French Onion Pot Roast
This French Onion Pot Roast has all the delicious flavors of a classic French onion soup in a braised pot roast form.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 698kcal
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 large white onions thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
Oven Instructions
- Season chuck roast liberally with salt and pepper. You may need to cut down the roast into smaller pieces to fit in the dutch oven to sear. I cut mine into 4 large pieces, removing extra fat.
- Add oil to a 5 quart dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Add roast and sear on all sides. Remove seared meat from dutch oven and set aside for later.
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Add butter to dutch oven. Once hot and melted, add the onions, salt and pepper, and allow them to cook down and deeply caramelize for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions become very dark, soft and jammy.
- Add in the garlic and thyme, wine, Worcestershire, balsamic, and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 30 seconds. Then pour in the beef stock and whisk or vigorously stir to blend in and combine until smooth. Allow the French onion sauce to simmer to 5 minutes.
- Nestle the seared roast into the onion sauce, spooning onion mixture on top of roast.
- Cover and place into oven and bake for 3-4 hours.
- Remove roast from oven and pull apart meat with two forks.
- In a small bowl combine cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and pour into roast mixture to thicken the sauce.
- Serve mixture over mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of shredded gruyere cheese.
Crockpot Instructions
- Rub the chuck roast with oil and season liberally with salt and pepper and place into crockpot over low heat. Optional: you can sear the roast prior to placing into the crockpot.
- Add butter to a heavy bottom pan. Once hot and melted, add the onions, salt and pepper, and allow them to cook down and deeply caramelize for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions become very dark, soft and jammy.
- Add in the garlic and thyme, wine, Worcestershire, balsamic, and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 30 seconds. Then pour in the beef stock and whisk or vigorously stir to blend in and combine until smooth. Allow the French onion sauce to simmer to 5 minutes.
- NOTE: If you want to make this easier on you for a quick morning prep you can complete the onion caramelization and sauce the day prior.
- Pour the sauce over top the roast in the crockpot, cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Remove roast from crockpot and pull apart meat with two forks. Then return to the juices.
- In a small bowl combine cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and pour into roast mixture to thicken the sauce.
- Serve mixture over mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of shredded gruyere cheese.
Notes
Don't rush the onions. I know 20-25 minutes feels like forever, but deeply caramelized onions are everything in this recipe. If you stop too early, the onions will be sweet but won't have that rich, dark, jammy flavor that makes the sauce incredible.
Sear the meat first. Even for the crockpot version, searing the roast before it goes in builds a ton of flavor. It only takes a few minutes and it makes a noticeable difference in the final dish.
Thicken at the end. The cornstarch slurry at the end pulls the sauce together and gives it that silky, spoon-coating consistency. Don't skip it - it takes 30 seconds and it's worth it.
Nutrition
Calories: 698kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1749mg | Potassium: 608mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 709IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 466mg | Iron: 5mg
