Apple Cider Pot Roast

Stay cozy during these chilly months with this fall-apart tender apple cider pot roast. Slowly cooked in apple cider and rich beef stock with fresh herbs and warm spices, this pot roast puts a fall spin on a classic dish. Finish this apple cider pot roast with a rich pan-drippings gravy, and you have yourself some serious comfort food.

You know what I love about serving pot roast for company? A good pot roast instantly brings those nostalgic childhood memories of mom’s cooking. Anytime you can invoke those down-home feelings, you know you’re in for a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that's sure to please. Plus, pot roast is perfect for feeding a crowd, which makes entertaining as simple as can be.

On top of its crowd-pleasing way, I love that we can cook this apple cider pot roast using three methods for maximum flexibility. Prefer an oven-braised pot roast? You got it. More of a slow cooker pot roast fan? No problem. Jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon with no end in sight? This pot roast is for you.

Ingredients for Apple Cider Pot Roast

For this fall-themed pot roast, here's everything we need.

• Pot roast
• Flour
• Salt and pepper
• Oil
• Apple cider
• Beef broth
• Tomato paste
• Fresh sage
• Fresh rosemary
• Fresh thyme
• Cinnamon sticks
• Whole cloves
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Petite potatoes
• Butter

What Cut of Meat for Pot Roast

Not any cut of meat will do. For this apple cider pot roast, we definitely want to use beef chuck roast. Round roast is not nearly as tender.

Chuck roast is a tough cut, but when we slowly cook it, the meat breaks down and become unbelievably tender. Don’t bother with a knife, friends. A fork is all you need to cut through this roast.

So please trust me on this and go with chuck roast. You'll be happy you did.

How to Braise Apple Cider Pot Roast in Oven

Of the three cooking methods for this apple cider pot roast, a slow braise in the oven is my favorite. That's no dig on the other methods -- all three produce a tasty pot roast. But I truly believe something magical happens to the tender beef and rich sauce in the oven.

To make our oven-braised pot roast, we dust our beef chuck with flour and plenty of salt and pepper and then brown it in hot oil in a Dutch oven.

Once we brown it on both sides, we remove the roast from the Dutch oven, cook the garlic, and pour in our apple cider, beef broth and tomato paste while scrapping up those delicious brown bits from the meat. We then place onion slices, herbs and spices in the Dutch oven and place the roast on top. I also like to reserve a few onion slices to place on the roast.

Now we tuck in some carrots and petite potatoes on the side and bring the braising liquid to a boil. This step is important. If the liquid isn't hot enough, it won't properly cook the roast in the oven, so don't skip this step.

With the braising liquid boiling, we're ready to place the roast in a 275-degree oven to braise. For the timing, I find beef chuck's weight generally corresponds to how long it cooks in a 275-degree oven. For example, if our beef chuck is 3 pounds, we cook it for three hours. If it's 3 ½ pounds, three and a half hours will do and so forth.

That said, judge the pot roast's doneness by its tenderness rather than cooking time. The pot roast is ready when a fork can easily shred the meat. Even if you cooked the pot roast by my time guidelines, keep cooking if it's not fork tender.

How to Make Pot Roast Gravy

With our pot roast finished, we can start on that delicious gravy. Technically, this step is optional, but we’re talking gravy here. Who doesn’t want a generous smothering of gravy to go with their pot roast?

We start by straining two cups of sauce from our pot roast and setting it aside. Then, we make a roux by cooking equal parts butter and flour. After the butter and flour cook for a few minutes, we whisk in that pot roast sauce, add a pinch of salt and cook until it thickens.

And that's it. We now have our delicious pot roast gravy for smothering.

How to Make Apple Cider Pot Roast in Slow Cooker

If you won't be around to make this pot roast in the oven, the slow cooker is a great option. Like the oven braise, we brown our roast on the stove to get the best flavor and then move it along with the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Now we simply cook the pot roast on low for eight hours.

How to Make Apple Cider Pot Roast in Instant Pot

While low and slow is my favorite method for making pot roast, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Instant Pot handled this cut of meat. While I'm a fan of my Instant Pot, I don't find it shines when using it on meat that typically requires slow cooking at a low temperature. Instant Pot short ribs, for example, don't do it for me.

That said, slowly braising this pot roast in the oven is still my favorite method, but the Instant Pot is a great option when you're short on time.

Essentially, the process of cooking this apple cider pot roast in the Instant Pot is the same as the oven braise, but we use the Instant Pot's Sauté function instead of the stove to brown the meat. Once we brown the pot roast, we add everything to the Instant Pot, seal and cook on high pressure for an hour.

For the gravy, we can either make that on the stove or empty the Instant Pot, turn on the Sauté function and make it right there.

Perfect Pairing for Apple Cider Pot Roast

With the warm spice of this pot roast, I love a Belgian dubbel for this pairing. Belgian dubbels have a spicy yeast character that goes nicely with the apple cider, and it's a bold beer that can stand up to the roasted meat and rich gravy.

For the perfect wine pairing, you can't go wrong with a medium- to full-bodied zinfandel. While some zinfandels can be light bodied, we want one that's big enough to balance our roasted beef. Zinfandels also have fruity, peppery qualities that are perfect with our apple cider and spices.

And, of course, if you'd like a fun seasonal drink, this apple cider margarita, apple cider old fashioned or gingered bourbon-apple cider cocktail make a delicious option.

When you're in the mood for the coziest, most comforting meal, I hope you try this apple cider pot roast.

Cheers!

Looking for More Cozy Comfort Food?

