This Dutch Oven Pot Roast recipe slowly braises a chuck roast in flavorful spices, genovese sauce, vegetables and luscious liquids resulting in a tender, fall apart comfort meal that’s served with a gremolata topping.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
Drop your email below, and this delicious recipe will slide right into your inbox! Plus, you’ll get all the latest updates and goodies from Grandbaby Cakes.
Perks and Highlights of Dutch Oven Pot Roast
I have several pot roast recipes on my website, and this one is quite unique. It is cooked in a very classic way by braising it in stock for a long period until incredibly tender. However I decided to braise this one with a delicious genovese sauce giving the entire roast a freshness and unique flavor along with a fresh topping of a herby gremolata topping.
Cuisine Inspiration: Italian with a twist. Imagine sitting in an old-world Italian kitchen, the aroma of herbs and slow-cooked goodness enveloping you. That’s where we’re going!
Primary Cooking Method: Slow cooking in a Dutch oven. We’re marrying flavors over time, under the gentle heat and the tender, loving care of cast iron.
Dietary Info: High-Protein, Gluten-Free (with appropriate adjustments). Hearty and wholesome, this dish fills you up with goodness and rich, complex flavors.
Key Flavor: The robustness of pot roast meets the fragrant charm of pesto and the deep, savory notes of Genovese sauce. It’s a trio that sings!
Skill Level: Intermediate. A bit of patience, a dash of love, and a sprinkle of courage are all you need.
Special Perks:
- Flavor Fusion: The combination of traditional pot roast with pesto and Genovese sauce brings an unexpected yet delightful flavor harmony to your palate.
- Comfort Food Deluxe: This dish is like a warm culinary hug from an Italian grandmother you never knew you had.
- Feed the Masses: Generous in servings, this pot roast is perfect for your family Sunday dinner or dazzling at a friendly get-together.
- Low Maintenance: Once everything’s in the pot, it’s a waiting game. Sit back, relax, and let the Dutch oven work its magic.
- Versatile Leftovers: If you have any left (big ‘if’!), they’re fabulous for sandwiches, salads, or stand-alone protein-packed snacks.
What Kind of Meat for Pot Roast?
Because pot roast usually starts with a tougher cut of meat, it must cook for a very very long time in liquids to really break it down and become tender. The best cut of meat for this type of roast is a chuck roast.
Chuck roast is usually labeled as such in the grocery store but it may also be labeled as chuck shoulder pot roast or even shoulder steak. It can be fatty and have a wonderfully rich flavor. Other cuts of meat that are good are also a rump roast and round roast.
Best Chuck Roast Recipe
What makes a recipe the best is the flavor. This chuck roast recipe has an abundance of flavor coming from multiple aromatics and seasonings along with a secret of stuffing garlic deep into the roast. It gives it much more flavor.
We also slather the entire best chuck roast in a pesto sauce that is to die for. It marries well with the seasonings giving it a wonderful herby essence.
And finally the gremolata topping is sensational as well and gives it a wonderful freshness.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients that truly make this dutch oven pot roast shine:
- About a 5 lb chuck roast- Chuck roast will yield about 2 “3” ounce servings of cooked meat per pound. Feel free to scale up or down based on your serving preferences.
- Garlic – In this recipe, we will actually stuff some garlic into the meat, really providing an even more amazing flavor.
- Seasonings- We will use a mix of kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning to provide ample flavor. You might think this is a lot of salt but this is a large cut of meat and you should liberally season it to make sure that it penetrates throughout the entire dish. We also will be using bay leaves.
- Flour- This will help with the sear to also provide a golden brown crust and additional flavor.
- Oil- This will help with the sear of the meat and give it color and flavor.
- Vegetables – Here we have a mix of carrots, red onions, bay leaves, and fingerling potatoes.
- Braising liquids- We are using beef stock which is richly essenced and some worcestershire sauce to really amp it up.
- Genovese pesto- I used a Barilla creamy genovese pesto that was applied all over the chuck and really adds such a wonderful touch.
How to Make the Best Pot Roast
There are several steps to this recipe but most of the work is done by your oven. Follow this step-by-step guide and you cannot fail.
