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Crockpot Balsamic Roast Beef

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Here is my go to roast beef and gravy recipe that is fall apart tender, extremely flavorful and always gets rave reviews whenever I serve it to guests.

I love this meal for so many reasons, but at the top of the list is that it only takes minutes to prepare and the slow cooker does all the work for you! I typically serve this alongside baked sweet potatoes, cooked greens and cauliflower mash for that ultimate comfort food meal.

Balsamic vinegarΒ (I loveΒ THIS brand)Β is one of my often used secret ingredients in my recipe creations. It brings such a nice added depth of flavor to many dishes. Balsamic is definitely the secret ingredient in this crockpot roast beef that I think makes it go from good to amazing πŸ™‚Β 

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Little tip: If the roast is still tough after the cooking time, it means it’s not done yet! You will know your roast is done when it is browned on top and is literally fall apart tender and will shred very easily with a fork.

Crockpot Balsamic Roast Beef Recipe

Crockpot Balsamic Roast Beef Recipe
 
Author:
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 3-4 pound roast (I usually use a chuck roast, but any roast works!)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup chicken or beef stock or broth
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar (I use THIS brand)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (I use THIS brand, but you can use tamari, too)
  • pinch or two of red pepper flakes
  • generous sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Place your whole roast in a crockpot fat side down.
  2. Add remaining ingredients over the top of the roast. Add additional salt and pepper to the top of the roast.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. You know it is done when the top is browned and the meat shreds very easily with a fork.
  4. Remove the roast from crockpot.
  5. Blend remaining juices and onion/garlic in the crockpot with an immersion blender for your gravy until you reach desired consistency.
  6. Serve gravy with roast beef. If I happen to have chives or parsley growing in my garden, I'll usually snip some off to serve on top of the cooked roast, too.
  7. Enjoy!
I can’t even describe how good leftovers are of this roast!!! I hope you like my easy, go-to roast recipe as much as we do. Leave me a comment, too πŸ™‚Β 

Also view our Top 10 Whole30 Dinner Recipes here!

Primally Inspired

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94 comments

  1. Avatar

    I am new to this so excuse me if this is a dumb question. My husband likes roast with all the veggies. He doesn’t like sweet potatoes and I cant eat potatoes. Could maybe a type of squash be added with the roast to take the place of the potatoes? I plan on making this tomorrow. Cant wait to try it

  2. Avatar

    What does the coconut aminos do? is it a tenderizer?

  3. Avatar

    Hi, Kelly! Where do you buy your roasts? I’d like to find a place that sells good organic grass-fed roasts. Thanks!

  4. Avatar

    We absolutely loved this roast, my son fussed that they ‘gravy’ was too sweet, but there were very few leftovers, we cheated a little bit by eating with smashed potatoes, but this is a definite item that I will be making again. LOVE your site, I tell everyone I know that is choosing a Paleo/Primal lifestyle about your site!!!!

  5. Avatar

    we made this during the week oh my god thank you for pinning.

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    Oh my…..just took my first bite of this and had to get on here to tell u how amazing it is!!! A keeper recipe for sure!! We used a deer roast from the first deer my 6 yr. old son killed a couple of weeks ago. So glad it turned out as well as it did!! Thank you so much!! I used beef stock instead of beef broth…I was just wondering…what is the difference between the two (is there really a big difference)…I’ve always wondered that! Thanks!!

    • Primally Inspired

      Yay!!! Tell your 6 year old congrats for me! That is super impressive. My husband has been trying to get a deer for a few weeks now and has had no luck yet so he would be impressed, too πŸ™‚ So glad you guys like this – hopefully we’ll be eating a deer roast here soon, too!

      Oh and beef stock is a more condensed version of beef broth. You can make beef broth with beef stock by just adding more water. Beef stock is cooked for a very long time to the point that it reduces down a lot and turns very dark. It’s extremely rich and flavorful. I use the 2 interchangeably all the time, though!

      • Avatar

        Thanks! I’ll make sure to tell him…and can you believe our 8 year old daughter killed her first deer the very next day?! We were very proud..put both their pictures with the deer they killed in the paper. And thanks for explaining the difference between the broth and stock:)

  7. Avatar

    Also..does this freeze well? If so, how long will it keep for in the freezer? Thanks!!

    • Primally Inspired

      Yes, it freezes very well! I freeze this a lot. I also put it all together (before putting it in the crockpot) and freeze it. Then just dump it out and cook it when I need it. It’s good for about 6 months in the freezer.

  8. Avatar

    This might just be my new favorite pot roast recipe! DEE-licious! Thanks for your blog, I love reading all the great recipes. πŸ™‚

  9. Avatar

    My husband and our son the chef prefer that I do not attempt to make any type of roast, I tend to make beef jerky….. a friend made this and raved about it, so I bought a grass fed chuck roast and cooked is low and slow and it fell apart just as you said it would. My husband and I both loved it!!!! I wont hesitate to make this agaon πŸ™‚

  10. Avatar

    This recipe sounds so delicious and I want to try it. Do you recommend browning the roast on all sides first or does it brown in slow cooker? Thanks.

    • Avatar

      I’m accustomed to searing my roasts too before adding to the crockpot and wondered if that would be doable for this recipe. I find the crockpot doesn’t always give me that nice brown/crispy texture and this is why I like to sear it first for a minute or two on all sides.
      Thanks for the recipe! Looking forward to trying it soon! πŸ™‚

  11. Avatar
    Jennifer Battaglia

    I’m going to try this with deer in the morning! I can’t wait to try it after reading all of your comments!

