I’m actually writing this on Saturday morning to post on Monday, and I’m wishing I’d done it last week because this easy keto balsamic beef pot roast recipe would be the perfect thing to be making today while winter storm Jonas is raging outside. ? ❄️ ⛄️
That being said, since it’s only January I’m sure you’ll have lots of other opportunities to make this Keto Balsamic Pot Roast recipe during snowstorms or otherwise. I have a feeling that once you’ve tried it you’ll be making this low carb pot roast recipe all the time like I do!
It’s a favorite with the Hungry Dudes (though I serve theirs with regular potatoes and mine with cheesy cauliflower puree) because it’s so tasty – it’s a favorite with me because it’s so easy and reheats well all week.
Everybody wins, and I love it when that happens. ?
Speaking of winning, guess who’s going to Belize for three weeks??
WE ARE! Woot! ✈️ ☀️ ? ? ?? ?
(Note to would be robbers – don’t waste your time. First of all we’re broke, because: Belize for three weeks. Also we’ll have a housesitter and my cats have violence issues. You’ve been warned.)
We leave on Saturday and are super excited for the trip! We’ll be on the island of Ambergris Caye in the town of San Pedro for most of the trip, with some side trips along the way. I’m bringing my laptop so I can post a weekly update with photos on Friday’s for anyone who is interested – assuming I can drag myself off the beach and reef long enough to spend even 10 minutes on the computer.
I’m not making any promises…
No worries though, I’m scheduling out some recipes to post while I’m gone – but even if I didn’t this easy beef pot roast is so easy and fantastic that you could just make this over and over all month and never miss me at all!
While I’m gone I’ll also be checking in once and awhile on social media – specifically Instagram where I’ll likely post lots of annoyingly sunny tropical photos of beautiful beaches and videos of us snorkeling.
Look away.
I should probably start packing soon, buuuut I’m the world’s best procrastinator so there’s that.
My to-do list is about 10 miles long, yet all I can think about is ☀️ ? ? ? ?? ? ?
I really do need to start chipping away at it though so I’m off to do that….
Soon….
Maybe one more coffee and you tube snorkeling video first….
Meanwhile you should totally make this easy balsamic beef pot roast! It’s my hand’s down favorite keto pot roast recipe EVAH.
As a side point, I first made this before I purchased my trusty Instant Pot, but now that I have it I make this pot roast in it all the time and it’s so easy and fast! I’ve included instructions on how to make pot roast in the Instant Pot below the regular instructions in the recipe section.
Keto Instant Pot Beef Pot Roast Recipe Video ??
Keto Balsamic Beef Pot Roast Notes:
I’ve updated the recipe to make it 40 minutes instead of 35 minutes as shown in the video, because some people have reported that their meat was not quite tender enough with the 35 minutes. I suspect this is because they used a larger roast or different cut of beef and failed to adjust the cooking time.
You need to pay attention to the weight of your roast. If it is larger than 3 pounds, it’s going to take a lot longer to cook and get tender. With a 2.5 – 3 pound boneless chuck roast, 35 – 40 minutes on high pressure is absolutely long enough to get tender chunks of pot roast. If you are looking for the meat to completely fall apart and shred, you should put it in for 50 minutes and allow for natural release of the steam, rather than quick release.
If you don’t have xanthan gum, arrowroot powder or konjac powder will work to thicken the gravy just as well.
For a creamy gravy, stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream after cooking.
Easy Keto Balsamic Beef Pot Roast
- Yield: 10 4 oz servings 1x
- Category: Low Carb Beef Recipe
- Cuisine: American
Description
This super easy and delicious low carb beef pot roast recipe can be made on the stove, in the slow cooker, or even in your Instant Pot! Keto, Atkins and Paleo friendly!
Ingredients
- One boneless chuck roast, approximately 3 lbs.
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black ground pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- Fresh parsley, chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Season the Chuck roast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides.
- In a large heavy bottomed pan sear both sides of the roast until browned. Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and cook for one minute.
- Add the water and onion to the pan. Bring to a boil.
- Cover and simmer on low for 3 to 4 hours.
- Carefully remove the meat from the pan to a large bowl. Break carefully into chunks and remove any large pieces of fat or other refuse.
- Whisk the xanthan gum into the broth and add the meat back to the pan.
- Serve over “Better Than Potatoes” Cheesy Cauliflower Purée, garnished with lots of fresh chopped parsley.
To make in the Instant Pot:
- Cut your chuck roast in half so you have two pieces. Season the roast with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder on all sides. Using the saute feature on the instant pot, brown the roast pieces on both sides.
- Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1 cup water, and 1/2 cup onion to the meat. Cover and seal, then using the manual button set the timer for 40 minutes. When the timer runs out, release the pressure by moving the lever to the “venting” setting. Once all the pressure is released, uncover the pot.
- Carefully remove the meat from the pan to a large bowl. Break carefully into chunks and remove any large pieces of fat or other refuse.
- Use the saute function to bring the remaining liquid to a boil in the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce.
- Whisk in the xanthan gum, then add the meat back to the pan and stir gently.
- Turn off the heat and serve hot over cauliflower puree, garnished with lots of fresh chopped parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3/4 cup meat with sauce
- Calories: 393
- Fat: 28g
- Carbohydrates: 3g net
- Protein: 30g
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Beverly Slocum says
Mellisa, this is the best! I made it in my instant pot on high pressure for 1 hour. It was delicious. I served the meat and sauce over potatoes for my non Keto husband. He loved it.
Veronica Jacob says
Fantastic recipe!!!! I’ve never made a chuck roast before, and to be completely honest, cooking meat intimidates me. But I used the instapot, followed this recipe, and BAM!! Juicy, flavorful, delicious, and two BIG thumbs up from the mister!!
★★★★★
Kayla says
This came out pretty good! I made it in the crock pot, and made a few changes.
I seared the roast, then deglazed the pan and browned the onions in the balsalmic. I added some Rosemary, thyme, and salt to the onions. Then I placed whole, crushed garlic cloves in the Crock-Pot that I removed after. I also used broth instead of water. Placed the onions in, set to low and cooked for 8 hours.
The recipe seemed like it needed just a little extra flavor.
Will keep this on my permanent rotation!
★★★★
Clare says
Thanks for the crock pot advice – mines in right now and smells good!
★★★★★
Sue says
Love this pot roast! Was simple, fast and delicious. Thanks for the tip on xanthin gum. It worked great with no flavor change. Cajan was good also, but a little hot so next time I will cut back on some of the heat spices. Next on the list is the Asian Pot Roast! I am looking forward to it.
★★★★★
Halle crane says
Can I change beef for pork? Would it come out well?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Should work fine, slightly different flavor profile but still tasty I’m sure.
Elinor says
Another plug for giving the Instant Pot cooking another 15 minutes, at least. The flavor was excellent but the meat was rubbery after 35 minutes on medium pressure. So, five stars if you cook the meat for longer, I suspect.
★★★★★
Sheri Winston says
1 cup of water or 2? The ingredients list says 2, but the IP recipe directions say 1.
Dawn says
Instant pot takes less liquid. :)
Kendo says
I’ve tried this recipe 4 times now and the 4th time I thought I’d give the instant pot directions a shot. The stove top directions are perfect, but I’ve had to do a bit of baby-sitting to make sure the gravy doesn’t completely evaporate. I suspect my pots just aren’t forming a tight enough seal, but either way, we usually end up with just the meat by the end (which is totally fantastic and has little bits of balsamic char around the whole roast adding a ton of flavor). The instant pot directions are a big miss though. As others have noted, 35 mins is just not long enough to get the same tenderness of meat. I’m going to give it another go at a longer time and not use the quick-release to see if it makes it better, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just go back to the stove top method.
★★★★★
Becky Whitcomb says
My roast was rubbery and flavorless. I will change my rating when I try again with a different roast, if another cut of meat tastes better than this one. I used my Instant Pot, and followed the directions to a T. We bought several cuts of meat from local farmer, with free range, organic fed animals, and some cuts were absolutely delicious and tender, and a couple of the steaks (and most likely this roast) were tough and bland.
The juice had a great flavor!
★
Mellissa Sevigny says
If you suspect the roast then why give this one star? Just wondering.
Amy says
SO very delicious! The meat was so tender!! I didn’t make the gravy.
!
★★★★★
Tasty Diva says
This was my fourth IP recipe I have made and it was delicious (first being your fall apart short ribs yumyum).The whole family enjoyed this and and even went for seconds. I always read comments so these are the adjustments/additions I made.
I only had 2 1/2 Ibs meat but I still followed the receipt to the T except I added 1 bay leaf and about 8 fresh garlic smashed. I only used 1 cup of water instead of the 2 cups and cooked it for 45 min on high. Then let it natural release. When I opened my IP and took out the meat it was so tender it was falling apart. The smell was heavenly and the taste was glorious. I only used half of the Liquid that was left behind after cooking the meat to make the sauce. Then I sprinkled the xanthan iand thickened the sauce. It was wonderful over the meat that was tender. I will be making this again and again.
