A classic winter soup meets a comforting braised dinner in this French Onion Pot Roast recipe mash-up. It’s a delicious one-pot meal from the pantry that is full of flavour, and freezer friendly, too.
After the bustle of the holidays, it’s time to sit back and embrace slow cooking with big, luscious flavours. In this recipe, a trusty food processor does most of the work, while the oven transforms the pot roast into a meltingly tender beef dinner
My French onion pot roast has a rather East Coast spin, with our beloved pure maple syrup enhancing the caramelized onions and a generous pour of (homemade) red wine bolstering the broth. The result is a robustly flavoured comfort food meal that’s extremely satisfying on a freezing winter night.
Friends have asked me for this recipe for far too long, as it’s one of my entertaining go-to’s. January feels like the right time to share it with you. So go ahead, stock up on onions, and potatoes too.
French Onion Pot Roast Recipe
Cooking from the pantry is vital in January. We have our favourites, like these 20 Recipes from the Whole Foods Pantry, but I love the way this dish leans heavily on onions…and more onions. Here are a few more reasons we are obsessed with this recipe…
If you love a cozy meal that’s impossible to mess up, this is the dish for you. Oh, and it feeds the whole family with the most delicious leftovers. More tips below on how to transform them into a second dinner.
Another bonus? This recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free (using a mere tablespoon of gf flour). As I am increasingly cooking for friends and family with special diets, each GF/DF recipe is like an ace up my sleeve.
Is this recipe simple? Aside from the onion work, it really is. I love the feeling of sliding the Dutch oven into the stove, knowing that the dish will transform into something sensational over the next three and a half hours.
Ingredients for French Onion Pot Roast
Here’s a breakdown of the ingredients and common substitutions.
- Onions, garlic – just simple yellow onions are required
- Boneless Pot Roast – Chuck roast, one of the easiest cuts of beef to prepare. No home butchery required, just season, sear and send to the oven. Don’t worry if the roast isn’t exactly 3 lbs. A little more or less is a-ok.
- Beef broth – I’ve made my own brown stock, but in this season, I’m reaching for a carton of low-sodium beef broth.
- Wine – this can be optional if you’re doing dry January, although the alcohol does cook off. Just swap out the wine for beef broth. You can also use white wine (traditional in French Onion Soup). I drink mostly red in winter, and so that is what always gets tipped into my braises!
- Flour – this thickens the broth into a luscious gravy. Use all-purpose flour or all-purpose gluten free flour.
- Seasonings – these are your basics: salt, pepper, rosemary and bay leaf. Thyme is more traditional in FO soup but I always have rosemary around and it’s delicious with beef. I tend to use my homemade rosemary salt.
- Maple Syrup – just enough to bring a touch of sweetness and enhance the caramelization on the onions. You can substitute brown sugar if needed.
Caramelizing Onions 101
January is the perfect season to dedicate the time to cook onions slowly, slowly, down to a compote. This cooking method takes patience, but the payoff is well worth the effort.
While I’ve already given you a recipe for caramelized onions, here’s a reminder of the basics, plus a few tips.
- Slice onions very thin. Let a food processor do the work if you can.
- Use a large pot so the onions are not crowded and can cook evenly.
- I use only olive oil (about 2T per 8 onions) as I want to keep the onions dairy-free, but a pat of butter will increase the onions browning.
- Hit them with salt early on, as this helps the onions to release water.
- Cook down for at least 25 -30 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- Finish with a little maple syrup or brown sugar to help speed up the caramelization.
Using Caramelized Onions
Once you have a batch of caramelized onions, they will keep for days in the fridge or months in the freezer.Here’s what to do with them:
Chef’s Tip: caramelized onions are an important building block in vegan/vegetarian cooking. They help to build up ‘meaty’ flavours in rustic stews and winter comfort foods. Laura’s French Onion Shepherd’s Pie is a perfect example.
The French Onion Soup Connection
If you really want the dish to be reminiscent of French Onion Soup, try adding a handful of grated Emmental or Gruyere cheese to the mashed potatoes. Serve with quick pickled red onions – trust me on this one. The acidity works well with the rich one pot dinner.
