How to Make the Ultimate Sunday Pot Roast with Gravy


Sunday Pot Roast with Gravy is one of my favorite timeless meals that Mom would make many a Sunday afternoon. Best when slow-cooked on a slow day, its aroma completely fills the house and your whole family can gather around for dinner.

City Style and Living Magazine Winter 2025 How to Make the Ultimate Sunday Pot Roast with Gravy
Courtesy Heidi Harris; Gibbs Smith Books

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE POT ROAST

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (1½-pound) roast

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 medium yellow onion, quartered

4-6 carrots, peeled and cut into
2- to 3-inch lengths

1 bundle fresh thyme

10-12 small white potatoes, quartered

FOR THE GRAVY

Drippings from roast

2-4 tablespoons flour

½-1 cup water

⅛ teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
Browning and Seasoning Sauce

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the pot roast, in a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter on the stovetop. Lightly sauté the garlic until it just begins to brown, then add the roast. Sear the meat until browned on all sides. Season with salt and pepper, and remove the pan from the heat.

Scatter the onion, carrots, and thyme around the roast. Cover, place in the oven, and cook for 3 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and add the quartered potatoes around the roast, rolling and coating them in the drippings from the roast for flavor. Cover the pan, return to the oven, and roast for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender and the meat is fully cooked. The meat should fall apart on the fork.

To make the gravy, remove the vegetables and roast from the pan to a serving platter. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the flour to the drippings and stir over low heat to create a stiff roux mixture. Slowly add water to reach the desired gravy consistency (similar to heavy cream). Continue to stir over a low heat. Add a splash of Kitchen Bouquet for color and flavor.

Recipe excerpts from The Heirloomed Kitchen: Made-from-Scratch Recipes to Gather Around for Generations. By Ashley Schoenith
Photographs by Heidi Harris. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.


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