If you love French onion soup, you’ll love this French Onion Pot Roast! Caramelized onions and tender beef cook low and slow for the ultimate comfort meal. Includes slow cooker and oven directions.
French Onion Pot Roast
This French Onion Pot Roast is one of my favorite comfort food dinners to make because my family absolutely loves it—especially my husband, who’s obsessed with anything with caramelized onions. Inspired by classic French onion soup, it slow-simmers with sweet onions and a rich, savory broth until the beef is fork-tender and practically falling apart. It’s meant to be a little brothy (just like French onion soup), which makes it perfect over mashed potatoes—or with cheesy Swiss toasts for dipping. And whether you want to make it in the slow cooker or in a Dutch oven, I’ve included both methods. The leftovers are just as good the next day. If you love using your slow cooker this time of year, be sure to check out my collection of slow cooker recipes.
Why You’ll Want to Make This French Onion Pot Roast All Winter
My family loved this roast, and it made enough that I was able to share some with my senior neighbor, who enjoyed it too. It’s one of those meals that feels comforting in every way, especially when served with mashed potatoes, cauliflower mash, or crusty bread to soak up every last drop.
- Comfort food: Combines traditional pot roast with French onion soup for a warm, hearty meal.
- Rich flavor: Caramelizing the onions and searing the meat builds layers of flavor.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: After some prep up front, it cooks all day in the crockpot and reheats beautifully.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s the list of ingredients for this French onion pot roast. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- All-Purpose Flour creates a nice crust on the beef and helps absorb any liquid from the caramelized onions.
- Seasoning: Garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper
- Boneless Beef Chuck Roast is a tough, cost-effective cut of meat, making it ideal for low-and-slow cooking. Trim off any large pieces of fat before cooking to prevent the sauce from becoming too oily.
- Olive Oil for sautéing the onions
- Onions: Cut 2 to 3 onions in half, then slice them into thin half-moons. You can use white, yellow, or red onions.
- Sherry Wine, a fortified wine, adds depth and complexity to the gravy.
- Beef Bone Broth contains more protein than regular broth.
- Dry Onion Soup Mix for that classic French onion flavor. It’s an easy way to season the sauce with just one ingredient. I’ve also included my homemade recipe below.
- Fresh Thyme Sprigs impart their earthy flavor as they simmer in the broth.
How to Make French Onion Soup Pot Roast
Caramelize the onions and brown the chuck roast on the stove, then add everything to the slow cooker and let it do the rest of the work. Your home will smell amazing when you return home at the end of the day! See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Make the flour mixture: Combine the flour with the seasonings and rub some over the chuck roast.
- Caramelize the onions. Add the oil and onions to a cold pan, then turn on the stove to medium-low. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat if the onions brown too quickly. The secret to sweet, golden onions is cooking them low and slow!
- Make the French onion sauce: Stir in the remaining flour, followed by the sherry. Cook for a couple of minutes to thicken the sauce, then add the beef broth and onion soup mix. Pour the mixture into the crockpot.
- Brown the beef in olive oil in a dry pan (you can just wipe out the onion pan) over medium-high heat. Cook on all sides for a few minutes, then add to the slow cooker with the thyme.
- Slow cook on low for 8 hours.
- Finishing Touches: At hour 7, remove the roast and slice it into 6 pieces (this helps the beef absorb the sauce). Taste the broth and add more salt if needed. Return the meat to the crock pot to finish cooking.
No Slow Cooker? No Problem!
Place the browned roast and caramelized onions in a Dutch oven or a heavy, oven-safe pot, and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 2 ½ hours. Check that there is enough liquid after 1 ½ hours, and cook until the meat and vegetables are tender.
Variations
- Meat: If you can’t find a chuck roast, a beef round roast will also work but won’t have as much marbling so it will be a little dry, or try using a pork shoulder.
- Sherry Wine: Swap sherry for a dry red wine, or use more broth if you prefer not to cook with wine.
- Broth: Substitute regular beef broth if you can’t find bone broth.
Serving Suggestions
For a fun optional touch, make cheesy toasts with melted Swiss, just like you’d serve with French onion soup, and use them for dipping. The recipe is included at the bottom of the recipe card, and I have more side dish ideas below.
Potatoes
Serve this slow cooker pot roast with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or one of the options below to soak up the rich, oniony sauce.
Vegetables
When I ate this dish for dinner, I also made my air fryer green beans to go with it. Here are more vegetable sides that would work too.
Storage
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
- Freeze the onions and beef in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Thaw the container in the fridge the day before. Then, reheat it on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave until warm.
More Cozy Slow Cooker Comfort Food Recipes You’ll Love
For more dinner ideas, check out these five delicious slow cooker recipes to inspire your next meal!
- Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich
- Beef Bourguignon (Slow Cooker)
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Pork Carnitas
- Slow Cooker Bolognese
French Onion Pot Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, or gluten-free flour mix
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2.5 lb boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups onion, thinly sliced half moons (3 small or 2 medium)
- ⅓ cup sherry wine
- 2 cups beef bone broth
- 1 1 ¼-ounce package dry onion soup mix, *check labels for GF or see my homemade recipe in notes (3 tablespoons)
- 4 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Mix flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Rub chuck roast with 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Set aside both the roast & the remaining flour mixture.
- Add ½ tablespoon olive oil and onions to a large pan (starting cold) and cook over medium-low heat until golden, stirring often, reducing heat as needed if the onions are burning or browning too quickly; this should take about 25 to 30 minutes. The onions should turn golden and caramelized, and the flavor should be sweet.
- Add remaining flour mixture to the onions and stir to thoroughly combine. Add sherry wine & cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are thickened and fragrant. Add beef broth and onion seasoning. Stir & transfer to the slow cooker.
- Wipe out the same pan the onions were cooked in (definitely doesn’t have to be clean, but shouldn’t be wet), spray with olive oil & heat over medium-high.
- Add seasoned chuck roast and cook on each side until caramelized and brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
- Transfer the chuck roast to the slow cooker on top of the onion mixture and place thyme sprigs around the meat. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours.
- Before the last hour of cooking (at the 7 hour mark), take the roast out and slice into 6 pieces. Taste the broth for salt and adjust as needed. Return the beef back into the onion mixture and finish cooking one more hour until the meat is fork tender.
- Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower or roasted potatoes and vegetables.
Stove Method
- Place the browned roast and caramelized onions in a Dutch oven or a heavy, oven-safe pot, and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 2 ½ hours or until the meat is fork tender. Check that there is enough liquid after 1 ½ hours, and cook until the meat and vegetables are tender.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix
So good and great to keep on hand. Makes 7 1/2 tablespoons- 1/4 cup dried minced onion
- 2 tbsp beef bouillon granules (or use 2 crushed beef bouillon cubes) *use gf if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 demi-baguette
- 6 slices swiss cheese
- Calories- 151
- Total Fat- 5.5g
- Saturated Fat-3g
- Cholesterol- 20mg
- Sodium- 232mg
- Carbohydrates- 16.5g
- Fiber- 0.5g
- Sugar- 0g
- Protein-7.5
I have made quite a few pot roasts in my life, this one I tried yesterday might be our favorite so far. Sooo much depth of flavor. The glossy sauce is out of this world. I did use a Dutch oven and cooked it in my oven and added another cup of bone broth at the end to stretch the sauce.
Will definitely make this again!
This recipe comes up in category of 0-2 point meals. There’s no mention of points in the recipe and no way this meal, though looks good, fits into this category. Is this a mistake where it is posted?
I have this in the crockpot, smells amazing and came together fairly quickly. I’m questions WW points; if I’m reading your overview right it says 2 per serving? I’ve entered it six ways to Sunday and am getting insane point values. I’m giving 5 stars because I already know it’ll be amazing, but hoping I get feedback on my review by tonight!
Hey Megan! If the meat is “lean” or trimmed as it says in the recipe, it should show up as 0 points. I imported this recipe and had to change the chuck roast to lean, otherwise the recipe was showing as 25 points per serving!!
Made this last night and it was so delicious!! I even made the homemade onion soup mix! I followed the recipe for the onion soup mix and thought it was supposed to yield 7.5 Tbsp. however it only yielded 3 Tbsp. Not sure what went wrong lol
This is so perfect, 8 hours was good timing and so favorable with lots of onions and did garlic flavor mash potatoes from skinny taste. Definitely a saver!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yum
I’ve been wanting to try this one as soon as I saw the recipe! A cold rainy Monday holiday was the perfect time to give it a go! Absolutely worth the front end time to caramelize the onions and brown the roast. The end result was amazingly delicious and loved by all! I didn’t have sherry so used some rosé instead. Thank you Gina for another perfect recipe to add to my list! I’m already looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!
Made this today in the slow cooker and it came out great! I used dry red wine I had on hand and it worked well.
I made the Dutch oven method and it came out so perfect. The gravy was flavorful and perfect consistency. Served over mashed potatoes and green beans. Would be a great dish to serve company.
Meat was really tough and I got a good cut. Not a lot of flavor tying it to French onion. Could have been me, but this was not my favorite. Love skinnytaste meals, this one just wasn’t for me.
