Ninja Foodi pot roast with gravy is an easy one pot meal in a pressure cooker! Shredded for sliders or sliced it is a hearty meal full of flavor. If yours is out of the freezer, our frozen roast in pressure cooker instructions work too.
Have you made a Ninja Foodi pot roast yet?? It comes out tender and delicious every time I tell you. Keto friendly and low carb, we make this easy Ninja Foodi recipe several times a month. (affiliate links present)
How to Cook Pot Roast in the Ninja Foodi
I love making this when beef is on sale. There is really no other way to make it fork tender fall apart like in a pressure cooker. Something like this needs to be fork tender and nothing less. With some thick gravy poured over the top with a side of potatoes and carrots, it will remind you of your childhood for sure.
You don’t need the air crisp function for this either, you just pressure cook with the lid that is not attached to your multi cooker. You want it soft, not crispy at all. If you are new to this type of cooking we will walk you thru all the steps so you can feel like a pro.
Is it better to pressure cook or slow cook a pot roast?
You do not want to use the slow cook function with this machine, doesn’t work well. In a Crockpot it does work well but pressure cooker shredded beef that way takes all day to get done. You can get the same great results pressure cooked on high in just 1 hour! Use the drippings below for gravy and serve.
Ingredients
- Chuck roast is my favorite cut but you could use a sirloin tip roast but more fat is better if you want to shred it
- Onion sliced is best so it doesn’t fall apart
- Garlic powder we like for flavor
- Onion powder as well to season well
- Beef broth is better than water to add a deeper taste
- Olive oil to sear the meat in the beginning is necessary
- Salt and pepper are basic seasonings, to taste
This meat is great for sliders or just along side air fryer vegetables. I recommend cooking veggies separately as they will get too soft together. We are using a hunk of defrosted or fresh meat for these instructions. If you are a bit forgetful we have help for you too (with the link above) though. 😉
We are going to start to brown meat on saute function first. You want to do this on all sides but it is important when done to deglaze it. I would follow directions below as is and then at the end add a packet of dry gravy mix with the broth down below with your thickener or roux. You could use the same from our Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe for bolder flavors or leave basic like this.
Ninja Foodi Pot Roast with Gravy Recipe
- Add olive oil on saute with beef cut of your choice, we love this as a beef arm roast recipe. Brown on all sides until lightly browned.
- Remove and you will want. to then deglaze pot with a bit of your broth to prevent burning later.
- Put meat back with remaining seasonings and sliced onions with your liquid / beef broth.
- Close lid and set to high pressure after which you will then allow to naturally release the pressure when done followed by a quick release.
- Serve, rest and slice.
- If you want gravy you will want to add a. combo of a water/cornstarch slurry to thicken with the meat removed.
How do I thicken my pot roast gravy?
You can use Cornstarch to thicken drippings in the bottom for a nice simple pressure cooker gravy at the end. That is totally up to you of course. If you need a gluten free option there is a product called arrowroot flour that is a great alternative as well. Don’t throw it away is what I am saying, this is liquid gold
Let’s start with a few step by step photos to get you going on this one. We love to just shred ours at the end to make pressure cooker tacos or serve over rice.
How long to cook beef in Ninja Foodi?
The answer varies a lot. If you have a steak that obviously will cook quick since you want a bit of pink inside. A large thick roast tends to need 60 minutes with a natural release of 15 minutes to stay moist in the center but so tender you can shred it with 2 forks.
Many times it is not, but if you ensure that the inside of the pot is free from particles on the bottom you can avoid this issue. That is why we explain how to deglaze pressure cooker in the directions, it is an important step to follow.
- You may ask if you can cook vegetables at the same time as your meat. The answer is I wouldn’t.
- The firmest veggie would be whole potatoes but even those cooked for over an hour are going to become basically mush.
Best suggestion is to cook them separately on the stovetop or in another machine. I usually make a quick batch of broccoli or pressure cooker carrots myself.
I personally use whatever I have in the freezer since we buy meat in bulk, so we have a lot of beef going on here. 😉 Here are a few questions you might have before you start on this:
Can you add vegetables?
The only thing I would say would work okay, but will be quite soft when done, would be large chunks of carrots and potatoes. They are better cooked in under 30 minutes but if you really want everything together I would only choose these due to their firm nature and long cook time. I use a separate pressure cooker or air fryer for easy side dishes for the best results.
