This dutch oven pot roast recipe may be getting back to basics, but it’s anything but “basic.” Slow-braised Red Wine Pot Roast is classic cold-weather comfort food. Chuck roast practically melts into slightly crispy but tender bites, while the red wine braising liquid becomes a subtly sweet, complex sauce. It’s perfect for any occasion, but pairs best with mashed potatoes and a lazy Sunday.
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Pot roast can be a very personal thing. If you came from a pot roast family, you know exactly what I’m saying. For purists, pot roast is an experience – it’s seared then slow braised in a dutch oven, and served over mashed potatoes. They might side-eye your neighbor’s slow cooker pot roast, and will definitely question pot roast in an Instant Pot.
I don’t come from a pot roast family (in my childhood house, Sundays were for sauce!), but my husband does. So learning the art of the pot roast was a must. And what I learned was this – pot roast should be straightforward, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be complex.
Red wine and fresh herbs add complexity (flavor-wise) to pot roast without complicating the process. Wine can transform the flavor and intensity of an oven-braised hunk of beef with little fuss. While dutch oven beef stew is a classic comfort food, when I’m really looking to impress, I reach for beef stew with red wine.
So if you’re not already married to (or married into) a family recipe, then this red wine pot roast recipe is worth trying and tweaking until it’s all your own. Just know going in, both you and your roast will need lots of time and red wine.
What Cut of Meat Works Best for Pot Roast?
I prefer chuck roast for pot roast. It’s cheap, readily available, and packed with lots of fat (flavor) and connective tissue (gelatin). This article from The Kitchn is a great resource for selecting a cut for pot roast.
Should I Truss the Roast?
100% yes. The first thing I do is tie up my chuck roast with a bit of kitchen twine. A few reasons:
- the twine holds the roast together and makes it easier to turn when browning
- a (mostly) uniform shape ensures even cooking throughout
- your Dutch oven pot roast won’t fall apart towards the end, which makes for chunkier shreds
- it looks pretty
Okay fine, that last one doesn’t count for most reasonable people, but it works for me. I’d normally tell you that you should always do you, but in this case, I urge you to pay attention to first three points and tie up your roast.
How to Make Red Wine Pot Roast
Red Wine Pot Roast is made in the classic style – seared, then slow braised in a Dutch oven with mirepoix, lots of red wine, herbs, and lots of time. This recipe isn’t difficult, but it is a process, so our best “Chef’s Tip” is to read through the recipe first and be prepared!
- PREP. Preheat oven to 300°F. Get all the cutting out of the way – chop the vegetables and mince the garlic. Pat the meat dry, truss with twine, then season all over with salt and pepper.
- BROWN. Sear the seasoned roast in olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven until a good crust forms. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- SAUTE. Sauté the carrots, celery, and onion in the remaining fat in the Dutch oven until soft; add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- DEGLAZE. Pour in 1 cup of red wine to deglaze the pot – this means you’ll scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot and make sure the bottom is “clean”. Add the beef broth and balsamic vinegar after the wine stops bubbling.
- RETURN THE ROAST. Return the roast to the pot and nestle on top of the vegetables. Then, pour in more wine until the roast is halfway submerged in liquid. Add the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves.
- BRAISE. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer, then turn of the burner, cover the pot, and place the entire dutch oven into the heated oven. Roast 3.5-5 hours, depending on the size of the roast (see notes), and test for doneness accordingly.
- SHRED. Remove the roast from the braising liquid using tongs, then shred.
- SAUCE. Strain the sauce from the vegetables, then transfer to a clean pot. Skim the fat and bring the liquid to a simmer over medium high heat. Simmer 5 minutes, or until reduce by half. Add the cold butter and whisk until emulsified.
- SERVE. Pour the pan sauce over the shredded pot roast, then serve over mashed potatoes or with your favorite sides (see below). Serve with additional sauce (au jus) on the side.
Chef’s Tips!
- If you’re going to swap out the cut of meat, go for brisket or round roast, which will still provide enough fat for flavor. Avoid loin (too lean) and no need to go super fancy (prime rib roast).
- While not necessary, trussing can make or break the recipe, especially the presentation. We highly recommend you invest in kitchen twine. It never goes bad!
- Don’t use just any old wine! If you wouldn’t drink it, you shouldn’t cook with it.
