Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast. Pressure cooking a pot roast from frozen works surprisingly well. Two hours under pressure cooks a beef chuck roast to tender, juicy, shreddable meat.
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I subscribe to Chris Young's YouTube channel because I love his geeky food science videos. (You can tell he helped write Modernist Cuisine and created the Combustion Predictive Thermometer).
His recent video caught my attention, where he pressure cooks a frozen chuck roast. I have my own favorite pot roast approach, where I cut the roast into smaller roasts to speed up cooking. (See my Instant Pot Beef Pot Roast recipe). He takes the opposite approach - he cooks the whole chuck roast, from frozen, for 2 hours to get it nice and tender. I couldn't believe that would work...but it did. It gave me a fantastic pot roast, directly from frozen, with 2 hours of pressure cooking.
Adapted from: Chris Young Pressure Cooker Frozen Pot Roast Can Cooking from Frozen really be juicier? - Youtube
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2½ to 3½ pound beef chuck roast, about 3 inches thick
- 1 large onion, diced
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups beef broth (preferably homemade beef broth)
- ½ teaspoon salt (if using store-bought broth)
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 celery ribs, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- Minced parsley for garnish
How to cook a frozen pot roast in an Instant Pot
Brown the frozen chuck roast
Heat the tablespoon of oil in a wide Instant Pot (8 quart or 7 quart wide) set to Sauté mode - high until the oil starts to shimmer, about 5 minutes. (Use medium-high heat in any other wide pressure cooker.) Carefully add the frozen chuck roast to the pot. It's going to splatter when it hits the oil in the pot, so I put a lid on the pot or use my splatter screen over the top. Cook the roast until it is browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the roast (again, carefully, due to splattering oil) and brown on the second side for about 4 more minutes. Move the roast to a plate, and pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pot. (I also wipe down the outside of my Instant Pot and the counter to clean up any oil droplets.)
Sauté the aromatics and simmer the wine
Put the onions and mushrooms in the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of beef. Pour in the wine, bring it to a boil, and boil it for 1 minute. (This will cook off some of the alcohol in the wine.)
Roast, broth, tomatoes, and Worcestershire into the pot
Put the browned pot roast into the pot (along with any juices on the plate). Sprinkle the roast on both sides with the salt. Pour in the beef broth (and ½ teaspoon of salt if using homemade broth), sprinkle the thyme sprigs over the roast, drizzle the Worcestershire sauce over the roast, and then pour the can of crushed tomatoes over the top of everything.
Pressure cook the pot roast for 2 hours with a Quick Release
Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 2 hours in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 90 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) When the pressure cooking time is done, quick release the pressure in the pot.
Pressure cook the root vegetables for 8 minutes with a Quick Release
Unlock the lid of the pressure cooker—tilt it away from you as you open it to avoid the scalding steam. Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery to the pot. Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for another 8 minutes to cook the root vegetables (the same cooking time in an Instant Pot or stovetop PC). When the pressure cooking time is done, quick release the pressure in the pot.
Slice and serve
Unlock the lid of the pressure cooker. Again, tilt it away from you as you open it to avoid the scalding steam. Fish out the thyme stems and discard. Remove the roast from the pot with a spatula and a slotted spoon, and move it to a carving board for slicing. (Be gentle; the roast is fall-apart tender, and let it rest while you get the rest of the vegetables out to firm up for slicing). Scoop the root vegetables out with a slotted spoon and move them to a serving bowl. Pour the pot liquid into a fat separator. Slice the roast into ½-inch thick slices. (Don't worry if some of them shred apart while you're trying to cut - serve them as shredded pot roast.) Transfer the sliced pot roast to a serving platter, surround it with some root vegetables, and drizzle with a healthy amount of the defatted pot liquid. Serve with the rest of the root vegetables on the side, and pass the defatted pot liquid at the table. Enjoy!
Equipment
You need a wide Instant Pot for this recipe. A 3-pound chuck roast is probably going to be too big to fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker because it is narrow and tall. (And the frozen roast will not let you bend or squish it to fit.) I recommend using an 8-quart pressure cooker (or larger) or a wide pressure cooker like the Instant Pot Wide 7-quart cooker.
Tips and Tricks
Cook the potatoes, carrots, and celery for 8 minutes at the end
Vegetables will cook to mush during the 2-hour pressure cook time needed for a frozen pot roast. That's why the recipe adds them in at the end. (It's a trick I've used before in my Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe).
Browning the pot roast is good - but messy
In the original recipe, Mr. Young deep-fried his pot roast to brown it before pressure cooking. I'm not big on deep-frying, so I sauté in a tablespoon of vegetable oil. As I said in the recipe, watch out—frozen food and hot oil mean a lot of splattering oil. Wear an apron, and keep a lid or splatter screen on the pot to keep the mess contained.
You can skip the browning step if you want - the recipe will still work - but browning adds a lot of flavor to the pot roast. (Personally, I always brown the meat.)
Thin roasts
These instructions are for a 3-pound roast, 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches thick. If you have a thin roast, about 2 inches thick, reduce the pot roast cooking time to 90 minutes under pressure.
