Recipe This | Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast (2024)

Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast. How to cook a delicious pot roast in the instant pot pressure cooker from frozen. Including frozen chuck and flavoursome carrots and potatoes.

Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast

I remember the first time I had a beef pot roast. It was at Disney World and it was the summer of 2012. We were spending 10 nights at Disney World before heading to international drive to check out Universal Studios.

We had a fantastic lunch at 50’s Prime Time Diner. A beautiful old school theme that was based around an old school diner with lots of old school cooking.

Out of all the American classics on the menu, I went with beef pot roast because I had never tried it before.

It was washed down with thick American milkshakes and I was so full because of the milkshakes that I could barely move. I had never had a milkshake that big and filling before.

One of those moments when you feel like you need bigger pants!!!!

Back in Portugal it wasn’t long before I was making beef pot roast on a regular basis. Then when we got our first instant pot it was straight on the menu.

Today though, I wanted to show you how to make beef pot roast from frozen in the instant pot.

Can You Cook Frozen Pot Roast In Instant Pot?

Absolutely. If you get your chuck frozen from the butchers, then you can remove packaging and load straight into the instant pot pressure cooker.

Just think of it in a similar way to when you cook thawed pot roast.

You will be amazed by how tender the meat is and how well it shreds when you get out your meat claws.

The only negative to frozen pot roast in the instant pot is that you can’t sear it before cooking like you would with thawed.

Whole30 Pot Roast

I originally shared this instant pot pot roast recipe with you, during a round of the Whole30 back in 2017.

If you follow the Whole30 and are looking for a Whole30 approved instant pot pot roast, then note this is Whole30 approved.

Though to keep the ingredients high quality, I recommend that you use frozen chuck from Butcher Box.

Or if you follow paleo, swap white potatoes for sweet potatoes.

Cooking Frozen Pot Roast In Instant Pot

The ingredients for instant pot frozen pot roast, are simple everyday ingredients that you can source, without having to go grocery shopping.

• Frozen Chuck – I recommend Butcher Box for the best frozen chuck roast, but you can use any shop bought chuck. Or you can swap chuck for another cut of beef if you prefer. When we made our air fryer pot roast, we used top round beef.
• Carrots – I love lots of carrots in my pot roast and it does an excellent job of soaking up the gravy juices.
• Potatoes – You can peel or not peel the choice is yours. Then load the potatoes into the instant pot with the carrots and let them cook in the juices from your beef.
• Beef Stock – A good beef stock is essential when cooking beef pot roast. We recommend if you don’t have any at home. It is also created with beef bones and gives you a health kick at the same time.

Any electric pressure cooker will do a good job at instant pot frozen pot roast, though we are using our Instant Pot Duo 8 Quart.

How To Cook Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast?

The quick version of cooking frozen pot roast in instant pot goes as follows:

1. Load frozen chuck into the instant pot and season well.
2. Add adequate beef stock and pressure cook for 90 minutes.
3. Peel and dice your carrots and potatoes.
4. When the instant pot is done, remove the chuck and put to one side to rest.
5. Load in carrots and potatoes and pressure cook for 5 minutes.
6. Make gravy + slice + serve.

There is a little more to it than that, but those are the simple basics!

How Long To Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast?

The instant pot frozen pot roast cook time varies depending on the size of your chuck. I notice many recipes are for thawed chuck and not frozen and you need to add extra when cooking from frozen.

We had a few goes with frozen chuck to see what the best cook times are and found that what worked best was:

• 3 pound/1.5kg frozen chuck = 80 minutes
• 2 pound/900g frozen chuck = 60 minutes
• 1 pound/450g frozen chuck = 45 minutes

We also found that you could cook for slightly less and it would be cooked but it wouldn’t be fall apart like I want my pot roast texture to be.

You also need a 10 minute rest after cooking and you can use this time for making your carrots and potatoes.

More Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast Ideas

The story of our instant pot frozen pot roast doesn’t stop here. We have done a three part series as we recipe test and perfect our pot roast in the instant pot.

Secondly, I wanted to give you a behind the scenes guide of us cooking instant pot chuck roast for the first time.

Some great ideas and ideal if you want to use frozen chuck in the instant pot beyond a pot roast.

Thirdly, we wanted to share with you how to use your pot roast leftovers to make instant pot pot roast soup. It is so good I wanted to make pot roast just for the soup!

Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!