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Here is my go to roast beef and gravy recipe that is fall apart tender, extremely flavorful and always gets rave reviews whenever I serve it to guests.
I love this meal for so many reasons, but at the top of the list is that it only takes minutes to prepare and the slow cooker does all the work for you! I typically serve this alongside baked sweet potatoes, cooked greens and cauliflower mash for that ultimate comfort food meal.
Balsamic vinegar (I love THIS brand) is one of my often used secret ingredients in my recipe creations. It brings such a nice added depth of flavor to many dishes. Balsamic is definitely the secret ingredient in this crockpot roast beef that I think makes it go from good to amazing 🙂
Little tip: If the roast is still tough after the cooking time, it means it’s not done yet! You will know your roast is done when it is browned on top and is literally fall apart tender and will shred very easily with a fork.
Crockpot Balsamic Roast Beef Recipe
- 3-4 pound roast (I usually use a chuck roast, but any roast works!)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken or beef stock or broth
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar (I use THIS brand)
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (I use THIS brand, but you can use tamari, too)
- pinch or two of red pepper flakes
- generous sea salt and pepper, to taste
- Place your whole roast in a crockpot fat side down.
- Add remaining ingredients over the top of the roast. Add additional salt and pepper to the top of the roast.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. You know it is done when the top is browned and the meat shreds very easily with a fork.
- Remove the roast from crockpot.
- Blend remaining juices and onion/garlic in the crockpot with an immersion blender for your gravy until you reach desired consistency.
- Serve gravy with roast beef. If I happen to have chives or parsley growing in my garden, I'll usually snip some off to serve on top of the cooked roast, too.
- Enjoy!
Also view our Top 10 Whole30 Dinner Recipes here!
I am new to this so excuse me if this is a dumb question. My husband likes roast with all the veggies. He doesn’t like sweet potatoes and I cant eat potatoes. Could maybe a type of squash be added with the roast to take the place of the potatoes? I plan on making this tomorrow. Cant wait to try it
Hi Melissa, I don’t put any veggies in the crockpot with the roast, but I’m sure you could if you wanted to. Mushrooms are a great addition, if you like mushrooms and squash would be great.
At what point should I add the mushrooms wouldn’t 8 after 8 hrs might be mushy?
Good point! I’ve always added them in at the beginning and it’s never bothered us, but adding them in during the last hour of cooking time would provide a better texture.
What does the coconut aminos do? is it a tenderizer?
No, it’s just for extra flavor!
The coconut Amos in my food store said vinegar not soy sauce so they didn’t have it…
Hi, Kelly! Where do you buy your roasts? I’d like to find a place that sells good organic grass-fed roasts. Thanks!
Locust Point! Are you familiar with them? I love all their stuff, but especially their roasts!
Hi, Kelly. No, I am not familiar with Locust Point. Where are they located? I will search for them online, as well.
Thanks!
It’s called Locust Point Farm Country Store. They have no website – They are mennonite, I believe – but here is their google address/phone number info – https://plus.google.com/104406358624680452891/about?gl=us&hl=en
It’s off of Rt. 213 in Elkton heading towards Chesapeake City. The road off of Rt. 213 is called Locust Point. There is a big country store with produce and flowers on that same road, but that’s not it. This place is very small and there is a small sign in the yard that says Grass Fed Meat and Free Range Eggs.
We absolutely loved this roast, my son fussed that they ‘gravy’ was too sweet, but there were very few leftovers, we cheated a little bit by eating with smashed potatoes, but this is a definite item that I will be making again. LOVE your site, I tell everyone I know that is choosing a Paleo/Primal lifestyle about your site!!!!
we made this during the week oh my god thank you for pinning.
Oh my…..just took my first bite of this and had to get on here to tell u how amazing it is!!! A keeper recipe for sure!! We used a deer roast from the first deer my 6 yr. old son killed a couple of weeks ago. So glad it turned out as well as it did!! Thank you so much!! I used beef stock instead of beef broth…I was just wondering…what is the difference between the two (is there really a big difference)…I’ve always wondered that! Thanks!!
Yay!!! Tell your 6 year old congrats for me! That is super impressive. My husband has been trying to get a deer for a few weeks now and has had no luck yet so he would be impressed, too 🙂 So glad you guys like this – hopefully we’ll be eating a deer roast here soon, too!
