This Balsamic Dijon Pot Roast is a delicious twist on the classic pot roast recipe! Tender chuck roast is slow-cooked with balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, fresh thyme, carrots, and baby potatoes until the meat is incredibly tender and packed with flavor. It's easy to prep, requires minimal hands-on cooking, and makes the perfect cozy family dinner.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Is Better Than The Rest
✅ It's incredibly flavorful - the combination of balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard creates a rich, tangy sauce that gives this pot roast so much flavor. You've probably never tasted a pot roast this good before.
✅ Minimal prep work! Once the roast is seasoned and seared, everything goes into one pan and slow cooks in the oven.
✅ The meat is incredibly tender! Cooking the chuck roast low and slow allows it to become fork-tender and easy to pull apart.
✅ It's a complete meal. Baby potatoes and carrots cook right alongside the roast, soaking up all that delicious balsamic Dijon sauce.
Everything You Need To Know Before Making This Recipe:
- Choose the right cut of beef: Chuck roast is the best cut for this recipe because it has enough marbling to stay juicy while it slow cooks. Look for a boneless chuck roast that's about 4-5 pounds.
- Where you buy it matters: If you want your pot roast to be amazingly tender, buy i from a butcher, Costco, or Sam's Club. It's just not going to be as tender if you buy it from your local grocery store because it will be Choice grade.
- Make the House Seasoning ahead: This recipe uses a simple combination of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Make a larger batch and keep it in an airtight container so it's ready to use on other meats.
- REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE HERE - You only need 2 Tablespoona of this House Seasoning for this recipe!! You can store the rest for future use for other recipes.
- Don't skip the searing: Searing the roast before it goes into the oven creates a beautifully browned exterior and adds another layer of flavor to the finished dish.
- Use a good balsamic vinegar: Since balsamic vinegar is one of the main flavors in the sauce, use one that you enjoy. A flavored balsamic, such as cranberry balsamic, works especially well in this recipe.
- Why Dijon mustard? Dijon adds a subtle tang and savory depth to the sauce without making the pot roast taste strongly of mustard.
- Baby potatoes work best: Small baby potatoes can be added whole, which makes prep easy. If your potatoes are larger, cut them in half so they cook evenly. Fingerling potatoes also work really well!
- Keep the carrots whole: Small carrots work beautifully here. If using larger carrots, cut them into large chunks so they don't become overly soft during the long cooking time.
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
For The House Seasoning:
- Salt, Black Pepper & Garlic Powder – This simple seasoning blend gives the roast a savory base before it's seared.
For The Pot Roast:
- Chuck Roast – This well-marbled cut becomes incredibly tender when cooked low and slow.
- Olive Oil – Used to sear the roast and help create that flavorful browned exterior.
- Yellow Onion – Adds savory flavor and becomes tender as it cooks in the balsamic sauce.
- Balsamic Vinegar – The star of the sauce! It adds a rich, slightly sweet and tangy flavor. A flavored balsamic can also be used.
- Dijon Mustard – Adds tanginess and depth to the sauce and pairs beautifully with the balsamic vinegar.
- Fresh Thyme – Adds a subtle earthy flavor that complements the beef.
- Beef Broth – Provides moisture while the roast cooks and becomes part of the flavorful sauce.
- Baby Potatoes – These cook right alongside the roast and soak up the delicious balsamic Dijon sauce.
- Small Carrots – Adds natural sweetness and make this a complete one-pan meal. I love using rainbow carrots!
Recipe Card
👩🏼🍳 Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients, exact measurements, and step-by-step instructions.
🔪 How to This Pot Roast Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1
You will start by making the house seasoning first. In a large Tupperware container or a glass mason jar, mix 1 cup of salt, ¼ cup of black pepper and ¼ cup of garlic powder. Stir well to mix. Place the top on and shake well to ensure it's mixed really well. Set aside.
Step 2
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 300°F. Take your pot roast and rub it down one side with 1 Tablespoon of House Seasoning. Turn the roast over and rub down the other side of the roast with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of House Seasoning.
Step 3
Heat the oil in a large oven safe pan or dutch oven over high heat. Add the roast to the to pan or dutch oven and brown the roast, 4 minutes per side. Remove roast and set aside.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email to receive this recipe, along with weekly food inspiration!
