottom until your spoon glides clean. Stuck-on fond is flavour, but it is also exactly what triggers the dreaded burn error once the pot comes to pressure. Get every bit up into the stock.
Thicken at the end, never before
Cornflour or flour added before pressure cooking settles, catches and burns. Cook with thin liquid, then stir the slurry in on Sauté at the very end — two minutes of bubbling and you have a proper glossy gravy.
Questions, answered
How long does pot roast take in the Instant Pot?
For a 1.4 to 1.6 kg chuck roast cut into two pieces, 65 minutes at high pressure with a 15-minute natural release is the sweet spot. The full job, browning and vegetables included, comes in around two hours. Leave the roast whole and the outside shreds while the middle stays stubborn — always cut it in two.
Why is my Instant Pot pot roast tough?
It is not overcooked — it is undercooked. Chuck goes through a tough stage before the collagen melts, so if it will not shred, lock the lid back on and give it another 10 to 15 minutes at high pressure. And never skip the natural release: a quick release makes the meat seize and turn dry.
Can I cook the potatoes and carrots with the beef?
Not unless you like mush. Sixty-five minutes under pressure turns vegetables to baby food. Cook the beef first, lift it out, then give the vegetables their own 4-minute cycle in the gravy — they come out tender and whole, and it only adds a few minutes to the day.
Can I cook a frozen roast in the Instant Pot?
At a pinch, yes — unlike a slow cooker, a pressure cooker moves it through the danger zone quickly, so it is safe. But you cannot brown a frozen roast, and browning is where the flavour lives. If you must, skip the browning and add about 20 minutes to the pressure time. Thaw it if you possibly can.
What is the best cut for pot roast?
Chuck roast, no contest. It is marbled with fat and collagen that melt into gelatine under pressure. Brisket or bolar blade will do at a push, but lean cuts like topside or eye of round come out dry and disappointing no matter how carefully you treat them.