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You’re going to love this tender, buttery chuck roast with rich garlic herb juices. The Slow Cooker does all the work—no searing, no splattering, just a simple roast that practically demands mashed potatoes or egg noodles. It’s an easy, comforting dinner with big flavor and minimal prep.
Why You’ll Love It
- No searing required — place the roast in the Slow Cooker, pour over the garlic herb butter, and let it cook.
- Rich garlic herb flavor — six cloves of garlic mellow into savory, buttery cooking juices.
- Tender, fall-apart Beef — chuck roast becomes fork-tender after a long, slow cook.
- Excellent leftovers — warm shredded roast in its juices and pile it onto toasted rolls with provolone.
Ingredient Notes
A chuck roast is the right choice here because it has enough fat and connective tissue to turn tender during the long cook. Look for one around 3 to 3 1/2 pounds. If it has a nice layer of fat on top, leave it there. I know we’ve all been trained to trim every visible bit of fat off everything, but this is slow-cooker roast—not a spa treatment.
Use unsalted butter, since the recipe has kosher salt added separately. Salted butter will work in a pinch, because life is not a television cooking show, but ease up slightly on the added salt if you do.
For herbs, I usually reach for an Italian herb blend. Mine is probably McCormick, though I have been known to buy whatever is on the middle shelf because I cannot see the top shelf without climbing on something I shouldn’t. A mix of dried thyme and rosemary works beautifully too. Fresh herbs are lovely, but dried are reliable, and I’m not sending anyone to the store for three sprigs of thyme.
Freshly ground black pepper has a little more bite, but regular ground pepper is perfectly acceptable. We are making pot roast, not filing taxes.
Ingredients
- 3 to 3 1/2 pounds Beef chuck roast
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 6 cloves garlic, finely minced—I use a garlic press when I’m in a hurry, which is most days
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend, or a mixture of dried thyme and rosemary
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Set out a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and place the chuck roast right in the center, fat side up. Leave any larger pieces of surface fat on there; they add flavor as the roast cooks, and you can skim excess fat later if that is your preference. I usually do skim a little, then immediately spoon extra juices over my potatoes, so apparently I contain multitudes.
Put the butter and minced garlic in a small saucepan and melt over low heat until the butter is fully melted and warm. You can also use a microwave-safe bowl and heat it in 20- to 30-second bursts, stirring between each one. Don’t let it get sizzling hot or browned—been there, and the garlic gets sharp and a little bitter.
Stir the dried Italian herbs, kosher salt, and black pepper into the melted garlic butter until everything is evenly mixed. It will smell ridiculously good already, which is mildly unfair considering dinner is still hours away.
Slowly pour the warm garlic herb butter all over the top of the raw chuck roast, letting it run down the sides and collect in the bottom of the slow cooker. Don’t worry if some herbs settle in the butter bowl; scrape them in. Those little bits are doing important work.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook the roast on LOW for 8 to 9 hours, or on HIGH for about 4 to 5 hours. Low is my preference when I have the time because the meat becomes so tender it nearly falls apart when you look at it sternly. Try not to keep lifting the lid, though. Every peek adds time.
When the roast is very tender and pulls apart easily with a fork, carefully lift it onto a cutting board. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing against the grain or pulling it into large, rustic chunks. Resting sounds fussy, but it gives you time to clear a spot on the counter and locate the serving platter you were positive was in that cabinet.
Skim any excess fat from the cooking juices if you’d like, then arrange the sliced or pulled beef on a platter. Spoon plenty of the warm garlic herb juices over the top, and serve the remaining juices on the side for anybody who wants more—which will be everybody.
Variations
If you like a little tang behind all that butter and garlic, stir 2 to 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce into the melted butter before pouring it over the roast. Reduce the kosher salt a bit if you go that route, especially with soy sauce.
Fresh herbs work nicely here too. Use 2 tablespoons total of chopped rosemary, thyme, and parsley instead of the dried blend, adding them to the butter just before it goes over the roast.
You can turn this into more of a complete slow-cooker supper by tucking chunks of peeled carrots and halved small potatoes around the roast before adding the garlic butter. They cook in all those savory juices. I will say, though, I tried adding delicate green beans once and they became the color of old army socks. So. Stick with sturdy vegetables.
For a thicker gravy, take the cooked roast out, whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water, then stir that slurry into the hot cooking liquid. Cook on HIGH for another 10 to 15 minutes, until it thickens slightly. It won’t be a fancy glossy restaurant sauce, but it’ll cling to a spoon and that is plenty good.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftover beef with some of its juices in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days. The juices keep it from drying out, and they’re too good to throw away anyway.
To reheat, warm the shredded or sliced beef gently in a skillet or saucepan with a splash of the cooking juices over low heat. The microwave works too—cover it loosely and heat in short intervals so it doesn’t get tough around the edges.
For sandwiches, pile the warmed beef on toasted rolls, add a slice of provolone, and spoon a little juice over the meat. Not too much, unless you enjoy eating dinner standing over the sink. Actually, some of the best sandwiches are eaten standing over the sink, now that I think about it.
Final Notes
Serve this with mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, roasted Brussels sprouts, green beans, or a crisp salad with something tangy on it. You need a little brightness beside all that rich beef and butter. Warm rolls are never a bad idea either, though they have a funny way of disappearing before dinner hits the table.
And that’s what this roast does. It gives you a little breathing room. It fills the house with a smell that feels like people are coming home soon. Even if they’re already there, asking where the good serving spoon is…
Slow Cooker Garlic Herb Beef Chuck Roast
Ingredients
- 3 to 3 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast Leave any larger pieces of surface fat on the roast.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 6 cloves garlic Finely minced
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend Or use a mixture of dried thyme and rosemary.
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Regular ground pepper may also be used.
Instructions
- Set out a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and place the chuck roast in the center, fat side up.
- Put the butter and minced garlic in a small saucepan and melt over low heat until the butter is fully melted and warm, or microwave them in 20- to 30-second bursts, stirring between each one.
- Stir the dried Italian herbs, kosher salt, and black pepper into the melted garlic butter until evenly mixed.
- Slowly pour the warm garlic herb butter all over the top of the raw chuck roast, letting it run down the sides and collect in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours, or on HIGH for about 4 to 5 hours, until the roast is very tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
- Carefully lift the roast onto a cutting board and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing against the grain or pulling it into large chunks.
- Skim any excess fat from the cooking juices if desired, arrange the sliced or pulled beef on a platter, spoon warm garlic herb juices over the top, and serve the remaining juices on the side.