Italian-Style Pot Roast

Perfect pot roast is a dish that’s easy to love, but difficult to master— until now! Not only are we giving today’s version an Italian twist, we’re making it a slow cooker pot roast for ultimate ease and peace of mind. What makes it Italian? Only the best combination of classic ingredients, of course. We’re talking marinara sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, all the herbs and spices— basically everything you could want when you think of a traditional Italian dish but don’t want pasta. When paired with polenta or mashed potatoes, this is a dish to make all your cold-weather Sundays so much better. Let us show you how it’s made, then read on for the full recipe! (Prefer pork in the fall? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Just head over to our Slow Cooker Honey Pork Roast.)

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ITALIAN-STYLE POT ROAST

Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 pounds beef chuck roast
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced large
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienne
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil

DIRECTIONS

  1. Generously season the beef chuck roast on all sides with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the roast to the pan and brown on all sides.
  3. Line the bottom of the slow cooker with the diced onion. Place the browned roast in the slow cooker on top of the onions.
  4. Deglaze the pan with the beef broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and add to the slow cooker.
  5. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, kosher salt, black pepper, marinara sauce, dried rosemary, dried oregano, and dried basil to the slow cooker over top of the beef chuck roast.
  6. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
  7. Remove the beef from the slow cooker. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes before slicing it into thick pieces. Add the beef back to the slow cooker with the other ingredients and stir gently into the liquid.
  8. Serve with mashed potatoes or polenta.

Delicious, simple and satisfying. This one just might be the most flavorful pot roast yet! The fact that’s in made in the slow cooker? Just a fabulous bonus! We love the suggestion of pairing it with polenta or mashed potatoes, of course, but this one would also work well with some nice bread, a lovely salad, roasted veggies, or any of your other favorite flavorful side dishes.

So what do you think? Is this recipe just like the one your Nonna used to make, or is your family recipe totally different? What other ingredients does YOUR version contain? Tell us if you give it a try and how it turns out for you!

Recipe adapted from Mezzetta