Mississippi Pot Roast {Crock Pot, Oven, Instant Pot}

Just a few pantry ingredients create a tender and juicy Mississippi Pot Roast recipe! Prepare this easy dinner in the oven, Crock Pot, or Instant Pot for a comforting meal any night of the week. With pepperoncini, Ranch dressing mix, and au jus gravy mix, the shredded beef is packed with flavor! Serve it over mashed potatoes, with buttered noodles, or tucked inside sandwich rolls, and add a simple green salad on the side.

If you love pot roast recipes, be sure to try this Crock Pot pot roast with cream of mushroom soup, this popular Dutch oven pot roast, and a classic Crock Pot pot roast, too!

You won’t believe how quickly this tangy Mississippi Pot Roast recipe comes together! Whether or not you consider yourself a cook, I can assure you that it’s virtually impossible to mess up this dish! There are no fancy chef skills or techniques required, and it comes out perfectly every time. Best of all, you can pick the cooking method that best suits your schedule: oven, slow cooker, or Instant Pot!

What is Mississippi Pot Roast?

The original Mississippi Pot Roast recipe first gained popularity in the early 2000’s, when a Mississippi woman named Robin Chapman created this meal as a twist on her aunt’s chuck roast recipe.

Robin’s recipe included 5 simple ingredients: a chuck roast, a packet of au jus gravy mix, a packet of dry ranch seasoning mix, a stick of butter, and pepperoncini peppers. Sounds like an odd combination, but it works!

Mississippi Pot Roast is not spicy, and it’s not overly tangy. The mild peppers add just a touch of acidic tang to balance the rich, succulent beef. The recipe tastes like a zesty, flavorful classic pot roast. Your dinner guests will wonder about the “secret” ingredients!

What kind of roast for Mississippi Pot Roast?

Chuck roast is a very common cut for a juicy pot roast, but you can also use a brisket, bottom round roast, or sirloin tip roast. The boneless chuck roast is my first choice for the Mississippi pot roast because it has great marbling, making the roast tender and succulent when braised. 

Chuck roast is cut from the shoulder just above the short rib, so it’s tougher (and therefore more affordable) than those cut from the front part of the animal, like the sirloin or short loin.

Ingredients

This is just a quick overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need for an easy Mississippi pot roast. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Boneless chuck roast: also called a “Chuck Eye Roast,” “Chuck Pot Roast” or “Chuck Roll Roast,” a chuck roast is a cut of beef that comes from the front portion of the animal. It is a classic pot roast cut, as it becomes moist and tender when cooked at a low temperature over a longer period of time.
• Flour: for dredging the beef.
• Water: to deglaze the pot and thin the gravy. You can substitute with low-sodium beef broth — just don’t use a salty liquid, because there’s already plenty of salt in the au jus gravy mix.
• Au jus gravy mix: I use the packet from McCormick. Au jus gravy mix is not the same as a packet of brown gravy mix. The brown gravy mix will be much thicker and will change the consistency of your dish.
• Dry ranch seasoning and salad dressing mix: a packet of ranch dressing mix adds extra zesty herb flavor.
• Pepperoncini: an acidic component that balances the richness of the meat and gives the dish a more complex flavor.
• Butter: I recommend unsalted butter, since there’s plenty of salt in the seasoning packets.

How to Make Mississippi Pot Roast

This pot roast can be prepared in the oven, in the Crock Pot, or in the Instant Pot. No matter which method you choose, the process is largely the same — and it’s really easy!

1. Dredge the beef in flour.
2. Brown the meat in oil and butter on both sides; remove to a plate.
3. Add water or broth to the pot, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom.
4. Return the roast to the pot.
5. Add a little bit of the pepperoncini juice, then sprinkle with the au jus gravy mix and the ranch dressing mix.
6. Arrange pats of butter on top.
7. Place pepperoncini around the roast.
8. Cover and cook until the meat is fall-apart tender. This takes about 8-10 hours on LOW in a slow cooker, about 3 hours in a 275°F oven, or about 60-80 minutes on HIGH pressure in an Instant Pot.

Can I cook a roast from frozen?

Yes! If you start with a frozen roast, use the oven or the Instant Pot. It’s considered unsafe to cook frozen meat in a slow cooker, due to the risk of bacteria over the long cooking time. If starting with a frozen roast, you’ll need to increase the cooking time in the oven to at least 4-5 hours, and in the Instant Pot to at least 90 minutes (or more).