I really enjoyed this recipe. First, I’m glad that I read the comments below about cooking this on high for about five hours in the crockpot. Make sure you budget time caramelize the onions ahead of time before the crock pot. I added a tiny bit of flour to the sauce and then a little bit of milk at the end to make a creamy gravy. Finally, I served this on a bit of mashed potatoes and added some leftover shaped Parmesan cheese on top melted it all together for a French onion effect. This is a heavy dish so I made a light broccoli salad on the side. By the way, I did not have sherry but I think that’s OK.
Trying recipes for my picky teenager again. He HATES onions, so I was really pressing my luck with this one. He told me he loved it, and I asked, “even the onions?” He was like, “there were onions?!?” Caramelized onions=good. He ate everything!
Love that!
This was absolutely delcious! I also made the onion soup mix! It was perfect. I prepared it the night before becasue I had a busy work day and guests coming for dinner! It was a perfect meal for a cold Friday night dinner. I served it with mashed potates, steamed green beans, and texas toast with swiss cheese! Thank you Gina!!
Do you think for the slow cooker method I could prep it the night before?
I made this with the Garlic Mashed potatoes. Absolutely amazing! Family and guests were asking for the recipe. The roast was falling apart tender. It made a lot of “gravy” which we were fighting over for lunch tomorrow!
This was delicious! Made in an instapot slow cooker for 5 hrs. On high. It was perfect! Served with mashed potatoes and green beans. Big hit!
I used the stove top method with a top round sirloin roast, and served it with smashed potatoes and roasted Parmesan string beans on the side. So incredibly savory, comforting and delicious!!
Delicious, make this
Made for company. Served over buttered egg noodles. Delicious! Everyone had seconds!
I never write reviews but I had to for this one. This is the best tasting pot roast I have ever had. The caramelized onions put it over the top. So tender!
I can also say that the entire family loved this! The meat came out so tender and the gravy was delicious. Will make often!
This is, hands down, the best pot roast I’ve ever made. I served it with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. Paired well and all diners were happy.
Glad everyone enjoyed it!
This was outstanding – everyone loved it!
Can we add potatos, carrots and celery to the crockpot as well? Or should this be cooked separetly?
A great twist on a pot roast for a snow day! I also opted to braise in the oven at 325 for about 4 hours. So delish and my 11, 8 and 5 year old kids loved it too! I upped the ingredients so that we had enough for 2 nights – heated up low and slow on the stove the 2nd day was even better!
My house smelled divine when we walked in the door tonight! Such flavour! I served it Cauli Mash, roasted heirloom carrots and a slice of Cheesy Swiss Toast. So, so good!
So glad!
Absolutely love this recipe. My husband loves it as well. I made it exactly as directed and it will be added to our dinner rotation. Served your receipe for garlic mashed potatoes.
Made this over the weekend and it was delicious! It did take me over an hour to caremelize my onions though!
I loved this recipe! It is WW friendly, high protien, and made in a slow cooker! We love this meal and plan to keep it in the rotation!
This recipe is fantastic. It really marries the best of a pot roast and that delicious French onion soup flavor. It has such a deep rich flavor. I opted for the Dutch oven method and it made the whole house smell incredible. The kids loved it too! Served with mashed golden potatoes and green beans. As always, another Gina winner!!!
Thanks Nicoelle! I love kid approval 🙂
Made with more onions, 6-8 cups, but my chuck roast was a tad larger than called for. Did not slice roast as called for at 7 hours, just used large spoon to subdivide roast into 6 sections (maybe my roast thinner?). Delish on homemade mashed potatoes. Used way more thyme because I had on hand. Family fave, thank you for a delicious recipe!
This beef recipe is outstanding! I looked forward to making it all week, anticipating it for the snowy weekend! It didn’t disappoint – my husband said it was wonderful and even licked the plate clean. Sometimes you just overlook table manners!
Lol- I love it! So glad you both enjoyed it!
Delicious recipe! My husband loved it. I served it with scalloped potatoes and green beans. Will definitely make again!
Fabulous! Slow cooker on high for 4:30 hours and it was perfect. Beef was tender and so much flavor. Did not have sherry so left it out but next time I am sure it would add a layer of complexity to the dish. Don’t shy away- it was still good without the wine!! This made the house smell so good and the whole family loved it. Served it with roast potatoes and asparagus, felt fancy but so easy to make.
I love FO soup. It was FO with beef and DELICIOUS. I would add more onion next go around, but otherwise perfect. Also, I made it in the instant pot because I didn’t have time. I cubed the beef and cooked it at 20min/lb.
We made this over the weekend and it was the perfect warm, hearty meal for a snow weekend! We used the dutch over method and after 2 1/2 hours the meat just fell apart! It was great over mashed potatoes and as leftovers the next day. We will definitely be making this again!
