Guinness Pot Roast
Guinness Pot Roast is a Beef Chuck Roast recipe that is braised in a rich sauce with onions and carrots. It’s loaded with flavor, fresh thyme, and bold spices. Cook in a dutch oven until tender and juicy; the most delicious comfort dish served with hot crunchy bread. Optional to cook in the slow cooker!
I love a good dutch oven recipe, especially the comfort of a Guinness Pot Roast, served with mashed potatoes for a Sunday meal. This recipe has been on RE since 2017! It’s loved by all. It’s similar to a regular pot roast recipe, but Guinness stout beer (or a dark beer) is used to braise the meat in addition to beef stock and a bold tomato paste mixture. We also love our Guinness Beef Stew recipe that is so delicious served with Fresh Irish Soda bread.
Guinness Pot Roast
This Sunday roast is a braised chuck roast recipe, cooked in dark beer (Guinness is the best!), with lots of flavors, spices, and bold flavors. The longer it cooks, the longer it gets tender and every bite is so delicious. Let’s just say, this is a great Irish meal for St. Patrick’s Day, but we also loved it served on any Sunday of the year.
Why we love this recipe
- Our family has enjoyed this recipe for years, a simple one that only takes a few minutes to prepare.
- There’s nothing better than a “Sunday roast” cooked with carrots and onions!
- You can braise and cook it in a Dutch oven on the stovetop or in the oven.
- You can also cook it in the slow cooker.
- It’s a crowd-pleasing recipe – especially for St. Patrick’s Day.
- The bold flavors go so well with any St. Patrick’s Day menu.
With this Guinness Beer Beef Chuck Roast Recipe, that reminds me so much of both of our trips to Ireland (and cooking for St. Patricks Day), it’s a super simple recipe that comes together quickly. Pop it in the oven and walk away!
Gather these ingredients:
- Beef chuck roast: pot roast
- Salt and pepper
- Onions, carrots (potatoes, optional)
- Olive oil, garlic cloves
- Tomato paste
- Instant coffee
- Chili red pepper flakes (optional)
- Guinness beer: we use Guinness because it’s a dark stout
- Fresh basil or thyme
Feel free to add in potatoes, too!
How do you make a Guinness Beer Beef Chuck Roast?
- Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. Brown the meat on all sides; heavily salt and pepper both sides. [Optional to pat the beef with flour before browning for a thicker gravy.] Remove the meat and set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, add hot water the tomato paste, instant coffee, and chili flakes. Mix well.
- In the same frying pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté the garlic, adding the tomato paste mixture. Mix together and cook for a few minutes (will be thick).
- Chop the onions, and place in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Place the cooked piece of meat on top. Spread the paste on top of the meat. Add fresh herbs for additional flavor.
- Place the chopped carrots on top of the meat and sauce. Pour the Guinness beer around the meat.
- Stovetop: Cover with the lid of the casserole/Dutch oven and simmer very gently on stovetop (very low heat) until the meat is tender (toward the end of 3-4 hours + make sure there is enough liquid)
- Oven: Place in the oven and bake for about 3-4 hours (or until tender).
- Slow Cooker: Cook on HI for 3-4 hours until tender. *Add more stock if you need to.
Allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving
Tips and substitutions:
- Beef Chuck Roast is a thick cut of beef sold as a “7-bone roast” or “chuck roast,” and is usually cooked with liquid as a pot roast.
- You can buy a bone-in chuck roast, a more economical cut of beef.
- Every cut of meat is always different, so make sure and check to make sure for doneness, but it should be tender when done cooking!
- You can skip the Guinness but the flavor won’t be as bold. If you so, you can add more beef broth.
- Use any dark “stout” beer if you prefer.
- Add potatoes if you want to add more veggies.
- Here’s another recipe to try with NO beer: Irish Beef Lamb Stew Recipe.
Can you cook a chuck roast in a slow cooker?
Yes, you can cook a chuck roast in a slow cooker!
Or, one reader writes: “Put in the crock pot on LOW for 6 hours! It was wonderful! The whole family loved it. I strained the juices and reduced them and poured them back over the pot roast and served with mashed potatoes. This is definitely a new favorite!”
Serving
Serve this for St. Patrick’s Day with this Irish Pub Salad! Or if you love Guinness, try these Guinness Beer in this Irish Guinness Cupcakes or this Guinness Beer Cheese Dip with homemade pretzels!
Make a roast beef sandwich or beef sliders with any leftovers!
More Irish recipes you may want to try while you are here:
- St. Patrick’s Day Menu
- Guinness Brownies [Well Plated]
- Irish Barmbrack Bread Recipe
- Colcannon Irish Potatoes with Bacon
I am a huge fan of my Le Creuset Dutch Oven, Kitchenaid multi-cooker and Instant Pot. All three are incredibly useful for these kinds of recipes and many more!
