This delicious Yankee pot roast is designed to be an economical dish.
It uses excellent cuts of marbled meat that are surrounded by in-season vegetables. This chuck roast recipe is well worth trying- you will not be disappointed at all. It’s a perfect Sunday night family dinner, and any leftovers are perfect for meal prep for the week.

My best advice to you is to start early in the day cooking it – you don’t want to rush it. It will take a few hours before you can sit down and enjoy the tenderness of the meat with the vegetables, but it’s well worth it.
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This fantastic Dutch oven pot roast is hearty and comforting, especially on a chilly night. It’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser and a classic dish that never goes out of style.
In this Article
- Subscribe to Giangi's Kitchen!
- Why You’ll Love Yankee Pot Roast
- Ingredients needed to make this excellent pot roast
- How do you make Yankee Pot Roast?
- Pro Tips
- What to Serve With Dutch Oven Pot Roast
- Variations on this Yankee Pot Roast Recipe
- You may also like:
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Storage
- Yankee Pot Roast
Why You’ll Love Yankee Pot Roast
It’s comforting – This hearty meal will fill your belly and warm you from the inside.
Feeds a crowd – Whether you have a large family or are hosting a gathering, there’s plenty of this dish to go around.
It’s convenient – All of the ingredients are easy to find at the grocery store and most tend to be affordable. This is a great meal to remember when you see meat on sale at the store.
Ingredients needed to make this excellent pot roast
POT ROAST BASE
Beef chuck – marbled and a beautiful uniform piece that would be perfect
Salt – sea salt
Ground pepper, Granulated garlic, Celery salt – your seasonings
Olive oil – use a good light olive oil
Yellow onion – chopped
Carrots – chopped
Celery – chopped
Garlic – thinly sliced garlic cloves
Beef broth – sodium-free is my choice as it has less salt
Beef base
Bay leaf
Cinnamon stick – bring s great flavor layer to your pot roast
Thyme – minced fresh
Rosemary – fresh and chopped
ROUX
Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking or baking to control the amount of sodium. Salted butter not only adds too much salt to your dish, but it changes the flavor.
Unbleached all-purpose flour – to create the paste which will allow the sauce to thickens.
POT ROAST VEGETABLES
Golden beet – peeled and cut into large chunks
Sweet potatoes – peeled and sliced into large chunks
Olive oil
Carrots – diced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Celery – diced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Asparagus – cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Green beans – trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking or baking to control the amount of sodium. Salted butter not only adds too much salt to your dish, but it changes the flavor.

How do you make Yankee Pot Roast?
Even though this recipe is lengthy, it is pretty simple. The chuck beef is perfectly seared and then baked to perfection for hours in a low-temperature oven.
The sweet potatoes and beets are cooked separately. The carrots, celery, asparagus, and green beans are all blanched separately and then added in the last 20 minutes of cooking. By preparing the vegetables this way, they will all stay intact.
This step will allow the vegetables to keep their shape and be perfectly cooked.
For the meat:
- Rub the salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and celery salt onto all sides of the beef.
- Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven (or heavy pot).
- Place the beef in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then, sear meat on each side.
- Transfer the roast to a plate and leave the olive oil and beef drippings in the pot.
- Add the onions to the pot and sauté until caramelized.
- Place the celery, carrots, and garlic in the pot and sauté briefly.
- Pour in the beef broth and add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, thyme, rosemary, and beef base.
- Transfer the beef chuck back to the pot.
- Increase the heat to bring the liquid to a boil.
- Then, place the lid on top before putting the pot in the oven.
- Roast the meat until it has reached the desired internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer. It should be fork tender.
For the roux:
- Add the butter to a sauté pan.
- Once the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk to combine, incorporating any browned bits.
- When the roux becomes light brown, use a rubber spatula to transfer it to a bowl and set aside.
Now let’s take the vegetables
Preparing the vegetables:
- Drizzle olive oil over beets and sweet potatoes on a baking sheet.
- Place in the oven and roast until tender.
- To blanch the carrots, celery, asparagus, and green beans, fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Then, blanch each separately and cool in an ice bath before draining in a colander.
To make the sauce and finish the meal:
- Remove the pot roast from the stove and transfer the meat to a plate.
- Place the Dutch oven on the stove and use a slotted spoon to remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
- Boil the liquid in the pot and use an immersion blender to make it smooth.
- Transfer the roux into the pot and use the stick blender to puree again.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for the recommended time before seasoning it with salt and pepper.
- Return the pot roast to the pot with the sauce and add all of the vegetables.
- Once the vegetables are warm, add butter.
- Use a spoon to break the beef up.
- Serve immediately or allow it to come to room temperature before storing.

Pro Tips
- Prepare all the vegetables before starting.
- Select a chuck roast or any marbled beef roast.
- Yankee Pot Roast can be prepared a day in advance and reheated. The flavors will intensify and only improve as they sit in the braising liquids.
- You can make the beef broth in advance using your favorite pieces of meat or purchase an already-made one that is sodium-free.
- The cinnamon stick, how odd may it sound to you, gives a fantastic flavor to the meat.
What to Serve With Dutch Oven Pot Roast
This pot roast recipe already incorporates vegetables but you can add more — try making oven roasted Brussels sprouts with mustard sauce to go along with the beef. Or, serve a rich and creamy cauliflower and goat cheese gratin.
For more (or different) starches, serve the beef with potatoes with basil or roasted rosemary potatoes.

