Instant Pot Pot Roast: a slow-cooked comfort, fast

This is the kind of meal that fills a kitchen with the smell of something good cooking and makes a hard week feel a little more held. A chuck roast, seared and then pressure-cooked until it pulls apart with a fork, set among carrots, shallots, and sweet potato in a savory braise. The Instant Pot gives you the long-simmered tenderness in a fraction of the time, which matters on the days when patience and energy are both in short supply. Nourishing yourself well as you move toward remission does not have to mean standing at the stove for hours.

There is real substance here. Beef is a source of iron, zinc, and B12, nutrients that have been linked to steady energy and a resilient body, and the braise is built on beef bone broth, long valued as a gentle support for the gut. The carrots and Japanese sweet potato add carotenoids and a natural sweetness that balances the deep savory base. The nomato sauce stands in for the tomato a classic pot roast would use, so the dish stays AIP Core without losing its rounded, hearty flavor.

When it is done and the meat falls into soft strands, slow down. This is honest food, the kind that has comforted people for generations. Be grateful for a pot that does the long work while you rest.

Ingredients

• ~2 lb beef chuck roast, room temperature
• 3 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 3 cups carrots, chopped into 2-inch pieces
• 4 large shallots, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 TBSP nomato sauce
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 4 medium-sized Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 cups beef bone broth (ensure ingredients are AIP compliant)
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1.5 tsp sea salt (plus more according to taste)
• 1 TBSP tapioca or arrowroot starch
• 2 TBSP cold water

Method

Bring the roast to room temperature and pat it dry. Set the Instant Pot to its saute function and add about half the olive oil. When it shimmers, sear the roast on all sides until deeply browned, a few minutes per side, then lift it out and set it aside. This browning is where much of the flavor comes from, so give it time.

Add the rest of the olive oil to the pot. Soften the shallots and the sliced garlic for a minute or two, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom so nothing burns or sticks. Stir in the nomato sauce and the coconut aminos and let them warm through.

Pour in the beef bone broth and stir to loosen everything from the base of the pot, which also guards against a burn warning later. Return the roast to the pot. Add the carrots, the Japanese sweet potato, the bay leaves, the thyme sprigs, and the sea salt, tucking the vegetables around the meat.

Lock the lid and set the valve to sealing. Pressure-cook on high for about 60 to 70 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 to 15 minutes before opening. The roast should be fork-tender; if it resists, give it another 10 minutes under pressure.

Lift out the roast and vegetables. If you want a thicker sauce, set the pot back to saute, stir the tapioca or arrowroot starch into the cold water to make a slurry, and whisk it into the simmering liquid until it thickens. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stems. Shred or slice the beef, spoon the sauce over the top, and taste for salt before serving warm.

Slow cooker variation

This works beautifully in a slow cooker for a hands-off day. Sear the roast in a skillet first, then soften the shallots and garlic and deglaze with a little of the broth, since that browning is worth keeping. Transfer everything to the slow cooker with the remaining broth, nomato, coconut aminos, carrots, sweet potato, bay, thyme, and salt. Cook on low for roughly 7 to 8 hours, until the meat pulls apart easily. Thicken the sauce with the starch slurry on the stovetop at the end if you like. These times are estimated and untested, so check for fork-tenderness before serving.

*Adapted from healmedelicious.com*

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*Provenance: method rebuilt in ARM's own words from healmedelicious.com's Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast. Source file: /Users/Christopher/Documents/Claude/01-Projects/ARM/aip-source-archives/heal-me-delicious/instant-pot-pot-roast-aip.md. Ingredient list and quantities used as factual reference. No swaps needed; the source already uses nomato in place of tomato and coconut aminos in place of soy, both AIP Core seed-free. Pressure-cook and slow cooker times are not in the source and are flagged untested. Health framing written fresh; iron, zinc, and B12 claims hedged and flagged for verify against the research bank.*