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Put a pot roast in the oven and watch what happens. There is something about the smell of roasting meat that turns a grumpy husband into a purring husband. Aroma therapy. It works every time! In this EASY recipe for Cranberry Pot Roast, beef chuck roast is seasoned with salt and pepper and browned on all sides. It’s nestled in a mixture of fresh cranberries, port wine, onion and beef stock, then braised for 3 hours in the oven. When it comes out, the incredibly tender roast melts in your mouth while the deliciously reduced cranberry port sauce adds a bright burst of flavor and tanginess. I love this served over Horseradish Mashed Potatoes or Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic ….so delicious!
Those of you who live here know how lucky we’ve been with our long warm summer, and our incredibly brilliant fall. And overnight, mother nature flipped a switch, and suddenly it’s winter, bone chilling winter. When the temperatures drop below freezing, it’s time to pull out the dutch oven and turn on the oven. Tis’ the season of roasting, baking and braising…aroma therapy.
For a few short weeks fresh cranberries will be available at the grocery stores. Most of them in our area come from the coast, but our local Main Market Co Op offers wild foraged cranberries from right around here.
When picking out meat for pot roast, chuck roast is the perfect cut of meat for roasting and braising because of its uniform marbling through out the meat. Always try to use, local organic and grass fed if possible. Make sure to season the roast generously with salt and pepper and brown all the sides really well.
Make sure to use a heavy bottomed dutch oven with a lid that has a good seal.
Seasoning and browning the roast is the KEY to a good roast, sealing in all the juices and creating that delicious crust everyone loves so much – so be patient and do this part well, and the recipe will absolutely reward you!
Place it into a 350F oven, for 3 hours.
When it comes out it will be tender, juicy and the meat will pull apart easily. The cranberries and port will have thickened into the most tangy and delicious sauce.
I hope you love this Cranberry Pot Roast as much as we have- such a cozy recipe, perfect for lazy Sundays, or small holiday gatherings.
Happy happy, Merry merry. -xoxo
Cranberry Pot Roast
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main, beef recipes, holiday recipes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Pacific Northwest
Description
Cranberry Pot Roast – a simple festive recipe for beef roast, baked with fresh cranberries and roasted in the oven- tender, juicy and flavorful! Perfect for the holidays or a simple Sunday super.
Ingredients
- 1–2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 1/4– 2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast- organic, grass fed, local if possible
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large red onion
- 4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 1 large carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 12 oz bag fresh cranberries ( or 4 cups)
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme ( or rosemary)
- 1 cup ruby port -a red port( do not use tauny port) the very inexpensive kind-found at most grocery stores, or sub a rich deep red wine ( like cab) and increase the sugar by 1 tablespoon)
- 2 cups beef stock
- 4 Tablespoons sugar ( or maple- see notes)
- 2 Tablespoons whole mustard seeds ( or whole grain mustard)
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350F
- Heat oil in an oven proof dutch oven, over medium high heat. Rub chuck roast with salt and pepper on all sides, and brown all sides very well. Be patient here and get a good crust!
- While meat is browning, dice the onion, garlic, celery and carrot
- Once meat is nicely browned on all sides, set aside on a plate.
- Add onion, celery and carrot, to the same pan, turn heat to medium and sauté until they soften, about 5- 6 minutes.
- Add cranberries, ruby port, beef stock, sugar, thyme or rosemary, and mustard seeds and give a stir.
- Nestle meat into the middle, bring to a simmer, cover tightly and place in the oven.
- Bake for 3 hours ( or longer if a bigger cut of meat) Meat should be fork tender, and cranberry port sauce, reduced. If Sauce seems too thin, continue baking uncovered, or simmer on stove top, uncovered until it reduces and thickens a bit.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower or whipped sweet potatoes with a little cranberry sauce over top.
Notes
I’ve tried reducing the sugar, and it is just WAY too tart. I know it seems like a lot, but the fresh cranberries need this amount to balance it all out.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 559
- Sugar: 21.3 g
- Sodium: 649.5 mg
- Fat: 19.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.2 g
- Fiber: 6.2 g
- Protein: 58.5 g
- Cholesterol: 167.6 mg
Keywords: Pot roast recipe, beef roast, cranberry recipes, cranberry pot roast, beef with cranberries, holiday roast, christmas roast, thanksgiving roast, chuck roast recipe, easy pot roast, easy beef recipe, holiday dinner recipe
Made this tonight and it was absolutely incredible. So easy and hands-off, but it tastes like you were in the kitchen for hours. Thank you so much!!!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it Lucy!
This was absolutely delicious. I love the slightly tangy flavor. I used my crock pot for the braise after browning the meat and veg in a skillet. That worked great. I thought there was a bit too much liquid so next time I will reduce the amount of stock.
★★★★★
This recipe sounds fabulous! I have already purchased a whole grass fed beef tenderloin to cook for Christmas dinner, so my question is, how can I adapt the recipe for this different cut of meat? I love the idea of a cranberry based au jus, so to speak.
★★★★★
Hi Lisa! I wonder if you could roast the tenderloin, whole, in the oven, coated in a garlic herb crust on a rack, until middle is medium rare, ( 40-50 minutes?) and make the cranberry sauce separate on the stove. It’s too lean of a cut of meat, to cook it like a pot roast, would dry out terribly! Here is the idea… https://www.feastingathome.com/rosemary-garlic-beef-roast-with-wild-mushrooms/ but it would need to be tweaked a bit.
That sounds perfect! It’s so festive, I can’t wait to make it. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks, let me know if you do!
Perfect cold weather meal. Made the roast and the garlic roasted mashed cauliflower. Both were amazing and really simple. We were pleasantly surprised at how much the cranberries in the sauce tasted like tomatoes. Paired perfectly with a spicy red zinfandel we had on hand. Always love your recipes. You are always my “go to” for making a special meal at home. Thanks so much for sharing another great meal!