A great do-ahead meal is to assemble the shredded French Onion pot roast into a casserole, then top with mashed potatoes (a layer of peas is always a good option). Finish with a deep layer of both Gruyere and Fontina cheese, grated fine. Bake until bubbly and stretchy; serve with love.
Batch Cooking and Make Ahead
This is one dish that’s even better when made in advance. It’s great for on dinner both busy weeknights and casual weekend gatherings with friends.
Make it, refrigerate it, and reheat gently. The flavours have time to mingle and marry, with delicious results.
If you have a Dutch oven big enough, make a double batch and freeze half. It’s not much more effort.
Pot Roast as Leftovers Repurposed
This recipe serves 6-8 adults, or a family of four, twice. For us it leaves 2-3 cups of juicy beef in onion gravy that is perfect for a pasta dish – and everyone loves that meal even better than the original!
Here’s what I do: Fully shred the French onion pot roast. Gently heat it in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Add 1 cup of peas, if desired. Boil pasta (fusilli, tagliatelle, etc) and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
Toss cooked pasta in the creamy beef sauce. Add a handful of chopped parsley. Taste for seasoning. Finish with a squeeze of lemon zest and juice. Serve at once.
Serving French Onion Pot Roast
if you ask my teen boys, mashed potatoes is the best accompaniment for this pot roast. We use my method for the very best mashed potatoes, of course, and the kid pitch in for the peeling and mashing. Change up the flavours when you swap out the mashed potatoes for my whipped sweet potatoes.
Personally, I adore this braised beef served over creamy polenta, with a heap of bold vegetable sides. Bitter broccoli cuts through the richness, as do roasted Brussels sprouts. The most simple is my Lemony Broccoli from Simple Charred Broccoli Three Ways. The lemon adds a welcome hit of acidity to the plate.
If I were to round out this menu for a dinner party, my mind goes to sides of garlicky Butter Roasted Mushrooms and Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts.
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 3 lb boneless pot roast (chuck)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 lbs yellow onions about 8 medium-large
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup or brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour or gluten-free AP flour
- 1 cup red wine or more beef stock
- 2 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
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Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season the pot roast with half of salt and pepper.
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Carefully add the pot roast to the Dutch oven and sear, on all side, until browned. A sturdy pair of tongs helps with this job. It should take few minutes per side; about 10-12 minutes total. (This is when I prep my onions) Once the beef has browned, transfer it to a plate to rest on the side.
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Set up a food processor with a thin slicing attachment. Cut onions in half and peel away skins (I keep these for homemade stocks). Pass all the onions through the food processor.
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Add remaining olive oil to the Dutch oven. Tumble in all of the sliced onions. Toss them in the hot oil and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until they are translucent and limp, about 5 minutes. Any liquid released should evaporate.
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Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. They will cook down and take on a light golden colour. Do not burn! Scrape the bottom of the pot often.
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300F.
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Add the garlic and the maple syrup. Cook for another 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. The garlic will soften and the maple will help caramelize the onions a bit more.
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Sprinkle in the flour and stir well to coat the onions. Deglaze the pan with the wine, then pour in the beef broth. Stir well to combine.
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Return the pot roast to the Dutch oven. The French Onion liquid should cover the roast. Add in the rosemary and the bay leaf. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the whole pot up to a simmer.
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Clamp the lid on the Dutch oven and place the pot roast in the oven. Cook, undisturbed for 3 hours. At this point, pull the pot out of the oven, carefully turn the pot roast over in the juices, and pull it into a few pieces. It should pull apart easily with two forks. Cover, return to the oven and cook another 30-45 minutes until meltingly tender.
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Remove the pot roast from the oven, uncover and cool. I like to cool it completely, refrigerate (In the same pot) then reheat for dinner the next day. The flavours deepen and develop, taking this dish to a whole new level.
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Serve hot with mashed potatoes or polenta or buttered egg noodles.
This serves 6-8 adults or a family of four, twice. I like to freeze half for a later date. It is absolutely delicious (perhaps even better) when reheated.
