Main Dishes
French Onion Pot Roast
Prep
20 minutes
Cook
4 hours
Yield
6
This delicious French Onion Pot Roast is the ultimate comfort food for the fall or winter. It looks fancy but it's so easy to make as your oven or slow cooker does most of the work.
There’s something so comforting about a slow-cooked roast that fills your kitchen with the rich, savory aroma of caramelized onions and simmering broth. I’ve taken the classic French Onion Soup that we all know and love and turned it into a comforting French Onion Pot Roast. This dish has tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef bathed in a onion-packed gravy that warms you right up. Serve this dish over a bed of mashed potatoes for a stick-to-your-ribs meal that’ll make any night cozy.
❤️ Why You’ll Love French Onion Pot Roast
- Tender: After a few hours in the oven, the chuck roast turns buttery soft and practically falls apart with a fork. No knife needed!
- Classic Flavor: Caramelized onions, garlic, and a splash of white wine create a deep, savory sauce that tastes like your favorite bowl of French onion soup.
- Cozy: It looks (and tastes) fancy, but it’s mostly hands-off once it’s in the oven. Making this dish perfect for lazy Sundays or impressing guests.
🍲 Ingredients
Beef Chuck Roast – This cut is ideal for slow cooking thanks to its rich marbling and connective tissue, which break down over time to create a melt-in-your-mouth texture. When seared first, it locks in flavor and develops that golden crust that makes the final dish so flavorful.
Caramelized Onions – Caramelized onions bring a deep sweetness and complexity that elevates the entire pot roast. With the onions being slowly cooked in this recipe until golden and jammy, they transform into a rich, flavorful base that gives the sauce its signature French onion depth.
👩🍳 How to Make French Onion Pot Roast
For the french onion pot roast
- Pat the beef chuck roast dry with a paper towel. Season generously with kosher salt and ground pepper on all sides.
- To an oven-safe dutch oven, add 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, sear the beef until golden brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Reduce the heat to medium and leave any oils in the pan (do not wipe clean). Add the thinly sliced onions, pearl onions and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Turn to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized and golden, this can take about 20-30 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic, dried thyme or fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook until it’s almost all evaporated.
- Add the worcestershire, soy sauce and beef broth and then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Once simmering, return the seared beef chuck roast to the pot and turn off the heat. Cover the pot with a lid.
- Roast in the oven for 3-3.5 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender. Baste the beef with the juices in the pot at the 1 hour and 2 hour mark.Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, around the 2.5-3 hour mark.
- Remove the bay leaf (and thyme sprigs if using) before pulling the beef into smaller pieces.
- Serve over top of the creamy mashed potatoes.
For the mashed potatoes
- With about 1 hour left in the pot roast cooking time, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your potatoes until soft and fork-tender.
- Once potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat and drain the water. Set the cooked potatoes aside in a bowl.
- Add the butter, kosher salt, ground pepper and heavy cream to the large pot over low heat. As the butter melts, stir to combine all of the ingredients together until the butter has fully melted. Turn the heat off and add the potatoes back to the pot, using a potato masher to mash until fully mashed and combined OR put the potatoes through a ricer and add to the pot, stirring to fully combine.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Slow Cook Onions: Don’t rush the caramelizing process! Let them cook low and slow until they’re deep golden brown so the flavor develops.
- Searing: Make sure your beef is patted completely dry before searing so you get that perfect crust. A proper sear adds tons of depth to the final dish.
- Deglaze: When you add the wine, scrape up every last brown bit from the bottom of the pot, those little bits are flavor gold.
- Low & Slow: Resist the urge to crank the heat. Cooking at 325°F for several hours is what makes the beef fall-apart tender.
🗒 Substitutions
- Beef Chuck Roast: If you can’t find chuck, try a blade roast, brisket, or bottom round roast. Just make sure it’s a cut with enough marbling to stay juicy after hours in the oven.
- White Wine: Swap it for red wine for a deeper, bolder flavor, or use extra beef broth if you’d prefer to skip the alcohol.
- Beef Broth: Vegetable broth works fine, though it’ll be a bit lighter in flavor. A splash of mushroom broth can also add great umami.
- Soy Sauce & Worcestershire: These bring saltiness and depth, but if you’re out, a spoonful of balsamic vinegar or liquid aminos will do the trick.
- Pearl Onions: You can sub with small shallots or just use more regular onions for the same flavor.
🍽️ Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
This dish tastes great leftover. Let cool and put in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
🤔 Common Questions
Absolutely! Sear the beef and caramelize the onions on the stovetop first, then transfer everything to your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8–9 hours or high for 5–6 hours until the beef is fall-apart tender. For an Instant Pot, pressure cook for about 60–70 minutes, then let it naturally release for 15 minutes.
Yes! In fact, it tastes even better the next day. You can make the whole thing ahead, store it in the fridge overnight, and reheat gently on the stove or in the oven before serving.
Totally. Just make sure your soy sauce and worcestershire are gluten-free, and you’re good to go.
Creamy mashed potatoes are classic, but it’s also amazing over buttered noodles, polenta, or even crispy sourdough bread to soak up that rich onion gravy.
French Onion Pot Roast
Ingredients
For the french onion pot roast
- 2.5-3 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
- kosher salt and ground pepper
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 cups pearl onions
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp worcestershire
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 cups beef broth
For the mashed potatoes
- 2.5-3 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled & chopped into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 3/4 cup Shamrock Farms Heavy Whipping Cream
Instructions
For the french onion pot roast
- Pat the beef chuck roast dry with a paper towel. Season generously with kosher salt and ground pepper on all sides.
- To an oven-safe dutch oven, add 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, sear the beef until golden brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Reduce the heat to medium and leave any oils in the pan (do not wipe clean). Add the thinly sliced onions, pearl onions and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Turn to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized and golden, this can take about 20-30 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic, dried thyme or fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook until it’s almost all evaporated.
- Add the worcestershire, soy sauce and beef broth and then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Once simmering, return the seared beef chuck roast to the pot and turn off the heat. Cover the pot with a lid.
- Roast in the oven for 3-3.5 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender. Baste the beef with the juices in the pot at the 1 hour and 2 hour mark.Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, around the 2.5-3 hour mark.
- Remove the bay leaf (and thyme sprigs if using) before pulling the beef into smaller pieces.
- Serve over top of the creamy mashed potatoes.
For the mashed potatoes
- With about 1 hour left in the pot roast cooking time, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your potatoes until soft and fork-tender.
- Once potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat and drain the water. Set the cooked potatoes aside in a bowl.
- Add the butter, kosher salt, ground pepper and heavy cream to the large pot over low heat. As the butter melts, stir to combine all of the ingredients together until the butter has fully melted. Turn the heat off and add the potatoes back to the pot, using a potato masher to mash until fully mashed and combined OR put the potatoes through a ricer and add to the pot, stirring to fully combine.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
- This recipe is lovely for a cozy weekend or a showstopper for a holiday gathering.
- Serve with your favourite vegetable side dish or a salad like our Shaved Apple Salad