Oh and beef stock is a more condensed version of beef broth. You can make beef broth with beef stock by just adding more water. Beef stock is cooked for a very long time to the point that it reduces down a lot and turns very dark. It’s extremely rich and flavorful. I use the 2 interchangeably all the time, though!
Thanks! I’ll make sure to tell him…and can you believe our 8 year old daughter killed her first deer the very next day?! We were very proud..put both their pictures with the deer they killed in the paper. And thanks for explaining the difference between the broth and stock:)
Also..does this freeze well? If so, how long will it keep for in the freezer? Thanks!!
Yes, it freezes very well! I freeze this a lot. I also put it all together (before putting it in the crockpot) and freeze it. Then just dump it out and cook it when I need it. It’s good for about 6 months in the freezer.
This might just be my new favorite pot roast recipe! DEE-licious! Thanks for your blog, I love reading all the great recipes. 🙂
woohoo! So glad you liked it!
My husband and our son the chef prefer that I do not attempt to make any type of roast, I tend to make beef jerky….. a friend made this and raved about it, so I bought a grass fed chuck roast and cooked is low and slow and it fell apart just as you said it would. My husband and I both loved it!!!! I wont hesitate to make this agaon 🙂
Oh wow, what a great compliment 🙂 Thank you, Jan!!
This recipe sounds so delicious and I want to try it. Do you recommend browning the roast on all sides first or does it brown in slow cooker? Thanks.
I’m accustomed to searing my roasts too before adding to the crockpot and wondered if that would be doable for this recipe. I find the crockpot doesn’t always give me that nice brown/crispy texture and this is why I like to sear it first for a minute or two on all sides.
Thanks for the recipe! Looking forward to trying it soon! 🙂
Yes for sure, Amy!
I’m going to try this with deer in the morning! I can’t wait to try it after reading all of your comments!
Hope it turns out well for you, Jennifer!
this had a really nice flavor!! i used everything except for the broth just because i don’t like using so much liquid in the crockpot. i was very glad to find grass fed chuck roast at the store since they hardly sell any grass fed meats! i had been waiting to make it until they got some in and i’m glad i did. thanks for the great recipe!! i had it with potato salad.
Woo!!
This was delicious! I love the idea of using the immersion blender.
I used leeks and onions and then added some Cremini mushrooms the last hour. The gravy was a bit thin, so I added some arrowroot flour (mixed with some water) to thicken it. The gravy was pretty intensely flavorful. Now I have a heap of leftovers with gravy for the next few days, depending on how much I give my dog. He loved it and was going through his repertoire of tricks to beg for more!
Love that!
This was an amazing experience, so tasty!! 🙂
I froze the left~over gravy and used it in a cabbage stew a few days later… AwEsOmEnEsS!!
🙂
Yum, I need to make some of that cabbage stew 🙂
I just made this! delish! I added an extra onion and doubled up on the liquids and melted cheese over some of the broth for an awesome and primal french onion soupy type thing in addition to the roast! Thanks for the recipe!
That sounds so good, Jodi!
I just made this recipe tonight as my first ever roast. It was very good and very easy to make.
Great!!
Has anyone tried this with a pork roast?
Genius Kelly, Genius. This is incredibly delicious and the gravy, oh my word, it’s fantastic.
Woo!! So glad you like this, Danielle! It’s still one of my go-to fav meals!
wow! This came out great! Thank you!!! For my gravy I made a rue with 2tbs arrowroot powder and 2tbs grassfed butter, blended the juices for a quick second in the blender and added to the rue. I like a thicker gravy :). Came out delish.
I am trying to cook this for the first time right now. But I have a question. Your recipe says 8 hrs. on low, but my appliance guide says 3-4 hours (with a temperature probe). Why such a difference?
I’m not sure, Mike. Generally slow cookers take 8 hours on low or 4-5 on high. Is your appliance for sure a slow cooker and not a pressure cooker? I’d go with whatever your temperature prob says!
The roast came out delish!! We had leftovers for breakfast. Free range eggs, shredded roast and avocado. I’m making another one tonight but I’ll be adding mushrooms this time. Thanks so much for the easy and delicious recipe!
Mushrooms are so good in it!! So glad you enjoyed it. I am jealous of that breakfast!