  12. Avatar

    this had a really nice flavor!! i used everything except for the broth just because i don’t like using so much liquid in the crockpot. i was very glad to find grass fed chuck roast at the store since they hardly sell any grass fed meats! i had been waiting to make it until they got some in and i’m glad i did. thanks for the great recipe!! i had it with potato salad.

  13. Avatar

    This was delicious! I love the idea of using the immersion blender.
    I used leeks and onions and then added some Cremini mushrooms the last hour. The gravy was a bit thin, so I added some arrowroot flour (mixed with some water) to thicken it. The gravy was pretty intensely flavorful. Now I have a heap of leftovers with gravy for the next few days, depending on how much I give my dog. He loved it and was going through his repertoire of tricks to beg for more!

  14. Avatar

    This was an amazing experience, so tasty!! πŸ™‚
    I froze the left~over gravy and used it in a cabbage stew a few days later… AwEsOmEnEsS!!
    πŸ™‚

  15. Avatar

    I just made this! delish! I added an extra onion and doubled up on the liquids and melted cheese over some of the broth for an awesome and primal french onion soupy type thing in addition to the roast! Thanks for the recipe!

  16. Avatar

    I just made this recipe tonight as my first ever roast. It was very good and very easy to make.

  17. Avatar

    Has anyone tried this with a pork roast?

  18. Avatar

    Genius Kelly, Genius. This is incredibly delicious and the gravy, oh my word, it’s fantastic.

  19. Avatar

    wow! This came out great! Thank you!!! For my gravy I made a rue with 2tbs arrowroot powder and 2tbs grassfed butter, blended the juices for a quick second in the blender and added to the rue. I like a thicker gravy :). Came out delish.

  20. Avatar

    I am trying to cook this for the first time right now. But I have a question. Your recipe says 8 hrs. on low, but my appliance guide says 3-4 hours (with a temperature probe). Why such a difference?

    • Primally Inspired

      I’m not sure, Mike. Generally slow cookers take 8 hours on low or 4-5 on high. Is your appliance for sure a slow cooker and not a pressure cooker? I’d go with whatever your temperature prob says!

  21. Avatar

    The roast came out delish!! We had leftovers for breakfast. Free range eggs, shredded roast and avocado. I’m making another one tonight but I’ll be adding mushrooms this time. Thanks so much for the easy and delicious recipe!

  22. Avatar

    Amazing flavor. Best pot roast I’ve had. The balsamic vinegar really makes a difference.

  23. Avatar

    I cook quite often and this is a first for making this roast. It sounds delicious. Is there a reason the fat is placed down instead of up when cooking?

    • Primally Inspired

      Hi Sheri! Usually, I do fat side up in the oven or stove, too! But for this recipe, the top needs to brown (the browning is partly what makes it so yummy) so I do fat side down. There is plenty of moisture produced in the crockpot so the fat making the roast tender is not a concern.

  24. Avatar

    would you recommend marinating the roast the night before? The first time I tried this on low for 8 hours it was still fairly tough. Thoughts?

  25. Avatar

    This turned out amazing! I also followed advice from the comments and added arrowroot flour to the gravy to reach a thicker consistency (otherwise would have been watery). Thanks for the delicious recipe!

  26. Avatar

    Would this recipe still work without the coconut aminos?

  27. Avatar

    I just made this the other night for the first time. I didn’t have any arrowroot to thicken the gravy, but I threw in some left over spaghetti squash before pureeing it which thickened it a bit and mellowed out the flavors just a touch.
    My husband is not a fan of pot roasts or of leftovers. He loved the meal and has taken leftovers for the past 2 days for lunches. That means it was a great success and that next time I need to make a bigger roast for the leftovers, ha ha. I’m very glad I found this. Thank you for posting it!

  28. Avatar

    I’m going to throw everything in the crockpot tomorrow morning and let it cook while I’m at work! Really looking forward to it!
    If I’d like to add some small potato chunks and carrots, when would you recommend adding them? Could I add them to cook the entire time or should I add them after the roast cooks for a while?
    Also, should the liquid cover the roast? If it should but doesn’t do you add water? Thanks!! πŸ™‚

  29. Avatar

    We made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing!

  30. Avatar

    Delicious! Thanks for this awesome recipe! This might be a dumb question, but I can’t figure out if I should store the meat in the gravy or separately now that it’s cooked? I cooked it last night and am headed to work, so am wondering if it should sit in the juices all day in the fridge or drain the gravy from the meat? Thank you!

  31. Avatar

    This is easily THE best pot roast ever and I do a LOT of cooking!!! I didn’t have Tamari or coconut aminos on hand so I used ume plum vinegar in place since it’s salty and I actually used pork drippings and it was INSANE. My family and company loved it.

  32. Avatar

    Hi, Kelly! I LOVE this roast. Can you tell me what you used for chicken and beef broth? Store bought? I used to use Herb Ox, but they have changed their formula, and it’s not for the good. Thanks! You are so helpful!

    • Kelly from Primally Inspired

      Hi Barbara Ann,

      We eat a whole, roasted chicken once a week and then I use the leftovers to make chicken broth so I always have a big pitcher of chicken broth on hand. Almost always, I use that.

      Sometimes when I’m out of broth, I do use store bought and usually have a container or two in my pantry just in case. Usually it’s organic Pacific Foods Chicken Broth or Aldi Organic Chicken Broth. Hope that helps! πŸ™‚

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