This is the best beef bottom round roast slow cooker recipe with gravy. Cooked on high, it turns out fork tender with tons of flavor for dinner! So tender you will never cook this any other way from now on.
We have a lot of easy Crockpot recipes on our site. I have 3 kids and both of us work full time which means time is sparse. Over the years it was WAY easier for me to prep dinner in the morning so we could eat together when we all got home. I got used to this method and still do it today, even though we are almost empty nesters.
I love me a good roast! Our freezer is full of them since we buy half of a cow each year and love figuring out delicious ways to cook them. With gravy is a must for us to keep moist and give it a lot of flavor too.
Sometimes I will even make it with vegetables depending on what I have in the pantry that needs to be used up. If you know me you know how I hate to waste food. 😉 Now that I have perfected the perfect temp and timing, this is how to cook bottom round roast in slow cooker to fork tender.
Ingredient Notes
I used a 4 pound bottom round roast. This cut of beef that comes from the outer rear leg of the cow which means it is lean, relatively tough, and doesn’t have much marbling (fat) compared to other cuts. Because of that, it’s best cooked in a slow cooker to help break down the muscle fibers and make it tender.
You are going to want to season the meat. You can make our pot roast seasoning and use that or just sprinkle on some salt, pepper and garlic powder (at least). Know that this cut has a strong beefy flavor so to settle that down you want something.
And you will need some beef broth to create steam to cook this for a lengthy time to break down the connective tissues. This and the drippings will be used later to create the gravy.
Can you add vegetables?
You could and we did with our eye of round roast slow cooker. In this case it has to cook even longer so you want choices that take a long time to cook (or they will disintegrate). Your best choices would be whole potatoes, large chunks of carrots and sliced onions always work.
How Long to Cook Bottom Round Roast Slow Cooker on High
You will need a good 6 hours on high to get this large thick piece of beef super tender. I don’t typically suggest cooking on high, unless you have a tough piece like this one. Now you can use low for 10 hours but you would need to start that early in the morning for a 6 p.m. dinner time.
Frozen Bottom Round Roast in Slow Cooker
You can actually cook frozen roast in slow cooker too!! I have done this many times and believe it or not it doesn’t really change the cook time too much. If yours is on the thicker side you may need 30-60 minutes longer but typically it is the same. You will be surprised at how successful meat right out of the freezer can become delicious.
How do you get a bottom round roast to shred?
You need to cook it for a LONG time low and slow or on high for most of the day. Without much fat it takes a lot longer to get this cut tender enough to shred it with two forks. I would suggest using the low setting on your Crockpot, cooking all day for a shredded beef texture.
How to Make the Gravy
You will want to use a saucepan over medium high heat to make this, and I would definitely do it to add flavor and moisture to every serving. Use the drippings from the pot and a thickener. You can whisk cornstarch with water for this or for a gluten free option use arrowroot flour with water to create a roux to make thicker.
Mistakes to Avoid
Beef bottom round roasts need a long time to get tender so don’t rush things. Every piece is going to vary slightly in regards to how thick they are, so the cook time may vary slightly. You need to check before turning off the heat. Use a knife. If it takes any effort to slice it it needs more time. Leave it another 30 minutes and check again.
If you do want to add vegetables know that they will get VERY tender. If you don’t like them reaching fall-apart texture then add halfway thru the cook time. Make sure your pieces are quite large and firm. I would only suggest potatoes, carrots and onions as other produce will become mushy.
FAQ
You certainly could but you would want to leave them whole because of the long cook time. Your best choice would be to poke russet potatoes all the way around and add on the sides of the meat. Alternatively you could cut them in half and add halfway thru the timing to get tender.
In regards to nutrition it is a great cut of meat that is high in protein. It’s naturally lean and fairly tough though so it needs to be cooked for a long time, low and slow is best. If you are looking for a very flavorful and budget-friendly piece of beef this is a great one though.
You always want food to cool completely to room temperature before storing in an airtight freezer bag or container. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You should leave what is left uncut to stay as moist as possible and pour the leftover gravy over the top for the ideal texture as well.
You will want to slice what you want to eat first and pour some gravy or a bit of broth over the top to moisten it up. Heating it up in a pan on the stove over medium heat, covered, is best. The microwave will dry it out more.
We have made many great dishes with leftover bottom round roast. Typically I will dice it up and make our 5 ingredient chili! I have cut it up into bite size pieces too and made fried rice with it too. Another great idea if it is shredded is to toss with enchilada sauce and cheese, wrap in tortillas topped with more sauce and make enchiladas with it!
Beef Bottom Round Roast Slow Cooker Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 4 pound bottom round roast
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
Gravy
- 2 cups drippings
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 3 tbsp cornstarch, + 6 tbsp water to thicken
- 1 pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add onions to the bottom of a 6-8 quart slow cooker. Mix together salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and season all sides of the roast by gently sprinkling spices onto the outside.
- Place the roast, fat side up, into the slow cooker on top of the onions. Slowly stir in beef broth around the roast. Cover and heat on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- To Make the Gravy: Carefully remove 2 cups of beef drippings from the slow cooker and add to a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in worcestershire sauce and onion powder until mixture begins to boil. Whisk together cornstarch and water in a dish until smooth and slowly stir in, boil until thicker. Remove from heat and serve gravy on top of sliced roast. Top with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
