Okay, who ran out and bought a pressure cooker? I’m telling you, it will change dinner time mania at your house. I absolutely love my new pressure cooker and it’s such a good price for a stainless steel model. I highly recommend it.
So this Pressure Cooker Pot Roast…perfectly tender and tasty and ready in the fraction of time a regular pot roast cooked in the oven would take. You can start this at 5 PM and be sitting down to dinner before 6. I promise you will love the results.
None of us could believe how a pot roast could be tender and juicy in 30 minutes…but look how it shredded…just perfect. I did cut my 3 pound roast in half. If you leave it whole add 15 minutes to the cooking time. Cutting it in half allows for more surfaces to brown, which I like.
I also seasoned my roast with Montreal Steak Seasoning after I browned it (so the garlic in the seasoning wouldn’t burn). We love Montreal seasoning in our house and use it on so many things. My boys even love it in their taco meat. It’s easier than adding a bunch of different seasonings, kind of like a one-stop-shop, and you can get it almost anywhere these days.
When the cooking is done, let the pot roast sit in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes before releasing the steam. Reserve the juices to make a quick gravy and dinner is served. Pot roast has turned into a weeknight meal at my house…I wonder what we are now going to cook on Sunday?
Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 3 pound beef chuck roast, cut in half
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 2 cups beef stock or broth
- 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup leftover cooking liquid from pressure cooker (once beef is cooked)
- 1/4 cup whole milk (more if you need to thin gravy)
Directions
- Heat oil over medium-high heat, when oil begins to glisten add meat and brown well on all sides, about 7-9 minutes. Remove meat and season all sides with Montreal seasoning.
- Pour beef stock into cooker and add minced onions. Place pressure cooker trivet into cooker. Place roast in steamer basket on trivet.
- Make sure to close lid securely, placing pressure regulator on vent pipe. Once steam starts leaving the pressure cooker, set timer for 30 minutes. You'll want a slow and steady amount of steam leaving the pressure cooker, adjust stove top setting if you need to slow it down or speed it up. When 30 minutes is up, turn off stove and let pressure cooker sit for 10 minutes, then release pressure.
- To make the gravy, remove roast and cover with foil to keep warm, reserving 1 cup of meat juices. In a large saucepan, add butter over medium heat. When melted, add flour and whisk until flour is fully incorporated into the butter. Slowly add 1 cup of reserved liquid from the pressure cooker, whisking the whole time...removing any lumps. Once thickened, about 2 minutes, add milk and continue whisking until fully incorporated.
- Serve pot roast and gravy over mashed potatoes.
I hope I have inspired some of you to try pressure cooking, it’s so easy and you will have great results!
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Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
I love all these pressure cooker recipes you’re posting! I need to dust my pressure cooker off and put it back to work.
Cathy says
Yes, you do!!
Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says
I grew up on pressure cooker meals and finally bought one last year. Even with my parents in the kitchen helping me learn how to use it I’m still terrified of the thing but man, beef is so tender when it comes out.
Cathy says
Yep, you’ve got to work through that!
pam says
Buy u an electric one. So much easier and nearly as scary!
Mrs. Claus says
Yes, I have an electric PC because, like you, I was terrified of the thing. Now I make delicious home made soup in under an hour, including prepping the meat and vegetables. Frozen Chicken or roast? NO PROBLEM. Add a few extra minutes to the recipe and voila! Too hot in the kitchen to cook a meal? NO PROBLEM. My husband hates crock pot food because it loses too much flavor but loves to come in when the pressure cooker has done it’s job.
Numerous settings like brown, high and low pressure, slow cook, steam make it the all around cooker. When the food is done it goes to “warm” which is sufficient to keep your meal hot until you are ready to eat. Delay setting allows me to set it up in the morning and come home to a fully cooked, ready to eat meal after shopping, work, activities, etc.
I often use my pressure cooker several times in the same day. Yesterday I made a chuck roast for dinner then turned the leftovers into soup while I cleaned up the kitchen. By the time the counters were clean, the dishwasher loaded, the soup was done. I let it cool and put it in the freezer for dinner this weekend. Tonight I have frozen chicken breasts and will throw that in when I get home along with some frozen vegetables. We will sit down to dinner within an hour.
Frozen soup will thaw and cook in under 20 minutes, including pressure building time! I love old fashioned spaghetti sauce which I used to cook for days, but in the pressure cooker it takes less than an hour to have that same flavor.
Winnie says
Oh my! I just got my Pressure cooker this week and haven’t unpacked it as I was waiting for next week until I got a couple of cookbooks…Now, I can break it out on Sunday! I want to make this first, as I have Montreal seasoning with its name on it. I will report back when I do it..thank you!
Bonnie says
My mother bought me a pressure cooker about 3 years ago. It still sits in the box, unopened. Of course I told her how great it is so I don’t hurt her feelings. The thought of using it scares me. I have visions of someone..losing an eye when it explodes. I know the new ones are safe…I’m just being silly. ( right? ..lol) We do love our pot roast in my house. Maybe I’ll finally open the box & use it. I’ll let you know how it goes & if we all still have our eyeballs intact.
Cathy says
No need to be afraid…the lids are locked on tight.