★★★★★
Melissa says
Anyone try this with a frozen chuck cut down to 4 pieces? How much more time in an IP would input it in for?
Thanks so much!
Savannah says
Can I substitute something else for the xanthan gum?
MR says
Generally cornstarch, but since this is a keto recipe, I believe Mellissa was probably trying to steer clear of it. Any thickener would work. Or, you could honestly leave it out – it just won’t be as thick. If you google Xanthan gum substitutes, there are some decent options.
Patrice Jones says
Arrowroot powder is my go to thickener.
Susan says
This is a WONDERFUL recipe! the BEST pot roast ever!!! Honestly, my husband and I could have gobbled up the lot in one sitting! Luckily, we showed some restraint and had the rest for lunch the next day!
CAUTION: You are going to want to pick at the leftovers all evening! :)
★★★★★
Tara says
Thank you so very much for this recipe, Mellissa!!! We’re just coming into the cooler weather in my part of Australia, so this was an absolutely perfect, easy, and DELICIOUS dinner for the family.
I only had a 750g (1.6lbs?) cut of beef, but used the same cooking time (4 hours on high in the slow cooker) and it was melt-in-your-mouth tender ❤️ Served on a bed of cauliflower mash and green beans. Keto never tasted so good haha.
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad it was a hit Tara!!!
Erin says
Mellissa!
I LOVE all of your recipes and I’m very excited to give this one a shot since chuck roast is on sale this week at my local grocery store! I’ll be doing it in the crockpot instead of on the stove/instant pot, but I’m sure it will be FANTASTIC! Oh, and I’ll be making DF mashed cauliflower to go with! I’m drooling on my lunch break as I’m thinking about the meal plan for Wednesday! Thanks for being awesome :)
Brooke says
Hi-for the manual pressure in the IP, should I use high or low temp? Thanks!
AP says
This was my 3rd InstantPot recipe (meatballs-yum, crack chicken-yum) this pot roast-yuck! Followed directions perfectly. When it was done and I was cutting up the meat I found it smelled like “meat” and VERY tough. I added another 10min thinking this would help. No…. very tough. The edges were good and I cut it in half as recommended but… yuck.
Would NOT recommend. Wasted $18 on a chuck roast and poor animal died for this mess.
:(
Mellissa Sevigny says
I doubt you followed the directions perfectly or like everyone else who tries this recipe you would have gotten excellent results.
Vanessa says
I actually triple checked and followed the directions exactly, and mine was quite tough, but I read the comments all the way down and some had said they encountered the same thing, so I’ve just returned to to the pot for another 15 and we’ll see how that works. I did taste before putting it back in and it was a wonderful taste.
I thank you for sharing with us your recipes that you have obviously taken great care to create! AND you’re awesome to list all the various methods of cooking! That’s beyond generous of your time ?
Kim says
I have never been able to do a roast in the instant pot. Never turns out
Sher says
I followed to a T as well. I roasted in an oven. The meat turned out wonderfully, meaning very tender and fell right apart It was the flavor that was not good. I found that much balsamic vinegar made it too strong of a flavor and the meat flavor itself was drowned out.
I must say, I’m not fond of your responses to people who comment here if it’s not in your favor. I find you quite rude which is why I’ll look elsewhere for recipes. Lord knows there’s plenty on the internet.
★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
If you roasted in the oven then it’s going to cause liquid to evaporate which will concentrate the vinegar flavor. When made in the instant pot as directed you wouldn’t have had that problem.
Becki says
She’s, with this recipe shared over 28,000 times, I’m sure she’s doing something right. I think you’re extremely rude with your comment. With billions of people on the internet, you leaving isn’t going to hurt one bit.
Fantastic recipe btw ☺️
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much for the support Becki! ?
Marsha says
My first attempt did not go well. I seared the meat added the ingredients set the time and walked away. When I came back there was a mess in the pot. I knew something wasn’t right so I did it again. My seal was off in the Instant Pot so it didn’t seal correctly hence the meat did not cook correctly. 2nd roast was yummy. Moral of the story, if you get results inconsistent with other reviews maybe, just maybe, it’s something on your end. Just sayin’
★★★★★
Anelya says
This was very easy and simple stew. After my first success with a recipe from this blog, I bravely jumped onto next one and it just did not come out right. The stew lacked depth and while it was pretty simple – brown meat, deglaze with balsamic and boil for 3 hours, sadly it came out one dimensional
I served it with the cheesy cauliflower puree – that was yummy.
Ryan Cotten says
Is it possible to double this in the instapot? 6lbs of meat?
Thanks,
Ryan