Mississippi pot roast is just maybe the best pot roast ever created! It’s a delicious, fall-apart-tender, fix it and forget it, crockpot wonder that only uses 5 ingredients. It’s so much more flavorful than a standard pot roast and just as easy, if not easier, to put together.
If you’ve had this Mississippi roast, you know how incredibly delicious it is. Try my juicy Mississippi chicken or when you’re in a hurry, you can’t beat my instant pot Mississippi pot roast.
Looking for more really, really delicious crockpot recipes? Try more of my favorites! Trust me, these aren’t your run of the mill crockpot recipes.
What is Mississippi Pot Roast?
Mississippi pot roast is a recipe created by a mom named Robin Chapman from Ripley, Mississippi. Her goal was to recreate a less spicy version of her aunt’s pot roast for her kids.
It’s a crockpot cooked beef chuck roast that is seasoned with a packet of dry Au Jus Gravy mix, ranch seasoning mix, whole pepperoncini peppers, and a stick of butter. The recipe became a huge internet sensation, making regular appearances on Facebook, Instagram and even the New York Times published a version of it.
Why Is It Called Mississippi Pot Roast?
Because the recipe originated in Mississippi! Home cook Robin Chapman adapted a recipe given to her in the 1990s and history was made!
What Does Mississippi Pot Roast Taste Like?
A little bit zesty, tangy, wonderfully rich, and beefy.
The Best Cut of Beef to Use:
The best cut of meat for this recipe is a chuck roast. The slow, extended cooking time melts the collagen and fat within the roast and produces a delicious melt-in-your-mouth piece of meat. You might see other recipes call for a bottom-round roast. I don’t like to use it because it’s a lot leaner than a chuck roast and can easily come out a bit dry. Stick with a chuck roast!
What You Need To Make This Recipe
- A Large Crockpot – mine is a 6 quart
- Chuck Roast- Use a 3-5 pound well-marbled roast for this recipe. I try to use a 5 pounder because this dish is so popular in my house.
- Pepperoncini Peppers – Make sure you use the whole peppers in this recipe rather than the slices because the slices will fall apart given the long cooking process.
- Unsalted Butter – This dish tends to be a bit salty because of the au jus and ranch packets. Using unsalted butter, rather than regular, helps to reduce the overall saltiness.
- Au Jus Gravy
- Ranch Dressing Mix
- Fresh Parsley
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Do you have to sear a pot roast before slow cooking? Nope! In this recipe, there is no need to sear the meat before placing it in the slow cooker. It’s one of those amazing dump-and-cook recipes!
- Is this spicy? No. The pepperoncini peppers add a lot of flavor without adding heat to the roast and gravy. The pepperoncini will of course be hot and spicy if you eat them.
- Can you cook this on high? Yes, you can cook this on high in your slow cooker for about four hours.
- Can you add potatoes and carrots to this? Yes absolutely. Add potatoes and carrots that have been cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces at step #2 in the recipe instructions below
- Can you make a Mississippi pot roast without pepperoncini? Well sure but you’ll miss out on a key flavor element of this recipe. The acidity from the peppers also helps cut through the richness of the meat and gravy.
- Can you make a Mississippi pot roast with pork? Yes, and it’s absolutely delicious. Choose a 3 1/2–4-pound boneless pork shoulder roast instead of roast beef. This pork roast version is a wonderful change to add to your dinner rotation.
- How to thicken Mississippi pot roast gravy? The gravy is on the thin side when the roast is finished cooking. To thicken, remove the roast to a platter, turn the crockpot on “high,” and make a simple cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Slowly stir the slurry into the crockpot, adding just enough of the slurry to achieve the desired thickness. You may not add all of it.
- Is this keto-friendly? Yes, if made as written below without thickening the gravy or adding any optional carrots and potato carbs. To serve it as a low-carb meal, serve it over cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower.
How To Make Mississippi Roast In The Oven?
