I struggle with dinners so much over the summer. I don’t know if it’s the brief change in schedule, or the added challenge of working and entertaining the kids at the same time – or maybe it’s forgetting that the sun stays up long after bedtime that throws me off, but it’s not unusual for me to realize it’s after five and I haven’t started dinner yet! I find myself making a mad dash to somehow prepare and serve dinner before bedtime, which usually means scrapping my initial plans and digging a frozen pizza out of the freezer.
A while back my slow cooker died after ten years of faithful service, and my husband surprised me with an all in one slow cooker and pressure cooker to cheer me up (I really did love that thing). I’d always been a little hesitant to use a pressure cooker because I truly believed low and slow was the way to achieve tender, tasty meals. A mom can only eat so much frozen pizza though. It didn’t take long to be swayed by the promises of meals in 30 minutes that were repeated in my favorite mom’s groups. I caved and found a chicken recipe. And then I found a fajita recipe. And before long I was totally convinced – this pressure cooker was going to save me from frozen meals and 9pm dinners!
Pot roast is my favorite slow cooker meal, and when I penciled it into my calendar I totally intended to make it that way. Then my conference call ran long, and the kids begged for a picnic lunch, and I forgot my son had a late afternoon doctor’s appointment. Before I knew it I was resigning myself to winging this recipe in my pressure cooker. And boy am I glad I did, because that night we had the BEST pot roast I had ever eaten. My house smelled amazing, dinner looked like I had been cooking all day and the roast itself was perfect. It was so tender, it just melted in your mouth and was so full of rich flavor everyone went back for seconds. This has become my go-to way of making a pot roast, and it’s even easier than my slow cooker method!
One thing I really love about the pressure cooker is it’s ability to brown meat, so I don’t need to use an extra pan. Just salt and pepper your roast, then preheat your pressure cooker to sear and brown it on all sides.
While that’s happening slice some onions and mince some garlic. Once the roast is browned toss in the onions and garlic and two cups of beef broth. You can use water in a pinch, but I love the rich flavor beef broth gives this dish.
Set the pressure to high and use the manual function to set the cook time for 60 minutes.
Then read a book, unload the dishwasher, catch up on some TV – or maybe do what I do and find reasons to walk in and out of your house so that you can keep appreciating how amazing dinner smells! I actually do this. I tell my husband to do it to, but he just looks at me like I’m nuts.
- 5 pound roast - I used top round, but bottom round and chuck work well too.
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Cups beef broth
- Preheat the pressure cooker to sear.
- Season roast generously with salt and pepper.
- Brown roast on all sides.
- Add onions, garlic and beef broth to the pressure cooker.
- Set pressure to high and use the manual function to set cook time to 60 minutes.
Whether you’re a slow cooker pro, or looking for a recipe to make in your new Instant Pot, this Pressure Cooker Pot Roast will have a homestyle dinner on the table in no time!
Leave a Reply