My Italian Pot Roast is a sensationally tender pot roast braised in a savory tomato sauce that melts in your mouth. It is filled with tons of great Italian flavors and spice.
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A great bottle of wine makes the best Italian dishes. I consider myself an expert on this. That’s because I think my husband might be Italian, and he just doesn’t know it. No one person can love Italian food so much without having those roots somewhere. Because of this love, we have tried tons of Italian restaurants in Chicago, and I have cooked more pasta and bolognese in my day than most people but this Nana’s Italian Pot Roast is extra special.
Several years ago when my husband and I were still courting (that means dating for all the youngins), we frequented a restaurant in Chicago that served a dish called Nana’s Gravy. The name was the catch for me. Anything with grandmother in the title immediately strikes a cord.
What Is Italian Pot Roast?
This Italian Pot Roast recipe is a delicious slowly braised beef in an indulgent tomato sauce over rigatoni. It is absolutely delicious.
Just imagine beef so tender that it falls off the bone submerged in a decadent crushed tomato sauce filled with caramelized onions, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken stock and wine.
Key Ingredients
To create a truly tender pot roast Italian style, it really begins with the base sauce. This sauce is almost like a bolognese because the meat braises in the sauce for hours until the beef just falls completely apart, very similar to these Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs. The key ingredients for this Bolognese sauce are:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Red Wine
- Stock
- Italian Seasonings
Starting with the aromatics, they truly add not just additional flavor but nuances of flavor to the finishes sauce. By doing a saute’ of them at the very beginning, they allow those ingredients to truly become one with the sauce as it continues to develop hours later.
For the tomatoes, I use a combination of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. It adds various textures and thickness creating the consistency and thickness I prefer.
The wine is seriously essential here. It really brought out the intense flavors and deliciousness of the beef.
Finally a stock helps to round out the flavor so you don’t taste too much wine. I use chicken stock but feel free to use beef or even vegetable stock if you want.
And finally a mix of Italian seasonings truly brings this home creating the best base you have ever tasted!!
How to Make Italian Pot Roast
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Liberally season both sides of beef with salt and pepper. Don’t be shy. They will need lots of flavor.
- Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat on stove.
- Once olive oil is hot, add beef to pot and deeply brown on all sides then remove from pot.
- Scrap the bottom of the pan to get the flavor back into the oil. Next add chopped onion and sweat them for a few minutes until they start to soften and turn golden.
- Add in minced garlic and only cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, and chicken stock. Stir in Italian seasoning, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce to a simmer.
- Lastly return browned beef to pot and submerge in the sauce.
- Bake covered for 3 1/2- 4 1/2 hours or until beef is cooked through, tender and falling off the bone and sauce has thickened. This will depend on the thickness of beef.
- Remove pot from oven and gently ladle the oil off the top of the sauce which has settled. Simmer over medium low heat to thicken sauce.
- Cook pasta according to instructions on package and drain.
- Serve completed gravy by adding pasta to serving platter, topping with meat and gravy and garnishing with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
How to Serve Italian Pot Roast with Bolognese Sauce Recipe
- Serve over pasta like a cooked rigatoni to soak up that flavor.
- Try this deliciousness over a polenta or Creamy Grits!
- These balsamic Brussels Sprouts are a great way to add something green.
- Don’t forget the most perfect Cheese Breadsticks to serve with your Italian dish!
How to Store
To store Italian Pot Roast, let it cool completely, then transfer it into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, reheat it slowly on the stove over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s warmed through. This method ensures the roast stays tender and flavorful, just like when it was first cooked!
Favorite Pasta Recipes
Beef Ragu
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds short ribs beef shanks or pot roast
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes 1 can
- 15 ounces tomato sauce 1 can
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning and herbs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta cooked
- chopped parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Liberally season both sides of beef with salt and pepper. Don’t be shy. They will need lots of flavor.
- Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat on stove.
- Once olive oil is hot, add beef to pot and deeply brown on all sides then remove from pot.
- Scrap the bottom of the pan to get the flavor back into the oil. Next add chopped onion and sweat them for a few minutes until they start to soften and turn golden.
- Add in minced garlic and only cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, and chicken stock. Stir in Italian seasoning, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce to a simmer.
- Lastly return browned beef to pot and submerge in the sauce.
- Bake covered for 3 1/2- 4 1/2 hours or until beef is cooked through, tender and falling off the bone and sauce has thickened. This will depend on the thickness of beef.
- Remove pot from oven and gently ladle the oil off the top of the sauce which has settled. Simmer over medium low heat to thicken sauce.
- Cook pasta according to instructions on package and drain.
- Serve completed gravy by adding pasta to serving platter and mixing together with gravy to sauce the noodles then topping with meat and gravy and garnishing with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
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Number 1 favorite recipe in my house.
I made this dish for my family tonight & it was amazing!!! My family loves this Italian pot roast dish so much, the roast was so tender. My husband has already asked me to make this again. Thank u so much, this is a keeper.
Thinking about using a chuck roast because that’s what I have in the freezer. That would work, right? Does the fat cook off into the sauce? Because, otherwise, I think it might be too fatty. Thanks for a great idea!
Hi Alene,
I have made this recipe with chuck roast and it turns out great. You just need to laddle the fat of the top like you do with the short ribs..
Linda
Amazing!!! Don’t alter a thing!!!
I made this today for dinner. It was a huge hit. I will make this recipe again. Thank you!
Crazy ahhhhmazing! Thank you so much for sharing this gem.
Hi! This is exactly what I was looking for. I’m curious about the issue of burning the bottom of the bottom. When you make this do you actually leave it for a couple of hours or do you have to stir it throughout to keep from burning? Thanks!
Because this braises at such a low heat it shouldn’t really burn on the bottom.
I found this recipe and I thought I was going to cry. I remember making this exact recipe with my mother when I was a kid back in 196mumblemumble. I thought I would never find it again. So glad to see it featured here and I’ll be making it this weekend. Thank you!
Hooray thank you so much! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you.
This is the recipe I’ve been waiting for. Carabba’s Italian Grill use to have a similar dish, Beef Brasato we could only get Sunday afternoons. They haven’t had it in years. I even tried to get the recipe from the company but was told No. I’ve tried other recipes but this had the look. Kroger had the pot roast on sale, so I picked on up and let it cook away today. I got tied up at an appointment so it did spend almost two hours longer in the oven so it was a little thick. But Good God that the taste I missed. Super easy, and so so delicious. Thank you for creating this recipe.
I do have a photo of my results.
sounds yummmmy. bought the fixins to make for company this week. is there a particular brand of italian spices you use or do you make your own? thank you!
You can do either honestly. Let me know how it turns out.