Tip 1:
Stuff garlic into pockets of the roast. This will change the game on your pot roast adding an abundance of flavor deep inside the roast.
Tip 2:
Make a seasoning rub. You can combine your absolute favorite seasonings into one bowl and then liberally season roast evenly all over. A common mistake I see people make is not adding enough seasoning to the roast. When you have a large ample beef roast, you gotta add as much flavor as possible.
Tip 3:
Adding the pesto rub. This really sets this roast apart from any other roast recipe on my website. Feel free to add a jarred one like I use here from Barilla or even a homemade one.
Tip 4:
Don’t ruse the roast! This takes time. You can also do this in a slow cooker or even a pressure cooker if you are starved for time but here I use a dutch oven which also ensures even heating. This roast will go for about 2 1/2- 3 hours.
What to Serve with It
Serve this comforting meal with a side of Scalloped Potatoes, Creamed Corn, Pinto Beans and Mustard Greens.
Best Beef Recipes
- Beef Stew
- Italian Beef
- Birria Tacos
- Beef Short Ribs
- Chipotle Short Ribs
- Neck Bones recipe
- Prime Rib
- Prosciutto Wrapped Roast
- Mississippi Pot Roast
- Classic Pot Roast
- Italian Pot Roast
Dutch Oven Pot Roast
Email This Recipe
Enter your email and this recipe will arrive in your inbox! You’ll also get updates on the latest posts and more from Grandbaby Cakes.
Ingredients
For the Pot Roast
- 4 lbs chuck roast
- 9 garlic cloves
- 6.2 oz Barilly Creamy Genovese Pesto
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp oil
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 large red onion chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups low sodium beef stock
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 8 oz fingerling potatoes halved
For the Gremolata Topping
- zest of 2 medium lemons
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 4 garlic cloves chopped fine
Instructions
For the Roast
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Take a small knife and make 9 1-inch deep pockets into the top of the roast, large enough to fit the garlic cloves in. Stuff the garlic cloves into each of the pockets and add ½ teaspoon of pesto to the top to cover the holes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika and Italian seasoning until combined. Liberally season roast evenly all over. Next, pour flour over roast and dredge both sides evenly.
- Heat a dutch oven or medium sized pot with a lid over medium heat. Add the oil and sear the roast for 3 minutes on each side until brown. Remove the roast from the pot and spread ½ cup of Barilla Creamy Genovese pesto over the entire roast and set aside.
- Add carrots and onion and cook for 2 minutes, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Stir in the bay leaves, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and add the covered roast back into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and bake for 3 hours and 30 minutes, add potatoes with 1 hour remaining. Roast should be fork tender. If not, continue baking.
For the Gremolata
- While the roast is in the oven, in a small bowl combine lemon zest, parsley and garlic. When ready to serve, garnish roast with gremolata and serve with vegetables.
Notes
There are several steps to this recipe but most of the work is done by your oven. Follow this step-by-step guide and you cannot fail. Tip 1: Stuff garlic into pockets of the roast. This will change the game on your pot roast adding an abundance of flavor deep inside the roast. Step 2: Make a seasoning rub. You can combine your absolute favorite seasonings into one bowl and then liberally season roast evenly all over. A common mistake I see people make is not adding enough seasoning to the roast. When you have a large ample beef roast, you gotta add as much flavor as possible. Step 3: Adding the pesto rub. This really sets this roast apart from any other roast recipe on my website. Feel free to add a jarred one like I use here from Barilla or even a homemade one. Step 4: Slow roast the meat. This takes time. You can also do this in a slow cooker or even a pressure cooker if you are starved for time but here I use a dutch oven which also ensures even heating. This roast will go for about 2 1/2- 3 hours. Step 5: Add the veggies. Remove the pot after 2 1/2 hours, add the potatoes, carrots, quartered and onion around the roast into the liquid. Return the pot to the oven for another 1 hour and 45 minutes. Take it out of the oven when the roast is falling apart and the vegetables will be very tender. Discard the bay leaves. Remove the meat from the pot into a dish large enough to shred it. Shred the meat with two forks.
pinterest 
facebook 
twitter 
email
I can’t wait to try this pot roast sensation recipe for my daughter.
I hope she loves it!