- Skim off as much rendered beef fat as possible from the braising liquid at the end – you’ll replace the fat (and flavor) when you emulsify the sauce with butter.
- You don’t have to shred, though it will happen naturally. Feel free to cut into chunks while the twine is still on (just remove the string after).
What’s the Best Red Wine for Pot Roast?
For beef dishes, your best bet is to go dry and heavy – Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, or Syrah will make a rich, flavorful sauce. Merlot can be just a touch on the sweet side but it’s still full-bodied enough that you can use with confidence. Avoid delicate wines like Pinot Noir – you’ll lose much of the nuance in cooking process.
Even though you’re “only” cooking, quality is still important – the rule of thumb is to not cook with anything you wouldn’t drink, but to avoid going high-end too. The subtle complexities in any fine wine will disappear in the cooking process – not worth it.
How Long to Cook Pot Roast in a Dutch Oven?
This recipe works for a 3-5 pound pot roast, but the cooking times will vary. At 300°F in a covered Dutch oven, cook the red wine pot roast for:
- 3-lb pot roast: 3-3.5 hours
- 4-lb pot roast: 4-4.5 hours
- 5-lb pot roast: 4.5 – 5 hours
Starting testing for doneness around the 3-hour mark if the roast is closer to 3 pounds, and the 4-hour mark if closer to 4 pounds. The roast is ready when you can insert a fork into the flesh and it shreds without resistance.
Red Wine Pot Roast Serving Suggestions
Controversial Opinion: do not pair this hearty dish with lighter fare for “balance.” This is stick-to-your-ribs comfort food and should be treated accordingly. I’m not trying to send you to the hospital, but you’re gonna feel full, and you’re gonna like it. Go for potatoes and a robust vegetable.
- Mashed potatoes are a classic pairing for pot roast. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes are rich and buttery, while olive oil mashed potatoes are great if you need a dairy free option.
- Round out the dish with a super flavorful side dish like Crispy Shredded Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Air Fryer Asparagus, or Honey Roasted Carrots.
If you’re preparing a side dish that needs oven space, the roast will keep warm! Cover the whole pot roast with foil and wait to shred until just before serving.
Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.
- Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese
- Rosemary Flank Steak
- Grilled Flat Iron Steak
- Air Fryer Steaks
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
Did you make this red wine pot roast? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
Did you make this red wine pot roast? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Recipe
Red Wine Pot Roast
Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Pin RecipeRecommended Equipment
- Cotton Kitchen Twine
- Mesh Strainer
- Paper Towels
Ingredients
- 4 lb chuck roast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced to ½″
- 2 stalks celery, diced to ½″
- 1 large yellow onion, diced to ½″
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2-3 c dry red wine, divided
- 1 c beef broth, divided
- ¼ c balsamic vinegar
- 1 spring fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp butter, cold
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 300°F. Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels or a cotton kitchen towel. Truss the roast with kitchen twine, then season all over with the salt and pepper. Press to adhere the seasoning into the roast.
- Heat a 6-quart dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Place the roast in the dutch oven and sear until a good crust form on all sides, 4-5 minutes per side. You may need to use a pair of tongs to hold up the roast on the shorter edges. Transfer the seared roast to a plate.
- Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the dutch oven and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic, stir into the mirepoix, and sauté another minute or two until fragrant.
- Add 1 cup of red wine to the pan to deglaze. Stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine stops bubbling. Pour in the beef broth and the balsamic vinegar and give everything a good stir.
- Using tongs, place the roast back into the dutch oven and nestle into the vegetables and braising liquid. Then, add enough additional red wine so that half of the roast is submerged in braising liquid (I used an additional 1.5 cups; you may need more or less depending on the size of your roast). Place the fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and bay leaves in the liquid.
- Increase the burner heat to high and bring the liquid to a simmer. Turn off the burner, cover the pot, and transfer to the oven. Roast for 3.5-5 hours, depending on the size of the roast (see notes). Starting testing for doneness around the 3-hour mark if the roast is closer to 3 pounds, and the 4-hour mark if closer to 4 pounds. The roast is ready when you can insert a fork into the flesh and it shreds without resistance.
- Remove the pot from the oven. Remove the pot roast from the dutch oven with a pair of tongs and set aside onto a platter.