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- Place the roast in a Dutch oven.
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Sprinkle the Au Jus Gravy mix and ranch seasoning mix over the roast.
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Place the stick of butter and Pepperoncinis on top and pour 1/2 water around the roast.
- Bake in preheated oven for 4-5 hours, or until the roast is fork-tender and falling apart. Turn roast halfway through cooking.
How to Make Mississippi Roast in an Instant Pot:
Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast is the quicker version of the famous buttery, fork-tender, fabulous southern pot roast.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Your roast will stay fresh and delicious in the fridge for up to 3-4 days but don’t expect it to sit around that long. All you have to do is cover it tightly with aluminum foil or cling wrap….or you could transfer to an airtight container. The thing is this pot roast is so tasty people will come looking for it and it makes some fantastic sandwiches!
- Can You Freeze This? Yes! You can freeze your cooked pot roast or just the leftovers for 2-3 months. Let it cool completely before preparing it for the freezer (but not more than 2 hours). Store it in a freezer-safe bag with the juices to prevent the meat from drying out. Slow thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Make-Ahead Tips: You can toss everything in the crockpot, cover it up and leave it in the fridge overnight. That way the next day all you have to do is grab the insert and turn it on. Of course, you can always go the freezer route but it’s just so good fresh!
- Leftovers: Any leftover shredded Mississippi roast also makes great sandwiches. Pile some on top of your favorite toasted hamburger bun or hoagie roll, along with some homemade buttermilk ranch dressing and extra sliced pepperoncini, or maybe some melted mozzarella and thin-sliced, sweet onion.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
I like to serve this slow-cooker dish over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles to soak up the gravy. A few of my favorite pot roast sides are my Bisquick biscuits, roasted broccoli and brown sugar carrots. They round out the meal nicely.
More Favorite Crockpot Comfort Meals:
- French Dip Sandwich
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Crockpot Chicken Chili
- Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
- Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops
Mississippi Pot Roast
Mississippi pot roast is maybe the best pot roast ever! It's a yummy, fall-apart-tender, fix it and forget it, crockpot wonder that only uses 5 ingredients!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (3-5 pounds) chuck roast
- 1 package Au Jus Gravy mix
- 1 package dry ranch dressing mix
- 5-6 whole pepperoncini peppers
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Place the chuck roast (1 (3-5 pounds)) in a large crockpot.
- Sprinkle the au jus mix (1 package) and the dry ranch mix (1 package) evenly over the roast. Top with pepperoncini peppers (5-6) and stick of butter. Cover.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or until roast is fork-tender. Using 2 forks, shred the meat. Remove meat and pepperoncini to a platter. Whisk all the cooking liquids together and spoon over the meat. Sprinkle meat with chopped parsley (2 tablespoons) and serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- The best cut of meat for this recipe is a chuck roast. You might see other recipes call for a bottom-round roast. I don't like to use it because it's a lot leaner than a chuck roast and can easily come out a bit dry. Stick with a chuck roast!
- Chuck Roast- Use a 3-5 pound well-marbled roast for this recipe. I try to use a 5 pounder because this dish is so popular in my house.
- Peppers - Make sure you use the whole peppers in this recipe rather than the slices because the slices will fall apart too much in the long cooking process.
- Unsalted Butter - This dish tends to be a bit salty because of the au jus and ranch packets. Using unsalted butter, rather than regular, helps to reduce the overall saltiness.
- Do you have to sear a pot roast before slow cooking? Nope! In this recipe, there is no need to sear the meat before placing it in the slow cooker. It's one of those amazing dump and cook recipes!
- Is this spicy? No. The pepperoncini peppers add a lot of flavor without adding heat to the roast and gravy. The pepperoncini will of course be hot and spicy if you eat them.
- Can you cook this on high? You can also cook this on high in your slow cooker for about four hours.