What to Eat with Mississippi Pot Roast

This succulent, tender pot roast is delicious on top of sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, but the meat is also excellent alongside au gratin potatoes, twice baked potatoes, or Aunt Bee’s 3-ingredient cheesy potato casserole. Alternatively, try pairing the beef with egg noodles, a crusty loaf of bread, flaky biscuits or skillet cornbread.

For a lighter vegetable to round out the meal, I recommend a simple green salad with red wine vinaigrette, a classic Caesar salad, roasted root vegetables, Parmesan roasted cauliflower, or sautéed asparagus.

Storage

• Make Ahead: If you prepare the roast a day ahead, cover and refrigerate it overnight. The next day, skim off any solidified fat before reheating.
• Store leftover pot roast in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Freeze leftover Mississippi pot roast for up to 2 months.
• How to Reheat: Place the beef in an oven-safe pan or pot. Add pan juices, and stir in extra beef broth (if necessary) to cover. Cover the dish tightly with foil or with a lid, and bake in a 325°F oven until warmed through (about 20 minutes).

Recipe Variations

• Add potatoes and carrots: For a one-pot meal, try making your Mississippi Pot Roast with potatoes and vegetables. Simply add about 2-3 russet potatoes (peeled and quartered), 6 carrots (peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces) and 1 sweet onion (peeled and quartered) to the pot with the roast.
• Make a Mississippi Pork Roast using a boneless pork shoulder (or “pork butt”).
• Mississippi Roast Chicken: use boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs. You’ll want to adjust the cooking time to accommodate the smaller chicken pieces. Typically, chicken breasts and thighs work best in the Crock Pot on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. In the oven, cook the chicken at 375°F for about 1 hour. In the Instant Pot, cook the chicken on HIGH pressure for 10 minutes, with a quick release.
• Can you make Mississippi Pot Roast without butter? Yes, but it won’t taste the same! You can probably drizzle the meat with olive oil for a lighter option, but again — it won’t be a classic Mississippi Pot Roast.
• Can you make the roast without pepperoncini? Yes! These peppers don’t add a spicy taste to the dish, though. They have a vinegary, briny flavor that’s very subtle in the dish. It’s an acidic component that cuts through the richness of the meat and adds complexity to the dish. That said, you can omit them if you don’t want them at all.

Tips for the Best Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe

• This dish has quite a bit of salt, thanks to the au jus gravy mix, the Ranch dressing mix, and the pepperoncini. As a result, I do not recommend adding any extra salt until you taste the finished product. Use water or low-sodium broth, unsalted butter, and unseasoned flour to avoid an overly-salty dish.
• Dredge the meat in flour before browning. This adds body to the finished sauce and helps to achieve a beautiful browned, crusty exterior on the beef.
• Sear the beef and get some really nice color on it before you begin the slow braising process. The caramelized surface of the meat will give the dish rich flavor and the browning process will help to lock in the juices.
• Deglaze the pot with water or low-sodium beef broth after browning the meat. The browned bits on the bottom of the pot will add great flavor to the finished dish!
• If your beef is still tough at the end of the suggested cooking time, continue cooking for even longer. Undercooked roast will be tough and chewy. When the chuck roast is fully cooked, it should be fall-apart tender so that it shreds very easily with two forks.
• If you’d like to thin the gravy in the pot at the end of the cooking time, whisk in extra low-sodium beef broth until it reaches the desired consistency.

More Favorite Pot Roast Recipes to Try

• Dutch Oven Pot Roast
• Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast
• Balsamic Slow Cooker Roast Beef
• Classic Pot Roast (Oven Baked or Slow Cooker)
• Amish Chuck Roast Recipe (Instant Pot, Oven or Slow Cooker)

Mississippi Pot Roast

5 from 6 votes

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total: 3 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 6 people

Calories 508.9 kcal

Just a few pantry ingredients create a flavorful, tender and juicy Mississippi Pot Roast — an easy dinner for the oven, Crock Pot or Instant Pot!

