French Onion Pot Roast

French onion pot roast is a tender and flavorful roast that makes the perfect comfort food. Make this easily in your Instant Pot, Instant Dutch oven, or slow cooker. A crusted chuck roast cooked with caramelized onions served in a yummy au jus gravy for a delicious dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Total Time 3 30

Servings servings

Calories 502.43kcal

Author Tina

Ingredients

4 pound chuck roast can be 2-4 pounds
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 envelopes dry onion soup mix 1 envelope for small roasts under 3 pounds
3 onions sliced
4 tablespoons butter I used unsalted
1 celery stalk sliced
1 tablespoon garlic minced
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoon ground thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups beef broth

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cover the roast with the Dijon mustard, and then coat with the dry onion soup mix. Set aside on plate.
Preheat the Instant Pot or Instant Dutch oven to saute. Once preheated add a small amount of oil to the pot, and sear all sides of the chuck roast. Once done set aside on a plate. Leave the saute function on.
Add the butter to the pot, and melt. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom as much as possible. Add the onions, and saute for a couple of minutes. Then cover with lid or plate to "sweat" the onions for about 5 minutes. If using the Instant Pot lid be sure the seal is not on the lid.
After "sweating" the onions, remove the lid and continue to stir to finish browning the onions to your liking.
Add the celery, and saute for a minute. Next, add the minced garlic and stir constantly until fragrant. This just takes a few minutes.
Add the wine, and cooked until reduced down by one-third. Turn off the saute function.
Add in all the seasonings, and the beef broth. Stir together, and add the seared chuck roast back in.

Cooking Instructions

Instant Dutch Oven - cook on manual mode 2 for three hours at 275-degrees. Flip halfway through cooking. You can add vegetables like baby potatoes or carrots at this stage. Throw in on the top, they do not need to be under the roast.
Instant Pot - Cook on high pressure for 90-minutes with a 15-minute natural pressure release. This will produce a roast that shreds easily. For a roast that is more sliceable cook on high pressure for 80-minutes then follow with a 15-minute natural pressure release. Once done, remove the roast to a platter. If you want to add vegetables add these into the broth and cook on high pressure for 10-minutes.
Slow cooker - cook for 8-10 hours in Instant Dutch oven. For a traditional slow cooker cooker for 8-10 hours on low. If adding vegetables be sure to put them in at the beginning of your cooking.

Video

Notes

Note that the nutritional calculation includes the optional vegetables. Must calculate separately for the pot roast alone.

The cooking times in this post assume that a 2-½ to 4-pound chuck roast has been used. If a smaller or larger piece of meat is used then cooking times need to be adjusted. For smaller roast you would use less pressure cook time, and for larger ones the you would increase the pressure cooking time.

If not cooked properly any cut can come out tough. Be sure to cook the meat according to the recipe you are using. Undercooking, overcooking, or choosing the wrong cut of meat can make the meal a disaster.

Nutrition