I made this recipe yesterday and it was delicious!!! My husband loved it. I did steps 2 & 3 the night prior, refrigerated in the crockpot so that the next morning all I had to do was season and brown the meat. I added diced carrots which cooked perfectly in the 8 hours. Thank you for a great recipe!
Glad you both enjoyed it!
I haven’t made this yet, but I’m inspired! I’m going seat it off in the instapot to save those yummy bits. But the sauce and onions will be a stove top process. The seat function is too hot for this part but to make it on the fly this would be a great 45 min alternative. 🤞By the time the sides are done the pot should be whistling!
Prepped this to make tomorrow. Didn’t have Thyme. Can I omit or is there another herb/spice to substitute?
This recipe was delicous! I did the Dutch oven method and I followed the recipe as written. I will say that the onions really cooked down and were almost nonexistent after cooking. I checked the pan after 1 hour and a half and there was still liquid in the pan. Perhaps I should have added more broth? I cooked it another hour and the meal was so tender it was falling apart. The consistency of the sauce was thicker almost like gravy as opposed to broth. It was so darn good anyways! Maybe just needs a little more liquid or less time in the oven? Still a great dinner on a cold and snowy day!
Absolutely delicious. Used French onion soup in place of the bone broth and put it on top of my cauliflower mashed potatoes. Yum yum. Thank you for the recipe
Amazing – I did need a little more sherry for my taste – and next time I’ll add even more onions. So amazing!
We really liked this. It was a perfect meal for a snowy Sunday. It was especially good with mashed potatoes because of all the sauce that acts as gravy. The only change I made was to use pinot grigio instead of sherry.
I’m certain this one will be requested in my house quite a bit. Thanks for a great recipe.
Very good. All family members pleased, even my very picky 8 year old (while she would not go near the onions she happily ate the beef asking for seconds.)
Kid approval is my favorite! ♥
Just got this up and running in the crockpot and already my house smells just like Sunday should smell. I have absolute faith that the results in 8 hours will not disappoint! Thank you for another great recipe.
It’s 1pm and I’m about to put it in the crock pot. Directions say low for 8 hours. Could I do love for some and switch to high so we’re not eating at 9pm?
Yes you could do high 4-5 hours until tender. Enjoy!
Could you cook on high in the slow-cooker? I started this a little late and I’m hoping to make up time.
Yes, 4-5 hours until tender.
Made this yesterday and oh my goodness, it was fantastic! Can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers!
This was delicious. Both my husband and I enjoyed it. Will definitely make again.
Making this in a Dutch oven as we speak. It smells incredible! I had a question though, Gina: I’m assuming I should cover the Dutch oven when it’s baking in the oven, correct? It doesn’t specify in the recipe. I hope I don’t screw this up! Anyway can’t wait to try it. It smells delicious.
Yes!
Can’t wait to try this recipe 😉 but I have a question! Could you make this recipe with steak tips instead?
Not sure if it would be too dry?
Please can you make this recipe gluten free? Packet soups where I live contain gluten, and beef broth could be make at home, but if I have to make both the soup and the broth at home, it will be a long process. Any short cuts please?
In the notes section is my homemade dry onion soup mix recipe that can be made GF. There are numerous brand of GF beef broth if you can find them in your area.
Can’t wait to make this! Thinking about preparing steps 2 + 3 the night before and refrigerating, and adding carrots to the slow cooker from the beginning, – any tips? Thank you!
Gina, this looks fabulous! But my husband is end-stage CKD, and I need lower sodium recipes. Do you have a substitute for the dry onion soup mix? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Sending well wishes to your husband. In the notes section there is a homemade dry onion soup mix recipe that can be modified. Hope that helps!
I made tonight and my plate legit clean, I’m obsessed!
I can’t wait to try this recipe using our slow cooker! I love good beef & French Onion Soup. Combining the two in slow cooker will be sublime!
This looks delicious. Do you have directions for using an instapot?
Out of this world good*********
My sister did it today in her instant pot…. She said it turned out even better this way. Not sure timewise but I’m sure google will have an answer:)
How about flat cut brisket? Any changes to recipe?
Have not tested, let me know if you try!
I’ve not made this recipe, but it looks amazing. I have decided to not eat beef so I was wondering if there was a good substitute. I do eat other meats, just not beef. Thanks
This looks delicious! Do you think you could make it with a rib roast?
Totally different texture.
The notes to the recipe say you can try using pork shoulder.
This looks amazing!!! I am not a sherry fan could I use low sodium beef broth or some wine? If so what can of wine would you recommend? Thank you so much. Stephanie 😊