★★★★★
Thanks Jason, I’m so glad you enjoyed this!!! Appreciate you sharing.
Thanks Hason! Glad you liked it and thanks for rating and commenting!
Any idea how i could adjust for a crock pot. We are meeting our adult kids for a ski trip Christmas (OMG what was I thinking lol) and I know they have a crock pot that I would like to use while we are out in the snow. This looks fabulous and worth a try for the holidays. Leftovers look like they would be great as well.
Thanks
Hi Carol Ann, I’m sure it can be done, but honestly I’m not a crockpot expert! If you do try it, would you leave notes on how you did it and if it turned out?
When placing it in the oven should the Dutch oven have the lid on?
Thanks!
Yes!
I made this for Christmas dinner yesterday. I only used onions (lots of them) which I browned really well first. I used Black Butte Porter instead of port and used only two tablespoons brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of whole grain mustard. I cooked it in my new Instant Pot, took out the roast, then stick blended and reduced the sauce a bit. This will be a new Christmas tradition. The horseradish mashed potatoes made with red potatoes were a revelation. I’ve been kind of stuck on Yukon golds. Leftovers this morning were even better, so next year I’ll make this the day before.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes and inspiration. Happy New Year.
Love how you made this your own…sounds delicious!!! Happy new Year Lynn!! xo
Hey this came out so amazing! My family voted it in for Christmas! So just an update. I never used the orange juice. Also when I got home from work it was 4 hours 40 minutes in the crock pot on high. I added the rest of the cranberries and lowered it to low while I made garlic mashed potatoes. So it cooked on low for about another hour! When the potatoes were done I shut the crock pot pulled out the meat and it was just falling apart delicious! I placed some thick pieces over the potatoes and covered it in the sauce. Really wonderful flavors! Thank you for this recipe!!!
Thanks so much for letting us know! Glad it turned out…. and good to know it works in a slow cooker!!!
I am trying this today in the crock pot! Based on feedback above I browned the roast first. I also softened the veggies but not as long. I added all the ingredients but halved the cranberries. I put them all together in the pot on high for 4-5 hours. My roast was a little over 3lbs. I am going to add the remaining cranberries for the last hour in hopes to keep some consistency but not loose the flavor! I was considering this for Christmas too. I will let you all know how it comes out and if I have anything to share. I was wondering if adding a little orange juice would add to the flavor? Any thoughts on that?
it sounds good to me 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
Oh man, made this tonight and the whole family loved it. Such great & interesting flavors together and nothing beats a slow cooked pot roast in November.
We love cranberries and this looks amazing. I am not very good with beef (former vegetarian) unless it is roasted so I am especially enthusiastic about this dish. This will be our Christmas meal. Thank you!
Diane
You are so welcome, Diane. Just remember to allow more time if you are cooking bigger roast. I feel honored that you are making on it Christmas!!! Please let me know how it turns out. All the best and merry Christmas to you!!
Holy moly your pictures are gorgeous! And this looks divine, pot roast feels so comforting. Can’t wait to try!
Let me know how you like it. Its good with mashed potatoes….to balance the tart sauce.:)Thanks for reading and happy holidays to you Allyson!!
I have made this post roast for years, but instead of port wine I have used cranberry juice. Been a favourite of my family and guests over the years
That sounds good as well!!
Sylvia, I am going to make this today, based on your gorgeous presentation……Mark Bittman has a similiar recipe, but he does not use carrots and onions (and a beef stew needs them!).
May I ask what the seeds are in the photos? Looks like mustard seeds but I don’t see that ingredient…..is it just the cranberries?
Thanks, Stacey
Good eye. 🙂 Yes, I did add mustard seeds to the first recipe round, and I really liked them in there! Left them out to keep the recipe more simple. But they taste great.
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Can this recipe be made in a crockpot?
Great question…and truthfully, I’m not sure, I don’t have a crock pot. My guess would be yes, but be sure to brown the meat really well in a skillet first. If you try it will you let me know?
I’ve made it in a crock pot, and it came out just fine–cooked away while I was at work! I did brown the meat and veggies first, and I reduced the amount of stock a bit because my crock pot is small. I just put in enough to barely cover the meat. My only complaint was that the cranberries all turned to mush and disappeared into the sauce. The flavor and texture were fine, but I was kind of hoping for some moderately intact berries. I’m making it again tonight in the oven, and I’ll reserve some of the cranberries until the last hour or so to see if they stay recognizable.
Oh my goodness my mouth is watering just looking at this, what a gorgeous dish!
Thanks Mary!
This looks fantastic!
I have no idea where I can buy ruby port. Anything I can sub instead?
You can find it at most grocery stores, in the wine section….near the cooking wine. I usually just pick up a very inexpensive bottle. You you could sub red wine, but you may need to add a little more sugar.
I can’t wait to have a December dinner party and make this! The photos are a work of art. Never thought pot roast could be so gorgeous!
Wow! Amazing photos! And what a delicious dish, YUM!
This looks so good. Beautiful photos!
Thanks Alison…have a beautiful weekend!!
A perfect autumnal twist on pot roast. Love your awesome photography. I also love staub cookware.
Yes, stab….Its the best isn’t it? Thanks Penny!!
I can imagine how delicious this cranberry pot roast would have tasted, definitely a recipe I will be making this upcoming festive season!
I hope you enjoy it Thalia!
This is just gorgeous!
Coming from you…this truly is a compliment! Miss amazing photographer! Thanks Tieghan.
My mouth is watering! This looks incredible. And there is nothing more comforting that a pot roast in the oven on a chilly day!
yes Liz! Good for the soul!!