Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast (No Seasoning Packets!)

Made without seasoning packets, this Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast is simple, tender, and downright delectable!

About My Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

The first time I heard about Mississippi Pot Roast, my mind was kind of blown. A tender roast simmered in tangy pepperoncini sounded downright luscious! Not to mention the addition of Ranch seasoning and au jus…

And it certainly didn’t disappoint! The flavors in this roast are BOLD. Yet the recipe itself is so easy to bring together. After researching a bunch of recipes online, I figured out a few ways to make it my own and it’s been a hit at our dinner table since.

I think you’ll enjoy it, too!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No seasoning packets here! Mississippi pot roast recipes generally call for a packet of Ranch dressing mix and a packet of Au Jus mix. This recipe uses herbs, spices, and broth to bring the same flavors to your plate.
• This recipe is really simple to follow and bring together.
• It’s comfort food at it’s finest. If you love the smell of a cozy dinner wafting throughout your home from the slow cooker on a lazy Sunday, this is the dinner for you.
• I go extra on the liquids because I love me some gravy! A lot of recipes noted that Mississippi pot roast isn’t a very gravy-heavy roast, so I fixed that. Personal preference, of course.

What to Serve With This Dish

• When it comes to a roast, I’m always a fan of serving it over a nice fluffy bed of mashed potatoes. You could also serve it with oven-roasted potatoes if that’s more your jam.
• Rice or plain pasta are always options too.
• As far as vegetable sides go, green beans are fantastic, as is broccoli or carrots.

What Cut of Beef Is Best?

Just like with any pot roast, boneless chuck, brisket, or round are your best options. I always go for a nice chuck roast because it becomes super tender and literally just falls apart. It’s easy shred and incredibly succulent.

Ingredients

*This is a quick glance; measure out ingredients are included in the Recipe Card below.

• Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
• Dried dill weed
• Freeze-dried chives
• Dried parsley
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Dry buttermilk powder
• Sea salt + cracked pepper
• Beef broth
• Beef bouillon paste (optional)
• Pepperoncini
• Pepperoncini brine (from the jar)
• Corn starch
• Worcestershire sauce

How to Make Mississippi Pot Roast

Blend the dill, chives, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and dry buttermilk powder in a small mixing bowl and set it aside. (This is your tasty Ranch mix!)

Rub olive oil over the roast and season each side with salt and pepper. Sear it in a cast iron skillet and for about 3-5 minutes per side. (I recommend getting yourself a splatter screen for searing situations like this!) You’re looking to get a bit of a crust on each side.

Carefully transfer it to the slow cooker. Poor about 1/2 a cup of the broth into the cast iron skillet and deglaze the pan to get all of those nice flavorful crispy bits loose, then pour it over the roast in the slow cooker.

Add the rest of the broth and then the pepperoncini brine. Stir in the bouillon paste, then sprinkle the Ranch seasoning over the roast. Place the pepperoncini on top of the roast. (I love these little punchy peppers, so I add a lot of them! Add as many as you’d like.)

Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. You’re looking for an internal temperature of about 200-205º F. At this point, the meat will be super tender, easy to shred, and will just melt in your mouth! Transfer the beef to a cutting board and, with two forks, shred it. Set it aside.

Set the slow cooker to high and wait for the gravy to start bubbling a bit. In a small mixing bowl or cup, mix 1/4 cup of cold water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Gradually whisk it into the gravy. The gravy will thicken. Pop the shredded beef back into the slow cooker and stir it into the gravy.

Serve immediately, or cover and select the “Keep Warm” option until serving time.

Storage & Reheating Tips

1. This recipe keeps in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for about 3-4 days.
2. You can freeze this recipe in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to two months.
3. To reheat, simply pop the mixture into a saucepan on the stove and bring it to a low simmer over medium-low heat adding beef broth (and a bit more pepperoncini broth) to the pot to add more juice. Otherwise the beef will likely be on the dryer side. You definitely want to revive the gravy!

Useful Kitchen Tools

1. Slow cooker
2. Cast iron skillet
3. Tongs
4. Splatter screen
5. Cutting board
6. Measuring cups + spoons
7. Whisk
8. Meat thermometer

Swaps + Alterations

1. If convenience and efficiency are more up your alley and you don’t mind packaged seasoning, you can totally use a packet of Ranch seasoning mix instead of blending the ingredients from scratch like I do.
2. The beef bouillon paste is optional, but it’s my favorite flavor hack in beef dishes—like my Beef Bourguignon and my Slow Cooker Pot Roast. Just a little adds so much depth and richness to the gravy!
3. A lot of other recipes for Mississippi Pot Roast call for a stick of butter to be added on top of the roast at cook time. I omitted it and still found the roast to be incredibly rich, savory, buttery, and flavorful. I say it’s safe to omit the butter, but if you’re keen on it, you can add it. Cut a stick into several pats and dot them over the roast before you start cooking it.

Have You Made This Recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!

You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme

More Comforting Slow Cooker Meals

• Healthy Orange Chicken
• Tender Pot Roast
• Pulled Pork With Tangy Apple Slaw
• Chicken Tacos

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5 from 14 votes

Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

By: Dana Sandonato

Made without seasoning packets, this Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast is simple, tender, and downright delectable!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

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Equipment

• Slow cooker

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3-4 lb boneless beef chuck roast
• ▢ 2 tsp sea salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
• ▢ 1 TBSP olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup beef broth
• ▢ 1/2 cup liquid from jar of pepperoncini
• ▢ 1 TBSP bouillon paste
• ▢ 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 TBSP dried dill weed
• ▢ 1 TBSP freeze-dried chives
• ▢ 1 TBSP dried parsley
• ▢ 1.5 TBSP garlic powder
• ▢ 1.5 TBSP onion powder
• ▢ 2 TBSP dry buttermilk
• ▢ 2 TBSP cornstarch
• ▢ 10 pepperoncini, Or more, if you'd like!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

Make the Ranch mix:

• In a small bowl, mix the dill, chives, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and dry buttermilk powder; set it aside.

Preparing the roast:

• Heat a lightly oiled cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Massage the olive oil over the roast. Rub each side a generous amount of with salt and pepper. When the cast iron skillet is hot, lower the heat to medium-low and carefully place the roast into the pan; cover with a splatter screen if you have one. Sear the roast for about 3-5 minutes per side, resulting in a bit of a crust.
• When done, transfer the roast to the slow cooker. Poor about 1/2 cup of the beef broth into the cast iron skillet and bring it to a simmer. With a spoon or spatula, scraped the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. This will deglaze the pan and the flavorful crispy bits will add a lot of flavor to your roast. Pour the broth over the roast in the slow cooker.
• Pour the rest of the broth into the slow cooker as well as the pepperoncini brine. Stir in the bouillon paste and sprinkle the Ranch seasoning over the roast. Place the pepperoncini on top of the roast. (Add as many as you like. A lot of recipes call for a few, but I love these, so I add a lot!)

Cooking the roast:

• Pop the cover on and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. You want an internal temperature of about 200-205º F, that's when the meat will be super tender and easy to shred. When done, Transfer the beef to a cutting board and, with two forks, shred it. Set it aside.
• Set the slow cooker to high and wait for the gravy to start bubbling a bit. In a small mixing bowl or cup, mix 1/4 cup of cold water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Gradually whisk it into the gravy. The gravy will thicken. Pop the shredded beef back into the slow cooker and stir it into the gravy.
• Serve immediately, or cover and select the “Keep Warm” option until serving time.

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