Sous Vide Pot Roast

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Rich, tender and melt in your mouth delicious, this Sous Vide Pot Roast recipe is a great way to change up your classic Sunday pot roast dinner. The beef roast is slow cooked sous vide style and served with a simple savory gravy!

Since the beef used for pot roasts is typically a tough cut of beef and requires slow cooking to break down the connective tissues, the sous vide is the ideal method for cooking!

Side view of the pot roast sliced and showing the medium rare texture.

This recipe is super simple to make and almost a fool proof way to prepare pot roast. (Similar to this slow cooker beef pot roast recipe)! The long cooking time ensures the beef is tender and juicy and the gravy is rich and flavorful!

And seriously, this sous vide roast beef is also pretty fire if you're looking to make roast beef sandwiches.

And, since the sous vide does most of the cooking for you, there’s plenty of time to prepare some air fryer carrots and garlic mashed potatoes to serve with your pot roast!

If you’re new to sous vide cooking, it’s an amazing way to prepare beef! You can set the temperature of the sous vide water bath to cook beef to your desired level of doneness and it’s pretty hands off too!

Some of our other favorite sous vide beef recipes include sous vide London broil, sous vide beef ribs, sous vide filet mignon and sous vide chuck roast.

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

Side view of a pot roast on a platter and topped with gravy and chopped herbs.

What is a pot roast?

A pot roast is typically a full meal and isn’t a type of beef but rather a method of cooking. It starts with a tough cut of beef like chuck roast, that has lots of marbling (or fat running through it). A low and slow cooking method breaks down the tough connective tissue to result in a tender and juicy roast.

Most pot roast recipes include veggies such as carrots, potatoes and onions that cook alongside the roast in the same pot or Dutch oven. We’re cooking the roast separately in this recipe, but I highly recommend cooking up some veggies to go with it!

Why this recipe works

The recipe calls for chuck roast, which is a cheaper cut of beef, so this meal is budget friendly!
Your roast beef will never be dry or tough! Since pot roasts are best cooked low and slow with moist heat, it’s a meal that’s well suited to sous vide cooking.
While this recipe requires a little planning because of the long cooking time, it’s super easy and pretty hands off!
This recipe is a great way to change up your Sunday pot roast or weekday meal. It’s perfect for family dinners or entertaining.

Ingredients

The following are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. Please refer to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

You’ll need a 3-4 pound chuck roast for this recipe. I used boneless, but you can also use bone-in. Chuck roast is a tough cut of beef with a lot of marbling that comes from the shoulder part of the cow.

The roast is seasoned with a simple mix of salt, pepper, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and fresh thyme.

You can substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar, and feel free to use dried thyme if you can’t find fresh thyme.

To make the gravy, you’ll need the bag juice (the liquid the roast was cooked in), sherry and a cornstarch slurry.

If you don’t have sherry, you can use a dry white wine. For a non-alcoholic substitute, you can try using beef broth.

A cornstarch slurry is just equal amounts of cornstarch and water mixed together. It helps thicken the gravy.

Step by step instructions

Rub the salt and pepper on the chuck roast and let it sit overnight, uncovered, in the fridge.

Heat a sous vide water bath to 135F degrees. (This is a medium rare, sliceable texture). **For a more well-done, fall apart pot roast, cook at 155F degrees.

Place the chuck roast in a vacuum seal bag and add the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard and thyme. Seal the bag.

Chuck roast vacuum sealed in a bag with seasoning ingredients.

Cook for 24-36 hours. Remove from the bag, reserving the bag juice in a saucepan.

Add the sherry to the saucepan and bring to a low simmer for 5 minutes.

Slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry until the sauce is a gravy-like consistency. Adjust for salt and/or a little touch of brown sugar.

Drizzle the pot roast with gravy and serve the pot roast with Instant Pot carrots and crispy roasted potatoes.

Expert tips

For the best results, let the seasoned chuck roast sit in the fridge uncovered overnight. This helps it tenderize and seal in the juices.
Make sure you properly remove air from the sealable bag to avoid bacteria getting in.
If air gets in the bag while the beef roast is cooking, open the vacuum seal bag or ziplock bag, remove the air and reseal it again.
To ensure even and safe cooking, the bag should be fully submerged in the water bath. It may not be fully submerged if the bag floats or the water evaporates.
To prevent the bag from floating, you can use something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
If water starts to evaporate from the water bath, just add more water. You can also cover the bath with foil to help prevent evaporation.
If you’d like to add a crust to your pot roast before serving, you can sear it in a hot skillet for 60-90 seconds per side.
Let the roast rest for a few minutes before carving it. This will allow time for the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Overhead view of a pot roast on an oval platter and topped with gravy and fresh herbs.

Common questions

What is the best cut of beef for a pot roast?

We prefer to use chuck roast for pot roast as it is relatively inexpensive and has lots of marbling, which results in tender and juicy beef and flavorful gravy. As pot roast is typically cooked low and slow, you can use almost any type of tough beef. Common substitutes include rump roast or round roast. You can even substitute brisket. (You may also want to check out this sous vide brisket recipe!)

Why is my pot roast tough?

Pot roasts can turn out tough if they are overcooked or undercooked. Luckily, the sous vide method of cooking allows you to cook your pot roast to your precise level of doneness, so a tough pot roast is unlikely!

What temperature should you sous vide pot roast?

For a medium-rare pot roast, I recommend setting the temperature of your sous vide water bath to 135F degrees. This will result in a sliceable texture. If you prefer a fall apart roast that is well done, increase the temperature to 155F degrees.

How long does it take to sous vide pot roast?

It will take 24-36 hours to cook a pot roast using the sous vide method. The long cooking time will ensure it is tender and juicy.

Can you sous vide a frozen pot roast?

If you don’t have time to defrost your beef, you can cook it from frozen in the sous vide water bath. Since it’s such a long cooking time, there’s no need to add any extra time. With that said, I prefer to defrost it first as the recipe calls for dry brining with salt and pepper overnight and this works best if the roast isn’t frozen.

How do you thicken the gravy?

The bag juice and sherry will be watery on their own, so you’ll need to use the cornstarch and water to make a cornstarch slurry. If the gravy still isn’t thick enough after stirring this in, mix up another batch of cornstarch slurry and gradually stir it into the gravy until the desired consistency is reached.

Overhead view of sous vide pot roast being carved on a platter.

Storage instructions

Leftover pot roast can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

You can also freeze it by placing slices in a freezer safe bag or container. It will last for up to 3 months.

Serving options

Aside from potatoes and carrots, here are a few more of our favorite vegetables to serve with beef pot roast:

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!