- Can you add potatoes and carrots? Yes absolutely. Add potatoes and carrots that have been cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces at step #2 in the recipe instructions below
- Can you make this without pepperoncini? Well sure but you'll miss out on a key flavor element of this recipe. The acidity from the peppers also helps cut through the richness of the meat and gravy.
- Can you make this with pork? Yes, and it's absolutely delicious. Choose a 3 1/2--4-pound boneless pork shoulder roast instead of the roast beef. This pork roast version is a wonderful change to add to your dinner rotation.
- How to thicken the gravy? The gravy is on the thin side when the roast is finished cooking. To thicken, remove the roast to a platter, turn the crockpot on "high," and make a simple cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Slowly stir the slurry into the crockpot, adding just enough of the slurry to achieve the desired thickness. You may not add all of it.
- Is this keto-friendly? Yes, if made as written without thickening the gravy or adding any optional carrots and potato carbs. To serve it as a low-carb meal, serve over cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 of the recipe | Calories: 1234kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 103g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 38g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 1496mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 920IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
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I have a substitution suggestion: I realized too late that I didn’t have the au jus mix, so I used “better than bouillon” beef flavor paste. Because of the salt content, I used half a packet of the ranch seasoning mix and unsalted butter (with the pepperoncinis, of course) and it was AMAZING!!! That is how I’m going to make it from now on.
Wow, that’s awesome! Thank you for letting us know about the better than bouillon. That’s a great idea. 🙂
My grocery store didn’t have whole pepperoncini so I used the sliced ones. Hopefully, I get the amazing outcome that so many have had in the comments… crossing my fingers.
I hope you enjoy, Elaine!!!
So I accidentally got the wrong ranch mix yesterday and I didn’t realized it till after I had already put it on the roast. It’s the dip mix instead of the seasoning mix. Will it still turn out good and taste okay?
Hi Patience. I never tried it with that. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t work, though!
I have made a lot of pot roasts over the years but without a doubt turned out to be the best pot roast ever. I added onions and carrots to it. I didn’t use the small mini carrots that come in a bag. I took the 5 extra minutes to peel some carrots and cut them up. What a difference. The carrots were delicious
OMG, Kathy. Thank you so much for your positive review 🙂
I’m gonna try this with carrots too, thank you for sharing!
I have made this mostly by the recipe, but I have to admit to putting in just a dash of pepper liquid and also a few extra peppers. All the heat cooks out of the peppers in case anybody wonders. Since you mentioned the saltiness, I just now looked to see if I could locate some low-sodium au jus mix or ranch dressing mix. I thought surely there would be some, but I didn’t find any. Seems like gluten-free is the new trend even in those things. I didn’t find it too salty for me, but that’s me. Oh – I didn’t mention how much I liked this roast. Ate the whole thing by myself without putting any into the freezer and it kept fine because I kept going back and stealing bites.
So glad you liked this pot roast! It’s not too salty for me either! I could eat the whole thing myself too!!! <3
Can you use dill pickles instead of pepperocini (pepperoncini)? Also can you use a packet of brown gravy instead of aujis? If anyone finds this a little on the salty side use unsalted butter you can put a halved potato or two in the liquid halfway through if it is too salty the potato will soak up just the salt not to flavor just the saltiness you may need to add salt after the potatoes are in there but you can remove the potatoes and eat them or throw away whichever you choose to do cuz it doesn’t really go in this recipe in my opinion but overall it’s awesome the way it is.
Hi Teresa. So, I’ve only made this recipe as I’ve written it. Not sure how dill pickles will taste after the cooking time. Also, I haven’t switched the brown gravy for au jus. Best of luck with the substitutes!! Let us know how your results come out <3
Can you cook this on high for a shorter amount of time?
Hi, Colin. Just cook this on high in your slow cooker for about four hours. Enjoy!
