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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Pin This RecipeThe BEST Pot Roast Recipe
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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This totally met expectations! So delicious!!
Is it really 2 tablespoons of minced garlic? That sure is a lot.
Use as much as or as little as you want.
This is literally the BEST roast I have ever fixed! AWESOME Thank you for some of my most favorite recipes!
Hi, I just found this recipe on Pinterest. Is there more steps to making the risotto? All I see is 1 and 2? Looking forward to making this.
There are only two steps to make it.
This is by far the best pot roast i have ever had! I didn’t make the rice but i served it over mashed potatoes and carrots. Yummy! I had seconds and just had it for lunch today! This recipe is a keeper!
SO glad you enjoyed it! We had it this weekend. It is our favorite!
This has become a family favorite at my house. Such a wonderful recipe. Thank you for your time writing this out.
xoxo
Marly Bird
**from one Adthrive Customer to another**
I made this for Christmas Eve dinner tonight. I didn’t have tomato juice so I used 8oz tomato sauce with 4oz water on the roast. I also added another 1/4 cup parmesan to the risotto. Soooo delicious!! Thanks for the amazing recipe.
First and foremost: I love your recipes !
Can I add prosecco to this risotto recipe like your Instant Pot Rice Risotto ?
Absolutely!
Can you add veggies like carrots when cooking the roast?
Sure!
I know this recipe has been out there for a long while, but I just came across it and had to try it. Even though I live in southern Florida I was really in the mood for cold weather comfort food and this was exactly the right dish to make!! Of course, at least one ingredient had to be unavailable at three separate grocery stores I checked and in this case it was the dry Italian dressing mix. I improvised with an Italian herb blend and a few other spices and it seemed to work. Also added chopped onions and portobello mushrooms because I love how they cook down over time. This was a very good recipe. Thank you for sharing!
SO glad you enjoyed it. It is our FAVORITE pot roast. I’ll have to try it with mushrooms next time. YUM!
Made this for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious!
We LOVE this recipe and have served it to so many friends & family! So so delicious. Thank you for sharing!!!
This is a favorite at our house! I use a can of petite diced tomatoes because I always have those on hand, and I add 1/2-1 cup red wine.
hi Stephanie- have you ever made this in an instant pot or pressure cooker? Was wondering what the time difference might be..
thanks
I haven't made this in the Instant Pot, so I am not sure what the exact cooking time should be. I could definitely be done though.
I made this tonight and it came together well but my family found it much too salty. Any suggestions on reducing the sodium in the roast?
The only thing I can think of is to make sure there is no salt in the tomato juice.
OMG!!!! You have seriously outdone yourself! It is so delicious, the risotto goes perfectly! It is so worth making the risotto from scratch. Thank you again,,,going into the family favorites book!
Making this for dinner tomorrow,,,,sounds so delicious! Everything I've tried of yours has been fantastic Thank you!
Enjoy!! This was the first pot roast recipe that I enjoyed! 🙂