This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This red wine braised pot roast is what I make when I want the whole apartment to smell like Sunday. A chuck roast gets seared hard, then goes into the oven in red wine and beef broth with a whole bulb of garlic, rosemary and thyme. Two and a half hours later it shreds apart with a fork.
Above all, the red wine is the whole reason this one tastes different from every other pot roast. It does two things at once: it gives you that deep red-brown color in the sauce, and the acid cuts through all that rich beef so the dish never feels heavy. A tablespoon of brown sugar at the end rounds it right out.
The carrots are the other thing people ask me about, because they go in whole. They go in whole, laid right on top of the liquid, so they steam instead of boiling into mush. They come out tender and glossy and still shaped like carrots. That’s the look.
If you love a long braise, you should also make my Braised Beef Short Ribs, my Beef Stew, or my Rabo Guisado.
Table of Contents
- What Is Pot Roast?
- Why Everyone Loves This Red Wine Braised Pot Roast
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Red Wine Braised Pot Roast
- My Best Braised Pot Roast Tips
- What to Serve With Pot Roast
- Storage and Make Ahead
- Red Wine Braised Pot Roast FAQs
- More Slow-Braised Beef Dinners
- Red Wine Braised Pot Roast Recipe
What Is Pot Roast?
In short, pot roast is a tough, hardworking cut of beef cooked low and slow in liquid until it falls apart. It isn’t a specific cut — it’s a method. You take something cheap and full of connective tissue, you cover it most of the way in liquid, and you give it time in a low oven. The collagen melts, the meat goes from chewy to tender, and the liquid turns into a sauce on its own.
A red wine braised pot roast is that same method with wine doing part of the work of the broth. You get more color, more depth and a little acidity, which is exactly what a big piece of beef needs.
Why Everyone Loves This Red Wine Braised Pot Roast
Make this braised pot roast once and you’ll understand why it’s on repeat in my house all fall and winter.
- One pot, start to finish. You sear, you build the braise and you braise, all in the same Dutch oven. One pot to wash.
- The sauce makes itself. There’s no separate gravy step. The flour on the meat, the tomato paste and the reduced wine thicken the liquid while it braises.
- It’s almost entirely hands-off. About twenty minutes of actual cooking, then the oven does the rest while you do something else.
- Cheap cut, expensive flavor. Chuck roast is one of the least expensive cuts at the counter and it’s the one that gives you the best result here.
- It feeds people. One roast covers dinner for four with leftovers, and it reheats better than almost anything else I make.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Everything in this recipe is at your regular grocery store, so there is no specialty shopping to do first.
NOTE: The full list of ingredients with measurements is provided in the recipe card below.
For the meat
- Chuck roast: Two to three pounds. Ask for chuck — it has the marbling and the connective tissue that turn into that fall-apart texture. A lean cut like round will come out dry no matter how long you cook it.
- All-purpose flour: Just a tablespoon, dusted over the seasoned meat before it hits the pan. It helps the crust and it quietly thickens the sauce later.
- Salt: Three teaspoons in total, two on the meat and one with the vegetables. Because the beef base and the broth are both salty as well, taste the braising liquid at the end and only add more if it needs it.
For the braise
- Butter: For the vegetables after the roast comes out. It picks up all the browned bits in the bottom of the pot.
- Onion and celery: Cubed small so they disappear into the sauce. No carrots down here — those stay whole and go on top.
- Tomato paste: Two tablespoons. Cook it into the vegetables for a minute before anything wet goes in and it loses the tinny taste.
- Beef base: A tablespoon of the concentrated paste kind, not a cube. This is my shortcut to a sauce that tastes like it simmered all day.
- Red wine: One cup, and use something you’d actually drink — a Cabernet, Merlot or Malbec. Not cooking wine. See the FAQs below for the non-alcoholic swap.
- Brown sugar: One tablespoon, stirred in after the wine reduces. It balances the acid. You won’t taste it as sweet.
- Garlic: A whole bulb, left whole. It softens into the braise and sweetens as it cooks.
- Rosemary, thyme and bay leaves: Fresh rosemary and thyme on the stem, plus one or two bay leaves. Pull the stems out before you serve.
- Beef broth: About two cups — enough to come up around the roast. You want the meat mostly covered, not swimming.
- Carrots: Four or five, peeled and halved. They go on top of the liquid, not under it.
How to Make Red Wine Braised Pot Roast
First, you need one heavy pot with a lid for all of this. I use a large Dutch oven — it goes from the stovetop straight into the oven, which is the entire point.
- Season and flour the meat: Season the chuck roast all over with salt and pepper, then dust it with the flour.
- Sear it: Sear the roast on all sides in the Dutch oven until it’s deeply browned — not pale, not gray. Take your time here. Remove it and set it aside.
- Cook the vegetables: Melt the butter in the same pot. Add the onion and celery with a teaspoon of salt and cook until soft.
- Add the tomato paste and beef base: Stir both in and let them cook into the vegetables for a minute.
- Pour in the red wine: Scrape up every browned bit on the bottom of the pot while it bubbles, and let it reduce. Stir in the brown sugar.
Into the oven
- Meat back in: Return the roast to the pot with the whole garlic bulb, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Add the beef broth so the meat is mostly covered. Taste the liquid and season it.
- Carrots on top: Lay the halved carrots on top of the liquid. Do not push them under.
- Braise: Cover and braise at 325°F for about 2½ hours, until the meat shreds apart easily and the carrots are tender but still whole.
