How long does it take to cook a roast in a pressure cooker?

Nothing beats Instant Pot Pot Roast when you’re craving comfort food. In this simple recipe’s flavorful gravy, the beef, potatoes, and carrots are all fall-apart tender. It’s the perfect family-friendly meal for Sunday dinner.

Traditionally, slow-cooking a roast in the oven on days when you had ample time was the only time to make pot roast. The Instant Pot speeds up the cooking of a pot roast compared to using the stovetop or oven, as it has for so many other traditional dishes. Even better, the meat becomes incredibly tender and the flavors of the ingredients are intensified during the pressure cooking process. This truly is the best pot roast recipe I’ve tried!.

Given that it takes just over two hours to prepare, I would still classify Instant Pot pot roast as a weekend meal. Don’t worry that you’ll spend the entire afternoon in the kitchen because most of that time is spent inactively. I know you don’t have time for that, and neither do you.” Try my Slow Cooker Pot Roast, which you can prepare in the morning and then cook all day in your crock pot, if you want to make pot roast on a weekday. Try my simple Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe if you’re looking for a beef recipe that cooks a little quicker.

Simple ingredients are combined in this pot roast recipe to create a meal that is flavorful and filling.

Step Three: Pressure Cook

The cooking time for chuck roast is 20 minutes per pound under high pressure. The roast will stay extremely tender and won’t seize up if you allow the pressure to naturally release for at least 10 minutes after pressure cooking.

Hit manual or pressure cook on the Instant Pot and set the cooking time to 20 minutes per pound. This would be 60 minutes for a 3-pound roast, which is the average size of a roast.

Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes. That means just leave the instant pot alone for at least 10 minutes and do not try to do a quick release of any pressure. Do not ignore this advice. If you quickly release pressure, your meat will likely become tough.

Should a roast be sliced or shredded?

The shortest answer is that you should cook it in the manner you prefer.

Longer response: I typically cook my roasts for a little bit longer because I like them fork-tender. The roast in this recipe, however, cooks up fork tender while remaining sufficiently intact to be cut into slices.

If you’re firmly in the fall-apart-tender camp, I’d suggest extending the cook time by 5 to 10 minutes and the natural pressure release by 5 minutes.

When cooking marbled meats like pot roast, you ideally want to make sure it reaches an internal temperature of at least 200°F so that the collagen softens and breaks down, resulting in a tender, flavorful meat.

Use an instant-read thermometer to verify the pot roast is at least 200°F in the thickest part after cooking.

If you prefer a roast that can be cut into slices, be sure to cut the meat against the grain. More tender, less chewy bites will result from cutting against the grain. (If you’re unsure how to find the grain in meat, check out the excellent video I included in last week’s post, which demonstrates how to do it and how to cut beef against the grain. ).

Chuck roast is one of my favorite meats because it’s affordable and frequently on sale. (In fact, that is what inspired this post. When I was grocery shopping, there was a fantastic chuck roast buy one, get one deal. ) I honestly can’t wait to make it again!.

It’s easy to find. It’s marbled for flavor. Plus, it’s flat, so it’s easy to brown.

How to make Instant Pot Pot Roast:

Season and sear: Cut your roast beef into roughly 1 pound pieces and coat them with the seasoning blend. Meanwhile, turn your Instant Pot to saute, and brown each piece in oil on every side. You can skip this step, but I find it does add a lot of flavor and helps to keep the juices in the meat.

Remove the beef and cook the onions: cooking the onions adds another layer of flavor to our gravy! Then add the garlic and cook just a minute, so that it doesn’t burn.

Deglaze the pot: Add the rest of the gravy ingredients (still on saute). Scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot with a wooden spoon to remove any bits that might be stuck on the bottom.

Add the roast and pressure cook until tender: If your roast is cut into 1 lb chunks, it shouldn’t matter how large it was to begin with — they will all cook in about the same amount of time. I cook mine for 60-65 minutes. Depending on the type of roast you have and how you like your meat cooked, you may want to add additional time.

Let the pressure release and add the vegetables: at this point you have the option to remove the roast if it is cooked and tender, and shred it while the vegetables cook, or just add the vegetables on top of the roast.

Once everything is cooked, let the pressure release again and serve: Letting the pressure release naturally, completely (turning it off and not opening the valve until the pin goes down on its own) is the best way to ensure moist and juicy pot roast. Once the pressure is released, open it up and thicken the gravy on saute if desired.

Combine seasoning blend and rub over roast

Sear roast in Instant Pot on saute

Remove beef and saute onions

Deglaze the pot with broth and add gravy ingredients

Add roast back into the liquid and pressure cook

Remove the roast and pressure cook the potatoes and carrots

The short answer? About 1 hour. The lengthy response: The size of the roast or the size of the pieces you cut it into will largely determine how long a roast needs to be pressure cooked. I like to cut my roasts into pieces that are about 1 lb in weight, so a 3 lb roast would be divided into 3 pieces. But there needs to be some wiggle room because the cook time also depends on the piece thickness. You can always give the meat a little more time to pressure cook it to be safe; for smaller pieces, I choose about an hour on high. To ensure that your roast is fall-apart tender, you will need to add a significant amount of time if it is frozen or if it is in one big piece.

Yes, increase the cooking time to 90-100 minutes for a 3 lb roast, 100-110 minutes for a 4 lb roast, and 120 minutes for any roast that weighs more than 4 pounds. A frozen roast won’t be seared, but you can season it and add the liquids as directed in the recipe below.

Chances are, it just hasn’t cooked long enough. Giving a beef roast a little more time doesn’t hurt because it will be safe to cook before it is tender. In order for my pot roast to cook and become more tender more quickly, I like to cut it into smaller chunks. Using a less-than-ideal roast (one that is lean and has little fat) may necessitate cutting it into even smaller pieces.

I rarely trim much because the fat keeps the roast so juicy as it cooks, so it’s up to you. It can easily be trimmed once it is cooked. You can trim the larger pieces if you’d rather cook with less fat.

Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast (Tender and Juicy)