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.

yankee pot roast

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

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.

yankee pot roast

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:

  1. Rub the salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and celery salt onto all sides of the beef. 
  2. Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven (or heavy pot).
  3. Place the beef in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then, sear meat on each side. 
  4. Transfer the roast to a plate and leave the olive oil and beef drippings in the pot.
  5. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until caramelized. 
  6. Place the celery, carrots, and garlic in the pot and sauté briefly.
  7. Pour in the beef broth and add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, thyme, rosemary, and beef base. 
  8. Transfer the beef chuck back to the pot.
  9. Increase the heat to bring the liquid to a boil.
  10. Then, place the lid on top before putting the pot in the oven. 
  11. Roast the meat until it has reached the desired internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer. It should be fork tender.

For the roux: 

  1. Add the butter to a sauté pan. 
  2. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk to combine, incorporating any browned bits. 
  3. 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:

  1. Drizzle olive oil over beets and sweet potatoes on a baking sheet.
  2. Place in the oven and roast until tender.
  3. To blanch the carrots, celery, asparagus, and green beans, fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
  4. Then, blanch each separately and cool in an ice bath before draining in a colander.

To make the sauce and finish the meal:

  1. Remove the pot roast from the stove and transfer the meat to a plate.
  2. Place the Dutch oven on the stove and use a slotted spoon to remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. 
  3. Boil the liquid in the pot and use an immersion blender to make it smooth. 
  4. Transfer the roux into the pot and use the stick blender to puree again.
  5. Allow the sauce to simmer for the recommended time before seasoning it with salt and pepper.
  6. Return the pot roast to the pot with the sauce and add all of the vegetables.
  7. Once the vegetables are warm, add butter.
  8. Use a spoon to break the beef up. 
  9. Serve immediately or allow it to come to room temperature before storing.
yankee pot roast

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.

    yankee pot roast

    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.

    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

    5 from 8 votes
    yankee pot roast
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 3 hours
    Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
    Servings: 6
    This chuck roast recipe is well worth giving it a try, you will not be disappointed at all. A perfect Sunday night family night dinner

    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
    • cup carrots, diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
    • 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

    Calories: 1335kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 81g | Fat: 91g | Saturated Fat: 39g | Cholesterol: 331mg | Sodium: 3457mg | Potassium: 2410mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 20730IU | Vitamin C: 29.7mg | Calcium: 240mg | Iron: 10.9mg

    Giangi’s Kitchen provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as a registered dietician does not calculate them.

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    Recipe from the Founding Farmers Cookbook.