SLOW COOKER POT ROAST | super tender crock pot roast for a healthy dinner idea!

Hey y'all, welcome back to my channel. If you are new here, my name is Kayla, and welcome. So today, we're making my slow cooker pot roast, which is one of my favorite comfort meals to make this time of year. It's so hearty and filling, and when done right, it has the best flavor, and it just falls apart. So in today's video, I'm gonna show you the extra steps that I take to really maximize the flavor of this pot roast, but you can also just dump and go with this recipe if you're in a hurry. But this pot roast makes for a super easy weeknight dinner, and it's also great for meal prep because it'll stay fresh in the fridge for up to four to five days. For more information on how to store the leftovers or how to freeze it if you wanna batch prep this pot roast, be sure to head over to the blog post. I have a lot of extra tips over there, and of course, you can also print off and save the recipe card and calculate the macros over on the blog post. I'm gonna have that linked for y'all in the description box below, but anyway, let's head to the kitchen and get started. The key to making a perfect pot roast is choosing the right cut of meat. So when you head to the grocery store, you'll wanna look for beef chuck roast. Chuck roast has a good amount of marbling in it compared to other cuts, which means it's a little bit fattier, and this helps to maximize the flavor of the roast and retain more moisture. And this, in turn, is gonna make it super tender and easy to shred. If you can't find chuck roast at the store, it's always good to have a backup option. You can also use top or bottom round roast, which can also be called rump roast. And I'm just seasoning both sides of the roast generously with sea salt and pepper. The roast I have here is about three pounds, and I'm using a total of two teaspoons of sea salt and one teaspoon of black pepper. Make sure you rub it all over the roast and coat it very well. And then heading over to the stovetop, I'm heating up one tablespoon of avocado oil over medium-high heat, and I'm using a large Dutch oven, but you can also use a cast iron skillet. Once it's heated, add the roast and sear it on each side for about three to four minutes or until it forms a nice brown crust. Then flip it over and sear it on the other side for about three to four minutes. Now, I know this is an extra step, but believe me when I say this really does help to maximize the flavor of the pot roast and lock in all that moisture. Don't forget to sear those sides a little bit as well. And this is why I like to sear the roast in a large pot instead of a pan, because it really helps to block a lot of that oil from splattering onto your stovetop. All right, once it's good and browned, you can transfer the roast to the crock pot. And this next step is optional, but I'm gonna chop up a yellow onion and do a quick saute on the onions as well. I do like my onions to be pretty chunky with this recipe since we're gonna be cooking it for so long, but feel free to chop them as small or as large as you'd like. Going back to my pot, I'm adding in one teaspoon of avocado oil along with the onions and just sauteing them for about three to four minutes. And as you can see, the little brown bits from searing the roast are still at the bottom of the pot, and we're gonna scrape those up in just a little bit whenever I add the broth. This is gonna add even more flavor to this pot roast recipe. While those are sauteing, I'm taking four garlic cloves and roughly chopping them into small pieces. Add them to the pot with the onions and saute them for another minute or two. Now add in two cups of beef broth and two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce. I'm using this brand because it's gluten-free, but you can also use coconut aminos if you wanna keep this recipe paleo-friendly. But this is really gonna add some depth to the flavor instead of just using the beef broth. As it's heating through, I'm using a spatula to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Now if you're in a hurry, you can totally skip this whole step and just dump everything into the crock pot, but if you do have an extra 10 minutes or so, I highly recommend this step because it really does boost the flavor. All right, let's pour this mixture into the crock pot on top of the roast. And now I'm gonna quickly chop up the vegetables. Starting with the carrots, make sure you remove the ends and peel the skin. Depending on how large your carrots are, you're only gonna need about four to five of them. And if your crock pot's big enough, you can always add more. I'm cutting them into about one-inch pieces. Since we're gonna be cooking them for several hours, you don't want them to be too thin because then they'll just get mushy. And the same goes for the celery. Cut off the ends and then cut them into about one to two-inch pieces. You'll need three to four celery stalks. And to make this pot roast super hearty, I'm also adding in potatoes. If you're keto or low-carb, you can leave the potatoes out. Or if you're paleo, you can substitute them with sweet potatoes or parsnips. And I'm just cutting them into fourths. But ideally, you do wanna use small white potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, or red potatoes. Now, if you're using those super small baby potatoes, you can just leave those whole or cut them into halves. Let's add everything to the crock pot, starting with the celery and carrots. I'm also adding in half a teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder. Top it off with the potatoes, two bay leaves, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, and one sprig of fresh rosemary. Add the lid and cook it on low for eight to nine hours. Or if you're crunched for thyme, you can also cook it on high for five to six hours. Once the pot roast is done, remove the sprigs of thyme and rosemary, as well as the bay leaves. And then using a pair of tongs, transfer the roast to a cutting board. And be super careful on this part because it will be very tender. But as you can see, because it is so tender, you can easily shred it up with a fork. And as I'm shredding it up, I like to dispose of any excess fat, but this is optional. Now if you go to shred it and it's not as tender as you'd like it to be, just add it back to the crock pot and cook it for another hour. To make the gluten-free gravy, I'm adding one tablespoon of arrowroot flour to a small bowl, along with two tablespoons of water. You can also use tapioca starch or cornstarch. Mix it up until it's fully dissolved. And then into a small saucepan over medium-high heat, I'm adding one cup of the leftover juices from the crock pot. Bring it to a light boil, add the flour mixture, and continue to whisk it for about two to three minutes to allow it to thicken. Now it's not gonna be super thick like real gravy, but you can make it thicker by adding an extra teaspoon of the arrowroot flour to the water mixture. And that is pretty much it. When you're ready to serve it, just transfer the pot roast to a serving platter or dinner plate, along with the vegetables. Pour the gravy over top, garnish it with some freshly chopped parsley, and it is ready to serve. This slow cooker pot roast is a go-to easy dinner recipe I love to make whenever I'm craving something hearty and comforting, especially during those fall and winter months. Well, all right, y'all, that is it for today's video, my slow cooker pot roast recipe, and I really hope y'all give this one a try. It's a classic, it's comforting, it's just so filling and hearty, especially this time of year with all the colder temperatures coming in. If you do give it a try, come back, comment on this video. I love hearing y'all's feedback. Of course, if you give any of my recipes or my meal preps a try, don't forget you can tag me over on Instagram, and I will reshare that on my stories. But that is it for today, and I will see y'all in the next video. Bye.