Mississippi Pot Roast
This easy to make Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast recipe delivers fall-apart tender, melt-in your mouth beef with the most flavorful juices or gravy. The perfect make ahead meal and comfort food to keep you well fed and cozy through the fall and winter. It is great in a sandwich or toasted hoagie, over mashed potatoes or served with rice. Make it in the crockpot or in the oven - whatever you prefer!
What is Mississippi Pot Roast?
It is a wildly popular roast beef named Mississippi Pot Roast because it is credited to a woman named Robin Chapman from Ripley, Mississippi, who adapted a family recipe by using a packet of ranch dressing mix in her slow cooker, creating a unique variation that would be more palatable for her kids. Her original rendition of this recipe is made with 5 ingredients and my version of her recipe sticks pretty close to that as well. The original recipe is a packet recipe meaning using dried packaged gravy mix, dried packaged ranch dressing. It is such a good combination with the pepperoncini peppers - I can’t even! Now some get in a bit of a tizzy because of the processed food going into the recipe because of the use of packets and I get it we are all trying to eat better and eat less processed food in general. That being said we aren’t eating this everyday and I’m very ok with this packet Mississippi pot roast recipe on occasion. There is just something in those packets that you can not always fully replicate with just blending herbs - although I did attempt it and got pretty close. That is why I have also included a non packet version of this recipe for those who would prefer to have a non packet Mississippi Pot Roast.
Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe Ingredients:
- OLIVE OIL: This is for searing the roast. Searing the roast is optional and not needed and if you chose not to sear the roast before putting it into the slow cooker just omit the olive oil.
- BEEF: The cut of beef matters. You will need beef chuck roast or boneless bottom blade roast is what I use - the best cut for slow braising tender beef as it becomes tender and juicier the longer you cook it. (see Recipe Notes below for more info)
- RANCH SEASONING MIX: This is the dried packaged ranch seasoning we are talking about like Hidden Valley Ranch or any other brand like it.
- AU JUS GRAVY MIX: This is the dried packaged au jus gravy mix like Watkins, Club House, Knorr or any other au jus mixes or brands like them. I have seen people use onion soup mix instead of the au jus mix but I have not tried that - sounds like a delicious option though.
- PEPPERONCINI PEPPERS: Pepperoncini peppers are yellow peppers hailing from Italy, which are then pickled. They are so great in sandwiches or in salads and can be found in the condiment aisle of the grocery store where the pickles and condiments are. Not only will you need the whole peppers but you will also need some the juice from the jar which adds so much flavor. Make sure to adjust amount of peppers to taste - as they can make the overall dish spicier the more your add.
- BUTTER: Unsalted butter is what I use and it adds richness and flavor to the sauce and overall dish
Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe Instructions (oven instructions in recipe notes below)
- Sear Meat: This is optional but it adds loads of flavor. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. Skip it for speedier prep.
- Place Meat in Crockpot: I like to lightly grease my crockpot before using it - feel free to do so then lay the roast right in flat into the crockpot then pour in the pepperoncini juice.
- Sprinkle Over Packets: Sprinkle the packet ingredients over the roast
- Place Pepperoncini’s and Butter Over Roast: Place the peppers over roast - some may fall over that is fine then place the sliced pieces of butter all over the roast.
- Cover Slow Cooker and Cook: Let it do its thing on LOW for 8-10 hours or 5-6 hours on HIGH
- Shred & Serve: Once done shred meat and toss in the juices and serve or if you prefer to make a thickened gravy remove roast when done and make gravy in crockpot. (directions for that below)
Mississippi Pot Roast With NO PACKETS Ingredients
If you would like to know how to make this Mississippi Pot Roast recipe without packets you have come to the right place. The main ingredients stay the same except for the packets. The directions for making this version are exactly the same. So along with the Beef, butter and pepperoncini pepper and juice you will also need these ingredients:
For The Herb Blend
- 1 tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon onion flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Dried Chives
- 1 tablespoon Dried Dill Weed
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Another ingredient that the packaged dried ranch seasonings have is buttermilk powder for that extra rich, creamy, and tangy flavor. It is almost never a basic pantry ingredient but if you do have it or want to buy and add it to the recipe you can add ¼ cup of buttermilk powder as well.
For The Au Jus Gravy Mix
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon mustard (I use plain yellow mustard but dijon will work too)
- 1 tablespoon better than beef bouillon beef base or beef bouillon paste or the concentrated beef stock
How To Make Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast NO PACKETS Version
The step are pretty much the same for both version - I just like to combine my dry ingredients and the liquids before adding them to the crockpot over the beef.
