Skip to Content

Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy

Sharing is caring!

Slow cooked, melt in your mouth Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy and caramelized onions is the perfect comfort food for the chilly winter months!

 

Slow cooked, melt in your mouth Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy and caramelized onions is the perfect comfort food for the chilly winter months!

Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen over the holidays. Our family time revolves around food. Time spent cooking together and sitting down to a family meal is our bonding time. With the hectic schedule we have during the rest of the year, the holidays offer a window of opportunity for everyone to be together, without the stresses of everyday life. 

My pot roast recipe today was inspired by the craft coffee brewers from KitchenAid®, specifically the Custom Pour Over Coffee Brewer. Unlike a drip coffee maker, the Custom Pour Over Coffee Brewer precisely heats and pulses the flow of water, steeping rather than flooding the brew basket. This allows the coffee grounds to “bloom” resulting in a full flavored cup of coffee…perfect for drinking AND coffee-infused cooking. The Custom Pour Over Brewer also offers the convenience of a traditional coffee maker with easy one touch settings, 24 hour programmability, and the ability to brew multiple cups of pour-over style coffee at the same time!

KitchenAid-51

This slow cooked Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy is a comfort food favorite! It’s quite easy to make too. Making the caramelized onions for the gravy is the longest step in the process, but they are well worth it! And you can always find something else to do in the kitchen while they are cooking. I’m going to try making them in the slow cooker soon as well. I’ll let you know how that goes!

I love cooking with craft coffee because it gives your food such a nice flavor. I have some Chocolate Chip Coffee Toffee cookies on the blog that my kids keep asking me to make. And not too long ago I also made some delicious Banana Pecan Coffee Cake muffins that disappeared quickly. But today we’re talking about pot roast! 

To start, brown your pot roast on all sides in a deep saucepan. Then transfer it to a clay pot. If you have a Dutch oven, you could brown your pot roast on the stove, then put that directly into the oven. For this recipe, mix a cup of brewed coffee, a cup of beef broth, and a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, then add it to the pot roast before putting it in the oven, along with a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Your pot roast is going to cook for 3-5 hours, until fork tender. 

Coffee pot roast

While your pot roast is cooking, you can get started caramelizing your onions. You’ll melt your butter over medium heat, then add your sliced onions and stir to coat. Reduce your heat, and cook on low for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and stir for a few more minutes. Remove your onions from the pan and set aside until you are ready to make the gravy.

how to caramelize onions

Before starting the gravy, you’ll need to wait until your pot roast is completely cooked, because you need the brewed coffee-broth mixture that it has been cooking in. 

Using the same pan that you used to make the caramelized onions, melt your butter and slowly add your flour, whisking to create a roux. Make sure there are no lumps before adding 1 1/2 cups of the liquid from the meat. Add the liquid slowly, whisking as you add it. You may want more or less liquid depending on how thin or thick you like your gravy. Add your caramelized onions back in and stir to combine. Keep your gravy warm until you are ready to use it. 

Slow cooked, melt in your mouth Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy and caramelized onions is the perfect comfort food for the chilly winter months!

This slow cooked pot roast is delicious served with roasted cauliflower, another one of our favorite holiday recipes! 

Ready for the recipe?!

Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy (and caramelized onions)

Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy (and caramelized onions)

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 35 minutes

Slow cooked, melt in your mouth Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy and caramelized onions is the perfect comfort food for the chilly winter months!

Ingredients

Pot Roast

  • 3-5 lb chuck roast
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 cup coffee
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • several sprigs of thyme

Caramelized onions

  • 3 onions, sliced into thin rings
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Gravy

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cup liquid mixture from pot roast
  • caramelized onions

Instructions

Pot Roast

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Heat oil in deep saucepan.
  3. Season roast with salt and pepper.
  4. Brown roast on all sides.
  5. Transfer roast to covered clay pot or Dutch Oven.*
  6. Mix a cup of coffee, a cup of beef broth and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar together, and pour over meat.
  7. Cover meat and bake until fork tender, about 3-5 hours.
  8. Transfer meat to a cutting board, cover with foil, and let your meat rest for about 10 minutes.

Caramelizing onions

  1. Melt butter over medium heat.
  2. Add onions, stir to coat.
  3. Reduce, cook on low, stirring every so often for about 50 minutes.
  4. Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.
  5. Stir for a few more minutes, remove from heat, cool. Remove onions from pan and set aside until ready to make gravy.

Gravy

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in pan.
  2. Slowly add the two tablespoons of flour, whisking to create a roux. Make sure there are no lumps.
  3. Slowly add coffee-broth mixture, whisking as you add.
  4. You may want to add slightly more or less liquid, depending on how thick or thin you like your gravy.
  5. Add caramelized onions back in, stir to combine. Keep gravy warm until you are ready to use it.

Notes

If you're using a Dutch oven, you could brown the meat on the stove and then just transfer it to the oven.

*Allow for 1/2 lb of meat per person. A 3 lb pot roast will feed 6 adults.

Slow cooked, melt in your mouth Pot Roast with Coffee Gravy and caramelized onions is the perfect comfort food for the chilly winter months!

 

Lisa

Wednesday 20th of January 2016

I've just recently been discovering coffee rubs on meat and how good they are. I'm looking forward to trying your recipe. I've been wanting to to make a big roast and there's a snow storm heading our way in Boston this weekend so I might just make this - It looks so delicious Michelle!! Thanks for the great recipe.

Michelle - Jarrah Jungle

Tuesday 19th of January 2016

Coffee gravy? Now why didnt I think of that! That slow cooked roast looks amazing too :)

Tornadough Alli

Tuesday 12th of January 2016

Yummmmm! This looks so good, the gravy pulls me in and is making my mouth water. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday, we hope to see you again this week!

Little Cooking Tips

Friday 8th of January 2016

This looks like a great American recipe Michelle! We never tried adding coffee before, does it come out milder mixed with the vinegar and the broth? Does it change in flavor because of the cooking?:) Sorry if those questions sound silly, it's just that we have no idea about this dish:) But are very excited to try it! With garlicky mashed potatoes on the side, this must be heaven. Thank you dear Michelle! xoxoxo

Nutmeg Nanny

Sunday 3rd of January 2016

This dish is pot roast perfection!

Skip to Recipe