- Shred and season: Lift out the carrots and the herb stems and skim the fat off the top. Taste the braising liquid and salt to taste — between the beef base and the beef broth, it often doesn’t need any. Then shred the meat with two forks right in the pot so it soaks up the sauce.
Chef’s Kiss
Squeeze the braised garlic cloves out of the bulb and mash them back into the sauce before you serve. They go sweet and jammy in the oven, and it’s the thing that makes people ask what’s in it.
My Best Braised Pot Roast Tips
- Dry the meat before it hits the pan. Pat the roast with a paper towel first. Wet meat steams, it doesn’t sear.
- Don’t rush the sear. That crust is where most of the flavor in the finished sauce comes from. Give it a few minutes a side.
- Mostly covered, not submerged. If the liquid goes over the top of the roast you’re boiling it, and the sauce ends up thin.
- If it’s tough, it isn’t done. Chuck gets tough before it gets tender. Another thirty minutes in the oven fixes almost every pot roast problem.
- Skim the fat. Let the pot sit five minutes off the heat and spoon the fat off the top before you shred.
What to Serve With Pot Roast
- Mashed potatoes, first and always. This is what the sauce is for. If you want potatoes with a little more going on, my cheesy au gratin potatoes hold up to it.
- Something green and sharp. A kale Caesar salad cuts right through the richness.
- Bread, non-negotiable. My roasted garlic cheesy bread for the sauce left in the bowl.
- Make it a full Sunday. Serve it next to my sweet potato cornbread and call it a day.
Storage and Make Ahead
To store, simply keep the shredded meat in its sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store the carrots with it. A braised pot roast is one of the few things that is genuinely better on day two.
To reheat, warm it covered in a 325°F oven for about 20 minutes, or in a covered pot on low on the stove. Add a splash of beef broth if the sauce has tightened up.
To freeze, freeze the meat in its sauce for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. Freeze it with plenty of liquid or it will dry out.
To make ahead, braise the whole thing a day early and refrigerate it in the pot. The fat sets on top overnight and lifts right off, which gives you a cleaner sauce than you can get the same day.
Red Wine Braised Pot Roast FAQs
What cut of beef is best for pot roast?
Chuck roast, every time, because of what the shoulder is made of. It comes from the shoulder, it’s full of connective tissue, and that tissue is exactly what melts into the sauce and makes the meat shred. Brisket and bottom round will work in a pinch but neither gives you the same texture.
Can I make this without wine?
Yes. Instead, swap in one cup of non-alcoholic red wine — and make sure it’s red, because the color of the braise matters as much as the flavor. If you’d rather skip wine entirely, use another cup of beef broth with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for the acid.
What kind of red wine should I use?
Generally, something dry with a little body — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Malbec. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but it does need to be something you’d drink a glass of. Skip anything labeled cooking wine; it’s salty and it will throw the whole sauce off.
Why are my carrots mushy?
They went under the liquid, and as a result they boiled. Carrots laid on top of the braise steam gently and hold their shape; carrots submerged in it boil for two and a half hours and fall apart. Keep them whole and keep them on top.
Can I make pot roast in a slow cooker?
You can, but do the searing and the wine reduction on the stove first — a slow cooker can’t brown anything or reduce liquid, and you’d lose most of what makes this good. Once the braise is built, transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours with the carrots on top.
My pot roast is still tough. What happened?
Above all, it needs more time, not less. Chuck tightens up before it relaxes, so a roast that’s tough at the two-hour mark usually just isn’t finished. Put the lid back on and give it another 30 to 45 minutes.
How do I thicken the sauce?
First, lift out the meat and carrots, and then simmer the liquid uncovered on the stove for 10 minutes. If you want it thicker than that, whisk a teaspoon of cornstarch into a tablespoon of cold water and stir it in.
If you love this recipe, please leave a review! It means the world to me! Xo Toni
More Slow-Braised Beef Dinners
Red Wine Braised Pot Roast
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds chuck roast
- 3 teaspoons salt divided — 2 for the meat, 1 for the vegetables
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour for dusting the roast
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion cubed small
- 2 stalks celery cubed small
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon beef base
- 1 cup red wine Cabernet, Merlot or Malbec. See notes for the non-alcoholic swap
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 whole bulb garlic left whole
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth enough to come up around the meat
- 4-5 carrots peeled and halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Season and flour the meat. Season the chuck roast all over with 2 teaspoons of the salt and the black pepper, then dust it with the flour.
- Sear. Sear the roast on all sides in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until deeply browned. Remove and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables. Melt the butter in the same pot. Add the onion and celery with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and cook until soft.
- Tomato paste and beef base. Stir in the tomato paste and beef base and cook for 1 minute.
- Red wine. Pour in the red wine, scraping up the browned bits, and let it reduce. Stir in the brown sugar.
- Meat back in. Return the roast to the pot with the whole garlic bulb, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Add about 2 cups beef broth so the meat is mostly covered.
- Carrots on top. Lay the peeled, halved carrots on top of the liquid. Do not submerge them.
- Braise. Cover and braise at 325 degrees F for about 2 1/2 hours, until the meat shreds apart easily and the carrots are tender but still whole.
- Shred and season. Lift out the carrots and the herb stems and skim the fat off the top. Taste the braising liquid and salt to taste — between the beef base and the beef broth it may not need any. Shred the meat with two forks right in the pot so it soaks up the sauce, then serve over mashed potatoes with the carrots and plenty of sauce spooned over.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