• Cheddar-apple stuffed chicken thighs in garlic cream sauce
• Red wine-braised short ribs
• Mushroom and chicken pie
• Curried feta-lamb meatballs in spicy tomato sauce
• Andouille sausage-chicken gumbo

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📖 Recipe

Apple Cider Pot Roast

Stay cozy during these chilly months with this fall-apart tender apple cider pot roast. Slowly cooked in apple cider and rich beef stock with fresh herbs and warm spices, this pot roast puts a fall spin on a classic dish. Finish this apple cider pot roast with a rich pan-drippings gravy, and you have yourself some serious comfort food.

5 from 186 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 400kcal

Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

• ▢
  Large Dutch oven

Ingredients

Apple Cider Pot Roast

• ▢ 3-4 pound beef chuck roast
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ▢ 3-4 garlic cloves grated or minced
• ▢ 2 cups apple cider homemade or store-bought
• ▢ 1 cup beef stock
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ▢ 10 fresh thyme sprigs
• ▢ 2-3 fresh sage sprigs
• ▢ 2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs
• ▢ 2 cinnamon sticks
• ▢ 1 onion sliced
• ▢ ½ tablespoon whole cloves
• ▢ Pinch of crushed red pepper
• ▢ 1 pound petite potatoes
• ▢ 6 carrots cut into chunks

Gravy

• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups drippings from pot roast strained
• ▢ Pinch of salt

Instructions

For Oven Braising

• Let the beef chuck roast sit in room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Dust generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over the chuck roast and pat to coat.
• Turn oven to 275 degrees. Heat canola oil in a large Dutch oven until shimmering over medium-high heat. Cook the roast until it browns on one side, about five to eight minutes. Carefully flip and brown on the other side. Remove from the Dutch oven.
• Lower heat to medium. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Pour in apple cider, beef stock and tomato paste, scrapping with a wooden spoon to loosen the brown bits from the beef. Add the thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, sage sprigs, cinnamon sticks, most of the onion slices, whole cloves and crushed red pepper to the Dutch oven. Place chuck roast back in the Dutch oven and the remaining onion slices on top of the roast.
• Tuck in the petite potatoes and carrot chunks on the side of the roast. They don't need to fully submerge in the juice.
• Bring braising liquid to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and place in 275-degree oven. Cook for a few hours until the meat easily shreds with a fork. A 3-pound roast should take three hours, a 3 ½-pound roast should take three and a half hours, and a 4-pound roast should take four hours, but judge doneness based on whether the meat is fork tender. If it's not easily shreddable, it needs more cooking time.
• For the gravy, melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Whisk in flour and cook for about three minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly pour in the strained pan drippings from the pot roast. Whisk until smooth. Add a pinch of salt and continue to cook until thickened. This should take a few minutes. Serve roast, carrots, potatoes and onions with gravy. Enjoy!

For Slow Cooker

• Let the beef chuck roast sit in room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Dust generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over the chuck roast and pat to coat.
• Heat canola oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet until shimmering over medium-high heat. Cook the roast until it browns on one side, about five to eight minutes. Carefully flip and brown on the other side. Remove from the heat.
• In a slow cooker, pour in apple cider, beef stock and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the garlic, thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, sage sprigs, cinnamon sticks, most of the onion slices, whole cloves and crushed red pepper to the slow cooker. Place chuck roast in the slow cooker and the remaining onion slices on top of the roast.
• Tuck in the petite potatoes and carrot chunks on the side. They don't need to fully submerge in the liquid.
• Cook on low for eight hours. The roast is done when it easily shreds with a fork.
• For the gravy, melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Whisk in flour and cook for about three minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly pour in the strained pan drippings from the pot roast. Whisk until smooth. Add a pinch of salt and continue to cook until thickened. This should take a few minutes. Serve roast, carrots, potatoes and onions with gravy. Enjoy!

For Instant Pot

• Let the beef chuck roast sit in room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Dust generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over the chuck roast and pat to coat.
• Heat canola oil in the Instant Pot using the Sauté function until shimmering. Cook the roast until it browns on one side, about five to eight minutes. Carefully flip and brown on the other side. Remove from the Instant Pot.
• Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Pour in apple cider, beef stock and tomato paste, scrapping with a wooden spoon to loosen the brown bits from the beef. Add the thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, sage sprigs, cinnamon sticks, most of the onion slices, whole cloves and crushed red pepper to the Instant Pot. Place chuck roast back in the Instant Pot and the remaining onion slices on top of the roast.
• Tuck in the petite potatoes and carrot chunks on the side. They don't need to fully submerge in the liquid.
• Seal and cook pot roast on the Manual setting for an hour at high pressure for 3 pounds. Allow to naturally vent for 10 minutes and then finish with the Quick Release function. The roast is done when it easily shreds with a fork. If it's not easily shreddable, it needs more cooking time.
• For the gravy, melt butter over medium heat in a skillet or empty the Instant Pot and use the Sauté function. Whisk in flour and cook for about three minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly pour in the strained pan drippings from the pot roast. Whisk until smooth. Add a pinch of salt and continue to cook until thickened. This should take a few minutes. Serve roast, carrots, potatoes and onions with gravy. Enjoy!

Notes

• Please do not use apple cider vinegar for apple cider. We're just talking about regular apple cider that you would drink. You can generally find it in the produce section of your grocery store.
• I like my carrots tender. If you prefer firmer carrots, you can add them after an hour of cooking in the oven or halfway through the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
• For the Instant Pot, I find a 3-pound roast is best for the 6-quart model. If you get a bigger cut of meat, you'll likely have space issues.
• Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1plate | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 800mg | Sugar: 10g

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