This savory pot roast is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. The addition of spiced tea adds a rich, warmly spiced flavor to the beef and vegetables. My family usually goes for seconds—even the kids!
It’s an easy, throw-together slow cooker meal with melt-in-your-mouth beef and perfectly seasoned vegetables every single time.
I found this recipe online years ago, and it called for traditional mulling spices. When I ran out, I experimented by dropping a single bag of Celestial Seasonings Harvest Spice Tea into the slow cooker. Sometimes my recipe adjustments aren't the best, but the tea substitution was even better than the original recipe.
Why Spice & Tea Work in Pot Roast
Using spiced tea or mulling spices in a slow cooker roast adds warm background notes of cinnamon, clove, and citrus that complement the savory depth of beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. The subtle warmth cuts through the richness of the roast without overpowering the hearty flavor of the meat.
Choosing the Best Roast
Chuck roast is ideal for this recipe because its marbling slowly breaks down during cooking, creating tender, flavorful meat. Look for a roast with thin streaks of fat throughout, rather than on a single large piece along the edge. Fat carries rich, savory flavor compounds. Marbling melts into the beef, keeping the meat moist, tender, and juicy.
What You Need
In terms of tools, you need a slow cooker, knives, a cutting board, measuring cups, and measuring spoons.
Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast Flavored With Celestial Seasonings
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck roast. I used boneless with nice marbling, but a bone-in cut would give you extra nutrients.
- 2 cups of apple juice or apple cider
- 1 individual tea bag of Celestial Seasonings Harvest Spice Tea or 1 tablespoon mulling spices in cheesecloth bag
- 4 cups beef stock
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste, about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic, about 3 cloves, minced
- 8 medium red potatoes, cut in quarters, or vegetables of your choice
- 2 yellow onions cut in quarters or eighths depending on size
- 16 baby carrots, about one pound, cut into chunks
- 3 stalks of celery, cleaned and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Put the roast and all the other ingredients except the vegetables into the crock pot.
- Cut and add the vegetables in whatever portion you like to fill the crock pot.
- Heat on high until bubbles begin to form.
- Reduce the temperature to low and cook for 5 to 6 hours until the vegetables are tender and the roast is fork-tender.
- To serve: The roast will likely fall apart as you transfer it from the crock pot to a platter. Arrange the roast and vegetables on the serving platter using a slotted spoon to lift them from the crock pot.
- Ladle the liquid into a pitcher, or thicken it into gravy with a little cornstarch mixed with some of the juice. Put the gravy in a gravy boat to pass.
- Add some good French or other hearty bread, and a great fall or winter meal is ready to be enjoyed.
Recipe Tips & Variations
-
Tea Substitutions: If you can't find Celestial Seasonings Harvest Spice, try Bengal Spice, Chai, or any spiced cinnamon-apple tea bag.
-
Gluten-Free Adaptation: To keep this meal 100% gluten-free, use certified gluten-free Soy Sauce and double-check the Worcestershire sauce label.
- Thickening the Gravy: For a richer sauce, whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry. Stir it into the hot crock pot liquid during the last 30 minutes of cooking until thickened.
Vegetable Variations
Red potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery make this a complete meal, but you can easily use what you have on hand. Yukon Gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, mushrooms, or rutabaga are also good choices. Cut the vegetables into fairly large pieces so they don’t become too soft while the roast cooks.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover pot roast, vegetables, and cooking liquid in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Keeping the meat in some of the liquid helps it stay moist. Reheat everything slowly on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in a covered baking dish until hot.
Can I Make This Pot Roast Ahead of Time?
Yes, and the flavor may be even better the next day. After cooking, refrigerate the roast and vegetables in the cooking liquid. Before reheating, remove any hardened fat from the surface and warm the meal slowly until heated through.
What to Serve With Pot Roast
This pot roast already includes plenty of vegetables, so it doesn’t need much on the side. Serve it with crusty bread, dinner rolls, biscuits, or a simple green salad. The bread is especially good for soaking up the flavorful gravy.
Slow Cooker Roast Flavored With Celestial Seasonings
Author: Recipe Idea Shop
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast I used boneless with nice marbling but a bone-in cut would give you extra nutrients.
- 2 cups apple juice or apple cider
- 1 individual tea bag Celestial Seasonings Harvest Spice Tea or 1 tablespoon mulling spices in cheesecloth bag
- 4 cups beef stock
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste I use about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup Tamari soy sauce has wheat
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic about 3 cloves, minced
- 8 medium red potatoes cut in quarters or any vegetables of your choice to fill the crock pot
- 2 yellow onions cut in quarters or eighths depending on size
- 16 baby carrots whole or about 1 pound of carrots, washed, peeled and cut in chunks
- 3 stalks celery cleaned and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Put the roast and all the other ingredients except the vegetables into the crock pot.
- Cut and add the vegetables in whatever portion you like to fill the crock pot.
- Heat on high until bubbles begin to form.
- Reduce the temperature to low and cook for 5 to 6 hours until the vegetables are tender and the roast is fork-tender done.
- To serve: The roast will likely fall into pieces as you remove it from the crock pot to a platter. Arrange the roast and vegetables on the serving platter using a slotted spoon to lift them from the crock pot.
- Ladle the liquid into a pitcher or thicken the liquid into gravy with a little cornstarch mixed with some of the juice. Put the gravy in a gravy boat to pass.
- Add some good French or other hearty bread and a great fall or winter meal is ready to be enjoyed.
https://recipeideashop.com/winter-pot-roast
Nutrition (may vary depending on ingredients and amounts used)
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Esme Slabbert says
Oh my word, this is so tempting looking. Although I do not have a slow cooker, I will share with our daughter and ask her to make it for us.
Saw your awesome post at Handmade Monday.
My entries are Au Gratin Potatoes and A Simple Pork Belly Roast
Hope to see you share with SSPS: https://esmesalon.com/tag/seniorsalonpitstop/
Joanne says
I would never have thought of using tea or mulling spices in my pot roast but I can see how that would give it lots of flavor..