How to Cook a Frozen Roast in the Oven

How to cook a frozen roast in the oven perfectly. Frozen beef cooked tender is possible with a thick gravy. We first shared how to cook a frozen roast in Instant Pot but if you don’t have that machine this will too be a game changer.

How to Cook a Frozen Roast

There are THREE methods we have tried with beef when cooking frozen meat to tender. The recipe below is for oven directions but you can use your slow cooker or pressure cooker too! I tend to use those babies more often but it is handy to have all of them on hand depending on what mood I’m in.

• You can opt for a frozen roast in slow cooker but that takes much longer.

For this one we are going to pull out our dutch oven. If you don’t have one of these already I highly suggest picking one up. They aren’t just for cooking at the campground. Alternatively you could us a pan with a large lip tightly covered with foil.

The nice thing about this pot is when it is done you can remove the meat and let it rest. Then throw it right on the stovetop and add a bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken the drippings. This makes the best gravy ever. No transferring necessary which means fewer dishes to wash and all the flavor stays in one place.

How long does it take to cook a frozen roast?

In the oven you’re looking at 3-4 hours depending on the size. Not too bad seeing as though it started out as a rock solid piece of protein.

A Crockpot will take all day and a Ninja Foodi roast will be the fastest. If you want to slice it this would be the timing. If you want shredded beef you’d want to lower the temp a bit and cook even longer.

What temperature do I cook a frozen roast at?

375 degrees F is perfect inside a pot with a lid so it can steam nicely until defrosted. Then cooked until the internal meat temperature reaches 145 F for medium cook or 160 F for well done. If you want pink inside I would check after about 3 hours and every 30 minutes after that so it’s perfect for you.

Frozen Roast in the Oven

Why would you need to know this? I cannot be the only forgetful one who realizes a few hours before dinnertime that I didn’t defrost anything. That is why I have written so many posts on cooking frozen meat to tender and vegetables too. It comes in handy more than you’d think. Maybe you haven’t been there yet but you might.

In addition to the YUM you’ll get with the large chunk of protein a thick gravy can be made with the drippings as well, that’s an added bonus. It’s really quite easy with the pot, meat, seasonings and a bit of liquid.

You can do this with poultry too and it surprisingly comes out well. Taking less time since the pieces aren’t as thick, you should really try cooking frozen chicken breast in oven after this one too.

How to Cook a Frozen Roast Beef in the Oven

Cook time will depend on how well done, or not, you want your pieces to be. Keep in mind that the outside sections will be more done than others.

This works well if you have someone, like my husband, who likes theirs more pink than others in your house. Take your pot out when checking the temp. for accuracy.

• Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Put frozen roast in dutch oven, not a shallow pan. In a bowl whisk together broth and cream of mushroom soup until incorporated.
  • Pour on top of meat.
• Top with Worcestershire sauce, and sprinkle all the seasonings on top your meat.
  • Cover and bake for 3-4 hours to cook. Use meat thermometer to measure internal temperature in the center, when it reaches
    • 135 F medium rare
    • 145 F for medium cook
    • 160 F for well done.
• Remove roasting pan or cast iron pot and let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing. If you want to make gravy thicker put dutch oven with drippings on stovetop.
• Turn to medium heat so it bubbles.

In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch and water so it is smooth, this will thicken it as you stir together.

Want to know how long to cook a frozen chuck roast, we have a recipe for that too! I used my pressure cooker for that one. I do like to cook frozen beef in that device a lot because it is really quick. In all different methods you will need liquid to steam it to tender and any seasonings or sauce you like.

Salt and pepper are a given when cooking a roast or else it will be bland. Beyond that you could use our tri tip dry rub on the outside to add a ton of flavor or buy a bottled mix.