Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast

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This recipe for Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast creates delicious, fall-apart meat covered in a zesty mushroom and tomato sauce. It’s an Italian twist on the classic comfort food!

Two plates with Italian pot roast over egg noodles sitting on gray towel.

We all know that pot roast is classic comfort food, but what if we gave the dish an Italian twist?

This recipe for Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast creates delicious meat covered in tomato sauce that can then be served over noodles or your favorite carb.

This recipe works because it’s:

Simple. There’s no fancy ingredients or methods in this recipe.
A break from the norm. When you’re craving a delicious meat, but want a break from the traditional pot roast, this is the meal for you.
Easy enough for a weekday or fancy enough for Sunday. You’ll be amazed at how easy this recipe is to make and the flavorful dish you get when you’re done.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Various ingredients on white table including raw roast, slice mushrooms, and tomato sauce.

Season a 3-4 pound roast with 1½ teaspoons of garlic salt.

Raw roast with garlic salt sprinkled over on tan plate.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Brown both sides of the roast for 3-4 minutes.

Seared roast in black frying pan on white table.

Place the roast in the Crock Pot insert.

Add 4 ounces of canned sliced mushrooms and 1 diced onion on top of roast.

Chopped onion and sliced mushrooms on raw roast in Crock Pot.

Combine 1.37 ounces of spaghetti sauce mix and 8 ounces of canned tomato sauce and pour over the meat and vegetables.

Tomato sauce, onions, and mushrooms on raw roast in Crock Pot.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4-6 hours, or until meat is tender and falling apart.

30 minutes before serving, remove the roast, place on a platter, and cover with foil to rest.

Make a paste with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

Mixture of flour and tomato paste in small white bowl with spoon.

Stir the paste into the meat drippings in the Crock Pot.

Lump of tomato paste mixture and tomato sauce in Crock Pot.

Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Pour the warm sauce over the roast before serving.

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

White platter of Italian pot roast in tomato sauce on top of gray towel.

The size of slow cooker you use will make the biggest difference in cooking a successful Crock Pot roast. If you use a Crock Pot that’s too small, the meat may not get cooked through and will be tough. That’s why I recommend a 6-8 quart slow cooker. It’s big enough to hold all of the ingredients and allow the heat to circulate through.

The cook time for this recipe will be a little different based on what type of slow cooker you’re using. Mine is a 7 quart Crock Pot (affiliate link) that cooks very fast, so this recipe is usually done in about 5 hours on low. The cook times listed in this recipe are a suggestion, so you may need to adjust depending on how your slow cooker cooks.

It’s always recommended that you cook your meat on the low setting in the Crock Pot for the most tender results.

You can use any cut of roast you’d like for this recipe, just make sure it has the word chuck, round, or rump in it. These cuts of meat are tough and the high amount of collagen in the meat will break down over the long cook time, making the meat tender and succulent.

You can always skip the step to sear the meat, but you may lose some additional flavor.

Pot roasts take a long time to cook. To save time in the morning, you can prep everything and place the Crock Pot insert and lid in the refrigerator overnight. Then all you’ll need to do the next day is place the insert in the base and turn on the heat!

If your Crock Pot is less than halfway full with all of the ingredients added, the meat and vegetables may cook faster than 6 hours and could potentially burn. So keep an eye on it! The ideal capacity for even cooking in a Crock Pot is 1/2 -3/4 full.

If you’re out of certain ingredients, try these substitutes:

Tomato sauce substitutes
Tomato paste substitutes

The sauce will have some fat in it from the meat, so you can skim it before serving. I like to use a paper towel and gently press it where there are large pools of fat. Or you can use a tool made specifically for removing fat.

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Italian pot roast and sauce over egg noodles on white plate.

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FAQs

Cooked pot roast and tomato sauce in Crock Pot insert.

Does the roast need to be completely submerged in the sauce?

No, it does not. A slow cooker is very forgiving and will still cook the meat well without being fully submerged in liquid. If you are worried about it, you can check the meat about halfway through the cooking time and rotate it so the other side gets time in the sauce.

What goes well with this Italian pot roast?

I always serve this pot roast with cooked egg noodles. Here are a few other ideas that would make for a delicious meal:

-Spaghetti noodles
-Mashed potatoes
-Creamy polenta
-Zucchini noodles
-Mashed cauliflower

My sauce is really greasy. What can I do?

If you’d like to remove some of the grease from the sauce, you can use a grease mop, fat skimmer, or a regular paper towel before adding in the tomato paste mixture.

If you use a paper towel, just be careful not to burn your fingers on the hot sauce. I like to lay the bottom part of the paper towel on the sauce while leaving the top of the paper towel clean so I can easily remove it.

I hope your family loves this Italian pot roast! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!

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