Beef Stew Crock Pot Recipe With Brown Gravy Mix and Beef Broth

Crock Pot Roast Beef & Brown Gravy (without Lipton soup) is comfort food at its finest! Our tender roast will literally melt-in-your-mouth. It is fast enough that it makes the perfect weeknight meal but sophisticated enough for Sunday dinner.

Close up view of a plate with roast beef and mashed potatoes and gravy.

The best part about making this on a weeknight is that it only takes about 5 minutes of prep work in the morning. Perfect if you are trying to get out the door to work. It is so nice to come home after a long day and whip this meal up.

Overhead shot of a plate with roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans.

Ingredient List:

Our slow cooker pot roast does not require beef broth or onion soup mix. We create our own beef stock right there in the crock pot.

Chuck Pot Roast – we usually find a 2 1/4 to 3 pound chuck roast.

Salt & Pepper

Flour

Packaged roast, a small bowl of flour and small dishes of salt and pepper.

How to Make the Perfect Pot Roast:

Season the roast on both sides with salt and pepper. Place roast and a cup of water into the crock pot; cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

Transfer roast to a platter, cover with foil and keep warm in a 200° oven.

How to Make Pot Roast Gravy:

Carefully pour the juice into a measuring cup and let the fat rise to the top. Skim the fat off the top and add it to a frying pan. You will be adding the rest of the juice so it doesn't have to be exact.

Over medium to medium-high heat add flour and whisk while it cooks for about a minute. It will be sort of like a paste. Pour the rest of the liquid in slowly while whisking it and continue to whisk it until all of the lumps come out. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

shots of the liquid from the crock post before and after separating the fat from the broth.

A skillet with the finished brown gravy.

How to Pick the Perfect Roast:

One of the most important elements of this dish is to pick the right roast. This is something I struggled with when I first started cooking. There are many different types of roast and the best cut of meat to buy for this meal is Chuck Pot Roast. This particular cut has the right marbling of fat.

Close up view of a 2.3 pound chuck roast to show fat marbling.

When you are selecting beef roast, fat is flavor! This beautiful marbling also makes the meat so tender.

Can You Use a Frozen Roast?

Yes you can! I have used a frozen roast too, and it came out just as good as the thawed roast. Just let it cook for about an hour longer.

How fabulous it that? You can still make this if you forget to take the roast out of the freezer!

Do You Need to Braise the Roast First?

You can but… I have browned the roast in a skillet before putting it in the slow cooker and I discovered that braising this meat is not necessary. It comes out just as good either way. There is no need to dirty a skillet! It also saves valuable time in the morning when I am trying to get out the door to go to work, or when I was trying to get the kids off to school.

If you want to braise it then heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil and brown each side of the roast before placing it in the crock pot.

A white plate with roast beef and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and green beans.e

Can You Add More Than Salt & Pepper?

Absolutely! We like the flavor of the meat so we just add salt and pepper. You could add fresh herbs, garlic powder, steak seasoning, worcestershire sauce, or red wine if you want to add extra flavor.

A plate of food, glass of ice water and gravy boat full of brown gravy.

Tips & Tricks

You need about a half pound of roast per person. More for larger appetites and less for smaller appetites and young kids.
You can certainly double this and cook two roasts in one crock pot if you have the oval crock pot. I make this for Christmas dinner and I put the roasts one on top of the other and you DO NOT have to increase the cook time.
I use a fat separating measuring cup. You do not have to have one of these, I made this dish for many years without one. You just skim the fat off the top of the liquid. And you will be using most if not all of the liquid, so you don't have to spend too much time making it perfect. You could strain the liquid, but I do not. I love the flavor that I get in the gravy when I don't strain it. I will take out large chunks of meat or fat if there are any.
It does not matter if you cook it on low for a longer amount of time or high for a shorter amount of time, it comes out pretty much the same either way. The amount of time we have dictates whether we cook on low or high. I have also cooked this for over 9 hours (because that is how long my work day is) and it came out great.

What to Make With Leftover Roast Beef:

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches – warm beef in the microwave or wrapped in aluminum foil in a 350° oven. Warm leftover gravy in the microwave or in a small skillet or saucepan. Serve with bread and mashed potatoes.

Shredded Beef Tacos – we warm the beef up in a saucepan with a little water, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. We serve it on corn tortillas and we top them with cheese, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Beef & Cheese Quesadillas – place a flour tortilla in a skillet, put a layer of cheese, beef, more cheese and top with another tortilla. Cook until cheese melts, beef is warm and tortilla browns, then flip over and brown the other side. If using a skillet that isn't non-stick then spray with cooking spray first. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Beef & Noodles – this is Lee's most favorite way to eat our leftover slow cooker roast beef.

More Slow Cooker Recipes:

Cola Pork Chops

Mexican Chicken

Chicken Stew

Pulled Chicken

For a complete meal serve Crock Pot Roast Beef & Brown Gravy with mashed potatoes and my easy pan fried green beans.

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Crock Pot Roast Beef & Brown Gravy

Looking for an easy and flavorful roast beef in the crock pot? Roast, salt and pepper are all you need to make this delicious recipe.

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 8 hrs

Total Time 8 hrs 5 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

1 chuck pot roast 2 1/2 - 3 pounds
salt
black pepper
1 cup water
4 tablespoons flour for the gravy

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How to make the roast beef:

Season the roast on both sides with salt and pepper. Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of the crock pot and then put the roast in, cover and cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
Transfer roast to a platter. cover with foil and keep warm in the oven at 200°.

How to make the brown gravy:

Pour the juice into a measuring cup and let the fat rise to the top. Skim the fat off the top and add it to a skillet, you will be adding the rest of the juice, so it doesn't have to be exact. Over medium-heat add flour and whisk while it cooks, for about a minute. It will be sort of like a paste. Pour the rest of the liquid in and whisk until all of the lumps come out. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Ideally, you will need about 1/4 cup of fat and 2 cups of liquid. If you do not have the right amount of fat, you can add canola, olive, or vegetable oil. If you don't have enough meat juice, you can add water. Sometimes I have to do this and it does not make a difference in the overall taste of the gravy. See in post notes for tips, tricks and other helpful information. Nutritional facts are based on a 4 ounce serving.

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Source: https://www.mindyscookingobsession.com/crock-pot-roast-beef-brown-gravy/