Mrs. Claus says
No need to worry. The ones your grandmother used did not have the safety features of today’s pc. All you have to do is set it on medium on the stove until the pressure valve is rocking. If it is rocking to much for your comfort, drop it to medium low. Once it is rocking gently, set the timer. When the timer goes off, take it off the burner and walk away for about 10 minutes. By that time the pressure is released and dinner is ready. You can also put your pressure cooker in the sink, run cool water over it until it stops steaming (about 10-20 seconds). If the lid opens, the pressure is gone and you can enjoy your meal, safely and quickly.
If you are afraid you will forget those steps, get an electric one which does all the work for you, including setting the pressure, stopping the cooking process when the timer goes off. Again, the pressure cooker will release the pressure slowly when it is done. Once the pressure is released you may open the lid. It won’t open until the pressure is released so you don’t have to worry about getting burned or putting an eye out. It can’t happen. The lid is fully locked until the pressure is released on both types.
If you need to “speed up” the process and have the time to wait nearby, set the stove on high until it rocks, set the timer, lower the stove setting to medium or medium low (to keep it rocking gently)
Rachel (S[d]OC) says
Looks delicious. I haven’t had a good pot roast in ages. I’ve always been afraid of pressure cookers because I think of those old stories from movies and television and old books about dinner ending up on the ceiling. Thinking about the time they could save with normally slow-cooked dishes makes them sound so appealing. Since I’ve been getting into cooking beans these days instead of buying canned, this could be a wise investment.
Cathy says
Yeah…the lid securely locks on so it won’t pop off…no need to worry.
Karen says
Cannot wait to try this recipe, after I purchase a pressure cooker!
Tom Bacon says
As a 74 year old widower, I find I use my pressure cooker 4 to 5 times a week. Short ribs, tough and cheap cuts, country style ribs and especially beans. Love it and never worried about exploding.
Marilyn Lash says
In the recipe for pressure cooker pot roast, you said that you cut the chuck roast in half. OK, II have little confidence in my cooking skills, so does that mean you cut the roast so you have 2 chunky pieces of meat to brown or do you cut through the roast so you have 2 thinner, same size pieces of meat (like when you make 2 cutlets of chicken from one breast)?
Cathy says
Cut the pot roast in half so you have two chunky pieces.
Jeff Bauer says
How do you adjust for cooking smaller portions? Say 1lb or 2lbs vs the 3lbs in the recipe?
Cathy says
Lessen the time. Something you’ll have to play with.
Ann Rogers says
I don’t have a trivet or basket for my pressure cooker, probably because it is a small one? Will this cause a problem?
Gina B. says
Sounds delicious! Any instructions for preparing this in an electric PC?
Cathy says
Sorry, I don’t have one.
Karie Gardner says
I just got the power cooker from an infomercial, you said to insert the trivet to cook a roast but will that prevent a crispy bottom?
marvin says
I made this tonight and the recipe worked fine just as written in the electric power pressure cooker xl. I threw in some carrots and potatoes as well. This was my first time making brown gravy and it was delicious. Thank You.
Gina says
Marvin, how long did you cook yours and at what level? Also, did you use a steamer basket?
Tracy B says
I am curious…what is the difference between a pressure cooker and crock pot?
This recipe looks amazing!
Jayne says
Pressure cooks the meat fast and under pressure. A crock pot is used to cook things slow. Anywhere from 5 to 12 hours.
Jaki says
Nicely explained, I actually made this dish today, it is a universal fact that food cooked in pressure cookers tastes delicious. Pressure cooker usually saves time in cooking and does retain the nutritive value of food. It is guaranteed method of fast cooking.
Jayne says
This was my first attempt with meat and a 50 year old pressure cooker. I didn’t have dried onions but used the dried onions from lipton onion soup mix. The only issue I had was that the liquid wasn’t enough. Next time I will use another cup of broth. I had to stop it cooking 5 min early. But it was very delicious and the gravy was good as well. I add another tablespoon of butter after putting all the ingredients and I used cashew milk. I will definitely make this again. It was easy and very good.
D Blanton says
i am currently hooked on my crock pot however this recipe makes me want to get my pressure cooker out and cook this roast. I did not know you get more nutricion value from the pressure cooker. This alone makes me want to use it more. I have an electric one and have only used it a couple of times before I packed it back up for storage. There just seem to be many more crock pot recipes compared to pressure cooker ones. My mother used a pressure cooker daily but she never used recipes. She just did her magic and we always had delishious meals. I am a recipe person where as she wasn’t. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Stuart Wizell says
I bought a Go Wise USA from Amazon last week. So far I made navy beans, lentil soup, pork ribs, and Wednesday I will make pot roast as per your instructions. I highly recommend a electric pressure over any other method of cooking. At 72 years of age I find this so easy and the taste is wondrrful. No need to fear this one.
Mrs. Claus says
I am back to get this recipe again. I love this one! My Nesco Electric PC died after 12 years of use due to my own stupidity. I put the liquid in without the pot in it so the water went into the electrical wiring. Can’t begin to figure how I did it. So I ordered another one (same PC) on Amazon and it arrived next day. Turns out the old one still works so I have two of them! Giving the old one to a friend but still using it till I see her. This is the best thing I have ever owned. Safety is amazing with the electric ones. I have no worries with it. It has n auto shutoff if pressure gets too high so no exploding lid.
Harry says
Amazing recipe! My family loved it very much. I had some drawbacks while making, but finally it came out very well.