French Onion Pot Roast

Course Beef, Main Course

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword easy-pot-roast-recipes, french-onion-pot-roast

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 3 30

Stand time 15

Total Time 4

Servings servings (may vary)

Calories 452kcal

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb boneless chuck roast trimmed of excess fat
2 tsp kosher salt divided
1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper divided
4 jumbo sweet onions thinly sliced
4 Tbsp olive oil plus additional as needed
2 Tbsp salted butter
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 whole cloves garlic
2 medium bay leaves.
2 15 oz cans low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine or sherry
several sprigs fresh thyme
1-2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in cold water additional as needed to thicken

Instructions

Season roast on all sides with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. (May adjust both to taste)
In a 6 quart dutch oven or similar oven safe pot, heat 4 Tbsp oil over high heat. Sear roast on all sides then, remove to a platter.
Turn heat to medium, add butter to oil. Add sliced onions, season with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and sugar. Cook over medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
To the onions add balsamic vinegar, worcestershire sauce and garlic. Continue to cook for additional 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Add bay leaves to onions. Center roast over onions. Add 3 sprigs fresh thyme, beef stock and wine to pot.
Cover with lid and place into oven. (You may need to lower oven rack to accommodate the height of the dutch oven.)
Braise for 3 hours, uncover and test roast for doneness. Once tender, remove roast to a platter and rest while you thicken the sauce.
Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves from pot. Place dutch oven on the stovetop.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch with just enough cold water to dissolve. Bring cooking liquid to a boil and gradually add to pot. Repeat, until thickened to your preference.
Serve roast drizzled with French onion gravy.
French Onion Pot Roast in a Crockpot: Season and sear the roast per the recipe and place it into a slow cooker. Follow the instructions for Steps 2-5 making the onions per the recipe, then pour over the roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Remove the roast to a platter increase the heat to high then thicken the sauce with the cornstarch slurry.

Notes

Sherry Substitution: Sherry adds acidic notes to the sauce that balances the flavor of the rich french onion gravy, and makes it so delicious. You could use red wine, or extra stock in its place.
Onion: I use jumbo sweet onions in this recipe such as Vidalia or OSO Sweet. You can use yellow onions if that's your preference, for an even stronger onion flavor. Sweet onions are more mild in flavor.
Baking Dish: If you don't have a Dutch oven, sear the roast in a large skillet on the stove top then transfer it to a 13x9-inch baking dish for baking.
Stock: Beef stock or beef broth will work interchangeably in this recipe. You could also use a can of french onion soup in place of part of the beef broth.
Remake Leftovers: You can make an open faced french onion pot roast sandwich topped with Gruyere cheese for a round two meal. Pop it under the oven broiler to melt the cheese.

Nutrition