Balsamic Slow Cooker Pot Roast! Easy, healthy make-ahead main dish recipe that takes 5 minutes of prep time! Paleo, gluten-free & dairy-free! No browning required!
We’re not a big ham or turkey family on the holidays. That might sound crazy, but my family would prefer this slow cooker pot roast recipe over any of the traditional holiday main dishes!
I L-O-V-E this balsamic slow cooker pot roast recipe for SO many reasons. Here are the top 3!
- It is a healthy and delicious main dish option! This Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast is paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free!
- This recipe takes very little prep work and can be made ahead of time!
- This Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast uses my favorite condiment of all time…Balsamic Vinegar!
How do you make a great slow cooker pot roast?
Let’s walk through the steps in making the BEST, easy slow cooker pot roast recipe and answer some commonly asked questions!
Step 1: Make The Sauce & Rub
You’ll need to small bowls/containers to make the sauce and rub for this recipe. Both are simple and come together in minutes! You can mix the sauce directly in the crockpot and spoon it over the roast. However I like to mix it separately and pour it over the rubbed roast so it covers it!
Step 2: Rub the Roast
Rub olive oil all over the roast and place it in the slow cooker. Then use your hands to spread the rub all over the roast, pressing it down so it sticks.
Step 3: Pour in the Sauce and Let the pot roast Cook
Next simply pour in the balsamic sauce and let the slow cooker do all the work! I usually toss this Paleo Pot Roast into my crockpot right before I go to bed the night before I want to serve it. We eat dinner early (I’m talking 5 PM on the dot), and I want to ensure this slow cooker pot roast with balsamic vinegar has enough time to be cooked low and slow for as long as it takes! Added bonus…it frees me up to enjoy the holiday instead of spending the whole day cooking!
Do you have to brown a roast before putting it in the crockpot?
NO! That’s another beautiful thing about this balsamic pot roast recipe, there is no need to brown it before putting it in the slow cooker!
Step 4: Remove the Sauce & Shred the Meat
I like to separate the sauce from the meat to strain and thicken it for serving. However you can simply add thickener to the slow cooker towards the end of the cooking time if you prefer.
To separate the sauce from the meat, remove the pot roast from the slow cooker and place it in a 9×9″ serving dish. Then place a strainer in a bowl and pour the contents of the slow cooker into the strainer. The bowl will catch the sauce and remove any fat.
Then transfer the sauce to a saucepan, add the thickener of your choice, and cook until it’s thick.
Shred the meat and add some (but not all) of the thickened sauce to the shredded meat. Reserve the rest to serve alongside of the roast!
Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast: Substitutions
There are only a few simple ingredients in this recipe, but here are some potential substitutions.
- Olive Oil. Any neutral oil can be used in place of olive oil. I have used avocado oil in the past with great results!
- Honey. Maple syrup is a great substitute for honey!
- Honey Mustard. Dijon, regular yellow, spicy brown, really the possibilities are endless here! Just choose a mustard that will compliment the balsamic vinegar well!
- Beef Broth. You can use chicken or vegetable broth but I highly recommend beef broth as it yields the best flavor!
A note about high-quality balsamic vinegar…
A premium balsamic vinegar should be thick, sweet, and could easily be eaten alone. I recommend this 25-Year Aged Balsamic Vinegar or this Garlic Cilantro Balsamic Vinegar. Both of these can be purchased from my absolute favorite family-owned shop in my hometown….The Twisted Olive!
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Paleo Balsamic Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast! Easy, healthy make-ahead main dish recipe that takes 5 minutes of prep time! Paleo, gluten-free & dairy-free!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless Chuck Roast
- 1 TBS olive oil
Rub:
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
- ½ cup high quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 TBS honey
- 1 TBS honey mustard
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 TBS tapioca flour or arrowroot powder
Instructions
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Generously grease the bowl of your slow cooker. Set aside
Make the rub:
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In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and pepper. Set aside.
Make the sauce:
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In a medium bowl whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard and beef broth. Set aside.
Putting it together:
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Coat the roast in 1 TBS olive oil (I spread it around with my hands). Set in your slow cooker.
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Evenly sprinkle the roast with the rub, pressing it into the meat so it sticks.
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Pour sauce over roast and turn your slow cooker onto low.
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Cook on low for 8-12 hours, occasionally spooning more sauce over the roast, until it is very easily shredded with a fork.
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Shred and continue cooking on low for another 1 hour.
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Just before you are ready to serve, remove the meat from the sauce and strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl (do NOT pour it down the drain)!
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Transfer sauce to a saucepan and whisk in 1 TBS tapioca flour or arrowroot powder.
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Cook on medium heat until sauce becomes thick.
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Pour ¼ of the thickened sauce over the meat and save the rest for people to spoon on when you serve!
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Eat and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
I always start cooking this roast at night before I go to sleep so that I can be sure it has adequate time to cook well. Nothing worse than rushing a roast! 😉 If you cook the roast overnight, be sure to check the meat after 9 hours. If it's ready, shred it and transfer the meat to a 9x9" baking dish or a casserole dish with a lid! Add a little bit of the reserved liquid, and store the meat, covered, in the fridge until it's almost time to eat.
