Slow Cooker Italian Pot Roast – I finally found a pot roast that I like! This is hands-down THE BEST pot roast recipe EVER! Not only is this delicious, but it is also super easy to make! Pot Roast slow-cooked all day in tomato juice, Italian dressing mix, garlic, onion, pepper, and au jus gravy mix. Serve over a quick homemade parmesan risotto. Comfort food at its best! I literally licked my plate! Can freeze leftovers for later.
Originally posted 5/27/2009
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I finally found a pot roast that I like, no, LOVE to eat! This Italian Pot Roast is hands-down the BEST pot roast EVER. The recipe was inspired by a braised boneless short ribs with parmesan risotto dish at our favorite restaurant, Gianmarco’s. It was one of the best things I’ve eaten, and I started working on an easy copycat version. I finally settled on this recipe and it was great! The pot roast was tender and juicy. We loved the tomato gravy that the roast made as it cooked. It went perfectly with the risotto.
How to Make Italian Pot Roast
This pot roast is ridiculously easy to make. Place a roast in the slow cooker. Whisk together tomato juice, garlic, dried onion flakes, Au Jus gravy mix, Italian dressing mix, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Pour over the roast and cook on LOW until the roast is fall-apart tender. Shred the roast with two forks and serve over risotto.
- What kind of roast do you use for pot roast? The most popular cut to use is a Chuck roast. You can also use a blade roast or rump roast.
- Do I need to pan sear the roast before adding it to the slow cooker? You can pan-sear the roast for a few minutes on all sides before adding it to the slow cooker, but it isn’t necessary.
- Can you freeze Italian Pot Roast? Yes! You can freeze leftover pot roast for a quick meal later.
- You can make this a freezer meal and place all the ingredients in a freezer bag and freeze until you are ready to cook. There is no need to thaw the ingredients first, you can just place them in the slow cooker frozen. It will take longer to cook from frozen.
- Feel free to add vegetables to the slow cooker – potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and green peas are good.
- Do NOT make the Italian dressing. You are only using the seasoning packet.
What to Serve with Pot Roast
We always serve this roast over risotto. I included the recipe for my stove-top risotto below. It takes a little time but it is easy to make and goes great with the pot roast.
- Here is my Instant Pot Risotto Recipe that is faster and less hands-on time: https://www.plainchicken.com/parmesan-prosecco-risotto/
- You can also make risotto in the crockpot. Here is my Slow Cooker Risotto Recipe: https://www.plainchicken.com/slow-cooker-risotto/
You can serve the roast over potatoes, rice, noodles, or grits. It is also delicious on its own. We usually whip up a salad and some bread to round out the meal. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this AMAZING pot roast:
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Italian Pot Roast & Parmesan Risotto
Equipment:
Ingredients:
Pot Roast
- 1 (3-lb) pot roast,
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic or to taste
- 1 (1¼-oz) package au jus mix
- 1 (1-oz) package dried Italian salad dressing mix
- 2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 pinch cayenne, optional
- 1½ cups tomato juice
Parmesan Risotto
- 3 tsp Olive Oil
- 6 cups Chicken Broth, warmed
- 1 lb Arborio Rice
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
Pot Roast
- Place roast in slow cooker. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over roast. Cook on LOW for 8-12 hours or on HIGH for about 4½hours.
Parmesan Risotto
- In large skillet, evenly coat rice with olive oil. Add 1 cup of heated chicken broth, stirring continually.
- Maintain a slow boil and add rest of broth, 1 cup at a time, while stirring continually. When all the broth is absorbed, add cheese, onion powder and pepper.
Notes:
- I used a packet of Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Mix. Do NOT make the dressing. Only use the dry seasoning packet in the recipe.
- What kind of roast do you use for pot roast? The most popular cut to use is a Chuck roast. You can also use a blade roast or rump roast.
- Do I need to pan sear the roast before adding it to the slow cooker? You can pan-sear the roast for a few minutes on all sides before adding it to the slow cooker, but it isn’t necessary.