Amazing flavor. Best pot roast I’ve had. The balsamic vinegar really makes a difference.
I agree, Cynthia! So glad to hear you liked this!
I cook quite often and this is a first for making this roast. It sounds delicious. Is there a reason the fat is placed down instead of up when cooking?
Hi Sheri! Usually, I do fat side up in the oven or stove, too! But for this recipe, the top needs to brown (the browning is partly what makes it so yummy) so I do fat side down. There is plenty of moisture produced in the crockpot so the fat making the roast tender is not a concern.
would you recommend marinating the roast the night before? The first time I tried this on low for 8 hours it was still fairly tough. Thoughts?
Hi JV! It should be fall apart tender, so it sounds like it just needed some more time in the crockpot. You could marinate it the night before, but it’s definitely not necessary.
This turned out amazing! I also followed advice from the comments and added arrowroot flour to the gravy to reach a thicker consistency (otherwise would have been watery). Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Would this recipe still work without the coconut aminos?
Yes for sure! It will work just fine without it, but if you wanted a substitute, soy sauce or a gluten free soy sauce tastes almost exactly like coconut aminos.
I just made this the other night for the first time. I didn’t have any arrowroot to thicken the gravy, but I threw in some left over spaghetti squash before pureeing it which thickened it a bit and mellowed out the flavors just a touch.
My husband is not a fan of pot roasts or of leftovers. He loved the meal and has taken leftovers for the past 2 days for lunches. That means it was a great success and that next time I need to make a bigger roast for the leftovers, ha ha. I’m very glad I found this. Thank you for posting it!
Makes me so happy to hear, Sherri! I love your creative idea to use spaghetti squash to thicken the gravy – brilliant!
I’m going to throw everything in the crockpot tomorrow morning and let it cook while I’m at work! Really looking forward to it!
If I’d like to add some small potato chunks and carrots, when would you recommend adding them? Could I add them to cook the entire time or should I add them after the roast cooks for a while?
Also, should the liquid cover the roast? If it should but doesn’t do you add water? Thanks!! 🙂
Hi Sarah! I hope you love this! The liquid should not cover the roast. And that’s a great idea to add some veggies. I like to add veggies like potatoes and carrots during the last 1-1/2 to 2 hours of cooking time so they don’t get too soft. If you don’t mind super soft potatoes and carrots you could add them in the beginning, too 🙂 Enjoy!
Thank you!
We made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Woo! Happy to hear this, Mary! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Hi Kelly I made this recipe before and it came out delicious. I don’t have a lot of time today so will it still be good If I cook on high for 4-5 hours?
Yes!
Delicious! Thanks for this awesome recipe! This might be a dumb question, but I can’t figure out if I should store the meat in the gravy or separately now that it’s cooked? I cooked it last night and am headed to work, so am wondering if it should sit in the juices all day in the fridge or drain the gravy from the meat? Thank you!
Michelle, either one will work. My preference and how I always do it is to store the meat in the gravy. It makes it so flavorful the next day…even better than before!
Thank you! This was so delicious. My hubby said the best roast he’s ever had! I’m making it again this week!
woohoo!
This is easily THE best pot roast ever and I do a LOT of cooking!!! I didn’t have Tamari or coconut aminos on hand so I used ume plum vinegar in place since it’s salty and I actually used pork drippings and it was INSANE. My family and company loved it.
Love that idea/tip, Charity – now I want to try it! Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Hi, Kelly! I LOVE this roast. Can you tell me what you used for chicken and beef broth? Store bought? I used to use Herb Ox, but they have changed their formula, and it’s not for the good. Thanks! You are so helpful!
Hi Barbara Ann,
We eat a whole, roasted chicken once a week and then I use the leftovers to make chicken broth so I always have a big pitcher of chicken broth on hand. Almost always, I use that.
Sometimes when I’m out of broth, I do use store bought and usually have a container or two in my pantry just in case. Usually it’s organic Pacific Foods Chicken Broth or Aldi Organic Chicken Broth. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks, Kelly, regarding chicken broth and stock. I should do that with chicken, and probably with beef, too. Making your lemon scrub today! Have a great Saturday.
Ooo! I love that lemon scrub – enjoy! Makes me feel so fresh and glowing 🙂