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I grew up on roast beef but we didn’t have a slow cooker or Instant Pot to make life easy on my mama so she made it in the oven. Nothing reminds me of home more than the smell of a roast in the oven on a Sunday.

Here is a delicious and amazingly tender Roast Beef recipe. I think anything goes when it comes to the rub. It’s really about the flavour you’re going for. I’ve included the recipe for making a rub from scratch or you can buy your favourite premade rub. We have been loving the A Spice Affair Roast Beef Rub that we can buy locally from Crocus & Ivy. One thing I have learned for sure though, when it comes to a flavourful roast, browning it first is the key. Don’t skip this step! Oh, and those brown bits in the broth make for a delightful gravy later. Trust me on this!

The slow-cooker still makes a delicious roast; however, since I’ve become an owner of an Instant Pot, I’ve also added how you can make a delicious roast in this magical kitchen appliance in a fraction of the time. The choice is yours!

I like to make a heap of whipped mashed potatoes with this roast to soak up the delicious gravy but you can also choose to put potatoes right into the slow cooker with the roast. Seriously, my stomach is growling right now.

Depending on the number of people you are serving and the size of your slow cooker, you may need to adjust the number of vegetables you use. My slow cooker is a 6-quart so this recipe works perfectly and would serve about 3-4 people allowing for plenty of leftovers for the two of us.

I like cooking a roast on a Sunday before a busy week. We LOVE open-faced hot beef sandwiches (this recipe yields a ton of gravy) or heat up shredded roast beef in a frying pan with taco seasoning and make a taco salad.

Slow-Cooker Roast Beef

Tools You’ll Need

• Cast Iron Fry Pan
• Slow Cooker
• Whisk
• Meat Thermometer
• Saucepan

Ingredients

• 1 (3-4 pound) beef round or bottom round roast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 potatoes, cubed (optional)
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (save the rest for dinner)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves

Rub Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon rosemary

Gravy Slurry

• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/2 cup beef broth

Directions

1. Apply rub to the entire roast.
2. Heat olive oil in a cast iron fry pan on high heat. Brown roast really well on all sides and then place in a slow cooker.
3. Add broth to the pan and bring to boil while scraping up brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add tomato paste and wine and whisk to combine.
4. Arrange garlic, onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, and bay leaves in the slow cooker around the roast.
5. Pour broth from the pan over the roast.
6. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours until the internal temperature is 145F (medium). We use the Cooper-Atkins Digital Thermometer to determine the internal temperature of our meat.
7. Remove the roast from the slow cooker once cooked to your preferred doneness and let it rest for about 3-5 minutes.
8. Discard bay leaves.
9. To make the gravy, pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to boil and whisk in the gravy slurry. Continue to whisk until the gravy thickens.
10. Serve with the vegetables from the slow cooker and the gravy on the side.
11. Drink the rest of the red wine with dinner.

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Instant Pot Roast Beef

Tools You’ll Need

• Instant Pot
• Whisk
• Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

Use all of the same ingredients as above except the bay leaves.

Directions

1. Apply the rub to the entire roast.
2. Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting and once it is heated up, brown the roast on all sides.
3. After browning the roast on all sides, remove it from the Instant Pot and set it on a clean plate.
4. Keep the Instant Pot on the Sauté setting and add olive oil, onions and garlic to the pot. Cook the onions and garlic for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the red wine and tomato paste to the pot and stir with a wooden spoon while scraping up the bits.
6. Place the trivet on the bottom of the pot (be careful it will be hot).
7. Pour the beef broth into the pot.
8. Place the roast back into the Instant Pot and set it to Pressure Cook for 60 minutes.
9. After 60 minutes, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes and then use the quick-release valve to release the remaining pressure.
10. Remove the lid and add the potatoes, carrots and celery on top of the roast.
11. Pressure cook for another 15 minutes allowing it to naturally release for 10 minutes before using the quick-release valve to release the remaining pressure.
12. Remove vegetables, roast, and trivet from the Instant Pot and return it to the Sauté setting if you plan to make gravy.
13. Whisk the gravy slurry into the juices inside the Instant Pot and then let simmer for 3-5 minutes until the gravy has thickened.