- Place a mesh strainer over a bowl, and pour the braising liquid and vegetables through the strainer. With the back of a wooden spoon, gently press on the vegetables and extract as much liquid (and flavor) as possible from them. Discard the braising vegetables.
- Skim off the fat, which will have settled to the top of the liquid. To do so, lay a paper towel over the liquid until it just touches the surface. The paper towel will absorb the layer of fat on top of the jus. Discard the paper towel once it's saturated and repeat as needed until the fat is skimmed.
- Add the skimmed braising liquid to a clean pot and heat over medium high heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then add the 2 tablespoons of cold butter and whisk until emulsified.
- Cut the trussing twine with scissors, remove from the pot roast and discard the twine. Shred the pot roast into large chunks using 2 forks. Dress with the red wine jus and serve as desired. We love this over buttery mashed potatoes.
Notes
- 3-lb pot roast: 3-3.5 hours
- 4-lb pot roast: 4-4.5 hours
- 5-lb pot roast: 4.5 – 5 hours
Kirsten
This was amazing! I had to cook my roast at a slightly higher temp for about 3.5/4 hours since my oven loses a lot of heat. Highly recommend this recipe!
Danielle
I’m so glad you loved it Kristen! Thanks for sharing your tip on the oven setting – I hope others find it useful if they have similar ovens 🙂
Rick Rush
Just started the recipe looks amazing, the ingredients are perfect and can’t wait to taste it. Good job.
Meagan
This meal is absolute perfection! I made it for dinner tonight, exactly as stated in the recipe. The roast served over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes is beyond delicious. Thank you for a great new staple in our house!
Erika
We ate ours like a stew with the vegetables and skipped the final steps (straining & sauce over mashed potatoes). Looking forward to following the recipe through next time! Thanks for the great recipe!
Danielle
So glad you loved it! I love that you made it “your own” by keeping the veggies. Makes for a lovely pot-pot meal.
aubrey
Holy cow, I just found your site and I LOVE the way you write. Your recipe sounds delish, too, but I was just so smitten with your wordsmithing (and appreciated the way you bolded certain words to call out which step we were on). I was chuckling a bit throughout my read. Love your voice and tone. Looking forward to trying the au jus, too. Thank you!!
Francesca
Hi, I would love to make this! But I have two questions, what wine do you recommend? My other question is this 275F or 275C? I am assuming it is Fahrenheit but I just want to be sure!
Danielle
Yes, 275F. Thank you for pointing that out! I like a dry red for this recipe, like Pinot Noir. Nothing too sweet.
Francesca
Thank you !!!
Susan Tinsley
Isn’t that a coincidence! I took a wild guess when I was at the liquor store. Actually I was looking for something inexpensive. The cheapest wines I found were domestic Pinot Noise and Cabernet Sauvignon. I selected the Pinot without having any idea which would be the best!
Adelle
OMG, just made this tonight and it is AMAZING!!
Thanks for the recipe 😀
Danielle
Thanks for your feedback Adelle, so happy to hear you enjoyed it!
John
Hey there! Ok so I’m making this as we speak. Or as I text. I’ve done this 100 times in my Dutch oven! Awesome meal…so my question have you ever tried it with tomato paste and what’s your thoughts. If not, here you are. So when your sauteing your veggies Just before the red wine stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato paste. Let that get hard and yucky then add wine stir to break up and pretty much everything you’ve done! Now for the reason i all is because after you take everything and reduce to half im wondering if the tomato paste is going to be too prominent. I have not done this without it but I think today im going to because I really want a nice wine aujus to pour over top of mashed taters. Or in my bowl I always do jasmine! Thanks in advance this recipe is awesome to anybody wondering. And truly a great blog!
Cathy
Very good recipe. Easy to make. Husband said this was the best pot roast I had ever made. Will make again,
Kelli
I can’t wait to make this today but could only find a 4 lb rump roast. What temp and time would you recommend?
Danielle
You can prepare the recipe the exact same way using a rump roast – the timing will be the same. A rump roast is leaner than a chuck roast, so it has less fat, but it’s got tons of connective tissue, so that will still provide lots of flavor. Please let me know how it works out for you!
