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
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
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...
Fabulous! I served it over egg noodles. My husband loved it and said it was a “keeper”. Easy and delicious.
Love that you served it on noodles, great idea!
How much beer, paste and coffee for a 5-6 pd roast?
I’d stick to the same recipe, Debbie, but make sure to have extra stock on hand in case you need it (to add moisture). ENJOY!
Can you use any type of beer. In your opinion, what type of beer would be the best to use for this recipe.
Any kind of beer works! But a stout is richer!
Mmmmmmm…Delicious!! Made last night and it was perfect- flavorful and very tender. Yum!
YAY! Happy St. Patrick’s Day Debra!
*disolved
Ok… maybe I’m borderline slow? But is the coffee dry? Or disliked in a liquid? And how much?
In the same frying pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté the garlic, adding the tomato paste, water, instant coffee, and chili flakes. Mix together (will be thick).
I am trying to determine if I dissolve the instant coffee in water prior to adding it to the pan? The recipe states you want to combine the water and the tomato paste (in the ingredients list) – but doesn’t state anything about the coffee. So – my question is – do I add the instant coffee to the pot dry with the other ingredients – or do I add water to the instant coffee prior to putting it in the pan?
Hope this helps!
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, adding the tomato paste mixture. Mix together (will be thick).
Do you think that this would work using corned beef instead of beef chuck?
Stacie, I have not tried it with Corned Beef (which is really salty). Let me know if you do, and if you like it!
Do you take the Rosemary out after cooking? Before you serve it?
If you have an entire sprig, yes. If it’s chopped, no!
You said 1 and 1/2 cups hot water to dissolve the tomatoe paste in, but what about the coffee? It looks in the video like it is a considerable less amount of liquid
Use instant coffe, Tresa :)
How much water to dissolve the instant coffe ? I don’t want the sauce to be thin….
I have an Instant Pot. There is a beef setting on there. If I use that, I think it would be around 20 minutes to “pressure cook”. Have you or anyone else tried it this way?
Deep Irish roots? There is little Irish about this dish. Coffee?? Unheard of in a beef in Guinness. Also – canned draught Guinness? The original Guinness would be used – CO2 conditioned; preferably the small bottles. Tomato paste is also questionable. No authenticity here!
Hi, Paul. A one-pot meal with and carrots (you can add potatoes) with Guinness is authentic to us! We love trying new flavors and adding a spin on a classic recipe. And yes, we have deep Irish roots. Thanks for your comment!
She never said it was an authentic recipe. She is sharing a family recipe that reminds her of time spent in Dublin. I don’t understand why people have to be so rude in the comments. If it doesn’t appeal to you, move on.
Looks like a lovely recipe, and can’t wait to try it. Have had traditional Irish stew and am excited to try this spin on it. I think I may serve it over mashed potatoes. :)
Then don’t make it, Paul ~~ SIMPLE!!
This looks heavenly! Why do you leave the skins on the carrots? I’ve noticed the past few years that the carrots get “soggy” no matter how much or little I cook them, especially if I make a post roast or soup and freeze half for later.
Do you have a secret to keep carrots “not mushy” after freezing?
Thanks for the great recipes!
I buy fresh carrots for this recipe, Kathy (don’t freeze them). I keep the skins on because it’s added nutrients.
This looks amazing, but can I use a different beer?
Yes you can!
I have cooked chuck roast in a similar way, what confuses me is why they would add ‘olive iol’ twice to this recipe !! when chuck is very fatty anyway, l’m sorry the gravy would be just way too greasy for me, l hate greasy, fatty gravy with a passion, now the recipe sounds delish but can you recommend on how to nit have greasy fatty gravy??
It’s not greasy, Christina. Feel free to cut down on the oil! ENJOY!
Can you use any type of Guinness? I don’t drink coffee so what would you consider as “good quality coffee”?
Sure, any type of stout or beer. You can leave out the coffee, but it won’t taste quite as rich (and good).
I like the flavor beer adds to beef- and use it all the time- never considered instant coffee though. I will have to try it!
This looks great! Can I add potatoes if I want?
I presume it’s 300 degrees Fahrenheit, not Celsius (approx 150 C)?
That’s right Jacqui!
How much water do you dissolve the instant coffee in before adding it?
It’s listed in the recipe Tonya, I added 1 1/2 cups of hot water to the mixture.
Do you simmer on a stove top or bake in the oven?
Hi, Dawn. You can do either, or cook in the slow cooker! :)
I’m confused?? It says tomoreheat oven to 300 degrees but then you simmer it on stovetop for 3 hours? When does it go in the oven? Looks delicious and I don’t want to mess it up!! ?
Bake in the oven for 3 hours 15 minutes, or until done :)
Does the red pepper flakes make this spicy? This looks really good but my husband does not like spicy. Thanks!
You can keep out the red pepper flakes. Won’t be as tasty, but still very good!
Thanks Sandy! What do you think would be comparable time in a crock pot?
HI for probably 3-4 hours.
I am going to cook this now and wanted to do it in a slow cooker. the recipe says HI but then you wrote you don’t ever use Hi. Should it be LOW or HI for 3-4 hours?
HI for this cut of beef :)
YUM! Looks so good!!
This looks especially delicious on this cold day!