Name: Sunday Pot Roast (The Onion Soup Mix Recipe)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 45 min
Total time: 4 h 20 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: One 3 1/2 to 4 pound boneless beef chuck roast; 1 teaspoon fine salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; One envelope of dry onion soup mix; 1 cup water; 1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut in half; 2 bay leaves; 2 pounds small potatoes (900g), yellow or red, halved, or larger ones cut in 2 inch chunks; 1 1/2 pounds carrots (680g), peeled and cut in 2 inch pieces; Optional, for a thicker gravy: 2 tablespoons cornstarch stirred into 3 tablespoons cold water

In this article

Why this Sunday pot roast works
Ingredients
How to make Sunday pot roast
Tips that make the difference
Variations
Storage and make-ahead
Frequently asked questions

Every family in our town had a Sunday supper, and in most of them it was pot roast. A big chuck roast, cheap and tough and full of flavor, went into the black pot in the middle of the morning and came out at supper so tender it fell apart under a fork, with carrots and potatoes cooked in its gravy and an onion gone so soft it had disappeared. That smell in the house all afternoon is what people mean when they talk about Sunday.

My mother’s was the best in the county, and her secret came out of a paper envelope at the back of a drawer where she thought nobody looked: one envelope of dry onion soup mix. She would have denied it under oath. The rest she did the old way. The roast was seared hard first, on every side, until it was dark brown; a pale roast is a boiled roast, she said. And the vegetables did not go in at the start. They went in later, at a moment she guarded, so they came to the table soft and whole instead of dissolving into the gravy. That moment is in the steps below, in plain numbers.

Why this Sunday pot roast works

A hard sear. Four or five minutes a side in a hot Dutch oven builds a dark crust and leaves browned bits that season the gravy all afternoon.
One envelope of dry onion soup mix. Dried onion, salt and beef seasoning in one packet. With a cup of water and the roast’s own juices it makes a full gravy with nothing else added.
A low oven under a heavy lid. At 325°F the tough chuck has 3 hours 30 minutes to soften without the liquid ever boiling hard.
Vegetables added late. Carrots and potatoes go in for the last 1 hour 15 minutes, long enough to turn soft and soak up the gravy, not long enough to fall apart.

Ingredients

Serves 8, with gravy. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.

One 3 1/2 to 4 pound boneless beef chuck roast (1.6 to 1.8kg)
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
One envelope of dry onion soup mix (about 1 ounce, 28g)
1 cup water (240ml)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
2 bay leaves
2 pounds small potatoes (900g), yellow or red, halved, or larger ones cut in 2 inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds carrots (680g), peeled and cut in 2 inch pieces
Optional, for a thicker gravy: 2 tablespoons cornstarch stirred into 3 tablespoons cold water

Chuck roast is the right cut: marbled and tough, it turns into tenderness and gravy over the long bake, where leaner roasts come out dry. You need a heavy Dutch oven with a tight lid, 6 quarts or bigger.

How to make Sunday pot roast

Take the roast out of the refrigerator 30 minutes ahead and pat it very dry. Season all sides with the salt and pepper. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C).
Set a large Dutch oven over high heat, add the oil, and wait until it shimmers. Lay the roast in and leave it alone for 4 to 5 minutes, until dark brown underneath. Turn and sear every other side the same way, including the ends, about 15 minutes in all. This is the step that makes the gravy taste the way you remember.
Take the pot off the heat. Sprinkle the envelope of dry onion soup mix over and around the roast, pour in the cup of water, and scrape the bottom to loosen the browned bits. Tuck the onion halves and bay leaves in beside the meat.
Put the lid on and bake at 325°F for 2 hours 15 minutes without opening it.

A seared chuck roast in a Dutch oven, dark brown on top, with onion soup seasoning and water around it and onion halves tucked beside

At 2 hours 15 minutes, add the carrots and potatoes around the roast, pushing them down into the liquid, and sprinkle them with a little salt. Lid back on, and return the pot to the oven for another 1 hour 15 minutes, about 3 hours 30 minutes in all. The roast is done when a fork twists into it and pulls the meat apart with no resistance.

Rest the pot on the counter with the lid on for 15 minutes. Lift the roast onto a platter, spoon the vegetables around it, and fish out the bay leaves.
Spoon the fat off the gravy and taste it; it rarely needs salt. For a thicker gravy, set the pot over medium heat, stir in the cornstarch and water, and simmer 2 minutes. Pull the roast into big pieces and serve with the vegetables and the gravy in a pitcher.

A shallow bowl of Sunday pot roast pulled into pieces with soft carrots and potatoes in dark onion gravy

Tips that make the difference

Dry the roast well. A wet roast steams instead of browning, and the sear is half the flavor.
Do not add more water than the recipe says. The roast gives up plenty of liquid and the gravy should be dark and concentrated.
Cut the vegetables big. Two inch pieces hold together for 1 hour 15 minutes; small pieces turn to mush.
If the roast is still tough at 3 hours 30 minutes, it is undercooked, not overcooked. Give it 30 minutes more.

Variations

Slow cooker. Sear the roast in a skillet, then cook everything except the vegetables on low for 8 hours, adding the carrots and potatoes for the last 3.
Mushroom gravy. Add 8 ounces quartered mushrooms (225g) with the vegetables.
Creamy gravy. Stir one can of cream of mushroom soup into the pot with the water, the version many Midwestern families grew up on.
Roast beef sandwiches. Warm shredded leftover roast in its gravy and pile it onto soft white rolls. Monday’s supper, and some people prefer it.

Storage and make-ahead

Leftovers keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4 days, meat and vegetables together in their gravy so nothing dries out. Reheat gently with the lid on, adding a splash of water if the gravy has thickened.

The meat and gravy freeze for up to 3 months. Leave the potatoes out; they turn grainy. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

The whole roast can be cooked a day ahead and reheated in a 325°F oven for 45 minutes with the lid on. It is just as good on Monday.

Frequently asked questions

Does the onion soup mix make the pot roast too salty?

Not with a roast this size and a full cup of water. One envelope seasons 4 pounds of beef and 3 1/2 pounds of vegetables. Taste the gravy before adding any salt, and season the roast lightly before searing.

When exactly do the carrots and potatoes go in?

After the roast has baked for 2 hours 15 minutes, so they cook for the last 1 hour 15 minutes of a 3 hour 30 minute bake. In at the start, they turn to mush. In too late, they come out hard while the meat is done.

What oven temperature is right for pot roast?

325°F, with the lid on. Hotter and the liquid boils, which tightens the meat and turns the vegetables ragged. Lower and the roast takes all day. Three and a half hours at 325°F is the old Sunday number.

Can I use a different cut of beef?

Chuck roast is best by far. Bottom round or rump roast work with the same timing but come out leaner and drier, so slice them thin rather than pulling them apart. Tender expensive cuts turn to leather with this method.

Sear it dark, sprinkle on the envelope, and put the vegetables in with an hour and a quarter to go. Then let your family think it took you all afternoon.

Recipe