Get the Recipe:
Guinness Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs. beef chuck roast
- Salt and pepper
- 3 large onions, coarsely chopped
- 6 large carrots, cut in 1-inch chunks (leave peel on)
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 3 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 Tbsp. flour, optional, for patting the beef before browning
- 1 small can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 ½ cups of hot water
- 2 Tbsp. instant coffee, use a good quality
- 1-2 tsp. chili red pepper flakes, optional, depending on how much spice you like
- 1 14 oz Guinness beer, about 2 cups
- Sprigs of basil or thyme
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. (Or you can also use stove top or crock-pot.)
- Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. Brown the meat on all sides; heavily salt and pepper both sides. [Optional to pat the beef with flour before browning for a thicker gravy.]
- Remove the meat and set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, add to 1 1/2 cups of hot water the tomato paste, instant coffee, and chili flakes. Mix well.
- In the same frying pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté the garlic for 1-2 minutes, adding the tomato paste mixture. Mix together and cook for a few minutes (will be thick).
- Chop the onions, and place in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Place the cooked piece of meat on top. Spread the paste on top of the meat. Add fresh herbs for additional flavor.
- Place the chopped carrots on top of the meat and sauce. Pour the Guinness beer around the meat.
Stovetop:
- Cover with the lid of the casserole/Dutch oven and simmer very gently on stovetop (very low heat) until the meat is tender (toward the end of 3-4 hours + make sure there is enough liquid)
Oven:
- OR bake at 300 degrees for about 3-4 hours (or until tender). OR cook in the crock pot on HI for 3-4 hours until tender. *Add more stock if you need to.
Slow Cooker:
- Put in the crock pot on LOW for 6 hours.
- Allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving. Strain the juices and reduce them and pour back over the pot roast; serve with mashed potatoes.
Notes
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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
This was amazing, (nearly) exactly as the recipe called for! The only thing I substituted or changed was the coffee…I didn’t have, and don’t really use instant coffee, so I didn’t want to buy it, so I just used 1 1/2 cups of a strongly brewed coffee instead of the instant coffee and 1 1/2 cups of water. This was delicious and my guests loved it!
The pot roast was delicious and the house smelled wonderful. Thank you.
I skipped the coffee. Not because didn’t have any but because Guinness already tastes like coffee. I used bacon grease to brown the roast. I also added mushrooms. I didn’t cook the onions/carrots/celery/mushroom first. I browned the roast in the pan I was cooking it in and just tossed the garlic in around it after it was mostly browned. I added a shot of Worcestershire and some red wine(1/4 cup) to it too.
I added potatoes once it was slightly tender but not quite done and just cooked it til it til the potatoes were done.
I mostly just used the recipe as reference. I tossed a couple bay leafs in too just because. It taste how a roast should taste. This would also work well for a leg of lamb too. I’d personally prefer it over mashed potatoes but my wife wanted potatoes in with the roast. It is certainly easier this way. There was enough liquid that it could be served as a stew. I have no doubt the original recipe 100% followed would be just as good.
I don’t like coffee. Does the coffee flavor stand out in this recipe?
It really adds to the richness, but you can try leaving it out? We always add the coffee, and no, it does not stand out.
what about using bison sirloin roast
Yes, let us know if it is amazing?!
This is by far the very best roast I’ve ever made. I did add potatoes and in the slow cooker for 6 hrs. So tender.
For the instant coffee do you just add granules or make the coffee with water?
Hi Robyn! You add the instant coffee to the water as stated: In a separate small bowl, add to 1 1/2 cups of hot water the tomato paste, instant coffee, and chili flakes. Hope that makes sense! No extra water.
I pat flour to the beef before browning. Brings a nice gravy to the finished product.
Will any beer work ?? don’t have guineas ??
Yes!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. The tomato, coffee, Guinness combo is wonderful. A few notes:
* I didn’t have instant coffee, so I used 1 cup of brewed coffee in place of the instant and then added the additional 1/2 cup of water. Next time I’ll reduce the liquid to 1 cup instead of 1 1/2, as it was not thick (and I reduced it for a bit).
* I added 2 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, and 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce to the tomato paste mix.
* We ate this over oven-baked mashed potatoes and it was glorious!
Forgot to add the stars!
Do I need to double the ingredients if I’m cooking a 6 pound roast?
No! Just watch toward end that you have enough liquid in the pot!
We had this roast today, it was tender, juicy, well flavored. We even put potatoes in the crock pot. Yummy all the way
I’m wanting more of the biggest Home cooking you have.
This is in my oven now and the house smells delicious! Cant wait to eat it.
This recipe was delicious, full of flavor and very hearty. I followed the recipe to a T but added red skinned potatoes along with the carrots and my family loved it so much last Sunday, that they requested it again this Sunday!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Making this right now! Is there anything you can substitute for the instant coffee? I don’t have any, just regular coffee and I live a long ways from a store.
You could leave out the coffee, but it would be lacking in a tiny bit of flavor, I’m afraid. Sorry you didn’t have that ingredient. If you made without, let me know! :)