Substitutions
Other cuts of beef
I am a chuck roast purist when it comes to pot roast. Other cuts of beef don't pot roast as well as chuck roast and tend to dry out in the long cooking time. That said, if you don't have a chuck roast, an "English" shoulder roast or bottom round roast will work with this technique, as long as it is 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches thick and weighs roughly 3 pounds.
Other root vegetables
Instead of potatoes, carrots, and onions, you can branch out with your root vegetables. I'd suggest turnips, parsnips, or sweet potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks. You can also add bell pepper cut into 1-inch squares.
Skip the alcohol
I like having a little wine in my stew; some flavors dissolve better in alcohol. I bring the wine to a boil to simmer out some of the alcohol, but there is still alcohol left in the dish. If you can't drink alcohol or don't want to, skip the wine. Use extra beef broth instead.
Skip the mushrooms
Mushrooms can be a divisive topic at my dinner table. (My wife and I love them, my kids...not so much.) Skip them if you don't like mushrooms.
Worcestershire sauce
I like adding Worcestershire sauce to my pot roasts; it adds a bit of umami depth to the flavors. You can substitute soy sauce or skip it if you don't have Worcestershire sauce.
What to serve with Pot Roast
Pot roast is a one-pot meal; it's got protein (pot roast), vegetables (carrots and celery), and starch (potatoes). I like to serve pot roast with something to soak up the liquid - I like mashed potatoes or dinner rolls. And, more vegetables are good with it, especially something green, like
Instant Pot Green Beans, Instant Pot Collard Greens, or Pressure Cooker Kale.
Print
Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast. Pressure cooking a pot roast from frozen works surprisingly well. Two hours under pressure cooks a beef chuck roast to tender, juicy, shreddable meat.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2½ to 3½ pound beef chuck roast, about 3 inches thick
- 1 large onion, diced
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups beef broth (preferably homemade beef broth)
- ½ teaspoon salt (if using store-bought broth)
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 celery ribs, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- Minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Brown the frozen chuck roast: Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wide Instant Pot (8 quart or 7 quart wide) set to Sauté mode - high until the oil starts to shimmer, about 5 minutes. (Use medium-high heat in any other wide pressure cooker.) Carefully add the frozen chuck roast to the pot. It's going to splatter when it hits the oil in the pot, so I put a lid on the pot or use my splatter screen over the top. Cook the roast until it is browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the roast (again, carefully, due to splattering oil) and brown on the second side for about 4 more minutes. Move the roast to a plate, and pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pot. (I also wipe down the outside of my Instant Pot and the counter to clean up any oil droplets.)
- Sauté the aromatics and simmer the wine: Put the onions and mushrooms in the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of beef. Pour in the wine, bring it to a boil, and boil it for 1 minute. (This will cook off some of the alcohol in the wine.)
- Roast, broth, tomatoes, and Worcestershire into the pot: Put the browned pot roast into the pot (along with any juices on the plate). Sprinkle the roast on both sides with the salt. Pour in the beef broth (and ½ teaspoon of salt if using homemade broth), sprinkle the thyme sprigs over the roast, drizzle the Worcestershire sauce over the roast, and then pour the can of crushed tomatoes over the top of everything.
- Pressure cook the pot roast for 2 hours with a Quick Release: Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 2 hours in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 90 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) When the pressure cooking time is done, quick release the pressure in the pot.
- Pressure cook the root vegetables for 8 minutes with a Quick Release: Unlock the lid of the pressure cooker—tilt it away from you as you open it to avoid the scalding steam. Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery to the pot. Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for another 8 minutes to cook the root vegetables (the same cooking time in an Instant Pot or stovetop PC). When the pressure cooking time is done, quick release the pressure in the pot.
- Slice and serve: Unlock the lid of the pressure cooker. Again, tilt it away from you as you open it to avoid the scalding steam. Fish out the thyme stems and discard. Remove the roast from the pot with a spatula and a slotted spoon, and move it to a carving board for slicing. (Be gentle; the roast is fall-apart tender, and let it rest while you get the rest of the vegetables out to firm up for slicing). Scoop the root vegetables out with a slotted spoon and move them to a serving bowl. Pour the pot liquid into a fat separator. Slice the roast into ½-inch thick slices. (Don't worry if some of them shred apart while you're trying to cut - serve them as shredded pot roast.) Transfer the sliced pot roast to a serving platter, surround it with some root vegetables, and drizzle with a healthy amount of the defatted pot liquid. Serve with the rest of the root vegetables on the side, and pass the defatted pot liquid at the table. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
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Starla Hale says
Are the tomatoes necessary to tenderize the meat? My husband doesn't like them.
Mike Vrobel says
No, they are there to add flavor. You can skip them if you don't want them.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Give this pot roast a try!
Nicole S says
Oh this one is fascinating! Thank you!
Is the meat done when you quick-release the first time? I tend to make a pot roast, stick it in the fridge and then re-heat for a meal later. Could I just stop before adding the root veggies , or should it be 2 hours 8 minutes to get the meat finished?
Mike Vrobel says
The meat is done at 2 hours - you can stop then.
Nicole S says
Thank you!