Coffee Braised Pot Roast

Coffee Braised Pot Roast is a slow cooker recipe that works incredibly well, especially if you have a cheaper cut of beef. It’s loaded with flavor and requires very little work! 

This was originally published in January, 2012, when I had only been publishing here for 4 months! The recipe is solid. In fact, I think this is my very favorite pot roast recipe.

So I took some time to update the ridiculous text here (sometimes I really don’t know what I was thinking when I read what I wrote #embarrassing), added some actual photos so you know what you are making, and inserted a printer-friendly recipe card.

As far as the recipe though? I did not change a thing. Coffee Braised Pot Roast! It’s solid. 🤜🤛

Coffee is great in cooking (and baking!), and in this pot roast recipe it works like lemon juice or vinegar in a marinade (acid, yay!). That doesn’t mean your pot roast will be acidic. Nope not at all. It DOES mean that the coffee does the work of tenderizing the meat which makes this method great when you have a cheaper cut of meat.

If you’ve ever made the classic Hershey’s Chocolate Cake recipe (on the box of cocoa powder!), coffee blooms the chocolate to deepen the flavor. I use the same method in this Sour Cream Fudge Cake. And! If you are looking for even more coffee recipes, you’ll probs like my Coffee Lover’s Cookies.

RETURN TO PRESENT DAY.

Dear readers that have stuck with me for 6 whole years while I have made a fool of myself on the internet: I assume it’s because you like the food, but also, I love you.

Anyway.

Flavor Profile

This pot roast is kind of a coffee-lover’s dream. The flavor is rich and the coffee sort of boosts all of the other things in the pot. Being totally honest, it was YEARRRSSSS before I could make a decent pot roast. My mom has all the Midwest meat and potato skills, but I missed the boat. When I was originally testing this recipe I was THRILLED when it turned out to be ultra tender and all the delicious things you want a pot roast to be.

Other things I learned from my mom: How to make From Scratch Stew Beef. That’s a favorite recipe from my childhood and I just adore it. We called it “beef n rice”. Very elevated, y’all.

The Method

Heat a little oil in a large skillet and sprinkle all sides of a 3 or 4 pound beef chuck roast with coarse ground black pepper and kosher salt. Then, over medium high heat, brown all sides of the roast. Once its brown, remove it to your slow cooker. Reduce the heat in the skillet to medium and sauté thinly sliced onions in the drippings left in the skillet until they are golden brown. Then add garlic, thyme, a little more kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper and some onion powder.

Add coffee and balsalmic vinegar to the skillet and then bring it all to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a minute. Then add all of it to the slow cooker with the beef roast.

Add coarsely chopped big pieces of potatoes if you like, and then cover and cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. Halfway through tuck carrots and celery in with the roast, recover and continue cooking.

To Make Gravy

When the roast and vegetables are done, remove them to a plate for serving and ladle the drippings into a saucepan. Skim the fat off the top and over medium heat whisk in the cornstarch (you can add a little of the broth in a cup and mix it with the cornstarch until it’s smooth to keep the lumps out of your gravy- then pour this into the remaining drippings on the stovetop).

Coffee Braised Pot Roast

Coffee Braised Pot Roast is a slow cooker recipe that works incredibly well, especially if you have a cheaper cut of beef. It’s loaded with flavor and requires very little work! 

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours hours

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8

Calories: 441kcal

Author: Heather Tullos

Equipment

• Slow Cooker

Ingredients

Roast

• 3-4 pound beef chuck roast
• kosher salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Vegetables

• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 3/4 cup strong coffee
• 2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar
• 3 cups potatoes peeled, coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks celery halved lengthwise and then halved
• 7 carrots quartered lengthwise and then halved

Optional

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

• Season all sides of the beef chuck roast with the kosher salt and coarse ground pepper.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the beef on all sides in the hot skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and remove the roast to your slow cooker.
• Add the onions to the hot skillet and sauté until soft and golden. Then add the garlic, thyme, kosher salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Cook for another minute and then pour in the coffee and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for another minute. Empty the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker.
• If you are using potatoes, add them to the slow cooker now.
• Cover and slow cook on high for 5 hours OR on low for 7-8 hours.
• Halfway through the cook time, add the carrots and celery.
• When the roast is done, remove it and the vegetables to a serving plate. Spoon drippings over the meat and veggies to serve, or use the drippings to make gravy.

Optional Gravy

• Ladle the drippings into a saucepan and whisk in the cornstarch until it's thickened over medium heat. Serve the roast with the gravy.

Notes

1. This gravy is the fast cheatey way to make gravy. If you know how to make a traditional brown gravy with a roux, go nuts. My aim here was easy!
2. For better success with gravy made from cornstarch, add the cornstarch to a large liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Add a SMALL amount of the drippings and vigorously whisk until smooth. NO LUMPS! Then heat the remaining drippings in a small saucepan and slowly pour in the slurry you just made. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it’s thickened. 
3. Recipe adapted from Eating Well.

Nutrition

Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 328mg | Potassium: 1132mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 8953IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 5mg

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