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Instant Pot Pot Roast from Frozen (3 Ingredients)

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This easy three-ingredient Instant Pot Pot Roast starts with frozen beef and makes a rich, tender meal with a savory homemade tomato-based gravy.

bowl of pot roast from an instant pot with parsley on top

Cooking pot roast from frozen is one of the most frequent requests.

This recipe is adapted from our friend Sabrina's new cookbook, Dinner Then Dessert. (There's a reason it's on the cover!)

❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe: This is the best hands-off way to make fall-apart tender and juicy pot roast the whole family will love!

pinterest button for instant pot pot roast from frozen

How to Make Pot Roast from Frozen in an Instant Pot

This Pressure Cooker Pot Roast recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.

Sabrina's recipe for a 3-ingredient pot roast in the new cookbook is amazingly good. So naturally, we had to adapt it to the pressure cooker for this recipe. Whether you make it on the stove using the recipe in her book, or give it a spin in the Instant Pot, you won't be disappointed.

Because this is a three-ingredient recipe, the quality of the ingredients is key. Use a good red wine that you love the taste of. I recommend something dry, such as a cabernet, so your gravy doesn't end up tasting too sweet. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can substitute beef broth for the wine.

It's also important to choose a good marinara sauce. We like Rao's brand. But you could also make your own!

frozen beef next to an instant pot

How to Cook Pot Roast from Frozen

The #1 question on our traditional Instant Pot pot roast recipe is "how do you cook pot roast from frozen?" And here you have the answer: simply dump your ingredients into the pressure cooker, turn it on to high pressure, and walk away.

Because this is a dense cut of meat, a frozen roast will take an hour and 45 minutes to cook through so it's super tender.

We generally prefer to brown our beef before pressure cooking. However, if you're cooking a frozen roast, you have to skip this step. That's where the flavorful marinara and red wine come in–the extra flavor they add makes it so you don't miss the browning.

uncooked pot roast in a pressure cooker with marinara sauce

More about Dinner Then Dessert

Sabrina runs and is one of the hardest working food bloggers I know! She runs Dinner Then Dessert (I have a soft spot for her dessert section, and she has an excellent slow cooker section.)

I am *thrilled* to have her cookbook, which shares a name with her blog. As she says in her book "the recipes are practical and flexible. They're also flavor-packed and fun."

Cover photo of Dinner then Dessert

There are over 100 recipes that use 3, 5, or 7 ingredients (not including salt, pepper, butter or oil). While the book isn't specific to pressure cooking, it is full of fast and flavorful recipes that are perfect for weeknights, including this from-frozen pot roast!

She also includes a section on stocking your pantry that is full of tips and information–for instance, for this roast she talks about the importance of using an evenly marbled cut of meat that's a traditional chuck roast.

If you're in the market for a gift for a busy cook this holiday season this cookbook is a fun option. We have a great guide on How to Convert a recipe into a Pressure Cooker Recipe.

plate of instant pot pot roast

What to Serve with Pot Roast

Pot roast is a great meal to serve with hearty, starchy sides. At my house, I'll serve pot roast and gravy with:

  • Creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
  • Butter noodles
  • Instant Pot Ranch Twice Baked Potatoes
  • Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
  • Instant Pot Rice Pilaf with Saffron & Almonds
plate of instant pot beef with mashed potatoes

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftover Instant Pot pot roast in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days. You can reheat it on the stove or in the microwave to serve.

For longer storage, this dish also freezes great. Keep it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Before serving, defrost the dish in the fridge overnight. Then reheat on the stove or in the Instant Pot. You can also defrost pot roast directly from frozen using the Instant Pot.

overhead of instant pot beef with mashed potatoes

More Easy Instant Pot Beef Recipes

The pressure cooker / Instant Pot is a great way to make fast and easy weeknight dinners like these:

  • Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon is a hearty and savory stew with pearl onions and tender pieces of beef.
  • Greek Beef Tacos are fast, refrshign and light tacos served on pita with a creamy tatziki sauce.
  • Instant Pot Beef and Cheddar sandwiches have a gooey, soft and melty cheese sauce you'll love.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 3 - 3.5 lb frozen chuck roast (about 3 inches thick)
  • 1 (16 ounce) jar marinara sauce
  • Gravy
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • Salt and Pepper

Instructions

  1. Add the wine to the pressure cooking pot. Add the frozen chuck roast. Pour the marinara sauce on top of the chuck roast and don't stir.
  2. Lock the lid in place and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes. (If you're using a thawed roast, cook it for 90 minutes.)
  3. When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker and allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then use a quick pressure release.
  4. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Carefully remove roast from the cooking pot and place on a platter. Cover with foil to rest.
  5. To make the gravy, pour the juices in the cooking pot through a strainer into a large bowl. (I like to use a fat separator as well to skim off some of the fat, but that's optional.) Pour the strained cooking liquid back into the cooking pot.
  6. Whisk together cornstarch and cold water; add to liquids in the cooking pot. Select Sauté and stir until gravy thickens. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can substitute beef broth for the wine.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1453 Total Fat: 91g Saturated Fat: 38g Trans Fat: 5g Unsaturated Fat: 47g Cholesterol: 495mg Sodium: 591mg Carbohydrates: 5g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 1g Protein: 147g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.

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