Is it better to cook a roast on high or low in a crock pot

Nothing beats a hearty and flavorful Crockpot Roast– and that’s just what you’ll get with this recipe! Fall-apart succulent beef with perfectly tender (and never mushy!) veggies. Thicken the leftover sauce in the crockpot into an irresistible gravy to drizzle over everything. 

Love a good roast prepared in the slow cooker? You’ll be obsessed with this Mississippi Pot Roast or try out these Roast Beef Sandwiches next!

This Crockpot Roast with potatoes and carrots comes from my friends, Donna and Chad, over at The Slow Roasted Italian. The recipe comes from their cookbook The Simple Kitchen — a truly stunning cookbook and wonderful resource!

The Simple Kitchen Cookbook has over 80 quick and easy recipes with a full-sized photo for every single recipe. Inside The Simple Kitchen there are eight chapters and each chapter has over 10 tested-to-perfection recipes that are tried and true favorites. There are also tons of kitchen tricks and techniques sprinkled throughout. The dish I’m featuring today is called “Down-Home Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes” (found on page 13).

This roast is exquisite! Fall-apart-tender meat, perfectly cooked and seasoned veggies, and a delicious flavorful gravy that is the perfect complement and finishing touch.

This recipe has a bit of prep work to it (such as preparing and cutting the meat), but trust me, the 20 minutes you’ll spend is well worth it.

With that, let’s jump into the details!

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By the way: when we use the term ‘crockpot,’ we’re referring generically to slow cookers. Crock-pot is a registered trademark of the Rival Corporation, but has entered into our language as a word that describes any and all slow cookers.

Let’s Chat Meat

In our humble opinion, a beef chuck roast — especially a well-marbled one–is the best roast for this recipe! The beef cooks to be so tender, it literally falls apart — no dry and flavorless meat here!

Other cuts that are either the same (or come from the same area), but may have a different name: blade roast, shoulder roast, cross-rib roast, seven-bone roast. Some butchers may simply label a chuck generically as “pot roast.” When in doubt, ask the butcher in your store for guidance in finding the right meat for this recipe!

We do sear the beef before adding it to the slow cooker, which adds layers of flavor and imbues an even better texture. Two tips: thoroughly pat the meat dry with a paper towel (this will ensure a better sear), and generously season with salt and pepper. It may seem like there is a lot of salt and pepper, but the chuck roast needs it for full flavor potential!

How To Season a Crockpot Roast

A good seasoning blend makes a world of difference for a roast and veggies. While a lot of recipes call for onion soup mix in the Crockpot, we prefer to make our own seasoning blend with slightly different flavors.

This recipe calls for a Tuscan Seasoning Blend that contains thyme, sage, marjoram, basil, oregano, and rosemary. The blend of these seasonings is unbelievably good with the meat and veggies.

The flavor of the spices only intensifies as the roast simmers for hours and they have a chance to meld together with the other ingredients.

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If you find yourself making this crockpot roast often, you may want to make up a bigger batch of the Tuscan seasoning blend. Here’s how to do that: combine 3 tablespoons dried rosemary, 3 tablespoons dried oregano, 3 tablespoons dried basil, 1-1/2 tablespoons dried thyme, 1 tablespoon dried marjoram, and 1-1/2 teaspoons dried sage. Whisk all of the ingredients together and add only 2 tablespoons of the blend to the pot roast. Store the remaining in a glass jar in a cool, dry, dark place.

How To Make A Pot Roast Tender

The secret to an ultra-tender pot roast is starting with good meat and then cooking it low and slow... which is exactly what the slow cooker does for us! 

Some other tips:

• Cook the meat for longer. The meat needs more time in the slow cooker than the veggies. This is why we add in the veggies at the halfway point. If we throw the two together from the start, either the meat will end up tough and undercooked (by the time the veggies are done), or the veggies will be very mushy (by the time the meat is tender).
• Cook on low. While you can prepare this easy crockpot roast beef on the “high” setting, we always recommend low. The low temperature brings up the internal temperature of the meat so slowly that the whole roast cooks evenly across its entirety — the roast will be perfect from crust to center!
• Don’t skip searing the beef. This adds a nice crust which will create a much deeper flavor and yield a better texture of meat.

How Long To Cook Pot Roast in a Crockpot

This recipe calls for a slow cook on high for 5 hours or low cook for 10 hours. If you can plan in advance, I’d highly recommend low for 10 hours. The tenderness of the meat is unbeatable!

As a general rule of thumb, cooking on the low setting takes about twice as long as cooking on the high setting. (In most models the difference is 170 degrees F for low while high is 280 degrees F.)

The size of the roast will affect the cooking time: Smaller roasts will cook quicker while larger roasts take longer. A 2-pound roast can be done in as little as 7 hours on low while a 3-pound roast will take closer to 9-10 hours.