Keep the sauce covered in a small saucepan to thicken and warm close to dinner! Then when you're ready to eat simply warm the meat, covered, in the oven at about 325 degrees until it's warmed through!
Seriously, whenever I want to make a special-yet-healthy main dish…I choose this Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast! I promise you will love it just as much as we do!
Question: What’s your favorite holiday main dish to serve to a crowd?
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Lennie Gail
April 8, 2019 at 12:25 pmAbsolutely delicious! I used bottom round roast and it turned out great!
Gina
October 22, 2018 at 4:17 pmHi, Laura! This recipe is absolutely delicious. I wanted to ask though- do you brown your meat or anything to get the crust on yours? Mine did not come out with a crust so I didn’t know if I missed something.
Laura
October 22, 2018 at 4:19 pmHey Gina! thank you for your sweet comment! This is one of our favorite recipes! I don’t brown the meat, it just gets some burnt edges in the crockpot!
Hayley C.
April 1, 2018 at 6:28 amCould I make this in an Instant Pot instead?
Laura
April 1, 2018 at 7:22 amHey Hayley! I do not own an insta pot (Gasp) so I am unsure if it will work! I’m so sorry!
Amy T
January 25, 2018 at 3:20 pmHi there. I followed your recipe to a tee but when I checked it after 5 hours, it was as if the roast had been boiled and was tough and cooked through. The only difference was my roast was 2.24 lbs. What size is your crockpot? I used my oval one. Maybe the crock pot is too big for this small of a roast? Help a sister out 🤣
Laura
January 25, 2018 at 4:23 pmHey Amy! I’m sorry that you had some trouble with this recipe. I make it allll the time, so I’m surprised to hear it didn’t turn our perfectly. However, my guess is you simply need to let it cook the full 9 hours. It needs to cook the full amount in order to become fork tender.
Charmaine McKinney
December 18, 2017 at 5:35 pmHave tried this several times and it’s delicious. My husband loves carrots and potatoes cooked with a roast but I haven’t tried that with recipe because of the long cooking time. Do you recommend a time when I could add these in?
Thx Charmaine
Laura
December 19, 2017 at 7:19 amI’m SO glad to hear that you enjoy this recipe Charmaine! I make it at least twice a month because we love it so much too! I have thought about adding potatoes/carrots as well but haven’t tried it yet. There are two methods I’d give the potatoes and carrots at least 3-6 hours to cook with the roast. But I have not tried it so I can’t say for sure!
Charmaine McKinney
December 19, 2017 at 11:22 amThx I’ll try it and let you know.
Dakota
December 3, 2017 at 2:12 pmWhat would you recommend doing with leftovers? Like tacos or sandwich?
Laura
December 3, 2017 at 2:36 pmHey Dakota! Either one of those is a great way to use leftovers! We often eat it with egg noodles or rice as well! Or toss it in a stir fry!
Barbara
November 30, 2017 at 3:05 pmHi!
I just found your site and you have so many delicious recipes that I am looking forward to trying. I’m really excited to try this Balsamic Roast recipe this weekend, but want to make sure I am clear on the directions. You mentioned putting this on the night before in the slow cooker. So if I put this on say 9:00 pm on Saturday before bed, and we don’t have it until Sunday for dinner at 5 pm, it won’t be overcooked or dried out?
Many thanks!
Barb
Laura
November 30, 2017 at 3:51 pmHey Barb! GREAT question! I will update this in the recipe too! What I usually do is check the meat after 9 hours and if it’s ready then I shred it and transfer the meat to a 9×9″ baking dish with a lid or casserole dish, add a little bit of the reserved liquid, and store it in the fridge until it’s almost time to eat. Keep the sauce covered in a small saucepan to thicken and warm close to dinner! Then when you’re ready to eat simply warm the meat, covered, in the oven at about 325 degrees until it’s warmed through!
Robyn D
November 29, 2017 at 12:17 pmThis was super easy to make and it was delicious!! The whole family loved it! The only mistake we made was not doubling the recipe so we could enjoy leftovers!
Laura
November 29, 2017 at 3:48 pmI’m SO glad you love it Robyn! This is one of our family’s favorite recipes! I actually just bought a roast today to make it this week! 🙂
Kim
August 14, 2017 at 9:22 amI put this in the crockpot this morning along with some veggies that came with it (it was a packet from Walmart) and we saw your recipe and are so thankful because we used to do cream of mushroom soup but my little girl has a slight milk allergy so I was glad to see this option. My husband is excited to try it as well! The only thing I didn’t do is get the tapioca flour and also we are serving it over white rice. Thanks again!
Janet
December 20, 2016 at 5:10 pmCould eye of round be used instead of chuck?
Laura
December 21, 2016 at 7:18 amHello Janet! You really can use any cut, just be sure to give yourself plenty of time for it to cook on low heat. The meat should be so tender it will fall apart when you go to shred it!