Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast

by Sabrina Snyder

Last updated on

75 Comments

5 from 14 votes
Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast with a rich balsamic glaze and tender fall apart beef, you’ll LOVE this whole meat in one pot!

Crockpot Balsamic Pot Roast with a rich balsamic gravy and carrots and potatoes.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast is one of the first pot roasts I ever made in the slow cooker. I find myself using slow cookers in recipes people normally wouldn’t think of slow cookers for like Crisp and Juicy Slow Cooker Chicken and Slow Cooker Pastrami Sandwiches but we use it for pot roasts much more than the blog would make it seem like.

This Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast is full of flavor from the balsamic vinegar, red wine and my secret flavor enhancing beef base. I use Better Than Bouillon for my bases and they add a ton of flavor to dishes. I use them in anything where there is a sauce that requires a stock. This adds the same flavor without having to cook the stock down.

One pot meal, this Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast has carrots and potatoes too.

Best practices for Slow Cooker Pot Roasts:

  • Season your pot roasts aggressively. It adds a ton of flavor to the roast and will also season your sauce.
  • Brown the roasts very well on both sides. Since we are adding liquids to the slow cooker it won’t have an opportunity to brown in there.
  • Try to keep the liquids minimal as the meat will also release quite a lot of liquids. This also makes for more flavorful sauces.
  • Let the meat rest for 10 minutes once you take it out of the slow cooker, this also gives you time to reduce the liquids to a thicker glaze/sauce.
  • If you have room in the slow cooker add vegetables to make this a truly easy meal. I add carrots and potatoes as they hold up well in slow cookers.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork Roast browned really well before going in the slow cooker.

Looking for more slow cooker roast recipes?

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast with a rich balsamic glaze and tender fall apart beef, you'll LOVE this whole meat in one pot!

Tools used in the making of this Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast:
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.
Better Than Bouillon: I almost never buy boxes of broth because I keep the beef, chicken and vegetable version of this Better Than Bouillon.
Balsamic Vinegar: I love cooking with balsamic vinegar as it adds a ton of flavor. I love this brand and the Trader Joe’s brand as well.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast with a rich balsamic glaze and tender fall apart beef, you'll LOVE this whole meat in one pot!
5 from 14 votes
Print

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast with a rich balsamic glaze and tender fall apart beef, you'll LOVE this whole meat in one pot!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings 10 Servings
Calories 522 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 4 pound chuck roast boneless
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon beef base (totally optional but it is awesome)
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 carrots chopped into 1? pieces (if you have room)
  • 12 baby gold potatoes (if you have room)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or skillet add 2 tablespoons of canola oil oh high heat.
  2. Season the pot roast with the salt and pepper.

  3. Add the pot roast to the pan and brown on both sides, 3-5 minutes on each side.

  4. Add the meat to the slow cooker.

  5. Add the onions into the pan you browned the beef in and cook for 1-2 minutes.

  6. If you have space around the meat in the slow cooker add in some small potatoes and carrots.
  7. Top the beef with the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf.
  8. In a small cup add the beef base (if using) to the balsamic vinegar and whisk.
  9. Top the beef with the balsamic mixture, red wine and brown sugar.

  10. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

  11. Remove bay leaf before serving.
  12. To make the sauce into a glaze, strain the liquid out after it is done cooking.
  13. Spoon off the fat and discard.

  14. Add the remaining sauce to a small pan and cook in a saucepan on medium heat until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

  15. If you want a stronger balsamic flavor, add in another 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the sauce before cooking it down in the saucepan.
Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast
Amount Per Serving
Calories 522 Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 125mg42%
Sodium 653mg28%
Potassium 1555mg44%
Carbohydrates 35g12%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 40g80%
Vitamin A 3080IU62%
Vitamin C 25.4mg31%
Calcium 109mg11%
Iron 10.7mg59%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
One pot meal, this Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast has carrots and potatoes too.
Crockpot Balsamic Pot Roast with a rich balsamic gravy and carrots and potatoes.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Made Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast last night and WOW! Fantastic! My son gave you his “you could sell this” rating. Positively excellent! Added small whole carrots an hour before done cooking as not fans of mushy carrots. Made salt and vinegar mashed potatoes to go with the wonderful gravy this recipe makes. Great Recipe.

    Reply

  2. This is officially my perfect recipe. I’ve tried so many of the slow cooker beef roasts and I’m just not a fan of the tomato base. This has a perfect balance of tart and sweet that compliments the beef perfectly. I substituted a bit of beef stock for the red wine because I’m in the middle of moving with two very small kids and all wine needs to be saved for drinking purposes 😉

    I look forward to trying the recipe again with the wine, but for now, it hit the spot and made enough for two additional freezer meals at the new house. We paired it with creamy mashed potatoes and skillet garlic green beans. Delicious!

    Reply

  5. Just want to say I have been using this recipe for a couple of years now and nothing beats it! Have all my stuff to get this into the crock tomorrow morning now that it’s getting colder. Thanks for the family favorite!