- Can you freeze Italian Pot Roast? Yes! You can freeze leftover pot roast for a quick meal later.
- You can make this a freezer meal and place all the ingredients in a freezer bag and freeze until you are ready to cook. There is no need to thaw the ingredients first, you can just place them in the slow cooker frozen. It will take longer to cook from frozen.
- Feel free to add vegetables to the slow cooker – potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and green peas are good.
- Do NOT make the Italian dressing. You are only using the seasoning packet.
- Here is my Instant Pot Risotto Recipe that is faster and less hands-on time: https://www.plainchicken.com/parmesan-prosecco-risotto/
- You can also make risotto in the crockpot. Here is my Slow Cooker Risotto Recipe: https://www.plainchicken.com/slow-cooker-risotto/
- You can serve the roast over potatoes, rice, noodles, or grits.
Steph
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Made this for dinner last night & OMG! My very picky husband said 4 times “This is really good!” And then he paid the ultimate compliment by saying “This is a keeper!” as he cleaned his plate. He has never said that, ever! I followed the recipe exactly but did use low sodium tomato juice because of my husband’s kidney disease. Absolutely delicious!
YAY!! SO glad it was a hit! It is our most favorite pot roast recipe.
Outstanding. It’s literally the best thing ever made in a crock pot. And with the instapot risotto… SHUT UP. I may never eat a different pot roast again.
Can I make this with short ribs?
sounds like that would work – let us know how it turns out if you try it!
I made it with short ribs and it came out great! Husband and mother-in-law loved it. She wants the recipe.
I never comment on recipes, but this meal is one of the best I’ve ever made. I’m actually in the middle of eating it right now but couldn’t wait to rate it and leave this comment. This will absolutely become a huge staple in our household. Thank you so much!
I’ve made many pot roasts in my day and this is a keeper. The sauce is a nice change from the typical gravy. It was so nice as I always have the ingredients in my pantry! It had such a nice flavor and would be delicious with Polenta, Risotto, or mashed potates! I will definitely be making this again.
SO glad you enjoyed it. It is definitely our favorite pot roast recipe.
Do you make the au jus packet or just use the dry seasoning?
just use the seasoning packet
I’ve been making this recipe for about four years. The first time I only had v8 on hand and it was so good that I’ve never used tomato juice. I can get away with adding a cup or more of water at the end, while still in the crock pot, this makes more sauce for the risotto. Plenty of salt in the dry seasoning packets to allow this. Kids and husband love it, in-laws and everyone I’ve shared it with love it. Super tasty.
Fantastic! The entire family loved it, and it was verY, very easy to make as written. The roast was done at 3 1/2 hours, so I will shorten the cook time significantly next time. Not a fan of risotto, so served over mashed potatoes, which the family preferred as well. Will make again and often!
2 questions
Can I use a brisket for the roast
Can I use a small bottle of italian dressing instead of the pack
You can do whatever you want. You are making a whole new recipe. Good luck!
Gave this a try this week. We all loved it. Made it as the recipe called for. Cooked it in my crockpot on low for about 9 hours. So tasty and tender.
I bought tomato soup instead of juice, should I just dilute the soup?
I probably would. I’ve never tried this with tomato soup, so I’m not sure how much water you need to add.
Thanks! Trial and error it will be!
Does anyone know the nutrition facts for the roast and risotto
Here is a great website to estimate the nutrition: https://whisk.com/recipe-nutrition-calculator
This is a fantastic recipe. My family loved the juicy tenderness. The only changes made were: I used tomatoes paste and used broth to dilute and I also chopped up some garlic and onions. I seared the beef first. I will definitely do this again. Very little work for great flavor and best of all, it is cooked while I am working. Dinner is ready to serve by the time everyone is home and ready to eat.
So excited to try this tonight! I am going to serve it over cheesy grits/polenta. After a foot of snow falling yesterday this will hit the spot!
You are going to LOVE it! This is seriously the BEST!
Has anyone tried this in an instant pot?