Crockpot Roast FAQs

1Do you have to brown a roast before putting it in the crockpot?

Not technically, but we highly recommend this step! If you have a few extra minutes, browning the beef before adding it to the slow cooker is going to maximize flavor and give the beef a better texture.

2Is it better to cook a roast on high or low in a crockpot?

We’ll always recommend low. Not only is there more room for error, the meat is also more tender and tasty when cooked low and slow!

3Do you add water when cooking a roast in a crockpot?

We do need some liquid to create steam, but for a better flavor, we recommend adding beef broth/stock and wine instead of water.

4Should my pot roast be covered in liquid?

No! Pot roast is meant to be braised which means the meat is cooking, covered, slowly over low heat, and with minimal liquid. So if too much liquid is added, the roast will be missing out on flavor. Keep in mind that the meat will also create its own liquid.

5Can I put a frozen pot roast in the crockpot?

For food safety reasons, do not add a frozen or partially frozen roast to a slow cooker.

6Why is my crockpot roast beef tough?

This is most likely because the roast has not cooked long enough. Cook until the meat shreds very easily with two forks.

It’s also important to use the right cut of meat. Chuck cooks up perfectly, but some other roasts won’t.

7Can pot roast crockpot recipe overcook?

Yes. While the meat will be tender, it will taste dry if overcooked.

This is one of the reasons we recommend cooking on low– because it’s harder to mess up the roast with the lower temperatures.

8Should meat or vegetables go in crockpot first?

Because the vegetables cook so much quicker than the meat, we add in the meat first and partially cook it. At the halfway point, add the vegetables on top and gently stir them in.

What To Serve With Crockpot Roast

One of the great things about a crockpot roast is that you’ve really got it all in one — succulent beef, perfectly cooked veggies, and a luscious gravy! That said, it is a heavier meal and can certainly benefit from some lighter and more vibrant sides:

• Salad. Some crunchy lettuce with fresh veggies is another welcome side to offset the meat’s richness. Try our favorite Caesar Salad, Italian Salad, Garden Salad, or Olive Garden Salad.
• Roasted veggies. The meat is very rich, so it’s nice to offset that a bit with some color and crunch. Try one of the following on the side: Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Carrots, Roasted Asparagus, Roasted Green Beans, or Roasted Cauliflower.
• Crusty buttered bread. Crusty bread or warmed Dinner Rolls are the best to sop up the extra gravy from this Crockpot Roast!

Love Crockpot Recipes? Try One Of These Recipes Next!

• Porcupine Meatballs meatballs made with white rice!
• Taco Chili with deliciously seasoned ground beef
• Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork with the BEST homemade BBQ sauce
• Spaghetti Bolognese with loads of “hidden” veggies
• Crockpot White Chicken Chili this recipe is a reader favorite and winner of many chili cook-offs!

• ▢ 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into chunks
• ▢ 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
• ▢ 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• ▢ 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Tuscan-style seasoning blend (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 cup red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon); OR you can substitute with additional beef stock
• ▢ 3 cup (645g) low-sodium beef stock
• ▢ 2 cups (315g) baby carrots
• ▢ 2 pounds (920g) baby red potatoes, cut in half or quarters if large (~6 cups)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (17g) cornstarch
• ▢ 1/4 cup (50g) water

• PREP: Pat beef dry all over with a paper towel. Cut the beef into 3-inch chunks and season with salt and pepper.

• BROWN: Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven (or oven-safe heavy-bottomed pot) over medium-high heat. Once you can feel the heat when you hold your hand 6 inches above the pot, place the roast pieces in the pot. Brown the pieces on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side. To get a good sear don't overcrowd the meat; you can sear the meat in batches. (Don't skip this step. We are adding layers of flavor here.) Once the roast is nicely seared with a good crust, remove it from the Dutch oven and place it in your slow cooker. (Use a 5 quart or larger slow cooker).

• DEGLAZE PAN: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced onions to the Dutch oven and cook until the onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the seasoning blend and add the Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine. Pour in the wine (or additional beef stock). Deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula as it bubbles. Pour in the beef stock. Stir to combine, and then add the contents of the pot into the slow cooker.

• COOK: Cover and cook for 5 hours on high (or 10 hours on low). Add the carrots and potatoes halfway through the cook time.

• GRAVY: Remove the roast and vegetables from the slow cooker and place them on a serving dish. Tent with foil. Ladle the cooking liquid into a 4-quart saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and whisk until completely smooth to create a slurry. Pour the slurry into the pot and stir. Boil the gravy until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as necessary.

• SERVE: Serve the pot roast and veggies with the gravy on the side.

*Recipe timing: Total time depends on whether you are cooking this crockpot roast on high or low. I recommend cooking it on low for maximum tenderness and flavor. 

Note 1: Tuscan-Style Seasoning Blend

• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage

Whisk all of the ingredients together and add to the pot roast.

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.