Step 4
Add chopped onion to remaining oils in your in pan/dutch oven and reduce heat to medium. Sauté onions until soft.
Step 1
Add balsamic vinegar to your pan with the onions and increase the heat to medium-high. Boil until the liquid is reduced and slightly syrupy. Stir in Dijon. Stir for about 1 more minute until ingredients are mixed well.
Step 2
Set roast on top of onions in your oven safe pan/dutch oven. Pour in 2 cups beef broth and add thyme sprigs.
Step 3
Add baby potatoes and carrots to the pan. Cover and place in oven for 3-4 hours or until very tender. You will know your roast is done when you can place a fork in the meat and turn slightly and the meat easily tears without pulling. When serving, take a spoonful of the sauce and pour over the roast. Not that this roast needs any more moisture, but the sauce added on top makes it taste so good!
🙋🏼♀️ Questions I Get Asked About This Recipe
Yes - brisket is my 1st choice, but you can also use bottom round roast, rump roast, boneless beef short ribs, or shoulder roast.
Store leftover pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. To reheat, put the roast gently in the oven with some of the sauce or broth to keep the meat moist. You can add more beef broth if you need to. Individual portions can also be reheated in the microwave.
🥗 Complete This Meal With These Sides
did you make this recipe?
If you tried this pot roast recipe, let me know how it turned out in the comments below! I love hearing from you! And, please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!
📧 Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter, so you don’t miss out on any of my other delicious recipes!
Pot Roast with Balsamic and Dijon
Equipment
- 9x13 Baking Dish or Dutch Oven
- Skillet/Pan
- measuring spoons and measuring cups
- small bowl or Tupperware
- knife for chopping
Ingredients
For The House Seasoning
- 1 cup salt
- ¼ cup black pepper
- ¼ cup garlic powder
For The Pot Roast
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4-5 pounds chuck roast
- 2 Tablespoons House Seasoning
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 bunch small carrots, tops trimmed
- 1 pound small potatoes,
Instructions
To Make The house Seasoning
- In a large Tupperware container or a glass mason jar, mix 1 cup of salt, ¼ cup of black pepper and ¼ cup of garlic powder. Mix well to combine.
- Place the top on and shake well to ensure it's mixed really well. Set aside. IMPORTANT NOTE: You only need 2 Tablespoon of this House Seasoning for this recipe!! You can store the rest for future use for other recipes.
To Make The Pot Roast
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Take the uncooked pot roast and rub it down one side with 1 Tablespoon of House Seasoning. Turn the roast over and rub down the other side of the roast with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of the House Seasoning.
- Next, heat the 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over high heat until very hot.
- Add the chuck roast to the to skillet and sear the roast, about 4 minutes per side. Then, remove the seared roast and place on a plate.
- Add the chopped onion to remaining oils in your skillet and reduce heat to medium. Sauté the onions until soft.
- Add in the ⅓ cup of balsamic vinegar to your skillet with the onions and increase the heat to medium-high. Boil until the liquid is reduced and slightly syrupy.
- Stir in the 3 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Stir for about 1 more minute until ingredients are mixed well.
- Pour the onion and liquid mixture into the oven safe baking dish. Set the roast on top of liquid mixture in your oven safe pan/dutch oven. Pour in 2 cups beef broth and add 5 thyme sprigs.
- Add all of the baby potatoes and carrots to the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in oven for about 4 hours or until very tender. You will know your roast is done when you can place a fork in the meat and turn slightly and the meat easily tears without pulling.
- When done, remove from the oven. When serving, take a spoonful of the liquid from the pan and pour over the roast. Not that this roast needs any more moisture, but the sauce added on top makes it taste so good!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email to receive this recipe, along with weekly food inspiration!
Nutrition
Guy Ritzman
I came across this recipe just about the time I started getting tired of the traditional tomato paste and red wine recipes. What a treat! This is now my go to recipe for beef pot roast.
Amanda Mason
Yeah!! I am so glad to hear this! Yes, there are a lot of similar recipes out there for tomato paste and red wine...this recipe is a nice change, for sure!