    Reply

  6. Do you mix the balsamic with the wine and brown sugar?
    Or is it:
    1) balsamic mixture separately
    2) wine and brown sugar separately
    Just couldn’t tell from the instructions-sorry
    (My first time using a balsamic vinegar also)

    Reply

    1. I’ve never tested it using an instant pot. If you decide to try, I’d love to know what worked out for you.

      Reply

    2. Made Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast last night and WOW! Fantastic! My son gave you his “you could sell this” rating. Positively excellent! Added small whole carrots an hour before done cooking as not fans of mushy carrots. Made salt and vinegar mashed potatoes to go with the wonderful gravy this recipe makes. Great Recipe.

      Reply

  8. This is amazing easy recipe to put together. I did add couple of things to the process. I only used five small Yukon gold potatoes, I cut them in half and browned in the skillet first.

    I cut five slits in the beef, and used five small garlic cloves in each (one clove per) different slits. I put 1/2 cup of flour in a gallon baggie after salt and peppering the beef. I add the beef to the bag and shook the beef. Once lightly floured, I browned the beef as directed by the recipe.

    I did everything else per the recipe. It’s in my 6qt slow cooker now. My home smell amazing.

    I just finished eating my delicious dinner. This was the best pot roast I have ever made (I have made many pot roast). This one has so much wonderful flavor. This will be my go to pot roast recipe. Thank you much for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait until, I can have guest over for dinner again. My friend and family will love this pot roast.

    Clean up was a snap. I used a slow cooker liner in my Crockpot.

    Reply

  9. Made this tonight. It was delicious and the house smelled wonderful all day. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  12. It’s just after midnight on Christmas Morning. I’ve finally finished all my food prep for the special Christmas meal and, for the second year running, this amazing recipe will be centrepiece. Everyone loves it! I have ME, and hosting Christmas dinner for six can be a real challenge, but this recipe takes all the stress out of the main dish. Merry Christmas from our little island of Stronsay, Orkney ?

    Reply

    1. If you go to the recipe card and hover over the serving amount (it’s in green), the slider tool with show up and you can adjust from there. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  14. I’m a dork…?
    I followed this recipe, but thought it was for Pork! ?
    Sooooo….. I now have this 2.84lb Pork Shoulder in the Slow-Cooker on low. Crossing my fingers!????

    Reply

  15. If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would. Absolutely the best pot roast I have ever made. The recipe is perfect as written, no need to change a thing. So tender, flavorful. What can I say but AWESOME!!!

    Reply

  17. Hi.
    Silly question maybe. But do you have this recipe to make a smaller batch. Or can I just half everything ?

    Have to sat cant wait to cook this. Looks gorgeous.

    Terry.

    Reply

    1. Yes, you can use the slider tool to adjust the ingredient list to whatever number of servings you’re looking for. The only recommendation I have would be to use a smaller slow cooker. If there’s too much space, it may not cook it properly and dry it out. Enjoy!

      Reply

  18. This will be our second time to make this recipe. It was delicious the first time! Just got everything in the slow cooker. My mouth will be watering all day!!

    Reply

  19. I made this last night and just enjoyed it for dinner. Wow, I love the red wine balsamic flavor. I used a 2lb roast and cooked it on low for 5 hours. I kept the liquid measurements the same and added a splash of extra wine for personal preference. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply

  21. We all absolutely loved it. The best pot roast we’d ever eaten! Everyone went for seconds.
    My husband added more wine. It was a good idea.

    Reply

  22. Hi

    I have everything except the red wine and the beef base, but I do have beef broth. Is the wine necessary? Could I use beef broth instead + balsamic vinegar + brown sugar to get relatively the same results?

    Reply

  23. Putting this together right now and noticed that it doesn’t call to add any water to the crock pot. Is the balsamic mix the only liquid in the pot?

    Reply

  25. Here in Australia we dont have numerous items that are mentioned in recipes from U.S. It would be helpful if contributors gave a description so we can search the markets for a similar item. Juliet

    Reply

  26. Hi! Making this tomorrow! I apologize for the stupid question but do I just sprinkle the brown sugar over the roast or an I supposed to mix it with the balsamic mixture? Thanks so much!

    Reply

  27. I made this today for a Sunday dinner because I love to smell the crockpot all day. It was amazing! You were right about the balsamic vinegar and the beef base. I purchased the same kinds you use (of course I did!) and boy is there a difference between them and the regular stuff from the grocery store. Soooo flavorful! Wonderful dinner and the roast was beyond tender.

    Thanks for another amazing recipe! ~Cindy

    Reply

  28. It was a cold and blustery day today so decided to make this recipe … the aroma in my house all afternoon was almost too much to stand! Made it with the potatoes and carrots, and OMG! Beyond delicious! I have several pot roast recipes, this one tops them all!

    Reply

    1. I edited it to show correctly now. Thank you for catching that and letting me know. I think I definitely need more coffee before posting at times, haha!

      Reply

    1. Sorry about that, I edited it to show correctly now. You’ll want to add it in at the same time as the balsamic mixture. Thank you for letting me know.

      Reply

  32. This looks delicious! I notice the ingredients call for red wine but I don’t see where it is added in the directions? Can you clarify please? Do you just add it when’s you add the balsamic vinegar? Can’t wait to try it! 

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for catching that! You want to add in the red wine into the slow cooker at the same time as the balsamic mixture. I edited it to show correctly now.

      Reply