How to cook a top round roast in the oven with vegetables

This classic pot roast with potatoes and carrots is — dare I say it? — better than mom used to make. It's easy, comfort-food-goodness that's simple enough to cook any night of the week!

• Ingredients Needed for a Classic Pot Roast Dinner
• The Two Ways to Cook a Pot Roast
• How to Cook a Pot Roast in the Oven
• Equipment Needed for This Recipe
• What to Serve with Pot Roast
• The Best Classic Pot Roast With Vegetables

It's a Sunday dinner go-to, but I can never wait for the weekend. I've made this pot roast dinner recipe so easy it's become a great option for, let's say...Wednesday?!

Like the roast your mom used to make, this one has simple but robust flavors, it's melt-in-your-mouth tender, and foolproof! Now, I don't know your mom or her pot roast, but this is a pretty killer recipe.

This dish certainly has made its mark on the weekend menu. It's a Sunday staple and never disappoints.

I've headed to New Hampshire most of the last few years to stay at a little lake house with some friends. My friend Paul has hosted this get together for almost 15 years and I love when I get the chance to go.

I usually throw my Dutch ovens and slow-cookers in the trunk, so we can make comfort food all weekend long. One of our favorites is my classic pot roast.

I add all the lovely veggies to the pot so they get flavorful as they cook with the roast. They don't need any seasoning other than what's in the Dutch oven or slow cooker.

I use carrots, celery, onions and potatoes. At the lake house I usually leave the potatoes out and cook them separately so we can have mashed potatoes on the side. That's my favorite variation! Then the pan sauces from the pot roast can become the gravy. So delicious!

Ingredients Needed for a Classic Pot Roast Dinner

I love how simple but delicious this pot roast dinner is!

For the pot roast vegetables, I used a mixture of celery, potatoes, carrots, and onion. The onion and celery in particular are very aromatic and add flavor while also bulking up the recipe.

Bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce add even more flavor, and beef broth provides some salt and moisture to ensure the pot roast doesn't dry out.

What's the Best Cut of Beef for Pot Roast?

If you're wondering how to make the most perfect and best classic pot roast, it all starts with the beef. The cut you choose determines the texture and even the flavor!

For all the answers I go to the Beef Checkoff's website Beef It's What's For Dinner. The checkoff chef Dave Zino used to come into our test kitchen at the magazine and talk to the editors about new cuts, how to use different cuts, steaks and roasts, and tell us anything new in the beef industry. It was great education!

I still go to the website to check on cuts, the names, and remind myself of those I haven't used in a while!

For this particular dutch oven pot roast recipe, I recommend buying a chuck or round roast.

What Are the Best Potatoes for Pot Roast?

I prefer using any type of small potatoes to make my dutch oven pot roast. New potatoes or red potatoes would both work here.

The Two Ways to Cook a Pot Roast

Depending on the cut of beef you have, there are two great ways to make a pot roast.

For more tender cuts like prime rib and sirloin, you use the roasting method. These roasts don't get covered. It's a dry-heat cooking method. They don't need the help of moisture and steam to tenderize.

For roasts from the chuck or round, that need slower, lower, longer cooking times to tenderize and become fall-apart-delicious, use the braising method. This is where a slow cooker, dutch oven or covered casserole come in. They trap the moisture in the pan with the roast to help those tough bits break down and soften.

How to Cook a Pot Roast in the Oven

I've given slow cooker instructions in the recipe card below, but here's an overview of how I make a dutch oven pot roast in the oven.

1. Heat oven to 325°F.
2. Tie roast with kitchen twine if it is boneless or not compact.
3. Heat a little canola oil in a Dutch oven and sear beef on all sides until dark brown. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth to the pan.
5. Cover and roast in oven until beef is fork-tender, 3 to 3 ½ hours.

Equipment Needed for This Recipe

Knowing what to cook your delicious pot roast in is also key to a great meal. Slow-cookers are of course great–and here are some other options.

• A covered heavy-bottom Dutch oven is ideal for pot roast.
• For a smaller roast, you can also use a covered casserole.
• If you use a roasting pan for a braised pot roast, make sure you cover it tightly with foil.

What to Serve with Pot Roast

The great things about this recipe for pot roast with potato and carrots is that the pot roast veggies are essentially the only side dish you need.

However, if you'd like to serve additional pot roast sides, here are my recommendations:

• Four Amazing Mashed Potato Mix-Ins
• Green Beans with Artichokes and Capers
• Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes
• Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

For more Sunday-best, or even easy weeknight meals, try these other great recipes from Tara Teaspoon.

Warm Salmon and Arugula Pasta Salad is my favorite way to eat pasta. Yes! As a salad. A fresh and delicious pasta salad with peppery arugula and seasoned salmon comes together in minutes.

Honey-Rosemary Chicken With Yukon Gold Potatoes is a slow-cooker favorite. A slightly sweet and savory meal the entire family will dig into.

This classic pot roast with potatoes and carrots is — dare I say it? — better than mom used to make. It's easy, comfort-food-goodness!

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 4 hrs 45 mins

Total Time 5 hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 525 kcal

• 3 to 3½- pounds chuck or round roast
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Salt and pepper
• 6 small potatoes quartered
• 2 ribs celery cut
• 3 carrots cut
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup beef broth
• Kitchen twine if needed

In the oven:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Tie roast with kitchen twine if it is boneless or not compact. Heat canola oil in a Dutch oven and sear beef on all sides until dark brown. Season with salt and pepper.

• Add potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth to the pan. Cover and roast in oven until beef is fork-tender, 3 to 3½ hours.

In a slow cooker:

• Sear and brown the roast in a large pan then remove and place in a slow cooker crock. Season with salt and pepper.

• Follow Step 2 from oven instructions, but slow cook on high for 5 to 6 hours until roast is very tender.

Whether to braise or to roast, the cut makes the difference.  Check out my tips in the post.

Calories: 525kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 52gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 183mgSodium: 377mgPotassium: 1094mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 5190IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 6mg

Check out our Youtube and try this recipe and more.

Main Dish Recipes

• The New Wedge Salad

• Chinese Cashew Chicken

• Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

• Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken Sandwich

• Sweet and Sour Chicken

• Roast Ham with Spiced Honey Glaze

• Warm Salmon and Arugula Pasta Salad

• Classic Pesto

About Tara Teaspoon

I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.

Find out more!

Recipe Tara Teaspoon, Photographs Yunhee Kim, Food Styling William Smith, Prop Styling Paige Hicks, Originally published in LHJ Dec11/Jan12. 

When making a roast do the vegetables go on top or bottom?

What temperature do you cook a top round roast?

How many minutes per pound do you cook a top round roast?

How do you roast vegetables and let the oven do all the cooking?