French Onion Roast

I love the crock pot. I love being able to throw stuff in it in the morning & just have it magically ready when it's dinner time! This is the roast we had for dinner tonight. I'm always on the look out for new way to prepare a big hunk of beef in the crock pot so if you have a recipe that you love, please feel free to share it in the comments! This one was a very onion heavy roast - and I mean that as a good thing! Of course the kids opted to have their minus the onion, but Hubby & I laid them atop our meat & enjoyed! And, if you're a lover of French Onion Soup, the broth left behind from this roast is an excellent base!

What you'll need:


A roast - I actually used a London Broil I had in the freezer, onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, beer (optional).

I had every intention of making this with the beer, but we're not beer drinkers here & you can't just buy a single beer at the grocery store. I kept meaning to grab one at the gas station quick mart but forgot - so we went without it tonight. And it was still good. The beer really does give it good flavor, though - and don't worry, the alcohol cooks off so it's still totally kid friendly!


Start out by getting a pan nice & hot. Add a little olive oil - like 2 passes of the pan. Salt & pepper your meat & add it in. Make sure it's really hot before adding your meat. We're searing it to try & keep the juices locked inside. If you put it in the pan before it's good & hot you'll just kinda steam the meat & waste your time.


While that is going (total of about 10 minutes - be sure to get all sides!) slice your onions into rings & pop them into your crock pot. YES, I use the liners - and if you haven't tried them yet WHY NOT!!? I cannot sing their praises enough (as I'm sure you've noticed!!) Love them.


Again, while your meat is still searing, mix up your broth, sugar, mustard & vinegar. If you're using the beer add it in here. If you're not, use more broth in its place.

Set the beef on top of the bed of onions then pour the liquid down over it.


Put on the lid, set it to low & walk away for a solid 8 hours... maybe 9, maybe 10. When it's done pull it out & let it rest for a few minutes.


Slice it up & serve it with a generous heap of onions. For the broth, you can either just spoon on the liquid as is or you can thicken it up with some flour or cornstarch & make a gravy of it.





Mmmmm...... Enjoy!

French Onion Roast:

1 boneless roast, about 3-4 pounds
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
4 onions
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup beer (optional - if omitted use more broth)

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Salt & pepper the meat and add it to the hot pan. Sear all sides for a total of about 10 minutes.

While the meat is searing, slice onions into rings and place in the bottom of crock pot.

In a bowl, mix broth, beer, brown sugar, mustard & cider vinegar.

Once meat is seared place on top of onions in crock pot. Pour broth mixture over the top. Cover, set to low & allow to cook for 8-10 hours.


Slow Cooker