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Fall-apart juicy, tender Baked Roast with hardly any hands-on prep time is easy enough for everyday, delicious enough for company!

Areal view of roast with carrots on a white plate.

Growing up, my mom always made the BEST Sunday roasts. She’d sear the meat, start it at 425ºF, then let it cook low and slow while we were at church. By the time we walked in the door, the whole house smelled like savory roast, carrots, and onions. Dinner couldn’t come fast enough.

Her secret? Seal in the juices at high heat, then slow roast until tender. If it’s not melt-in-your-mouth, it just needs more time. Even 30 extra minutes can take it from “good” to unforgettable. And if you love a roast with rich, beefy flavor, don’t miss my Ribeye Roast recipe!

Roast and carrots in a white serving bowl.
In addition to my mom’s roasting technique, I have perfected the seasonings of the beef broth bath, so this baked roast drinks up all the spices, so every forkful is bursting with flavor. And a seasoned roast means an out-of-this-world seasoned gravy begging to douse your already intoxicating roast, easy slow cooker potatoes, and carrots. 

Pot roast close up with carrots and a fork pulling a bite of meat off.
From mom’s kitchen, to mine, to yours, I am sure this Crazy Tender Pot Roast will become a family favorite for generations!

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Crazy Tender Baked Roast

5 from 5 votes
Fall apart juicy, tender roast with hardly any hands-on prep time is easy enough for everyday, delicious enough for company!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings

Ingredients 

Roast

  • 1 3-5 pound chuck roast trimmed of excess fat
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tablespoons dry minced onion
  • 2 tablespoons beef bouillon powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Gravy

  • 2 cups beef broth or less depending on how much broth/juices remain after roasting
  • 1/4 cup flour

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Heat olive oil over high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Using tongs, sear meat on all sides until lightly browned and transfer to a roasting pan. Add whole garlic cloves into the crevices of the roast (usually where there is a seam of fat). Add desired amount of carrots surrounding roast.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together all remaining “Roast” ingredients and pour over roast and carrots.
  • Cover tightly with foil and roast for 30 minutes at 425 degrees F.
  • Turn roast over, re-cover with foil and TURN OVEN DOWN to 300 degrees F. Continue to roast for an additional 4-5 hours at 300 degrees F. Roast is ready when it is fall apart tender.
  • Remove roast and carrots from oven to a serving platter and let roast sit 30 minutes before carving to reabsorb the juices.
  • Gravy: Remove any excess juices/broth from roasting pan and strain fat. Add canned beef broth to the juices/broth to equal 2 cups. Set aside.
  • Add 4 tablespoons fat/drippings to saucepan (from roasting pan or strained from broth/juices) OR melt 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup flour and whisk to create a roux. Cook over medium heat, while whisking, until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly stir in 2 cups juices/broth and bring the gravy to a simmer until thickened. Add additional broth if needed to thin. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper (although it probably won’t need it!)

Nutrition

Calories: 657kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 61gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 209mgSodium: 1867mgPotassium: 1190mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 39IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 75mgIron: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer, experienced recipe-developer and American Culinary Federation certified. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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5 from 5 votes

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41 Comments

    1. I would recommend 3 to 4 hours. Using a meat thermometer is highly recommended. Hope you enjoy your roast!

  1. This is the BEST recipe for the tougher roasts, and I have used it many times just as it is. But today I had all ingredients except beef broth. I didn’t want to make a ten-mile trip for one thing, so it was time to improvise. I thought that two cans of Progresso’s French Onion Soup should do the trick, and I can tell you it was absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for this basic recipe – so good as written but also so easy to adjust as needs arise.

  2. I’ve made this recipe so many times!! It always turns out perfect! I used to make my roast in the crock but they were never tender enough!! I’ve used chuck and a tough arm roast for this recipe and they are still flawless! Thank you for sharing!

  3. Made this last night. Top notch! I usually don’t go off other roast recipes but for some reason decided to this time. Glad I did. Make it, you will not be disappointed. Thank you for sharing this killer recipe!

  4. Alyssa
    It is Sunday afternoon and this roast turned out phenomenal …thank you so much for sharing this recipe…I will definitely be making this again for another Sunday afternoon family gathering

  5. Ok…wow…this was outstanding! I have been searching for a way to make pot roast tender….never successful until now – oh my!
    If you flow these directions exactly you will have a tender roast 100% certain! One thing I think is understated is how good the gravy is – seasoned perfectly – very flavorful – the person who posted this mother certainly knew what she was talking about – SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!!!!

  6. It snowed today for the first time. I woke up at 3AM as the furnace went out. As my husband was trying to figure out the problem I stuck this in the oven around 430. It was my first time making it. It was fabulous. Went back to bed and woke up with the fireplaces on and a heavenly aroma throughout the house. I will be making it again and again. A big thumbs up as we had it for an early lunch. I made the potatoes on the side just like he said. Fabulous. We gave it a 10.

  7. i want to add potatos. do i put them in at same time as carrots or later during cooking process since they dont take as long to cook?

  8. I used this recipe to cook my 2nd roast ever the first was tough and dry this one turned out better than my mom’s (Don’t tell her ) I was amazed at how tender and juicy it was thank you very much I look forward to the next one.

    1. LOL! I won’t tell your mom! That is awesome! I am so happy that you loved it and it turned out for you! Thanks so much! XOXO

  9. Hi, I’m new to the slow cooker and pressure cooker and I would like to slow cook this roast. What temperature and amount of time would you recommend for cooking the roast in a Instant Pot (crockpot)? Thanks so Much!

  10. This meal looks delicious. Can you tell me how you would prepare the roast and mashed potatoes if you only have one crock pot? Thank you!

  11. This pot roast is a stunner! It almost looks too good to eat…almost! 😉 It’s just the kind of dish I want to eat on a cold day. I will definitely be making this soon!