I am super excited that today begins an 8-week series here at JoyFoodSunshine that I’m calling “Homemade Holidays!” From now until Christmas I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes that make the holidays memorable in our house! From special breakfasts, to scrumptious treats, to savory sides and main dishes…I’ll give you a little insight into how we partayyyy! 😉 I’m kicking off the series by sharing this recipe for Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast, which is my go-to main dish recipe for Christmas day, Easter, etc.
I L-O-V-E this recipe for many reasons. Reason Number One: it is a healthy and delicious main dish option! This Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast is paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free!
Reason Number Two: This recipe takes very little prep work and can be made ahead of time! Truth be told, we are not huge ham eaters…and I don’t always have time to cook a turkey on holidays (especially because my hubby is a pastor and we always have church services on Christmas Eve and Easter Morning)!
I always toss this Slow Cooker Balsamic 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 baby 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!
Reason Number Three: This Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast uses my favorite condiment of all time…Balsamic Vinegar! As always…when I share recipes that use balsamic vinegar I implore you to purchase only high-quality varieties.
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!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless Chuck Roast
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 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
- Generously grease the bowl of your slow cooker. Set aside
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard and beef broth. Set aside.
- Coat the roast in 1 TBS olive oil (I spread it around with my hands). Set in your slow cooker.
- Evenly sprinkle the roast with the rub, pressing it into the meat so it sticks.
- Pour sauce over roast and turn your slow cooker onto low.
- Cook on low for 8-12 hours, occasionally spooning more sauce over the roast, until it is very easily shredded with a fork.
- Shred and continue cooking on low for another 1 hour.
- 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)!
- Transfer sauce to a saucepan and whisk in 1 TBS tapioca flour or arrowroot powder.
- Cook on medium heat until sauce becomes thick.
- Pour ¼ of the thickened sauce over the meat and save the rest for people to spoon on when you serve!
- Eat and enjoy!
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! 😉
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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Hey Laura! honestly speaking, I cant wait anymore for test your pot roast. Really you done proper way to made this Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast. I can feel that, it is actually balsamic, awesome taste. Too good looking.
I love anything I can make in a slow cooker! This looks delicious!
I totally agree Kalee! Couldn’t live without my slow cooker!
Oh I might have to send this up with the hubby to the cabin this weekend! I love the balsamic addition!
You would definitely be the wife of the weekend if you send your hubby with a bunch of delicious meat! 😉
What a great recipe! I know this would go over great at a party. Love how moist it looks!
I love making it when we have a bunch of friends over! 🙂
The pot roast looks like it would melt in your mouth. We usually stick with turkey or ham for the holiday’s, rarely is beef on the menu.
You had me at slow cooker!!! I am always looking for new ways to make things D will eat and roast is wayyyy up on his list, so this is pinned to make it happen!
I love this new series! Can’t wait to try this.
Oh my gosh – I am definitely going to make this!! Either this week or next, it sounds absolutely amazing. 🙂
Love that I can get such an amazing dinner like this from my slow cooker! Looks so delicious!
Love that this is made int he slow cooker yet it is so impressive for the holidays! Looks so delicious!
I love that it’s slow cooker season! This series is so much fun – can’t wait to see what else you have!
I’ve never made a pot roast as they always seem so daunting. But this slow cooker version I could do!
I love that you toss this in the day before, because I LOVE those really super slow cooked pot roasts. They are the best!
I can’t wait to follow along with your Holiday series! This recipe looks amazing, so comforting and perfect for holiday dinners.
I realy need to use my crockpot more often. This looks delicious! What do you usually serve it with on the side?
Hey Patty! I love serving it with a salad, some oven fries and some bread to soak up all the yummy juice! It’s also really great served on mashed potatoes or over rice/noodles!! Really any way you serve it you can’t go wrong! 😉
I can’t wait to follow along on this holiday series! I can’t believe it’s that time of year already! This looks like it would be amazing with a cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes… yum!
I know!! I feel like November snuck right up on me! This is the last week of “normal” homeschool curriculum before we start Thanksgiving and then dive into Christmas! I can’t believe it!
My mouth won’t stop watering this sounds so good! 🙂
Thank you! It really is a delicious meal!
Oh this looks good! I bet the leftovers are amazing, too! We’re not ham fans, either. Last Easter we did a huge prime rib and we were so glad we did!
YES! I just can’t stomach ham! Turkey is another story…but who has time to do that?! LOL! I love how easy yet elegant this dish is for the holidays!
This looks absolutely tasty! Definitely perfect for the fall and winter when I want to curl up with a warm bowl of food for dinner every night 🙂
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It is my favorite meal to make for guests…well this and chili! LOL! 🙂
Yum, this looks so delicious. Always on the lookout for simple dishes like this that can cook themselves while we are off doing other important things! (BTW, my hubby is a pastor too)
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Hey Elissa! That is so awesome! <3 So you totally understand when I say #pastorswifelife! 😉
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Thanks so much for sharing it with us and enjoy your new Red Plate!
Miz Helen
Thank you Miz Helen! I just made this again this weekend…a tried and true family favorite for sure!
I’m making this recipe as I type. I was about to ‘speed’ up the cooking by putting slow cooker on high until I read your comment about cooking overnight. Thsnks for that tip.
Hey Wanda! I’m so glad you saw that tip! I have tried speeding up the process by cooking it on high too with not so great results! Low and slow is definitely the way to go here! Please let me know how you guys like it! <3
If I double the recipe, will it require more cooking time?
Hey Holly! I just doubled this recipe a couple weeks ago and no, it did not require more cooking time! However, I have a fairly large crockpot! As long as your roasts are covered in the liquid it should take the same amount of time to cook!
Amazing, what a way to debut using my slow cooker by using your recipe. All in one “taste, look, smell, tender”, everyone in my family love it. Agree with you, spending time with your kids and wife in my case is my first choice, but what a great therapy and hobby is to cook great food. thank you for this great recipe.
Hector
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Hector!
What size of crock pot did you use? Does it matter?
thanks!
Could eye of round be used instead of chuck?
Hello 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!