Easy Pot Roast with Tomatoes and Garlic

4.29 from 7 votes

Braised beef roast with tomatoes and garlic, just three ingredients for the best pot roast ever ~ in the Instant Pot, slow cooker or in the oven.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 438kcal

Put tomatoes in bowl and crush by hand, set aside. Swish can with about a ⅓ cup water and set aside for deglazing.
Dry pot roast with paper towels, and, if desired, tie with string to hold together while cooking. Set pressure cooker to sauté and heat a glug of olive oil. Season beef roast with kosher salt and brown on both sides. Remove roast to plate, and deglaze pot with the tomato juice and water. Turn off sauté setting.
Put beef roast back into pot, pour tomatoes over roast. Lift up roast to make sure tomatoes and liquid are evenly distributed, season with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic cloves around roast. Seal and set at high pressure for 60 minutes.
Let pressure cooker naturally release for 20 minutes, then manually release any remaining pressure. Remove pot roast to cutting board, slice or shred meat. Skim fat off tomato mixture and add beef back to pot. Serve beef and sauce over orzo, egg noodles or polenta with some garlic cloves, just press them right out of their papery skins.

Heat a little olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan large enough to hold the beef roast. Generously salt the roast all over. When oil is shimmering, brown roast on all sides. Remove to a plate. Swirl a little water in the empty tomato can and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits. Pour into the bottom of the slow cooker and place roast on top, along with any accumulated juices.
Season the roast with some fresh, cracked black pepper. Crush the tomatoes by hand and pour the tomatoes over the roast, then scatter the garlic cloves around and on top of the roast. Cook on high for 6 to 8 hours until beef is tender. Mine took about 7 hours, depends on the size of your roast.
Skim as much fat as you can from the surface. If you tied your beef, remove to a cutting board and slice or shred the beef and return to the slow cooker. Otherwise, use a fork and spoon to shred the meat into large pieces in the pot. Serve beef and sauce over pasta or polenta, with some garlic cloves, just press them right out of their papery skins.

Preheat oven to 300º (If desired, brown the beef as directed above in the slow cooker instructions and after deglazing, return roast to pot and continue.)
Put tomatoes in bowl with juices and crush by hand. Put roast in an ovenproof 4- to 5-quart heavy pot or Dutch oven with a lid. Pour tomatoes over roast and scatter garlic around it. Season with salt and pepper. Braise in middle of oven, covered, until very tender, 3 to 4 hours.
Skim as much fat as you can from surface. Cut roast into slices or shred and serve with sauce and garlic, over pasta or polenta.

Browning the chuck roast is totally optional. You can skip this step and make this even easier!
Tying the beef roast with string is also optional. I never do, but you're the boss, applesauce.
The cooked garlic will slip right out of their papery skins, spread on crusty bread or just stir back into the beef and sauce.
Cooking times are as follows: 1½ hours in the Instant Pot, 7-8 hours in the slow cooker and 3-4 hours in the oven.