Joe
Excellent recipe. I made this for Sunday supper yesterday and servied it with buttery mashed potatoes/parsnips, and also brussle sprouts. Our family devoured everything.
Penny
This is the only recipe I use to make chuck roast, always a hit! I bought some beef cheeks and prepared them this way, amazing results! Thank you for this recipe!
Nick Paslick
Hi! I know Im late to the party…
But I have a 5 pound top round roast in the freezer that I am trying to figure out what to do with.
Will a top round work for this recipe or is it too lean?
I would love to try this but dont know if I should get a chuck roast instead.
Thanks
Danielle
I think it’s worth trying. Definitely brown in bacon fat if you have it to add extra fat and body to the pan sauce, and make sure you get a good sear on there for extra flavor. It may also take longer to break down since it’s so lean – be sure you can easily pull away shreds with a fork before removing from the oven. Be sure your dutch oven has a tight seal so you don’t lose too much liquid. Please let me know how it turns out! I’ve only done top round in the slowcooker so I’d be interested to see how well it works in a dutch oven.
Jessica
This recipe is amazing! Will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing this.
Peg Purdue
Absolutely delicious!
Angie
I have made this recipe multiple times. My family and friends think it is outstanding!. I actually use the roast to make sandwiches with sautéed onions and mushrooms. Build the sandwich and add provolone cheese. Then you have the jus ready for dipping~ Absolutely Fabulous~ Thank you~
Jennifer
My husband and son loved this recipe. I will definitely make it again. It would make a great dinner for company. I left the vegetables in the gravy, because my husband loves cooked carrots.The paper towel trick for removing the fat worked well. I thickened the sauce with flour and didn’t need the extra beef broth.
LK
This is a near perfect recipe. The mirapoix timing and addition of balsamic really added to the complexity of the sauce. Butter always helps :0) well done. Follow the steps as laid out. Your taste buds will appreciate it.
Matthew Miller
Tried this last week and loved it! Going to make some adjustments this weekend and I’ll let you know how it works. We are going to add mushrooms right before putting it in the oven then serve the beef with the strained veggies and mushrooms over mashed potatoes then pour the sauce on top. We loved the flavor of the veggies last time and used them almost as a side but 3 of us said Mushrooms! at the same time and think it would add a nice flavor.
Diane
This pot roast recipe is delicious and the best I have found so far. I love the juice and that is has lots of red wine. I used 3 1/2 cups red wine and 3 cups of beef bone broth for a 4lb roast. This will now be my go to recipe for pot roast from now on.
When I reheated the left over roast, I cup of some carrots and potatoes and cooked on med low in the juice which I saved separately. This was just to have a different dinner the second time around.
I love this recipe.
Matt
Best pot roast ive ever had!!! So delicious
Christine
Can I make this in a crock pot following same directions?
Margaret
I made this last night and the flavors were great. I love to cook and do so a lot and I had a few issues but need to figure out why. I cooked my 4lb for 4.5 hours and had to feed the kids but it could have used more time. A slow cooker may have been easier 😬. And all my liquid strained just looked like oil. I didn’t get a good gravy in the end. But I may try again because tasted really good with my garlic mashed potatoes.
Lysa
This was outstanding. I added 2” long pieces of carrot in the last 1-1/2 hour and they absorbed the amazing flavors. Served with cauliflower-potato mash. Yum
Diane
My daughter made this recipe this week. It was absolutely the best I have ever had. I am looking forward to making it myself for a Sunday family dinner.
Ken A
Not only we enjoyed the result of this recipe, it was good to learn some new cooking techniques!
Thanks for sharing!
Fe
Hi there, I know that the red wine is an important ingredient to this dish however is there a substitute ingredient you could reccomend that doesn’t have any alcohol please?
Thankyou 🙂
Danielle
Hi – you can purchase non-alcoholic wine! This recipe is really based around the wine both cooking and seasoning the roast, so I wouldn’t make further recommendations without testing them first – for example, I wouldn’t simply substitute beef broth, because there needs to be further adjustments to enhance the flavor of the meat. At some point I will also share a more “traditional” pot roast recipe without wine, I just haven’t perfected it quite yet. If you have an Instant Pot, I do have a pressure cooker version that doesn’t have wine. Just search for “instant pot pot roast” in the search bar.
Nicole
How long would I cook this in a slow cooker?