This Yankee pot roast is a beef roast that’s been braised to meltingly tender perfection, seasoned with bacon, and served with potatoes and vegetables. A hearty and comforting meal all in one pot!
Pot roast is a classic dish that never goes out of style, and this version with bacon is always a huge hit.
It’s winter. And here in California it’s been raining non stop. While we most definitely need the rain to combat the drought, it’s made my three very energetic children a little stir crazy. Instead of dwelling on the negatives of being cooped up inside while the kids run in circles to burn off energy, I think about the positives of cold weather – like hearty comfort food. I mean, if you’re going to spend the day inside you might as well have something delicious in the oven right? This Yankee pot roast is a family favorite made even better by the addition of bacon. Throw some vegetables and potatoes in the pot and you’ve got a complete meal!
How do you make Yankee Pot Roast?
This recipe is quite simple – the beef gets browned (in bacon fat!) and then baked to perfection for hours in a low temperature oven. I prefer to use a chuck roast for this recipe, but any well marbled beef roast will do the trick. I went with baby carrots, turnips, celery and potatoes for my vegetables, but other root vegetables would also work. The beauty of a recipe like this Yankee pot roast is that you can even make it a day in advance; the meat will only get better as it sits in the braising liquid.
Aside from the amazingly complex flavor of the tender meat and vegetables, my other favorite part about this recipe is that it makes enough meat for two nights. I take my leftover pot roast and turn it into a delicious and hearty soup. Stay tuned for my beef noodle soup recipe coming your way soon!
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More comfort food recipes
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Cheeseburger Pasta
- Beef Noodle Casserole
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Yankee Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound of thick cut bacon coarsely chopped
- 1 4-5 pound beef chuck roast
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 yellow onion minced
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 2 cups of beef broth
- 1 pound small potatoes halved
- 1/2 pound of carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 pieces celery stalks cut into large pieces
- coarse salt and finely chopped parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain; set aside.
- Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, and add beef to pot. Increase heat to high and cook, turning with tongs, until browned on all sides, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer beef to a plate; pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the yellow onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is lightly browned, 4-6 minutes.
- Add wine to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the wine has reduced by half. Add the beef broth and rosemary or thyme.
- Return beef to pot along with any juices and bring to a simmer over high. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until beef is almost tender, about 3 hours.
- Remove pot from oven and place potatoes, carrots, celery and reserved bacon around the pot roast. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables and beef are tender, about 1 hour more.
- Remove beef from pot and let rest 15 minutes, then slice against the grain. Arrange on a platter with vegetables and drizzle with braising liquid. If the braising liquid is overly greasy you can put it into a fat separator before pouring it over the meat.
- Garnish with parsley and coarse salt if desired.
Notes
Make sure to save your leftover meat for beef noodle soup!
Ed and Sally Meier says
My wife does ours, it’s delicious. She uses beef and chicken bullion cubes(4 ). in the liquid instead of wine.
April says
Hi there! I don’t have a Dutch oven. Could I cook this in my crock pot or in the oven?
Sara says
Hi! A dutch oven is just another term for a large pot, this recipe is written where you put the meat in a large pot and bake it in the oven. You could use the crockpot if you prefer!
Ellie says
Hi! I’m avoiding cooking with onions. Sometimes I substitute red pepper. Any thoughts on that? Or other ideas?
Sara says
I actually think there’s enough flavors going on here that you could omit the onion and be just fine!
Greg says
That meat looks so tender! What a great meal!
Greg says
Also, I want to give those meat claws a try!
Chrisy @ Homemade Hooplah says
Mmm, beef browned in bacon fat 😀 I can TOTALLY get behind that!
Beatrice says
I love this one pot comfort foods!
Palladini says
I will have to make this some day. I will bookmark this page and look at again when I get some beef again
Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife says
This pot roast looks perfect for winter! We had a really dry summer & fall and right now it’s raining like crazy in Portland, too (which is not the norm), so I am craving comfort food like this. Love that the beef is browned in bacon fat, too. Delicious!
Ali @ Home & Plate says
Yum. I love a good pot roast. I can always count on my kids to eat it. The meat looks so tender and just falling apart. My kind of recipe!
Marye says
This pot roast looks so tender and delicious! YUM!
Christie says
It has been raining almost non-stop here in Georgia too, plus it has gotten unbelievably cold. That makes this recipe absolutely perfect to come home and warm up too.