Variations on this Yankee Pot Roast Recipe
Potatoes – Swap out the roasted potatoes for other root vegetables like parsnips, rutabaga, or jicama.
Gluten-Free – For a gluten-free option, try substituting an alternative for the flour.
Herbs – Add in your own favorite fresh herbs.
Spiciness – If you want to add subtle heat, sprinkle in just a bit of cayenne.
Earthiness – A dash of cumin will add an earthy flavor.
Wine – Add red wine to the sauce for even more rich flavor.
Umami – A little bit of Worcestershire sauce will add umami to this simple roast.
You may also like:
Cornish Game Hen with Whiskey and Cream Sauce
Turkey Sausage Boulettes
Figs and Seared Duck Breast
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a pot roast and a Yankee pot roast?
Yankee pot roasts are cooked with vegetables while other pot roasts are not.
Why is it called Yankee pot roast?
Yankee pot roast got its name because it originated in the New England region of the United States.
Why is my pot roast always dry and tough?
If you struggle to keep your pot roast moist, watch the cooking time. Cooking the roast for too long can result in a tough piece of meat.
Storage
Make-Ahead: You can season the beef ahead of time and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before cooking. You can also blanch the vegetables and refrigerate them until ready to cook.
Refrigerator: Store pot roast in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Freezer: Freeze pot roast in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Yankee Pot Roast

Ingredients
POT ROAST BASE
- 5 pounds beef chuck
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground pepper
- 1 tablespoons granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- ½ cup olive oil
- 6 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cups carrots, chopped
- 4 cups celery, chopped
- 10 garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 cups beef broth, sodium free
- ¼ cup beef base
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tablespoons thyme, minced
- 2 teaspoons rosemary, chopped
ROUX
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
POT ROAST VEGETABLES
- 1 medium golden beet, peeled and cut into large chunks golden beet
- 1 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ cup carrots, diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 2½ cup celery, diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- ½ asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces
- 4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inches pieced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275°.
- Season the beef on both sides with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and celery salt. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid over high heat. When hot, place the beef in the Dutch pot and brown well, 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Lift the beef chuck out of the pot and reserve, keeping the pot with the beef drippings over medium heat.
- Place the onions in the pot until caramelized. Add the carrots, celery, and sliced garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the beef broth, beef base, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, rosemary, and thyme.
- Return the beef to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pot and place in the oven for 3 to 3 ½ hours, until fork tender.
- While the pot roast cooks, prepare the roux. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium-low heat and whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the flour mixture becomes a pale brown color and smells toasted and nutty, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape the roux out of the pan with a rubber spatula and reserve
- Place the beet and sweet potatoes chunks on a baking sheet, cover the vegetables with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and roast in the oven (with the pot roast) for 45 minutes or until tender.
- Fill a large pot with water and salt and bring to a boil. Working in batches, blanch the carrots, celery, asparagus, and green beans until each vegetable is just tender and cooked through. Drain and cool in an ice bath (half ice cubes and half water in a large bowl). Drain from the ice bath and set aside.
- When the pot roast is tender and finished cooking, remove the pot from the oven, gently remove the beef from the pot, and transfer it to a large plate while you prepare the sauce.
- Carefully place the pot roast on a burner over medium heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf from the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil. Puree the liquid until smooth with a stick blender.
- Add the roux and puree until smooth. Simmer for 20 minutes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the pot roast in the sauce along with the roasted beet and sweet potato chunks and the blanched vegetables and heat through.
- Stir 2 tablespoons of butter into the sauce. Break the beef up into large chunks with a metal spoon. Keep warm.
Nutrition
Giangi’s Kitchen provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as a registered dietician does not calculate them.
- Course: Beef, Veal & Lamb, Dinners, Sunday Night Dinner
- Cuisine: American
- Season: Fall, Winter
Did you make this?
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Recipe from the Founding Farmers Cookbook.
Art Townsend
The perfect winter meal. So good!
Giangi Townsend
Thank you, I am so happy you enjoyed it.
Bon Appetit!
Shelly
This recipe is delicious, but I’m curious why you don’t cite the original source of this recipe? This is from Founding Farmers restaurant’s cookbook.
Giangi Townsend
Thank you, Shelly, for bringing that up to my attention. I have corrected it. When I rewrote and updated the post, something that is done often to maintain all working links, it must have been removed and not re-entered.
Yes, it is a recipe from the Founding Farmers cookbook. Great restaurant, atmosphere, and divine food.
Cindy Mom, the Lunch Lady
I love pot roast, but never make it often enough. I love the addition of the cinnamon stick in your recipe!
Giangi Townsend
The cinnamon gives it a deeper flavor. Fall is here and that is when pot roasts are more predominant in my cooking.
Enjoy!
Emily Flint
I love this classic recipe and all of the tips are so helpful. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Giangi Townsend
The pleasure is all mine, Emily. It is a great recipe and hopefully, all my tips will be of help.
Thank you for stopping by
Jean
Im curious about the addition of cinnamon, sounds like a great family meal to enjoy!
Giangi Townsend
The cinnamon gives depth to the flavor without changing it. It sure is a great recipe for a Sunday night family dinner.
Thank you for stopping by Giangi’s Kitchen!
Luca
It was very easy to make following detailed instructions. Everyone loved it in my family.
Giangi Townsend
Thank you Luca, so happy everyone enjoyed it.
Thank you for stopping by Giangi’s Kitchen
Kayla DiMaggio
Loved this yankee pot roast! It was so delicious and easy to make and it was cheap because of the chuck roast!
Giangi Townsend
Thank you Kayla, Love the good price point of this dish.
Enjoy!
Akshita
Thank you the detailed steps as well as tips! Will try this sometime soon 🙂
Giangi Townsend
You are more welcome Akshita. I am glad they are helpful.
Enjoy!