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Equipment

• Pressure Cooker
• Slow Cooker
• Dutch oven

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 (3-4 lb.) boneless chuck roast
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup water or low-sodium beef broth
• 1 (1 ounce) packet au jus gravy mix (such as McCormick brand)
• 1 (1 ounce) packet dry ranch dressing and seasoning mix (such as Hidden Valley brand)
• 6 pepperoncini peppers (from a 12-ounce jar), plus 2 tablespoons of juice from the jar

Instructions

OVEN INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• Place the flour in a shallow dish. Pat the beef dry; dredge in the flour. Shake off any excess flour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Place meat in the pot and sear it for about 4-6 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned all over. Remove the beef to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add water and cook for 1-2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. These add great flavor to the dish!
• Return the roast to the pot with the water.
• Pour 2 tablespoons of juice from the pepperoncini jar over the roast. Sprinkle with au jus gravy mix and ranch seasoning mix. Slice the remaining butter into large pats and place on top of the roast. Arrange pepperoncini around the roast.
• Cover tightly with a lid.
• Bake for 3 hours, or until the roast is fall-apart tender.

SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS:

• Place the flour in a shallow dish. Pat the beef dry; dredge in the flour. Shake off any excess flour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Place meat in the pot and sear it for about 4-6 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned all over. Transfer the roast to a large slow cooker.
• In the same pot that you used to brown the beef, add the water (or broth) and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Pour this liquid into the slow cooker with the beef.
• Pour 2 tablespoons of juice from the pepperoncini jar over the roast. Sprinkle with au jus gravy mix and ranch seasoning. Slice the remaining butter into large pats and place on top of the roast. Arrange pepperoncini around the roast.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours, until the meat is fall-apart tender.

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:

• Place the flour in a shallow dish. Pat the beef dry; dredge in the flour. Shake off any excess flour.
• Set the Instant Pot to "Saute," and add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat until the oil and butter are hot, but not smoking. Place meat in the pot and sear for about 4-6 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned all over. Transfer the roast to a plate.
• Add water and cook for 1-2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. These add great flavor to the dish!
• Return the roast to the pot with the water.
• Pour 2 tablespoons of juice from the pepperoncini jar over the roast. Sprinkle with au jus gravy mix and ranch seasoning mix. Slice the remaining butter into large pats and place on top of the roast. Arrange pepperoncini around the roast.
• Place lid on Instant pot with steam valve closed.
• Switch Instant Pot setting to "Manual" and set for 60-80 minutes on "HIGH" pressure.
• Do a natural release for at least 10 minutes, then quick release.
• Remove roast from pot, shred with two forks, and serve.

Notes

• This dish has quite a bit of salt, thanks to the au jus gravy mix, the Ranch dressing mix, and the pepperoncini. As a result, I do not recommend adding any extra salt until you taste the finished product. Use water or low-sodium broth, unsalted butter, and unseasoned flour.
• Dredge the meat in flour before browning. This adds body to the finished sauce and helps to achieve a beautiful browned, crusty exterior on the beef.
• Sear the beef and get some really nice color on it before you begin the slow braising process. The caramelized surface of the meat will give the dish rich flavor and the browning process will help to lock in the juices.
• Deglaze the pot with water or another low-sodium liquid (like low-sodium beef broth) after browning the meat. The browned bits on the bottom of the pot will add great flavor to the finished dish!
• If your beef is still tough at the end of the suggested cooking time, continue cooking for even longer. Undercooked roast will be tough and chewy. If you’re using tougher or bigger cuts of beef (other than a chuck roast), you may need to increase the cooking time to give the meat fibers plenty of time to break down and become tender and juicy. When the chuck roast is fully cooked, it should be fall-apart tender so that it shreds very easily with two forks.
• If you’d like to thin the gravy in the pot at the end of the cooking time, whisk in extra low-sodium beef broth until it reaches the desired consistency.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the recipe (based on a 3-lb. roast)Calories: 508.9kcalCarbohydrates: 4.8gProtein: 29.5gFat: 40.2gSaturated Fat: 11.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8.8gCholesterol: 103.6mgSodium: 823.6mgPotassium: 391.4mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 9.8IUVitamin C: 0.7mg

Keyword: mississippi pot roast, mississippi pot roast crock pot, mississippi pot roast instant pot, oven pot roast

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Southern

Author: Blair Lonergan

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This recipe was originally published in September, 2019. The photos were updated in November, 2021.