- Sear Meat: This is optional but it adds loads of flavor. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. Skip it for speedier prep.
- Combine the Herbs & Sprinkle Over Beef
- Whisk Together Liquids: The pepperoncini liquid, plus the remaining au jus ingredients. Pour over the beef. Turn the beef once or twice to coat in seasonings and liquid.
- Place Pepperoncini’s and Butter Over Roast: Place the peppers over roast - some may fall over that is fine then place the sliced pieces of butter all over the roast.
- Cook, Shred & Serve: As written above or in recipe card
Got Leftovers? Here’s What To Do With Leftover Pot Roast:
- Make tacos with it
- Enjoy with eggs and toast
- Make sandwiches with it
- Toss it into soup
- Toss it into salad
- Use it in a casserole, burritos, pasta bake or even shepherds pie
- Toss it into pasta like my stroganoff
Mississippi Pot Roast Storage, Make Ahead, & Freezing
- STORAGE: Shredded beef can be stored in the sauce or kept seperate in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat stovetop or in the microwave.
- MAKE AHEAD: Of course this whole dish can be made 1-2 days ahead - like any stew the flavors just keep getting better as they sit. Store chilled in an airtight container. Reheat and serve.
- FREEZING: Shredded beef can be stored in the sauce or kept seperate in airtight freezer containers for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in fridge and reheat stovetop or in the microwave. The veggies will not freeze as well - their texture will be altered.
If You Love Low & Slow Food You Will Love These Recipes:
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil/vegetable oil
- 4 pounds chuck roast or pot roast *
- 1 ounce packet ranch seasoning mix, (approx 2 tablespoons)
- 1 ounce packet au jus gravy mix or brown gravy mix, low sodium (approx 2 tablespoons)
- 6-10 pepperoncini peppers
- ½ cup juice from pepperoncini jar
- ½ cup butter, sliced
Directions
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, brown the roast for about 4-5 minutes per side.
- Place roast in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker and pour in the pepperoncini juice.
- Sprinkle the dry ranch dressing mix and au jus gravy mix over the top of the roast.
- Add the pepperoncini peppers and sliced butter on top of the roast.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the roast is fork-tender or on high for 5-6 hours. It will be very tender.
- Once the roast is cooked, shred it with a fork and mix it into the juices in the slow cooker. Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. (See Below for Gravy version)
For Making Gravy
- Once roast is done carefully remove it and place it on a plate and cover with foil. Leave the juices in the pot.
- Turn the Crock pot on high.
- Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons COLD water in a small bowl. Whisk until well-combined and smooth.
- Bring the meat juices to a boil. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling liquid, stirring continuously. Once it’s all added, reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer until desired thickness is reached, then transfer to a serving container and serve over roast as is or shredded.
Recipe Notes
- Oven Method: Preheat the oven to 225°F. Heat oil in a 6 quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear roast for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from heat. Sprinkle Au Jus and Ranch Mix over the roast. Top with cubed butter and pepperoncini peppers. Bake, covered, for 7-8 hours. For a quicker turnaround time: Cover and bake at 350°F for 3-4 hours. The general rule is one hour per pound at 275°F-300°F, so if roasting a cut of meat that’s larger than 3-4 pounds, gauge it with that rule.
- Pot roast is classically made with boneless chuck roast. This cut of beef is nicely marbled and does very well cooked low and slow. It can render quite a bit of fat after cooking. If you want to minimize the fat, after the cooking time is done, use a fat separator to strain the cooking liquid or if making ahead and then chill the pot roast, the fat usually collects on top and you can easily be scooped out of the dish and then simply reheat and serve. You can also try a different cut of beef, like sirloin tip roast, arm roast, or bottom round roast - all good for slow cooking. Because they have less fat, they put off less liquid while cooking, so keep an eye on the meat and add extra broth or liquid as needed.
- Do I need to toss all the ingredients together and make sure everything is well combined? I usually dump everything and skip tossing and turning the beef with all the juice and dried packets or herbs because as the beef cooks and butter melts everything sort of melds together and the beef once shredded gets tossed in the sauce so I don’t think you need to do that but if you prefer to do that - go ahead. If I’m using the non packet version I do like to premix the ingredients before placing them in the crockpot and then flip the beef around a little to fully coat.