This was excellent! I added 1&1/2 cups chicken broth, marjoram rosemary and garlic. Cooked on low with onions, carrots and potatoes and pepperoncinis. So flavorful that my husband ate two plates of it. I used a venison neck roast and it was perfect. Cooked for 6&1/2 hours on low. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi, Berni! I wanna try your version very soon. Thank you for sharing!
Can you use beef stock, I don’t have aut jus in the house, don’t want to go out for just that
Yes you can, Lori!
Can’t wait to try this, but I need servings for 8. Can I just put 2 roasts in the crock pot and double everything else? I’ve never cooked more than one at a time so didn’t know if this would be a success or diaster and didn’t want to wait 8 hours to find out 🙂
Hi Jeralyn. It really will depend on the size and capacity of your crockpot. If you got a 5-pound roast, don’t you think that will cover you. If you happen to find a larger roast I don’t think you’ll need to double the other ingredients. Even if you put 2 smaller roasts in you should be good. I just don’t want your au jus to get too concentrated. Let me know how it goes!
What modifications should I make if using frozen roast to start?
Hi, Erin. I’m sorry, it’s not advisable to put 3-5 pounds of frozen roast in the crockpot. Best to thaw it first. Thank you!
Delish!!!! I did find it a little salty in some spots but all in all was super tender with great flavor. It’s the first time ever that I didn’t add water to the crockpot and was pleasantly surprised with how much juice there was. Definitely a keeper!
Yay! Thank you for your feedback, Jax! Yes, there’s a lot of juice, right?
If you put a raw potato or two in the liquid halfway through it’ll take away any extra saltiness. Just cut them in half and put them in raw, once they’re done pull them out and check the salt level of the roast juice now. Magic,! This also works for any soup or stew that’s too salty it’s a lifesaver
Sooo good! My husband and I both loved this and it was so easy to make.
Thanks, Shell! So happy you and your hubby loved it!!! <3
We found this to be extremely salty.
Okay I read all the comments and never used my crockpot before I got it as a gift do I add water or broth or oil? How much and how big of a chuck should I get for 3 people? I’m really confused on how to make this
Hi Mary Elizabeth. No, you do not need to add any extra water or oil to your crockpot. Just follow the instructions or watch the video. No steps are left out. As to how many pounds you should get, that really is dependent on how big of eaters you are. Remember your meat will shrink down quite a bit so add a little extra for that. I hope this helps. 🙂
Going to make this recipe. What heat are the peppers? Mild or Medium? I have medium because they were out of mild, will it make it too hot?
Hi CH. My husband is very sensitive to any heat so I stick with mild peppers. I haven’t made this recipe with medium so I don’t know for sure how much hotter they will be.
I just love this recipe! But I must admit, after making it for many years, I do make one tweak. I add a whole jar of pepperoncinis along with the brine. I just love the vinegary bite that it gives it. And I can’t say that I have ever served it with mashed potatoes and a veggie. I always make French dip sandwiches! Oh, soooo good!
That’s a nice tweak, Nancy! 😀 Glad to hear you like it!
Has anyone cooked this in their Instant pot? I am obsessed with my Instant Pot.
Thanks!
Kathleen , there are plenty of recipes on Pinterest, for the Mississippi Pot roast and yours is my favorite!!!
I have to double the roasts and ingredients, because loves the leftovers for tacos and sandwiches.!!
I do use crossrib roasts instead of a chuck roast .. which works great … but I am partial to cross ribs! And talk about fork tender .. even six pounds cooks fork tender !!!!
You are amazing , lady !!!!! Thanks for such delicious recipes and a wonderful web site !!!!
Wow thank you very much, Cathy! That means a lot to me and I’m soooo happy you like my recipe.❤️❤️❤️❤️
I wrapped the roast in tin foil and put it into a plastic bag and refrigerator it over night. Next day i sliced and warmed the slices in a simmering pan of au jus (from the roast) and served with mashed potaoes and smushed root veg. Best pot roast I ever made
Wow! That’s awesome, John! So happy to hear it turned out great for you. 😀