Cauliflower is a low carb choice that has tons of flavor that I make a lot of the time with this. Another great choice is some pressure cooker fried cabbage. Let me tell you, this is out of control great. Everyone goes crazy over it.
How to Save Leftovers
You want to keep it nice and moist. Only slice what you are going to eat then and there, leave the rest whole, this will help not to dry it out. Once it has cooled move it to a container with a lid and cover the protein with your sauce from the pot. Keep the rest in a covered jar to serve with it. Reheat in a pan with a lid to steam. To tenderize the meat spoon broth or gravy over the top when reheating.
Ninja Foodi Pot Roast Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker ninja foodi, lid not attached
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef roast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 onion, sliced
- 4 c beef broth
- gravy
- 1/4 c water, cold
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Season all sides of the roast with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Put oil in the Ninja Foodi pot. Place seasoned roast in the pot and SAUTE on HIGH, browning all sides. (then take meat out, add some of your broth and deglaze – scrape stuck on bits off bottom off, then put meat back in)
- Add beef broth and onions to the pot. Close lid and set on high pressure for 60 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
- Remove roast and onions. In a small bowl, combine cold water and cornstarch. Turn Ninja Foodi to saute. When the juice begins to boil, slowly stir in this mix.
- Cook until gravy forms. Depending on the consistency, you may have to add more cornstarch/water slurry.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have both for a variety of reasons. You can use either machine to make a pressure cooker roast. Since you aren’t air frying anything it doesn’t matter. The Foodi is larger but has the hot air function.
Instant Pot recipes can be used in the Foodi with no alterations.
We have the answer to that!! Below are instructions on how to make a frozen roast in a Ninja Foodi, or this one if it is defrosted. Then you’ll be set either way so dinner will be done in no time at all.
I wouldn’t use this kitchen appliance for large pieces of meat. That only has a grill and air fryer function. You really need to pressure cook first. I use my Ninja Foodi grill for steaks and air fryer roast that is cut into smaller slices.
If you make this and do receive the ADD WATER notice on the screen you didn’t scrape all the cooked on bits off the bottom. The pot (some are more sensitive than others) does this because it thinks contents are burning.
Chuck roast is a popular cut of meat because of it’s low cost, but personally I love sirloin or short loin. If you want a really cheap meal. You do want something with fat if you want it to become extremely tender. You can use more unusual cuts like our beef arm roast.
Can you stop the cooking at one point to add carrots & potatoes? I only have one pressure cooker (Ninja Foodie XL) & this is the FIRST recipe I am experimenting with my new machine! I’ve never used a pressure cooker, so forgive me if my question is silly…. Just wondering how to incorporate the veggies w/ out cooking them to mush!
Looking forward to your response; have bookmarked your blog to try other recipes soon!
Thank you in advance for your recommendation,
~Becca
When pressure cooking you cannot just stop quickly and start again, you can with air frying. Vegetables don’t take long at all so what I suggest is once this is done, removed, and resting you throw in the other two using these instructions https://temeculablogs.com/instant-pot-potatoes-and-carrots/. No silly questions here, glad to help
This roast turns out juicy, tender and oh so flavorful every time!! I’ve made it twice now, once with veggies and once without.
I highly recommend!!😁
Thank you for such a great recipe.
Yeah!
I love buying roasts when they are on sale too. Making this for Sunday dinner is my favorite!
Sale is the way to go and stock up!
Looking forward to trying this, pot roast is the most comforting meal ever!
We made this pot roast for sliders and it was so delicious. Everyone loved it! Thanks for another great recipe.
This pot roast is so incredibly tender and delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
yeah!
Oh my goodness! This is phenomenal. Tasty, juicy and tender. Chuck roast 2.0. I didn’t want usual roast with carrots and potatoes. I wanted mashed potatoes and gravy with my roast and that’s exactly what we had. Highly recommend!
Do you use the rack when you do the pressure cooking?
My ninja foodie does not have a pressure cooker function, but it does have a roasts function. Do you know what time & temp to use?
It has a pressure button, use that
No the ninja foodi grill doesn’t have a pressure cooking option.
Easy, quick, and perfectly seasoned tender roast!
Yeah for a yummy meal