This Dutch Oven Pot Roast is everything you want in a Sunday dinner: fall-apart tender beef, hearty carrots and potatoes, and a deeply savory braising liquid you'll want to pour over everything. A generous pour of dry red wine gives classic Midwest pot roast extra richness and depth, while a good hard sear and a long, slow braise in the oven do the rest. One pot, minimal effort, maximum cozy. 🤤

dutch oven pot roast with potatoes, fresh thyme, flakey sea salt, carrots, and more in a hearty broth.

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This Red Wine Pot Roast Is Not Your Mom's Recipe (Sorry, Mom!) 😂

And honestly? That's a good thing. 😉 The red wine isn't just there for flavor (though it adds SO much). Its acidity works with the long, low braise to break down the beef until it falls apart at the touch of a fork. It's what takes this pot roast from good to incredible.

You'll sear the roast, build your braising liquid right in the same pot, and let the oven work its magic for about 3½ to 4 hours. The vegetables go in for the last hour or so, so they cook through without turning to mush. Your kitchen is going to smell amazing. 😍

It's shockingly easy for how impressive it looks. Almost all of that time is hands-off, and you end up with a dinner that tastes like you worked way harder than you did. Perfect for a cozy Sunday, feeding a crowd, or impressing someone who thinks pot roast is boring. 😏

⭐ "Omg! This pot roast is melt-in-your-mouth delicious! I was eating it right out of the pot!!" - Anne, 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🥩 Ingredients for This Dutch Oven Pot Roast Recipe

Simple, hearty, and nothing fancy. Just quality ingredients that come together beautifully. Here's what you'll need:

ingredients to make a dutch oven pot roast with text overlaying to denote each ingredient.

🥩The Best Meat for Pot Roast

Chuck roast is our top pick here. It's got great marbling and connective tissue that breaks down during the long braise, turning melt-in-your-mouth tender. We used boneless because it's easy to find, but if you can get bone-in, even better! The bone adds extra richness and flavor.

Rump roast (also called beef round roast) works too, though it's leaner and won't be quite as rich. Either way, look for a roast with good marbling throughout. That fat = flavor!

How to Cook Pot Roast in a Dutch Oven ✨

This pot roast comes together in a few simple stages: sear the beef, build your braising liquid, and let the oven do the rest. Don't let the cook time intimidate you. It's almost entirely hands-off! Here's how to make it:

piece of chuck roast seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic power, onion powder, and smoked paprika on a plate.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Season the beef generously on all sides with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.

You can also use our DIY pot roast seasoning if you have some hanging out in the pantry!

🧂 Salt. We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in all of our recipes, about 1 teaspoon per pound of meat. If you're using Morton's or table salt, cut that amount in half since they're saltier by volume.

chuck roast browned on a few sides in a dutch oven.

Step 2: Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chuck roast and sear for 5-6 minutes per side until deeply golden brown. You're not cooking it through here, just building flavor! Remove and set aside.

🍲 Dutch oven size: You'll want at least a 6-quart Dutch oven for this recipe. Bigger is fine, but don't go smaller! A quality enameled cast iron piece (Le Creuset, Staub, or Lodge) is worth the investment. The heavy construction means even heat distribution and seamless stovetop-to-oven cooking, which is exactly what makes this recipe work so well.

garlic, onion, and tomato paste in an enameled dutch oven.

Step 3: Add butter to the Dutch oven, then add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Cook until softened and golden, about 8-10 minutes. Add tomato paste and garlic.

cooked onions in a cast iron skillet with tomato paste.

Cook, stirring often, for 1-2 minutes until the tomato paste deepens in color.

cast iron dutch oven with broth, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary.

Step 4: Deglaze with red wine and beef stock, scraping up all those gorgeous browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a low boil.

🍷 Red wine. Use a dry red you'd actually drink, something like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Pinot Noir. It doesn't need to be expensive, but skip the "cooking wine" from the grocery aisle.

🚫 No wine? No problem! Swap in more beef stock plus a splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar for a little acidity and depth. Our reader Megan forgot to buy wine and still called this the best pot roast she's ever made! 😉

beef chuck roast in a braising liquid with onions and beef broth.

Step 5: Return the beef to the pot along with any juices on the plate.

chuck roast cooked in an enameled dutch oven.

Cover and transfer to the oven to braise for 2½ hours.

💡How much stock to use: The braising liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the roast. If it's coming up short, add a splash more stock.

pot roast in braising liquid, with potatoes, celery and carrots added to the pot.

Step 6: Remove the pot from the ove, and add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and return to the oven for another 1-1.5 hours, until the potatoes are tender and the beef is fall-apart tender.

🥔 Potatoes. Use something that holds up well to long cooking. We like yellow baby potatoes or red potatoes. They keep their shape and you don't need to peel them!

🥕 Want to add the veggies at the start? You can! Just know they'll come out much softer, more melt-into-the-sauce than holding their shape. Adding them later keeps them tender but intact.

Cooked beef pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and celery.

Step 7: The pot roast is done when the beef is fork-tender, and the vegetables are soft. Discard the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprigs.

⏱️ How to tell it's done. Trust the fork, not the clock. A fork should slide in and twist easily, and the beef should pull apart with almost no effort. If it resists, cover it and give it another 20 to 30 minutes. A smaller roast will get there sooner, so start checking early.

Use forks to shred the beef into large chunks. Garnish with more herbs, salt, and pepper.

We love this over a big pile of French onion mashed potatoes or brown butter mashed rutabaga to soak up every last drop of that red wine braising liquid. Soft rye rolls or crusty bread are perfect for mopping your plate too! 🤤

chuck roast in a dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, and celery cooked in a broth, surrounded by thyme, and red wine in glasses.

🧀Want a cheesy twist? Try our French onion pot roast next time!

🌟Leave a Review!

If you make this Red Wine Pot Roast in a Dutch Oven, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and rate the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸

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