Yay! It’s free from gluten, nuts, dairy, egg, soy, and all the other top 9 major allergens! Also Whole 30 and Keto friendly if you skip the gravy.
Pot roast is one of my daughter’s favorite meals. It’s tender, fall apart beefy goodness. Pair it with creamy mashed potatoes and thick gravy, it is truly the essence of comfort food. Now that fall has officially arrived, we’ll probably be eating this weekly, and the leftovers make for a great school lunch. This recipe is so simple and based on Ree Drummond’s Perfect Pot Roast recipe. I like to make it in the instant pot instead of the oven, however, and I skip the red wine to make it safe and gluten-free. (Red wine barrel heads are usually sealed with wheat paste.) Then I take to another level by making a pan gravy out of the roast juice. You can make the roast, the gravy and the side of carrots all in the instant pot, which means less dishes to clean and that’s always a huge win for me. 😄
Prep and Make the Roast
Prep the veggies first. Cut the onion in half and then scrub, peel and cut the carrots into large diagonal pieces. Have the rosemary and thyme ready. Be sure to bring the piece of chuck roast to room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This will help give it a good, even browning. Pat it dry with a paper towel and then Season generously with salt and pepper. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the instant pot. When the oil in the pot is very hot, sear the meat for about 2-3 minutes on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the Instant Pot. Add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so and then remove them back to the same bowl it was prepped in. The carrots will be cooked in the instant pot after the pot roast is done, so set this aside. Then, use about 1 cup of broth to deglaze the pan, scraping and stirring to get all of the browning at the bottom of the pan.
When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 or 3 cups more). Nestle in the onion, as well as the rosemary and thyme. Hit Cancel, put the lid on, and set to Pressure Cook on high for 75 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. When the roast is done, remove it to a large platter. Remove and discard the onion.
Strain all the juice through a sieve to catch the rosemary, thyme and any bits of onions left. Discard these aromatics. Set aside the beef juice to make the gravy later.
Cook the Carrots
Now that the Instant pot is empty, throw in the carrots that were prepped and browned from earlier. I don’t rinse the pot at all. Put in about a cup of fresh water. Season with salt and pepper. Hit Cancel, put the lid on, and set to Pressure Cook on high for 4 minutes. When done, release the pressure immediately. The carrots should be tender, but still slightly firm. If you want them softer, cover and Pressure Cook for another minute or two. Scoop this up into a serving bowl and discard the juice.
If you need this to be Keto or Whole 30, lucky you! You can stop here and start eating! The carrots and the pot roast in its juices still make for an amazing low carb meal. Definitely lighter, but still delicious! But keep moving ahead if you need thick, savory gravy!
Make the Gravy
I keep the gravy free from gluten and dairy by using gluten-free flour and bacon fat instead of butter. It’s so rich and delicious that you don’t even miss the wheat flour and butter. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté again. When hot, add a couple of tablespoons of bacon fat to the pot. Add the gluten-free flour and whisk until the flour is slightly browned. Then slowly add in all the beef juice that was set aside from earlier. Whisk vigorously to avoid lumps.
Bring to a boil. In the meantime, make a slurry with the cornstarch or arrowroot starch by adding a bit of water. Stir with your fingers and make sure you get all the starch settled at the bottom of the bowl. While whisking, add the slurry to the now boiling beef juice. Keep whisking until it comes to a boil again. It should now have the consistency of a thick gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Hit Cancel to turn the Instant Pot off.
Transfer to a gravy boat and serve with the roast and carrots immediately. This is the absolute best when served with dairy-free mashed potatoes. Comfort food made safe, but still amazingly delicious. Enjoy and happy eating! ☺️
Easy Gluten-Free Pot Roast with Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes2
hoursComplete this pot roast recipe with a side of mashed potatoes. The recipe can be found here.
Ingredients
3 – 4lbs Chuck Roast
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large whole onion, sliced in half
6-8 carrots, cut up into large diagonal chunks
Salt and Pepper To Taste
2 -3 cups Beef or Chicken Stock
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste
Bacon fat for the gravy
2 Tbsp gluten-free flour
2-3 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
Parsley for garnish, optional
Directions
- Cook the Pot Roast in the Instant Pot
- Heat the Instant Pot on Sauté.
- Be sure to bring the roast to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the instant pot. When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), sear the meat for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
- If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the Instant Pot. Add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.
- Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so and then remove them to a bowl and set aside. The carrots will be cooked in the instant pot after the pot roast is done.
- Use either about 1 cup of broth to deglaze the pan, scraping with a whisk to get all of the browning at the bottom of the pan.
- When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups more). Nestle in the onion, as well as the rosemary and thyme.
- Hit Cancel, put the lid on, and set to Pressure Cook on high for 75 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- When the roast is done, remove it to a large platter. Remove and discard the onion.
- Strain all the juice through a sieve to catch the rosemary, thyme and any bits of onions left. Discard these aromatics. Set aside the beef juice to make the gravy later.
- Cook the Carrots in the Instant Pot
- Add about 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot. Throw in the carrots and season with salt and pepper. Pressure Cook on High for 4 minutes. Release pressure immediately after4 minutes.
- Scoop out the carrots into a serving bowl. Discard the juice.
- Hit Cancel on the Instant Pot.
- Make the gravy in the Instant Pot
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of bacon.
- Then sprinkle in the gluten-free flour.
- Whisk and cook for about a minute or two. The flour should brown slightly.
- Whisking constantly, slowly pour in all the pot roast beef juice to the pan.
- Bring to a boil. Then salt and pepper to taste.
- In a small bowl, create a slurry by adding some water to the cornstarch or arrowroot starch. Use fingers to stir. Add to the gravy while constantly whisking. Add enough to desired thickness. Do not add too much or the gravy will be overly goopy. Whisk and cook for about a minute. Serve immediately.